Thursday, October 25, 2012

October

It's been quite the month!  I had a quick turn around trip to South Bend, my mom came to town for a week, I had jury duty and numerous Scout/kid events. 

My mom was here about 9 months ago and made real headway on unpacking our house and getting it...livable.  She probably did about 80%.  I did NOTHING on the other 20% after she left.  So when she came back there was probably back to 60% to do.  I think Aron's room actually scared her.  But she's a trooper.

She got nearly every single toy out of each of the kids' rooms.  And moved them downstairs.  And organized them, and yes, got rid of some.  There is now a neat stack of see-through bins in the basement that are stacked against the wall - next to an entire floor area for playing.  There is also a craft table, beside which are all the necessary craft tools that any young artist would need.  There is also room to play the Wii. 

I had started cleaning and organizing my office before she arrived, partially because it is the room in which I spend the most time and partly because I needed to be sure I wasn't missing anything related to my PTA Treasurer or Dad's Club School Coordinator roles (both of which involve money). 

She also (as she usually does) changed the layout of our living room.  It's finally at a place where the family can sit together and watch TV and not feel so disconnected.  She also found a place in each of the kids' rooms to store ALL of their clothes (the ones that fit, anyway), so there is no reason for clean laundry to take up couch space. 

Here's where my OCD kicks in.  On the one hand it's WONDERFUL to have the house at a place where I feel like I can handle the daily maintenance.  On the other hand, I'm getting down right dictator about the kids picking up after themselves, not wanting it to slide back to where it was. 

And now I notice the cobwebs (something I was very much ignoring when the mess of the house was so overwhelming I couldn't think where to begin). 

Did I mention Jury Duty?  I was picked to sit on a jury - and we found her not guilty.  I've completed that civil duty and now I am exempt for at least the next two years. 

Monday night we had our last Soccer Academy practice.  Tuesday we went with the Cub Scouts to see Hotel Transylvania.  Wednesday we joined choir (after having been out for soccer since school started).  Tonight we went to the school to help prepare for tomorrow's PTA Fall Festival at the kids' school.  Saturday we will help build the float for the Cub Scouts Halloween Parade entry.  Tuesday is trick-or-treat, Wednesday is the parade.... Then I think I'll be ready for a little down time!

BUT... I finally feel like I could invite people over and not cringe over the state of the house - or feel it would be so overwhelming to get it ready for invited guests. 

All-in-all, it's been a good month.