I think you can tell lots about somebody by watching them do laundry.  Me, I know I have issues already because I (used to) stack Zane’s underwear according to color.  Some do one load per day, some do it all in one day.  Some never do laundry…  Some don’t fold, some fold everything, some color sort.  : )

Yesterday I started laundry.  I take things out of the dryer, dump them on my bed, put the completed wash cycle in the dryer and then get back to what I was doing-all to avoid folding.  I put the clean dry clothes on my bed so that I won’t go to bed at night without folding them.  Many times, those clean dry clothes end up on the floor and last night was no exception.  BUT, I was determined.  I had cycled about 4 loads of laundry so the pile on my bed was massive.  It was bedtime and I was patiently waiting “my time” so I could finish the unfinished (which included fold the laundry) and then go to bed.  Zoe loves to sleep in my bed when Tim is gone…  After she had jammies on I sent her to my room to wait for me and Zane so we could read and do our other bedtime routine. (ya know, ask for a drink a million times, remember all the sudden that you forgot to go potty, say you can’t sleep without the red blanket, and then goof off until Mom threatens no tucking in and leaving the room)  When she went to my room, she of course noticed the heaping pile of clothes (actually it was more noticeable then the king sized bed itself) and came running back to me.  “Mom, what do you want me to do with all the laundry on your bed?”  I tried to convince her that sleeping with me wasn’t a good idea because I really wanted to get the laundry done.  She wasn’t buying it and just begged to push it aside or put it on the floor.  So, like the other nights, it got pushed on the floor.

Today was the day.  I was finishing the laundry come hell or high water.  When I say finish the laundry, I mean every single piece of dirty towel, sheet or clothing was going to be washed.  (here is another issue with me—I need to realize that laundry is a NEVER ENDING CHORE.  So, even if I put on a robe so that ALL my clothing gets cleaned and there is nothing dirty in the basket until the end of the day, that basket will get dirty clothing in it.  What is the point in enjoying an hour of everything clean?)  I washed it all and continued to add to the pile that was now on the floor. I finally faced my laundry at about 11am and began folding.  I noticed that Zane was having fun playing in the pile, hiding in the pile, rolling in the pile.  So, needless to say-my clean pile wasn’t so clean anymore. (which probably happened the minute I put it on the floor but NOW it really wasn’t so clean-no denying it)

I will admit, however, that it was one of the most fun mornings I have had with Zane-playing hide and seek in the master pile of CLEAN laundry.  UNTIL, he said, “Mommy hold you.”  If you are a mother of a toddler, you know that what they really want is for you to hold him/her.  I knew by the look on his face and the sudden need for comfort that he was struggling with holding in the urge to poo.  Yep, here we go again-battling the poo. 

Our fun was over.  I put him on the toilet as he told me I was mean and that he DIDN’T HAVE TO GO POO.  How could he forget how “nice” I was just moments ago?  I am following my instincts nowadays and I knew that I should keep him there for a little bit.  I started to doubt when we reached an hour on the toilet.  BUT the good news is that I folded all the laundry while he sat on that blasted toilet.  So, 1.5 hours into the event, he finally made progress and told me that the snakes got out.  He was successful-he did it.

I owed him another choo-choo train, and that is just what we did.  He wanted to call Tim and tell him the good news but it was early over on the other side of the earth.  We held back and celebrated in the choo-choo train aisle of Target.  He was pleased, I was pleased.  My laundry is folded-every bit of it (and Zane has a train).  The only dirty thing is the clothes on me right now (and Zane’s clothes.  Oh, and the suitcase full of dirty clothes that Tim has, oh and Zoe’s school uniform that she already took off.  See, I won’t ever catch up or even be ahead.  I will give that up RIGHT NOW).