It's Hot Out There.

It may seem funny, but I think the reason I haven't been writing as much lately is this dang heat.  It is crazy hot these days.  As it if the fires from Colorado are brutal enough that they're heating us up way over here in Minnesota!  I have so much trouble motivating myself to do ANYTHING during heat like this.  I just want to sit in my air-conditioned house, on my couch, watching movies.  It's horrible.

Today A's baseball practice has already been cancelled for this evening due to the over-100˚ heat index.    Today I should mow, because our grass is getting tall faster and faster, and it's not getting any cooler for several days.  But I just cannot bear that heat right now.  I may mow this evening, if the temperature goes down.  But today, I need to clean this house.  And I will.  Right after I finish this post.

We are in the thick of summer, people.  It's July 2nd.  The Fourth of July is the day after tomorrow.  It is supposed to be even hotter than it is today.  Ugh.  Not the kind of weather you want to be barbecuing in, playing frisbee, sitting outside on a blanket waiting for fireworks, anything.  I'm not sure what we're going to do.  I'm thinking maybe eating picnic-style food, down in our chilly basement, while we watch some American movies to celebrate America.  Maybe The Patriot.  Or Captain America.  Or American Pie.  Who knows.  But I think I'm over-worried about the heat...

So how to motivate myself for the cleaning extravaganza?  I have a playlist on my iPod called "Sparkle and Shine".  It's filled with 80's music, club music, poppy dance stuff, and some cheerful sing-along stuff.  That's the first trick.  I think I might get serious today, and put on my uniform.  I have two uniforms:  one for mowing, which is a pair of ginormous overalls and a tank top.  The overalls allow me to put the iPod in the bib pocket, and they're loose enough so I'm sort of "air-conditioned".  My cleaning uniform is even more ridiculous.  It's grubby sweats, a t-shirt, and an apron.  The apron holds my rags and a bottle of cleaning stuff, maybe a brush, maybe a scraper (yes, sometimes I need a scraper for crud on my floor.  It's that bad).  I'm only writing all this down to help motivate myself, so thanks for bearing with me.

I usually start in the entryway, where our shoes are.  It's a SUPER irritating tiny room that is continuously covered in grass clippings and shoes.  And jackets.  And baseball hats.  And work gloves.  And keys.  And umbrellas.  And random outdoor things like baseball mitts, footballs, and other toys.  And "Hubby junk".  That's what I call the strange metal or wood things, chemicals, gadgets, or whirlygigs that I don't know what they are and so they end up in a pile on the counter or on top of the cabinet in the entryway because I can only assume they are something he brought in and are associated with some project or another that he is involved with.  It can be frustrating.  That ends up just being a pile to haul out to the shop or the garage.

Our entryway leads into the kitchen, which leads into the rest of our main floor.  That's the natural path to follow.  My goal today will be the main floor and the basement family room, and then I need to start the big, awful project:

The kids' clothes.

What is it with kids' clothes?  Do they expand by themselves?  Do they multiply on their own?  It's the WEIRDEST thing.  I don't shop that much.  I'm not buying them new clothes all the time.  They're boys.  At their ages, they care very little about their wardrobes.  So twice a year (ideally), I go through their clothes.  We stash the stuff that's really out of season, and make a giant donation pile and another pile for their cousin to see if he wants any of their better, outgrown stuff.

So then for a short time, they have nicely organized, half-empty drawers, with plenty of room to put away their clothes.  It's awesome.  For about a week.  Then all of a sudden I will go up to put more laundry away, and their drawers are overflowing, and I end up having to shove the clothes all in, and then pack it down, and then they won't even shut!  What the hell?

By this time in the cycle, they have stacks of folded clothes on top of their dressers and in their closets which won't fit in the drawers.  I also have laundry baskets with folded clothes in them that I dread putting away.  Because they won't fit, dangit.  And this time it's particularly bad, because I'm quite late in the cycle.  So all their school clothes are still lingering in their drawers.  And as these kids get bigger, their jeans get bigger.  So that's the other giant project awaiting me.  Awesome.  As you can see, it's one of my favorites.

Sweet Jesus, this is a boring post.  Sorry, people.  I guess that's just where my life is right now.  I shouldn't complain.  It's a good thing when there's not much drama, isn't it?  I think I'm just in a mood.  I feel a post brewing in me about the beauty of youth baseball, the joy of summer freedom, and the fun-in-the-sun pool time of the summer.  I also am planning on going to the zoo as soon as the weather gets less oppressive, so there might be a fun post about that.  But for now, this is all I've got.  I hope you endured it all right.  I have to go get my apron.  Stay cool!