OK, here I am ready to blog with what seems like very little to blog about. However, I must post as it seems imperative that I move on from the previous, never-to-be-mentioned-again update about the dreaded h*l*d*y in M**rit**s, since all that has done is upset people...
Have decided that my life right now is mostly about containment. Not all of it, not all the time, but in the main; containment. Here’s what I mean:
Containing the mess – that a family of 4 make as part of daily life. Particularly a family of 4 with two boys under 5… Tidying up does not feature very much in the play-radar of my sons, and when it does appear it is only because I have threatened them with the most heinous punishment known to man. Oh yes, that horrific punishment of the withdrawal of tv priviledges. (It is at this stage that - oh the shame - I occassionally feel nostalgic for the smacks on the back of our legs that my mum used to give when things got a bit heated).
Containing the laundry (an old and trusted complaint of mine, I know, but indulge me here...). Obviously it's been particularly bad this last week since I've had to catch up with washing from our (holiday), so perhaps I'm feeling a little tender on this one, but it's rather like Sisyphus pushing water up-hill (did I spell that right?). It never bl**dy ends. And then, to add insult to injury, just as I start to see daylight - or rather, the bottom of the laundry basket - my beloved Husband returns from one of his business trips, and opens his bag. The effect is rather like an exploding firework, with clothes shooting all over the room. (Actually I can't remember the last time I really saw the bottom of the laundry basket; there's a sub-layer of clothes that just seem to sit there as they need handwashing, not my favourite activity. I really must stop buying them...)
Containing the Boys – Boy #1 when he’s having a tantrum, is in high spirits or is just in a mood, and Boy #2, who currently wants to scale every piece of furniture in the house. I walked into the dining room yesterday where there were suspicious noises going on, to find Boy #1 applauding whilst Boy #2 sat in the middle of the table and throwing all the fruit out of the fruit bowl onto the floor. With the exception of the bananas, which he was trying to peel with his teeth…
Containing my chocolate habit - 'nuff said? I would also like my peanut butter habit to taken into account here. Normally pb is contraband in our house due to Boy #1's nut allergy, but when we got back home after our (holiday) and found we had no hot water or central heating, I stomped off to the corner shop to buy milk and found myself slipping a jar of the dreaded stuff into the basket along with a loaf of bread. Aaaah - pb on toast, the ultimate comfort food. After 2 days I had to throw the unfinished jar out as I was using it to replace all other meals when Boy#1 was not around. I've got loads of will-power, but it only ever manifests with stuff I don't want to do, like smoking (one vice I never adopted), eating Marmite (see Rotten Correspondant's post on this one), and going to the gym.
Containing my sarcastic retorts. This morning in the supermarket the very sweet checkout lady asked if I would be OK to pack my own bags. OK? Yes, I would be OK. Not happy. Not great. Not very quick, or efficient, but yes, just about OK. Thankfully I didn't say any of this, restraining myself by muttering under my breath whilst juggling Boy #2, a sneezing fit, 5 'bags for life' that for once I had actually managed to remember to take out of the car and into the supermarket, and a handbag that refused to give up my wallet. I can't think who had stored the following crap in there:
3 pairs of gloves - none of them mine
a plethora of crusty hankies - both Boys have perpetual colds this winter
2 diaries - roll on 2008 so I can ditch the 2007 version
a leaking juice cup
various cars and planes
two sets of keys
Not mention, of course, all the interesting sort of stuff that Mya wrote about recently...
There, I think that's done it. For someone with nothing to blog about I seem to have written quite a lot...
What are your containment issues? I would love to know...
Have decided that my life right now is mostly about containment. Not all of it, not all the time, but in the main; containment. Here’s what I mean:
Containing the mess – that a family of 4 make as part of daily life. Particularly a family of 4 with two boys under 5… Tidying up does not feature very much in the play-radar of my sons, and when it does appear it is only because I have threatened them with the most heinous punishment known to man. Oh yes, that horrific punishment of the withdrawal of tv priviledges. (It is at this stage that - oh the shame - I occassionally feel nostalgic for the smacks on the back of our legs that my mum used to give when things got a bit heated).
Containing the laundry (an old and trusted complaint of mine, I know, but indulge me here...). Obviously it's been particularly bad this last week since I've had to catch up with washing from our (holiday), so perhaps I'm feeling a little tender on this one, but it's rather like Sisyphus pushing water up-hill (did I spell that right?). It never bl**dy ends. And then, to add insult to injury, just as I start to see daylight - or rather, the bottom of the laundry basket - my beloved Husband returns from one of his business trips, and opens his bag. The effect is rather like an exploding firework, with clothes shooting all over the room. (Actually I can't remember the last time I really saw the bottom of the laundry basket; there's a sub-layer of clothes that just seem to sit there as they need handwashing, not my favourite activity. I really must stop buying them...)
Containing the Boys – Boy #1 when he’s having a tantrum, is in high spirits or is just in a mood, and Boy #2, who currently wants to scale every piece of furniture in the house. I walked into the dining room yesterday where there were suspicious noises going on, to find Boy #1 applauding whilst Boy #2 sat in the middle of the table and throwing all the fruit out of the fruit bowl onto the floor. With the exception of the bananas, which he was trying to peel with his teeth…
Containing my chocolate habit - 'nuff said? I would also like my peanut butter habit to taken into account here. Normally pb is contraband in our house due to Boy #1's nut allergy, but when we got back home after our (holiday) and found we had no hot water or central heating, I stomped off to the corner shop to buy milk and found myself slipping a jar of the dreaded stuff into the basket along with a loaf of bread. Aaaah - pb on toast, the ultimate comfort food. After 2 days I had to throw the unfinished jar out as I was using it to replace all other meals when Boy#1 was not around. I've got loads of will-power, but it only ever manifests with stuff I don't want to do, like smoking (one vice I never adopted), eating Marmite (see Rotten Correspondant's post on this one), and going to the gym.
Containing my sarcastic retorts. This morning in the supermarket the very sweet checkout lady asked if I would be OK to pack my own bags. OK? Yes, I would be OK. Not happy. Not great. Not very quick, or efficient, but yes, just about OK. Thankfully I didn't say any of this, restraining myself by muttering under my breath whilst juggling Boy #2, a sneezing fit, 5 'bags for life' that for once I had actually managed to remember to take out of the car and into the supermarket, and a handbag that refused to give up my wallet. I can't think who had stored the following crap in there:
3 pairs of gloves - none of them mine
a plethora of crusty hankies - both Boys have perpetual colds this winter
2 diaries - roll on 2008 so I can ditch the 2007 version
a leaking juice cup
various cars and planes
two sets of keys
Not mention, of course, all the interesting sort of stuff that Mya wrote about recently...
There, I think that's done it. For someone with nothing to blog about I seem to have written quite a lot...
What are your containment issues? I would love to know...
I'm catching up after falling behind on my blog reading the last week. What a lovely vacation it sounds like you had. Yum yum. (The Speedos, on the other hand, don't sound so appealing).
ReplyDeleteI think you're on the right track with thinking of motherhood as a containment issue. You're so right. It's not about getting ahead, per se, it's about keeping it contained.
And sometimes not even that...
Hi RC, yes, I think 'keeping a lid on it' should be the title for a mother's self-help manual... Maybe you could write it in your spare time? (I'm far to busy trying to practice what I preach to do that myself, you understand...)
ReplyDeleteClutter. Clutter. Clutter. Clutter. That's my containment issue.
ReplyDeleteOh, Iota, I know what you mean. I yearn for a house full of clean lines and clear surfaces. But what do I have? Piles of 'stuff'. Husband's workbooks. Boy's toys. Things I mean to take back to the shops but never get round to.
ReplyDeleteClutter. How could I have left that off my list?
containing the horror i felt when I glimpsed my backside in very tight exercise trousers today. It was 3.15, I was late for school (i was exercising by having left the car at school and walked home), no time to change.
ReplyDeletecontaining the shame as i wobbled my way back up the hill to school.
Containing my glee at hitting on the idea of tying my sweatshirt around my waist, thus hiding the horror.
These are my breaking containment issues!
Pigx
Pig, yes. Containing one's waistline - always a challenge. Especially if you consider the chocolate and peanut butter habits I shamefully acknowledged. Somehow, though, with the running, I doubt you have quite as much to contain as you think...
ReplyDelete