Tidy it up, Tidy it up

As I mentioned Daniel is getting into this cleaning thing. We had company all weekend and at one point Daniel was cleaning up the toys in the family room. When I remarked to my cousin that possibly Daniel is getting a (bit) obsessive, her comment was, "ahem, I wonder where he gets THAT from". I know you can't see the gesture she made with her eyes toward me. . . and I know I can be a (bit) ahem, obsessive myself. I would like to know, where is the line between being neat and well, ocd? I am not schooled in this area and am really wondering if any of you moms out there can tell me.

I think I can let it go. . . sometimes. Sometimes I can't. Daniel can't stand anything out in our family room or the kitchen. Neither can I. This is what he has gotten used to, so now when there are toys out in the FR he immediately starts perseverating that they need to be put away. I assure him that once people are actually finished with them, they will be. This weekend our visitors left our some things and Daniel just went behind and put them back where they belong. If his brother makes himself a bowl of cereal and eats it is the FR and leaves it there (usually the case) Daniel who GAGS at the cite of cereal or anywhere cereal has been, will carry the bowl to the sink in the kitchen while trying not to puke and make yet another mess. He would rather move the bowl and gag, than leave it there. The (seemingly) easy answer is to get the BROTHER to move it, but that happens 10% of the time. I'm working on it though.

Between the visitors and the party Sunday, I've been staying on top of things. Then today I had the contractor coming over who gutted my kitchen a year and a half ago. He was coming to take pictures for his business to show his work. So yet again this morning I was cleaning the kitchen. Of course that winter sun was shining bright which will show any dust on the floor or the windows, so I was maybe, well, obsessing just a wee tiny bit. But c'mon, these pictures are going to be shown to his prospective clients for years. Do I really want there to be fingerprints on my microwave?? I remember looking at the pictures when I was deciding on which contractor to use and went through saying things, like, why did they keep that old dishwasher, why did they do this, why did they do that. It makes me crazy to think someone might be doing that to MY kitchen. . . but I digress.

Daniel came in the kitchen and said, "you're cleaning the kitchen, ahhhhh I love that". He said with such happy satisfaction. The "mop" was sitting there. It isn't actually a mop, I don't know what you call it, I put these washable pads on them to clean my hardwood floors. He said, "can I mop for you?" and proceeded to run around the kitchen with the "mop" singing his favorite Bear in the Big Blue house song, c'mon everybody let's clean up the house, LET'S GO". etc etc. I looked everywhere on line and can't find this video? What's up with that?

When we finished, he sat down with a look of comfort and said, "I love the house clean, can you smell those cleaners .. . ahhhhhh". I have to say, I totally totally agree Daniel. It makes me happy. I get a bit angry myself when things are junky and it really bothers me visually. So the question is, is this the autism, ocd, or just a desire for neatness? Am I making it worse? Or am I helping him learn how to be responsible and clean up after himself and take care of his surroundings? Where is the line? Let's hear it.

Thanks!

We spent our Thanksgiving long weekend in a few locations. We packed everyone up on Wednesday and went to my cousins cabin north of here. Todd was not feeling well, at all, and I did ask if we should abort the mission. He is NOT a whiny sick person at all, and he said he would be fine. He just had a cold. Let's go. So off we went to the cabin. There is no TV there, although we bring a little portable DVD player for Daniel. Some of the time he takes it to the room Todd and I sleep in and watches videos to get away from the craziness. That being 3 boys ages, 8, 7, and 6. It gets loud. But we have visited here many times and our family loves going and spending time with my cousin's family. We have an easy relationship together.

We put together an entire Thanksgiving feast together on Turkey day. It was sometime during that afternoon that I noticed Todd was going the wrong way in his sickness. Instead of bouncing back as we thought, he looked downright frightening. Most parents know that look from their kids, but there was no denying it. He had pink eye and a sinus infection. So it's Thanksgiving day we are in a cabin FAR off the beaten path in a house with 4 kids and 4 adults. This cannot end well! Daniel told him that his eyes were "red with menace!" This is from "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", but a very appropriate use of the phrase!

We ate our dinner and Beck had some drops from a previous pink eye episode, which in and of itself was enough to be thankful for!! How would she have those with her? During dinner we all talked about what we were thankful for. Each other was a big one, and so was Earth. Each kid seemed to be very thankful for our planet and nature. You can appreciate it more out there amongst it all! They got to go sledding, build forts (not Daniel he prefers the inside in the winter, I get that!) Daniel sang us the Thanksgiving song from one of his favorite shows of past Bear in the Big Blue House. I looked for the video on You Tube and couldn't find it. He sang it word for word to all of us, he probably used to watch that video 6 to 8 years ago and he knows every word. That never ceases to amaze me! "thanks for the stuffing and pumpkin pie, thanks for the meal that's in store, thanks for the sun up there in the sky! So much to be thankful for!" It's super cute and he did a wonderful job. I liked that he alone got to be center stage and everyone appreciated his performance. Daniel was thankful for pumpkin pie, which he does not like to eat but really loves the IDEA of pumpkin pie. That makes him think of Thanksgiving. He ate one bite and had the most awful look on his face and said "that's great, I'm done now".

We left on Friday and headed to Todd's parents. Where Todd immediately went to an urgent care and got some antibiotics and his own eye drops. We got to spend time with his brother and his wife, Todd's parents and my dad and his fiance. In short, a whole new group of people to infect. I asked if we should go home between these legs, but he'd have nothing to do with it. I went out Saturday night and had drinks with friends from college, highschool and elementary school! Todd very wisely stayed at his parents. I got to catch up and chat with some very dear friends who I don't see enough of. We had a stormy drive home on Sunday and watched a van spin off the road into the ditch, it took much longer than usual to get home, but we made it safely. It doesn't sound like the ideal weekend by any means. There were a lot of negative things, but for me, since I wasn't the sick one I found a lot of things that I am feeling particularly thankful for this Sunday night. And if we get through this week without anyone else coming down with pink eye THAT will truly be something to be thankful for!!!