a grouchy list

It's a beautiful December morning.  I am doing laundry and watching the Hobbit and packing for our holiday trip to Nana's.  It is an all together pleasant morning.  The gifts are wrapped and my new Christmas CD, Straight No Chaser, is playing in the car every time I drive somewhere, which is often.  Tonight R and I are going to enjoy a fun evening out with Pete and Katherine, something to look forward to!

I blog for a couple of reasons.  One the children seem to really enjoy it.  They have read it through the years and like to see themselves, and like to look back to remember.    Two, I have for some time suffered terribly from what I fear might be early onset Alzheimer's.  Can't remember anything.  It's ridiculous.  Writing helps me remember, reading even more.  Three…. hmm, don't remember what three was ;)

Anyway, despite the fact that I consider myself an easy going and cheerful person there are some things that really really bug me.  I thought it'd be fun to make a list.

in no special order

1. Not being able to find matching socks. I blame mostly Hannah for this.  While I believe that she herself prefers to wear a matched pair she does not want to enough to find matching ones…or to put the ones she wears into the hamper.  So she grabs two random socks and puts them on, at the end of the day she throws them on her floor and the next day this repeats.  When I go to wash and sort socks there are not pairs to find.  I hate that.  Making sure your family has matching socks is a sign of good mothering…(sigh)
2. when the boys do not lift the toilet seat.  Really how hard is that?
3. finding empty boxes of crackers or what not in the pantry.  When you eat the last cookie throw away the box. 
4. on a similar vein, when you use the last of the TP put on a new roll, you know someone is going to use the bathroom eventually and there is nothing worse the yelling for "toilet paper"
5. when people put stuff on the entry room table, that is decorated for the season and cheerfully greeting family and friends alike when they come to the house.  
6. Shoes under the dinning room table
7. open cupboard doors
8. freezing cold steering wheels
9. when I empty a trash can and then someone puts something huge into the newly emptied can so now it is full.  why not just take it outside to the trash?
10. when I ask someone to do something, and they indicate that they will and so I forget, then they don't, and later I discover the task undone.  I should not be expected to remember to ask for the same thing to be done multiple times.
11. when I am lazy.  I hate that.
12. pants that don't fit well.
13. circling a parking lot looking for a spot.
14. being late
15. towels that come out of the dryer stinky.
16. when the children fight over ridiculous stuff.  For example the other night we were driving to mutual/scouts/activity days.  It was dark outside, and there are no street lights.  Ethan wanted to look out his window, at nothing I suppose because you can't really see anything in the trees.  Grace had her light on.  He wanted her to turn it off because it caused him to see her reflection in his window and prohibited him from looking out into nothingness.  She did not want to and claimed she wanted to read.  When pressed as to what she was reading she picked up an empty bag of Cheetos from the floor of the car (number 17 that the children leave their stuff in the car, I hate that) and said she was reading the ingredients.  And so the stage was set for a huge quarrel complete with name calling and crying.  Why???
17. see above
18. when I wash the clothes and the children don't put them away…or worse they end up in the wash again, never worn.
19. the "mom I need an Abraham Lincoln costume tomorrow at 8am" announcements at 10pm.  OR any variation of the homework emergencies that play out like that.
20. Millie's hairballs every where.
21. toothpaste squeezed out into the sink
22. There are more but that's good for now.