Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Enough with the gloom - here's me being positive about motherhood and inventing a new word


The last two posts have been a little gloomy, so I'm changing the mood (though staying on the theme).

This video did the rounds a few years ago, but you might have missed it. I LOVE it. It makes me laugh over and over again - I watch it regularly. But more than that, when I am at a loss for words with my kids, I sing bits of it to them. It's become part of our family language.

I hope you enjoy it.



There's a version on youtube with lyrics, if you found it hard to keep up with her.

I've decided I can't be doing too badly as a mum. I told 15-yo this morning that yesterday, after he'd cleaned up his room, there were 12 pairs of underpants at the top of the laundry basket. I counted them, as I put them in the washing machine (I wouldn't have known he possessed that many).

"That means", I continued, "that before they were in the laundry basket, they were on your bedroom floor. TWELVE pairs of dirty underpants on your bedroom floor."

"No..." he countered, with an endearing grin. "Actually, just eleven. I was wearing one. I put it straight in the laundry basket. Just eleven."

And before I could think of a reposte, he came up with another idea.

"And in fact, I would say it was only eight or nine, because some were on top of others, and not actually touching the floor at all."

This is my point. I might not be very good at training my children to pick up their dirty laundry (can anyone top 12 pairs of underpants?), but I am doing a good job in teaching them that a winsome grin and a clever quick answer will get you out of trouble on many an occasion.

I've just invented a new word. In this house we have floordrobes, and we also have floorndry baskets.
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7 comments:

  1. Expat mumMarch 20, 2013 at 6:10 AM

    I have adopted the "floordrobe" here although at first, my kids looked at me as if I'd just landed from another planet. I think we'll have to say "floset" instead, although that doesn't quite have the same ring.

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  2. nappy valley girlMarch 20, 2013 at 10:44 AM

    Oh gosh I'm not looking forward to those years. I still strip my boys for their bath and put their clothes straight in the laundry basket - but if it was up to them it would be all over the floor....

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  3. Elaine - I used to be indecisiveMarch 20, 2013 at 12:16 PM

    I remember seeing that video a few years ago - when my daughter showed me it! I thought it was hilarious, and so true. :)
    I don't think we could quite top 11 pairs of underpants on the floordrobe, but we might have been quite close!

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  4. Metropolitan MumMarch 20, 2013 at 2:42 PM

    My 3-yo is telling her dad off if he leaves her clothes on the floor :)

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  5. Almost AmericanMarch 20, 2013 at 6:48 PM

    What is it with kids wanting to store their dirty clothes on their bedroom floor? Not sure I can top 12 pairs of underwear on the floor, but I'm sure it's been at least 7 or 8. The thing that makes it worse as far as I'm concerned is that the clean laundry gets put on the floor too - and then they can't tell what's clean or dirty as it's all wrinkled, so then it ALL gets put in the laundry basket at once!

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  6. planbMarch 21, 2013 at 6:23 AM

    A and S are playing upstairs and I am downstairs sneakily "working", so I'm not going to go and count at the risk of disturbance (me, not them) but I'm prepared to bet their underpant count is in the high twenties. Hand me downs, all of them. But not on the floor (or at least I hope not).

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  7. SarahMarch 23, 2013 at 9:33 AM

    Hello Iota, thanks to you commenting on my blog, I've found your blog, and mighty please I am about that too.

    To start with, I love your profile. There's very little I wouldn't do for a good cuppa too, and secondly it would appear we have kids of a similar age. I have two boys, and their rooms are floordrobes too, especially my eldest's (16). He also uses an open suitcase as a black hole into which clothes go but don't appear to come out until he complains that he's got no clothes and can we buy some more. Whereupon I empty out his suitcase onto the floor and he reunites with all his old favourites. *sigh*

    Finally, I'm positive that a winsome grin and a quick answer (preferably witty) can get one out of many an awkward situation, better than the default response in some places which is a punch on the nose. :)

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