A milestone

Well, last night it happened - Abby refused to hug me or tell me she loved me before she went to bed.

I know that there is a collective gasp being heard around the internets right now from all you mommas who can't fathom your child ever doing that and also from you mommas who have actually had it happen to you and you know what I'm talking about.

We are hosting the Glenn family Annual Festivus Planning Meeting (known to normal families as "Thanksgiving" but we are SO not a normal family) tonight and it's been planned for awhile now. In fact, it's on the calendar is HUGE BLACK LETTERS. I've also been absolutely neurotic about the house. Granted, three of the adult family members who will be here tonight are literally in my house five days a week, but still I like for the house to be clean when we're having an event in it. Starting on Monday I began repeating the same phrase over and over again: "Kids, your rooms have to be clean before Friday!" At the beginning of the week I said it nice, as the week wore on I said it with gritted teeth but still smiling, but last night? Ohhhhh ladies and gentlemen, I flippin' LOST. IT.

Little pieces of plastic packaging all over the living room floor from the many, many new Nintendo DS games they've bought recently, dirty underwear in the hallway that no one would claim, yet everyone found it amusing to kick it around like a smelly soccer ball, a hoodie that has been in the Doom Box every day this week (but manages to make it out before its 24 hour limit expires) and the fact that I crunched every time I walked in my dining room were just a few of the things that were annoying the very life right outta me last night. The kids have flat NOT been doing their chores this week. It's been a busy week and I always take that into consideration because - hey, even my chores have slid this week - but stilll......this was ridiculous.

So putting aside my Dr. LoveMom personality and taking on my Mrs. AngryMom persona I began to go ballistic alllllllll over my family. Even Paul was cowering behind his laptop. I knew it was awful even as I was doing it, I knew it was not effective parenting and today I feel bad, but last night it...well, it kinda felt good to just let it all out.

Let me explain: I am a stay-at-home mom and I am so very blessed to be one, however, just because I don't work outside the walls of my home does not mean I am a maid. I am completely happy doing housework (okay, that might be a slight overexaggeration) and heck, if I didn't like taking care of my home I wouldn't be a stay-at-home mom. My kids have chores, they work on commission (I'll do a Works For Me Wednesday on my system soon) and I don't think I'm asking too much. They normally do a great job of helping out, but this week it's like they've collaborated together to see just how far they can push me before I just go utterly and completely bonkers. Last night they found out. I don't foresee them collaborating any time in the near future.

Kady and Abby are usually the piglets of the family and Sam's room is usually spotless, but lately Kady is amazingly neat and Sam is a slob. Notice that Abby's role has stayed constant? Well, let me tell you why. Wait....I don't know why. I just don't. That child is beyond me.

I am a clutterer (You oughta see my office right now. Wait. No you should NOT.) so it's hard for me to preach at the kids about clutter, but complete disregard for TRASH CANS? Dirty, snotty kleenexes do NOT belong in the floor? Smearing toothpaste on the bathroom mirror and then the next person coming along and making a smiley face in it? Stuffing dirty socks into the floor vent? (Oh yes, that has really happened in this house) Stuffing a wet towel in the corner of your bedroom closet? Oh my gosh y'all, do you KNOW what kind of mildew that could produce? Well, I do and that wet towel in the closet was what finally made my oldest daughter mad enough to refuse to tell me good-night or hug me. I guess she just doesn't understand the power of mold.

I was mad, she was mad, it was just a big old mad fest in my house. She couldn't understand why I was upset over the two loads of laundry in her bathroom floor after I had just caught up the laundry earlier that day. I couldn't understand why on earth she had saved every wrapper from that bag of mini Hershey bars she bought last week and had them stuffed in the drawer where her sweaters were at one time neatly folded by me but are now wadded, stretched and snagged. She was stomping around picking up the 11 dirty socks from her bedroom and bathroom floor and I was stomping around pointing them out to her. It was when we were both so mad we were crying that I declared the mad fest to be over and it was time for her to go to bed and frankly, be out of my sight for 9 hours.

This morning she apologized for being a pig and gave me the hug she witheld last night. She also promised to clean her room after school (wouldn't have mattered if she had promised - she was going to, regardless) and I have decided it's time for my 12 year old to do her own laundry.

I personally didn't start doing my own laundry until I was married, however I helped Mom with the laundry when I was in high school. So, what say ye, innernets - when did you start doing your own laundry?