Seen Around The House

Life with kids sure is interesting. One just cannot appreciate what it could be unless they live it. There's no explaining it to non-parents, because lets face it, there's no explaining it to parents. Like these cups for instance.

See them all stacked there neatly? It is highly commendable that they're neat, I'll say that. But the bigger issue is WHY ARE THEY ON MY HALLWAY FLOOR? Just sitting right there, all stacked up. Are they clean? Dirty? And why the wide variety of styles? One has no choice but to put them in the dishwasher because quite frankly, I wouldn't want to drink out of any one of them with all those questions hanging above them.


And let's not forget the laundry. On a good day, you could collect a few pieces of change, but not nearly enough to buy coffee at Starbucks. (Laundry doesn't pay very well. Don't do it if you don't have to.) This was not a good day.

Not only did the chocolate get ruined (which would just about be the worst thing to happen to anyone's day) but the pen exploded all over a brand new shirt I'd just got my son for Christmas. Nice. Anyone have suggestions for getting already-through-the-dryer-ink out? Because I'm open for suggestions here.


And with a baby in the house, diapers are a big part of your day. You change them, you throw them away, you clean up the mess that's made in between these two steps...

Yes, that's diaper entrails. I tossed the diaper into the bathroom so that I could throw it away when I was done. It exploded on contact. And this was not even The Fullest Diaper Ever. No, it was more like a I've Been Peed In A Few Times But I Could Definitely Hold More kind of diaper. I did not do a touch-down style slam of that diaper either. And I've learned the hard way that one does not suck up diaper entrails with the vacuum. So I swept them onto the dust pan and tossed them into the trash. And then hand scrubbed the floor and the dust pan. And hosed out the broom.

This all leads to the age-old question presented to every SAHM at the end of her husband's work day. "So, what did you DO all day?"

31 comments:

Pam said...

Yeah- I have had days like that! I never find good things in the laundry- usually just shredded tissues. Then I have to pick it off all the clothes and out of the dryer. Fun times!

Flea said...

Oh grrr to the question. Mine used to ask, "So where was the babysitter today?"

Here's a link to one of my favorite sites and some suggestions for the ink question:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/02/02dec02b.cfm
I use oxyclean for my toughest stains and it's gotten out everything so far, but I haven't tried on ink.

For awhile we had a lot of Pokemon cards go through the wash, then pocketknives. Money's my favorite.

AutoSysGene said...

Oy, TMI, TMI!! That was way more mom stuff than I wanted to know ;)

Suburban Correspondent said...

Technically, each time a diaper is peed in, it is called an "insult." Diaper developers concentrate on determining how many insults a superthin diaper can withstand. They like to make them superthin because that translates into more supermarket shelf space. (And smaller shipping costs, too)

I learned all this from a New Yorker article years ago. So maybe all I talk about is diapers - but I do it very intelligently.

Cecily R said...

Chocolate and a pen, huh? That IS a bad laundry day. Hmmm. That must be why I don't do it very often. I always get change from Jon's pants though. Think it's his subconsious (and pathetic, based on the amount of change we're talking about) way of paying me for services rendered?

And the cups, well in our house we could find them like that because of a game, a tea party, a craft project, a pretend pet habitat or a city for Polly Pockets. There are probably other reasons but frankly, I'm not creative or cognative enough to remember them.

Karen, you are most certainly one of my SAHM heros. Seriously.

Unknown said...

There is no way to explain these things to a non parent, youare right. As soon as I saw the diaper picture I thought of your poor vacuum. Glad you didn't suck up the "entrails"

Christina

Kellan said...

This was so true - anyone that does not have kids would have no clue about any of this stuff. I often find those sorts of things in our laundry - it is always an adventure.

Hope you had a good day Karen - see you later. Kellan

Irene said...

I am so glad to see that I am NOT the only one in the world who throws diapers.

With 2 kids in diapers, we have quite a few. We have a diaper pail in the garage, so most diapers get tossed somewhere towards the garage door until enough accumulate and we actually open the door and toss them in the right place. But we have been very lucky, no diaper explosions so far! Yikes!

Debbie @ Three Weddings said...

I haven't tried it yet but Shout has that new stain remover that's supposed to get out dried in stains. I plan on getting some and trying it out. Not sure if it will work on ink, though.

Maria (also Bia) said...

What did I do? I made a delicious meal for my son's teacher who has been ill, and since I cooked double of everything, I had dinner on the table tonight without running around like crazy. There's something to be said for cooking dinner (and having it done) before you have to run carpool.

That's it...I cooked.

Maria said...

Yes, looks like my laundry. Yes looks like my floor, too (pretty floor by the way). Did you try the hairspray on the ink? Then try Oxyclean.

jayna said...

Cheap aerosol hairspray usually will get dried ink out of stuff - the husband's uniform has this hidden little pocket that he just loved to leave pens in. Spray it, rub it in a little, let it soak a bit and then wash again.

And I'm just in awe about the diaper. I never imagined they would explode like that!

Madame Queen said...

I HATE it when diapers explode like that. Those little beads get everywhere! But fortunately not in your vacuum this time.

You should just print this post out and anytime anybody asks you what you do, you should just whip this out. Highly entertaining AND explanatory!

kimmy said...

I get that question all the time! I just say that I watch TV and eat Bons Bons. If only that were the truth!

Kimmy

Andrea said...

I often ask my husband if we can trade for a day. I will go and be an electrain (which I know nothing about) and he can stay home with the kids (which he kinda knows nothing about). He always declines my offer?

I have a large jar that I put all my laundry money in and the at the end of the year cash it in. Sometimes it's about 200 dollars!! Nice!! My husband always has like 2 dollars in change in his pockets? Why do men cary so much stuff in their pockets?

Hope you have a better day.

ALF said...

I don't have any kids but I do have a husband who recently left a pen in his pocket, I washed it and it exploded all over our brand new $100 sheets. He doesn't seem to understand why that made me upset.

Ok, so I should try hairspray and then Oxyclean to get it out???

Burgh Baby said...

I have yet to see a diaper explode in our house. What am I doing wrong? I mean, cleaning that up looks like so much fun, I simply must join in.

We could all do an entire week's worth of posts of just photos of random things that kids have done or left around that we can't explain or don't understand. Mine would involve a lot of naked baby dolls. I just don't understand what the rationale is behind some of what goes on with those dolls.

Like I said, I want to be just like you when I grow up.

Wineplz said...

I'm with the group on hairspray and then a good LONG soak in a high concentration of OXY. Like over 24 hours.
Not that I did that on purpose. But it certainly got out the unidentifiable stains in Gavin's clothes (berry juice? markers? ink? paint?).
And do you mind if I ask what brand of exploding diapers you use? I want to make sure that we can occassionally join in that kind of fun...like exploding cigars or re-lighting birthday candles. ;)

Wonderful World of Weiners said...

You defended my spelling honor! It's official.....I love you!!

Hallie :-)

Karen said...

Suburban - I had no idea. You'd think it was a compliment. That's what they're made for.

Kimmy - you don't eat bon bons? Because I set aside at least 3 hours of my day to do this.

Andrea - I hear you! I've often said that if we traded jobs I might get some much-needed rest and relaxation.

Burgh - Are you saying that I'm older than you?! Because really I don't know how else to take that. Why would anyone want to be like me?!

Colleen - Huggies all the way. We can't even blame it on cheapo crap like we diapered most of the kids with.

lindsey said...

We are all about Huggies too. They can hold a lot!

Someday's I wonder why I even bother picking things up while Porter is still wandering around making a mess. I should just wait until he goes to bed.

Ammon (Spammon) knows not to ask "What did you do all day". He's stayed home with Porter a few times and now he knows what I do all day! :)

Leanne said...

If you throw something big and heavy at hubby they never ask that again. They can be trained. :)

Tootsie Farklepants said...

My cheeks hurt from laughing! Everyone is on a roll today. I quite literally laughed out loud at your "exploded on contact" remark.

The Sports Mama said...

Laundry in my house usually yields rocks, school ID's, and paperclips??

And I soooo do not miss the exploding diaper days!

Unknown said...

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Christina

Anonymous said...

you are too funny! Thanks for the laughs!

Nice to meet you!

Cynthia said...

It's like you came to my house to write this post!

Karen said...

Tootsie - if that counts for a workout today, you're welcome. (Remember no pain, no gain.)

Leanne - I've sufficiently trained my husband, too. A night or two on the cold side of the bed does wonders. This does not keep him from thinking it, though.

Katie - welcome!

caramama said...

I didn't even know that diapers could explode! I mean, we've had poopsplosions, but that comes OUT of the diaper. I did not know they could explode upon contact with something like the floor. Crap. I will be even more careful now. Thanks for the tip.

girlymom said...

I am on my 3rd pair of pants today~ 3rd, why can the children not pee or spit up on something wipeable?!!! I hear ya!!

Kidzmama said...

Hmmm...what I did all day? Feed the grazing kids. Yup, all day. Oh, and changed a couple of diapers. That's it. Really.

For a while I was finding little cuts of colored yarn in Clever's laundry. She was apparently "collecting" the pieces from art class. Lovely. At least they don't melt or stain.