I'm so tired you guys - break out the cheese

Maddie&EthansMom wrote: Cause here comes the whine.

My house is a disaster area. Really I have no desire to even think about cleaning it or the energy to even TRY to clean it. I run in circles. Ethan is in one area getting into something and dragging stuff out while I'm trying to clean another area. There's always laundry to do...I can't stay caught up with anything so I don't even try...has anyone else felt this way? It's like I've just given up. When I look at my house I just see clutter everywhere and it drives me nuts. I hate clutter. I hate stuff laying around and I want it GONE!

I know Scotty hates coming home to a dirty home, but I have no one to help me and I just can't get anything done with the kids here. He only cleans the kitchen when he is home...sometimes. I can't clean when Ethan naps, either b/c he's a light sleeper and he wakes up. I do stuff like clean the kitchen and the laundry, but that's it. The front of the house stays clean and the playroom and kids rooms are clean for the most part, but our room is just full of stuff. It's so depressing.

We are going to start remodeling our study and bedroom this weekend and I need to clean it, but when?? Scotty also volunteered my services to a bus. acquaintence of his and she wants me to sew some curtains for her. I haven't gotten around to it yet. I have too much on my plate. Now she is bugging him about it. I told him tonight that I can't start the curtains when my house is a wreck...I just can't.

I don't know. I'm just exhausted. I sit around a lot b/c I'm tired of chasing after everyone all the time. I'm just having a bad night. I've got piles of stuff I need to list on ebay, too...but I dont' have the time. There just aren't enough hours in a day.

Sorry to be so grouchy. I don't expect anyone to reply...I just needed to vent.

luvmykids replied: I would just let you vent and not reply, except you sound too much like me! Hang in there. Sometimes it helps me to just pick something small, no matter how small, like clearing off the coffee table or cleaning the toilet, and usually I at least get to the point where I can do something else small too. Sorry, I know it sucks!

mckayleesmom replied: Oh sweetie...we are in the same shoes.....THe other day I had a breakdown and just lost it. I clean EVERY night and by 8 in the morning it is all c*@p again. This morning Mckaylee took 12 dozen donuts and crushed them all up and sprinkled them around the house while I was going pee. ...then she had the nerve to tell me she was hungry . Is there any older girls in your neighborhood that you can hire to take the kids outside and play in your backyard while you catch up.....Maybe a 13 year old or so. You will know where they are at and they won't be far and you can check on them.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: McKaylee and Ethan sound a lot alike. He is so darn messy!! Really, I can't keep up with him. If he's not eating all the time, he's smearing stuff all over the walls and in the carpet and getting into stuff constantly. He won't sit still...ever. And the whining and crying is constant. It makes me want to pull my hair out or might be better. I know it is a part of being 2, but I can't get a thing done. I know this is bad, but I'm counting down the days until he goes to preschool b/c my house will be in order. I can't even get a handle on it or even think of organization right now....not with the terror running around. By the time he goes down I'm too exhausted to move. I must sound so lazy Really I'm not, I just don't want to deal with it b/c I think "What's the point?"

There are no children in our neighborhood. And Scotty is so sweet...when he's home he wants to do everything as a family so he won't even take the kids to the park or Chuck E Cheese on Sundays so I can clean. I do want to see him, but time alone would be nice, too.

Sorry

~~*Missi*~~ replied: Ahhh sweetie you are not alone LOL
OMG i have my husband home with a broken leg (had major surgery), I have my father home he just had a heart attack, obviously the baby and then my dads darn dogs. I just want to throw my hands up and say BEEP it!

I guess just take it one day at a time and know we will listen to you vent every day if you need it.

luvmykids replied: The more you write the more I think we have parallel lives!

mckayleesmom replied:
Yes they are....Mckaylee actually thought I was going to let her go take her nap with playdough today ...Ya right....Mckaylee smears everything all over the walls too...I swear we are going to have to paint before we leave here.

luvbug00 replied:

~Roo'sMama~ replied: (((Hugs))) Aimee! I know what you mean, kind of. I mean I'm sure I'm not as busy as you must be, but I know all about the giving up because you can't get it done. And then when you do finally get all caught up it takes no time at all to fall apart again.

The last time I got the house all cleaned, Scott decided it was a nice time to clean out his future den, and dragged everything out and left it on my dining room and kitchen floor for a few days. He's got most of it put back now, but the rest of the house is a disaster because I didn't have room to walk around all last week and was too annoyed by it to clean.

coasterqueen replied: ((HUGS)) You are not lazy. I feel this way too. I'm sitting here now, staring at my house. I have dirty clothes, used hangers, toys, cupcake wrapper , shoes, trash just in my living room alone that I can see that needs to be picked up. Let's not even talk about the foot of dust on my furniture, windows and furniture pieces that need windex'ed....I haven't even touched upon the other rooms in my house. But what I'm trying to say is I'm so darn tired and it feels so monotinous (sp?) to clean over and over and over again that I just don't want to do it. Why? So I can do it again tomorrow, and the next day and the next day.

All while I'm trying to teach my children to be neat, put their dirty clothes in the clothes basket, pick up their messes....how can I do that when I can't keep my messes/everyone else's messes cleaned up.

Sorry, this turned into my vent and shouldn't have. I just wanted to let you know, you aren't alone and you are NOT lazy. Because if you are lazy, then I have to be lazy and I'm not allowed to be.

luvmykids replied: If it makes you guys feel any better, in the last 2 days I've had shampoo smeared all over the bathroom mirror, RED lipgloss smeared on the shower door (you know, the pebbled glass with the tiny little crevices?), syrup on 3 bar stools, 3 glasses broken, stickers in the dryer (shredded all over the clothes now), orange juice in the carpet, craisins smushed into the carpet, and a stick of butter all over the fridge, inside and out.

AND honestly, if it weren't for DH, I just might have left it all there, b/c while I clean up one mess they just make another one. My biggest problem is the twins are 4 and I KNOW they know better.


Will DH help you with the house at all, or watch the kids for even an hour? Sounds like a break would do you a lot of good.

BTW-my house is such a mess I haven't even answered the door for a week! AND my cleaning lady came in today, looked around, and left!!!!!!

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I love y'all! It helps so much to know I'm not alone.

Scotty won't clean anything but the kitchen and he will spend all day on the kitchen. (leaving no time for anything else) Sunday he cleaned out his closet so he could organize it (Sara it sounds like our Scott's have something in common) He left this huge mess for me to clean up and sort thru in the middle of our bedroom floor. Really I just want to throw everything in the darn trash and get it out of sight.

kit_kats_mom replied: Aimee. first second, I'm there about every other week. It's hard to not get overwehelmed when we are trying to please everyone all the time.

yall...how do your kids get this stuff? We have a lock on the fridge & I usually keep a baby gate at the kitchen entrance so food can't get out and the kids can't get in. I occasionally let a cup of cheerios into the living room, but only on the days when I'm going to be vaccuming anyway. They can't get in the bathrooms unless I let them and all of our makeup/pens/art supplies etc are stashed way up high or in childproofed cabinets.

I am forever throwing toys back into the playroom and picking shoes up off of the floor. Lets not talk about trying to keep the playroom organized but seriously, I'd lose my freakin bananas if my monkeys were getting into the shampoo and stuff.

now watch, Lauren will be my Mckaylee & I'll be eating my humble pie in a few months

eta: I think that what I said may come off as rude or something. It's really not meant that way. I'm a neat freak to the n'th degree and I really would be crawling out of my skin if the house got trashed like that. It wouldn't be good for anyone.

luvmykids replied:
That didn't offend me at all, it's hard to get mad at them when I'm the adult leaving this stuff where they can get to it. I have started locking the fridge and the pantry, some of it is DH is waaaay more lax (he's to blame for giving them oj and craisins in the living room). I try to be a neat freak but end up more freak than neat I feel so outnumbered .... between the 4 of them I just can't clean fast enough and end up flipping out that something I just cleaned is dirty again. And I guess I don't keep the bathroom doors shut or the kitchen totally closed off b/c with 3 of them I can't be opening and closing doors all day. But I'm sure if I got us better organized in general it would improve. I'm always waiting until the house is clean and then I'll get organized .....

mckayleesmom replied: Oh...I forgot...Yesterday Mckaylee got in the fridge and broke open the baking powder....I have to clean that out tomorow....I bought one of those new ones with the mesh sides....big mistake

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Good grief they really do sound alike! My Scott does the same thing with the kitchen, too. Although I don't think he does it to get out of doing anything else, he's just sallow.

I have been tempted too many times to just go through the house with a garbage bag and start throwing stuff, but I'm so afraid I'll throw out something important that looks like junk mail or old bills to me. I've also considered throwing everything into a box for Dh to go through, but he'd never ever get around to it, and if he ever did it would take him a million years because he'd have to go through and read and reminisce about everything in there.

Maddie&EthansMom replied:
I did this. I threw everything into boxes and even separated the bills from junk mail for him to shred...they sat around for 6 months. Some of the boxes that he cleaned out of his closet floor had been in there since we moved here! It did take him forever to shred all this stuff and go thru it, but that's less boxes we have sitting around and I'm glad he did it. He wised up this last time and put everything in a plastic garbage bag to take to one of those shredding places.

Maddie&EthansMom replied:
I know what you meant.

In my case it isn't necessarily that they are getting stuff I dont' know about. It's that I can set Ethan down at the table for lunch and he won't just sit there and eat. He's all over the place before I know it. And as a result there is food all over him, the table, the chairs, the floor. He has to eat ALL DAY LONG, too. He won't just sit down for 3 meals a day and a snack. He grazes all day. So, it's hard to keep him at the table. I put him at the table to eat a banana and before I know it, it's everywhere. Maddie was such a clean child. We had new furniture when she was his age and it never got a spot on it....ever. He's just so messy. I can't describe it. But, that's what I meant by not being able to keep up with him. By the time I finish cleaning up lunch it's time to start dinner, etc.

I need to look into buying a baby gate for the kitchen, but until now I haven't been able to afford it....we have a really wide opening to our kitchen. I'll just break down and get one for peace of mind. I try to keep the back of the house closed off and do a pretty good job of it, but most stuff gets thrown into our bedroom.

I hope all this will change once we finish our remodeling. We will have more storage and stuff. Scotty is big on organization, but like luvmykids said, I just can't think about organization until my house is clean.

My neat freak has been buried. I'm just overwhelmed. A clean, organized house is so desirable to me, but then again, so is being skinny and I guess I just have to want it bad enough and do something about it. I just feel like my life is out of control.

coasterqueen replied: luvmykids - If I had 4 kids I'd be doing good to get dressed in the morning. Props to you because I have a time managing 2.


Aimee - Kylie is the same way as Ethan. She is a PIG. She gets more food everywhere than Megan does. She is just plain worse than messy, it's pathetic. So I can understand what you are going through. She also grazes all day long and even at 3 she's still a MESSY pig.

Cary - My kids aren't necessarily messy besides Kylie with food, but there is no way I can mop floors, vacume, clean the bathrooms, etc while they are around. They just don't allow it. Megan's crawling all over me and throwing a fit. I try to put her in a sling to do those things but she tries to wiggle around too much in there. So I have to do it when they are asleep or not around and the only time that is is when they are in bed. By the time that time comes I'd like to workout and relax too after a long day at work. So for me I'm just lazy and want to rest instead of clean. On the weekends we want to spend with the kids, so no motivation to clean then either. I do keep up pretty good with light cleaning but all the deep cleaning is where I'm bad at.

kit_kats_mom replied:
yeah, see. I have a maid come every other week for that cause I don't really have time for that stuff either. But for everyday stuff, I just leave Lauren in her High chair or DH entertains them, while I clean up after dinner. I dump the dishes into the dishwasher, wipe down everything and then sweep & swiffer the kitchen floor. It used to be hard but now its just routine. It usually only takes about 10 mintues max.

I wipe down the bathroom while they are in the tub but that's about all that ever gets done in there by me. I hate bathrooms with a vengence.

K was like Maddie, she's never been that messy except for the occasional foray into pudding with hands and of course "the great spaghettio incident". Lauren is my piggy pig pig. But Lauren is also my couch potato. All I have to do is turn on a video and she's transfixed. It's kind of sad really. but that's how I get laundry and vaccuming done. Either that or I just do it when DH takes the girls out on errands.

Kaitlin'smom replied: I always wonder why can it just stay clean for more than a few minutes. its sooo crazymy desk at home and bedroom need the most attention and they are ALWAYS last so most times they dont get done I havea love/hate reltaionshop with our bedroom. LOVE the size and the space but hate its soo cluttlered. I really do want to finsh cleaning it. Its finny I will get part of it done then it will be a whiel before I can get to more so that last part ends up cluttered again very frusrating.

Maddie&EthansMom replied:
That's Maddie. Ethan won't have anything to do with the TV. He has to be touching me at all times.

And like I said before, Scotty is no help. He won't take the kids out alone and he is never home. I will find a way to make it work, though. I just need a good schedule. At least he has lightened up a bit. I told him if he wants a clean house he will have to do his part and help out. That got him to shut up.

luvmykids replied:
Me too, when I do get the urge/opportunity to clean I start with those now, b/c I know I will get the kitchen done no matter what, so instead of doing it first and running out of time/energy, I do the ones that never seem to get done first. It's helped a little.

coasterqueen replied: Sounds like we need to start up Tidy Up Tuesday again and see if we can get motivated to do something. Maybe if we know that every Tuesday we are going to HAVE to do something (like organizing something we normally wouldn't) maybe it would become routine.

booey2 replied: Sorry your are down. My house too looks like a tornado went thru it. Clutter everywhere. I can handle a certain amount of clutter but dirt is a no-no here. Just take small steps, what I try to do is everytime I leave a room I pick-up something that doesn't belong there and put it away. It seems to help and you don't really feel like you are cleaning. We also put all the boys toys back in there rooms and put a tone of the toys that were in there rooms downstairs in the toy room - out of sight out of mind, if I can't see the mess I don't feel so bad. Take a breather and rest up.

TANNER'S MOM replied: Oh girls I am so with you!

My house at this moment is the biggest dump I have ever seen. I am depressed and can't relax at night b/c of it!

But by the time I work all day get home.. do homework, feed the kids, feed the animals, wash a load of clothes, and dishes, and sit down.. watch something on Tv for a few minutes.. go work out ... guess what.. I cant function and my mind is dying.

I hope I don't company thru the whole weekend..If someone knocks on my door I will hide. I even looked at my own toilet to make sure it was clean enough to use...and it wasn't so I had to clean it..thats bad for me..!

My kids are lazy..and mess mess mess..and they think I have nine heads when I say.. please help me..

I am so with everyone.. I hate winter..it's depressing. I have cabin fever and I want to escape away from it all!

coasterqueen replied:
9 heads, sorry that got me laughing.

And I think you hit the nail right on the head.....cabin fever. I seem to be in a better mood to clean the house, even after being at work all day and exhausted, when it's sunny, nice and warm, and just overall cheerful.

Darn winter!

luvmykids replied: Do any of you guys use the fly lady? She has really great ideas and tips, but all I do is read them!

jem0622 replied:

The kids need your hugs, kisses, cuddles, and time. We wash our clothes and dry them...but everyone has pop up hampers. Nothing is folded except linens.

It is a lot to do and if they undo everything we do...then what is the point? I usually wait until they are in bed to straighten toys. But I do make the boys put things away b/c I can't stand DH not forcing them to clean up after themselves! I do not need men in my house who think it is a woman's job! No way!

We eat off of a lot paper/plastic.