Defining insanity

The definition of insanity is me cleaning my house! Why is house work such a crazy maker? I mean, didn't I JUST dust all of my furniture and vacuum the other day? And by other day, I actually mean- the other day! (Some peoples' version of other day was when they vacuumed up the pine needles from the Christmas tree, and although that sounds glorious, that's not what I mean.) I'm no clean freak... just ask my husband. But I do like to keep things a bit tidy and without major visible gag me with a spoon kind of dirt. We have lots of people in and out of our home and I hate to embarass myself too badly.

But I SWEAR that a little gnome follows me around and undoes everything I attempt to do (and that gnome has a name: sometimes its Olivia, some days its Turner or Quinn and most of the time his name is Baxter.) Well my gnomey little Baxter friend really hacked me off today.

I just got done sweeping under my dining room table (which is no small feat!) Ihave to use the attachment to my vacuum because we had to get all cute and clever and buy a rug from the Pottery Barn Outlet that has some hand-tied-y woven pieces in it. Whatever, they get caught in the vacuum if I do it the "normal/easy" way. So I have to hook up the attachment, hunch over and get the rug really good. Its okay though because at some point in our pre-three kid days we thought it would be a great idea to pull up the carpets and re-do our hardwood floors. They look great but are a real pain in the rear when you have to clean them. Enter again: vacuum attachment.

All that to say, vacumming is not my easiest/quickest chore. But I have to do it about 3-4 times a week. With 3 little kids and a dog that sheds like no body's business, I'd be embarrassed not to.

So, I had just gotten done with the back breaking, under the dining room table part, moved all the chairs back and was moving on to the living room part (where there is yet another Pottery Barn Outlet rug with tied-on tassels around the perimeter that get all tangled in the regular vacuum... are you seeing a pattern?) when I heard a ripping and tearing noise.

It could only mean one thing... BAXTER.

There he was, shredding all the contents of a stuffed baseball on the previously swept/ mess free dining room rug. Ugh. That means repeat steps one through four. Don't they define insanity as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results?

Yep. Insanity I tell you. Then I thought back to a commercial I saw the other day at the Y for one of those reality shows on hoarders. Hmmm... tempting. That way it wouldn't matter WHAT my floor looked like. Now THAT is not insanity... THAT is brilliant!