Monday morning I woke up with unbridled enthusiasm to scrub and clean my house. Unfortunately, it is now Wednesday and most of the dirt from 2010 is still in residence. It feels as if my house has conspired against me.
Although I haven't been successful cleaning, I have gained a lot of important information. I learned how to remove a pea trap from under the bathroom sink. This trial and error plumbing exercise became necessary when Robby launched a small plastic sword down the drain.
I spent nearly two hours cramped under the bathroom cabinet with a wrench. After the first hour I began to feel dizzy and nauseated. Moving the bottle of bleach, which was situated under my nose, seemed to cure my symptoms.
After 110 long minutes, I realized that I should have been pushing the wrench in the opposite direction. I spent a long time tightening the very bolt that I was trying to remove. Two strong pushes on the wrench, in the correct direction, and the trap was removed. The sword has been rescued from the drain and banned from the bathroom! Incidentally, I also learned that a towel should be placed under the pipe before it is removed or you will be covered with dirty, slimy odoriferous water.
I learned that the electricity should always be turned off when working with outlets and switches. After my shower, which was necessitated by the unplanned dirty water bath I experienced from removing the pea trap, I tried to plug in my hairdryer. I noticed that the faceplate on the outlet was loose.
Not wanting to put off quick repairs, I grabbed my screwdriver. "Boom!" The outlet exploded. The faceplate flew through the room and the plastic blew off of the outlet. I couldn't feel my thumb and pointer finger for nearly three hours.
The exploding outlet necessitated that I learn how to replace an electric outlet. After all of the electricity was shut off, and once the feeling returned to my fingers, I meticulously wrapped the appropriate wires around the designated screws. After about 20 minutes and with my fingertips becoming sore from pushing on the hard wires, I learned that needle nose pliers really do work! The electric was turned back on and my success was revealed. The outlet is functional, hasn't exploded (yet) and is currently being used to power my coffee pot.
I also discovered that the gasket seal inside a front loading washer is important. Should any folds or kinks develop, water comes pouring through the door onto the laundry room floor. It is more difficult to mop up the water when a delighted four year old is happily stomping in the make-shift swimming pool on my floor.
I learned that Crayola lies. The paints cannot be easily removed from fabrics and fibers. I spent a long time scrubbing the red happy faces that were painted on Robby's bedroom carpet. To the disappointment of my little Rembrandt, the smiles are now a light pink and failed to make Momom "super happy."
Yesterday's work issues kept me on the phone for more time than I would like to admit. Robby was becoming demanding and loud. I learned that tossing him a can of icing and a spoon will keep him occupied and quiet for about 15 minutes. After that time, the sugar begins to kick in, hence the painting on his bedroom floor.
Someday my cleaning will be done. For now, I'll be happy if I can take a day or two off from learning new things. The impromptu lessons have been exhausting and frustrating!
About Me
- Peggy
- I am a below knee amputee. More importantly, I am also Mommy to two boys, a very active 10 year old (Robby) and an mischievous toddler (Timmy). I have learned that being a parent with a disability can create some unusual and sometimes humorous situations. This blogger is available for hire! Let's talk and learn how a blog can expand your business.
lol you seemed to have learned more than I have in college! Although I am not allowed to work on the same problems you have since hubby is supposed to be the fix it guy and flips when I try--but unless the issue is causing major damage, it will sit until he feels it is time to fix it. Yesterday my dishwasher started leaking because one of the twins slammed the door down when told to fill it and he felt he didn't want to (like I REALLY like to do the laundry, scrub toilets and clean) well the slam jarred a screw that seems to be important, I unfortunately after soaking my new slippers in dishwasher puddle, awoke my fix it man from a nap--only to think I should have let him discover the puddle on his own when fully awake...
ReplyDeleteI used to go to a site on yahoo that was something about a ladybug and cleaning. The motto was to start with a clean kitchen sink--don't clean anything else that day but the sink. Then each day there was a project in that one room. In a week that room was done. The next week was the living room and once a week there was a timed house quick clean with details on how to do it and not over do it. It was great, their is even a video message for younger children were they talk to a cleaning fairy and she gives them a job to do and when job is done correctly a planned present or reward is left out side or somewhere in the house majikly (with the help of mom the fairy helper lol).
I really loved the site but was having trouble with computer and didn't have time to keep up with the messages--the idea really helped me--although the kids usually gowned and complained that I must have been on my 'bug' site again lol.