Nothing to see here

Sorry for not posting. The boy hasn't done anything cool in, like, days!

Okay, that's not really true, but it is true that I haven't had much time to sit down at the computer.

I've been trying to get the house back in shape after the holidays. And I don't mean just putting up the new stuff, I've been trying to do some serious purging. I'm doing a good job, but now my trashcan and recycling bin are full of stuff to throw away, and my garage is full of stuff to be donated.

And then there's the cleaning.

I made poor Jeff move every piece of furniture in our bedroom yesterday so I could vacuum and dust behind everything. And we have heavy furniture. It might be all in my head, but it just feels cleaner in there.

I love my house until it's time to clean. I mean really clean. And it's overwhelming. I certainly don't have time to do that kind of cleaning during the week. And from early November through last week, we had something to do almost every weekend.

The one thing I've been a stickler about is making sure that the three of us spend time together - whether we're doing the shopping or chores, whether it's at a restaurant or eating at home. I know when I'm feeling overwhelmed with way too much to do, it helps to hang out - even just for a meal - with my boys.

Jeff had to cover a basketball game yesterday, and I had a giant list of things I wanted to get done in the house. And of course, Biscuit wanted me to play with him. He was playing cowboys, so I told him that I would be the camp cook - Cookie.

I made pancakes this morning, and Biscuit said, "Hey, Cookie. You're the best cooker ever. You should become a chef sometime."

Jeff looked at me and smiled. "Did he just call you Cookie?"

"Yep," I said. "That's what all the good cowboy cooks are called."

And I was just told that I'm a car driver, and there's a house on fire, and I can't drive my car on the regular road. I have to drive around the orange cones. And if I want to watch the firefighters at work, I can, but only if I stand behind the barrier. Got it?

If you'll excuse me, I have to drive my imaginary car around the imaginary cones to avoid the imaginary house on fire.