crazy

That's me. I'm crazy. Just ask anyone who knows me. Certifiable. That's me.

When The Babe was littler, and we didn't have The Boy, I had a routine at night. I would put her to bed, and then come right downstairs to clean up the mess of the day: toys, games, what have you. I have this need to put it all away and make sure everything is where it belongs. Obviously, the next day, The Babe woke up and tore it all apart again, but I was at peace every night knowing that every thing was as it should be. It seems pretty reasonable, I think.

This has somehow evolved into me being totally obsessive and crazy.

Fast forward to now. Now I have two children, and arguably, twice the mess. Plus, as The Babe has grown up, her toys and games seem to include more bits and pieces to keep track of. Add to that the fact that it's no longer appropriate for me to pick up after the kids after they have gone to bed. We reached the stage a long time ago when they had to learn to be responsible for their own things, and pick up the mess that they've made. This also seems pretty reasonable, I think.

This is where I am crazy. Truly. I can't let go. I will honestly lose sleep if a piece of something is missing. I'll just keep lookng and looking and looking... sometimes I don't find it, and I have to go to bed, and the search continues the next day. We were missing the purple ring to the wooden stacking set for a good two weeks once, and my husband loved taunting me with it. He thinks it's hysterical that I care so much, he's just so laid back... I have to count all the cherries in the Hi-Ho Cherry-o game if I think there is even a chance one is missing. Each bucket NEEDS to have 10 cherries.

My husband's Auntie tells me that when her 3 kids made a big mess each day, she kept a little shovel. She says she would literally shovel up the pieces and put them in a basket, and that's how she would clean up. I was horrified! I think I may have stopped breathing for a second. First of all, you will lose all the pieces that way! Secondly, how will you ever find all the pieces without dumping the whole basket out again, and re-creating the mess? And thirdly, in case you didn't hear me the first time, you will lose all the pieces that way!!! I have never looked at Auntie quite the same way again.

Our most recent loss is one of Polly Pocket's shoes. Do any of you have any idea what I am up against here? It is a flip flop for a doll that is smaller than my hand. The shoe? The shoe is smaller than the fingernail on my pinky finger. I think it might be about the size of the fingernail on The Boy's pinky finger, and he's not even 3 years old. I will never find it. I know this. But it hasn't stopped me from looking incessantly at my floor for the past 24 hours. I even checked the heating vents. I actually did lose sleep over this last night. Of course, I also have a cold, but while I was up being miserably stuffy, all I could think about was that damn pink flip flop. I kid you not. Crazy.