Saturday, January 09, 2010

Got A Secret




I disinfect all of Little Ones toys, her play mat, the door knobs (front door, bathroom, etc), and commonly touched objects (remote control and telephones) every time we have visitors...and especially when our visitors are Little One's friends!

It's one of my many quirks. No, I'm not that paranoid. I know Little One needs to be exposed to germs in order for her to build up her immune system. At the same time, I still want to keep things clean so she doesn't get sick if it can be avoided.

Surprisingly, my husband hasn't really commented much. He's a farm kid and believes that "a handful of dirt a day keeps the doctor away". He believes that Little One eating a fly isn't something to freak out about. In fact, he joked that it was "extra protein". Gross!
Anyway, he saw me disinfecting all the toys and the play mat after our friends left today and just said, "That's a good idea" and went about what he was doing.

My friends (E, SuperAmazingMommy and SuperAmazingMommy's two boys) came over for a visit and we had a great time catching up. Both E and SAM were very impressed with me at lunch when I let Little One feed herself in her highchair WITHOUT a bib! Actually, I had forgotten to put one on her and when I realized it, it was too late.

Me: Oh. I forgot to put a bib on Little One! Ah...I guess it's okay. It's going to go in the wash anyway.

E: Wow! I am so impressed! You are slowly starting to let go! You just let her eat without a bib! Good for you!

I am trying to loosen up about these things. For one, when Little One eats, she makes a mess. I'm fine with that. I know feeding herself is part of her development. It's good for her. The only thing is that the clean-up is a pain. When I forget to put her bib on, she stains her clothes. Grrr! Again, I need to let go and realize that the cleaning up will not end. Not even when Little One is a teenager! ;) Well, she'll be cleaning up after herself soon...right? Haha!

Little One dropped part her her lunch on the floor and I didn't rush to pick it up. I'm slowly getting broken in (or broken down! Ha!). I really don't know why I get frustrated by things not being where they belong or the house not being in total order all the time. I need to realize that when one has children, one's house is not going to look like a page out of a magazine all the time.

Photo from Google Images

SAM's two boys (aged 2 and 4) decided it would be fun to pull apart the play mat. I said they could, under the condition that they put it back together before they went home. Sure enough, they had tremendous fun tearing everything apart. The putting things back together was even more fun. SAM, E, the boys and I were on the living room floor and trying to piece together the alphabet play mat. It was quite comical. I wish we had it on video!

The mat was put back together...only NOT IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER!!!! :) I have to admit, the haphazardness of it all was rather cute. I think SAM and E were probably wondering how long it would take after they left before I took everything apart and put the mat back in alphabetical order.

You know your friends love you when they find humour in all your OCD moments.

Do YOU have any quirky little secrets you'd like to share? :)

15 comments:

Jackie said...

oh, the only thing i can say to that email, is man that is sooo much extra work... i don't blame you one bit though, you had quite the start with little one.
oh, quirks, i am a total safety freak, i mean total. my friends kill themselves laughing at me. you should have seen me with car seat straps. people were sure my kids couldn't breathe, when it said 2 finger depth space btwn them and the strap, that is all their was, and i mean all there was!
even now, boys are 6 and 4 i still cut up their grapes. just too paranoid about choking...
so the fact that you disinfect when little one is so young... kudo to you.... but only do it for her health, not for your cleanliness, have a cup of java instead!
remember, anyone that comes over and doesn't like the condition of your house, doesn't have to come back=) LOL

Unknown said...

Jackie:
LOL! For comments like these alone are why I adore you!

Speaking of a cup of java, I was thinking we need to have one together sometime!

Karen MEG said...

Oh C, you're too funny! I used to think about disinfecting stuff when the kids were still babies and toddlers, but then I got lazy (and then they went to daycare anyway, where of course they got their share of colds... so now we're good to go!). That being said, we do have Lysol wipes everywhere...

We have that same rubber mat spread about our house! Literally spread- I think the letters are in the basement, the toy box, the kids' rooms, the toy box in my room...yeah, get the picture? I so want that magazine photo to be my reality :).

Happy new year to you! I can't believe how big your precious girl is getting - so cute eating by herself!

super amazing mommy said...

So, How long was it until it was back in alphabetical order?????? I'm sure if I snuck into your house this morning, it would not spell spgqkx! anymore.
Love you!

Unknown said...

Karen:
LOL! I think the funny thing is that I even thought I'd have a clean, tidy house where everything is always in order and things go where they belong. I'm starting to believe that those expectations are too high...especially with a little one who is always taking things out of their proper places and a husband who finds a messy house "comfortable" and "lived in". LOL!

You made me laugh with the rubber mat comment. I actually envisioned the same thing happening. I figure it won't be long for letters and numbers to be missing!

Oh, and isn't that magazine photo totally Zen??? *sigh*

Happy New Year to you and the fam! L and G are growing up soooo fast! Gorgeous kids you've got there!

P.S. I was looking at pics on my cell phone and came across a pic of you and G that I took at Danielle's house a few years ago. This was before I was pregnant, so it must have been two or so years ago. G looks so much more grown up now compared to how she looked in the pic!

Unknown said...

S.A.M.:
You will be proud of me! Teh Ltteers no hte atm rea tilsl ont ni rodre!!! I have to admit that it *was* bugging me and I was soooo tempted to put the letters back in order, BUT Little One's fever persisted and I was too exhausted to take the mat apart and fix things.

After you guys left, she was still feverish and did not sleep last night. I think I slept in 5 min increments. Not fun.

This said, I *might* put the mat in order today! LOL!

caninecologne said...

ha ha C - you sound just like ME! i was so OCD when TC was a baby. i hated to see clutter/mess (food, toys, etc)and it would drive me nuts but i slowly began to "loosen up" about stuff like that.

i was paranoid about her choking as well so i would cut up her food in tiny pieces.

so, is the mat in alpha order now? ha ha.

btw - sorry to have missed your call last night. went out to dinner for a GF's bday. my husband said you left a msg for me.

word ver:
eneses

hotmommy said...

hah! you kooky kid! i have three kids and i use to be like you with the first..after #2 amd #3 not so mcuh!
you'll find you'll loosen up more after you have #2----either that or you'll be too exhausted to give a shit if the play mat has been disinfected!!
where were you today?i tried calling you twice .

super amazing mommy said...

Hotmommy made me amd M Laugh!

hotmommy said...

@super amazing mommy-- i told c that with 3 kids i don't even have time to dust anymore. laundry gets done, dishes too. dusting? who has time to dust? vacuming done when i can or when needed, bathrooms cleaned once a week. ok maybe once every 2-3 wks?

Unknown said...

Canine:
It appears we're playing telephone tag! LOL! How was supper at your GF's?

Yeah, I'm paranoid about LO choking too. I cut her food up into tiny pieces. She only has 5 chompers, after all! :)

Unknown said...

HM and SAM:
LOL! You two are funny! :) HM, I dunno...I don't think I could handle not having the bathrooms cleaned at least once a week! :) Not that I'm obsessed or anything! I'm not. Believe me, despite my efforts, my house is still never spotless. Ask SAM! SAM was at my house on the weekend and there were a few dust bunnies under my sofas and under the play mat!

The problem with living in a farm house is that no matter how much you clean, there is always dust, spider webs, flies...GAHHHHH! A city girl's nightmare!!! LOL! ;)

J said...

Me? Quirky? Anal? NEVER. Just don't tell anyone that I used to iron Maya's onsies. And the cloth diapers we used as 'burpie cloths' over our shoulders. Why? I hated the way they looked all messed up. I've never had a living room cluttered with toys, because either Maya or us always put them away at bedtime. Sterilizing toys? Usually. Not always. It's good to let go of a bit of this before she learns to walk, because chasing her around is going to keep you far too tired to have everything just so.

One thing Maya's preschool did, that I thought was great, was to make a routine out of putting things away. They would play the same 'clean up' song while kids put things away. You could do that before naptime, and again before bedtime. Toddlers love to help, love to put things away in toy boxes and so on. So once she's walking, perhaps she can help out, so it won't be so much for you to do on your own. :)

Frau Guten Tag said...

Well at least once a month I go through my whole house & spray a disinfecting spray on all surfaces we touch a lot--like doorknobs, light switches, cabinet handles, remote controls, computer, etc, etc. And yeah, I also do it after we have visitors...........is that a bad thing?

My stepson (16 years next month) is the worst about not wanting to wash his hands & yet touching everything, so he is the biggest germ spreader in the house (he is also the one who gets sick most often in the house). And since I've started spraying on a regular basis there's been a big decrease in illness in our house, at least for all of us except my stepson. He's still not washing his hands & it shows health-wise.

Frau Guten Tag said...

oh yeah, & I regularly wash all stuffed animals & wipe down all hard toys on a weekly basis, visitors or not........I'm a nurse, what can I say?

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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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