A monster in my basement

You know, when you decide to have kids, there really are somethings that you just don't think about. Like never sleeping in again until they are teenagers! How one small person increases your bills, let alone 5 of them! Where are you supposed to keep all of those hand-me-downs? Not that I don't appreciate them, but I swear they are multiplying and taking over our third floor. And the toys! I don't know what they are doing in their boxes over night, but I KNOW that there are more of them around today than there were yesterday. So why do the kids always complain that there is nothing to do?

And when was that exact moment that I actually turned into my mother? "If you are really hungry, you'll eat an apple." and the dreaded "BECAUSE I SAID SO!!" 'Fess up, if you are a parent, you've said that. Because a persistent 3 year old can ask "Why" 586,000 times. Eventually, you are driven to it!!

But the thing that amazes me most about a household of 7 people is the incredible amount of laundry that piles up EVERYWHERE!!! (Now, I have to bow in amazement to Katherine at Raising Five http://raisingfive.blogspot.com/ She has made blogging about laundry an art form!) There is laundry at the top of my steps. On the floor in the girls' room. In the toy boxes? I don't get that at all!! How does it end up in the toy boxes?? It is next to beds, under beds. And ALL OVER MY BASEMENT!! Sunday, it was knee high and at least five foot wide. I had committed the offense of not doing it for a couple of days. In two days I have done 8, yes 8 loads of laundry. Six have been put away. Two are sitting on my bedroom floor awaiting their final destination. There is one in the dryer, half a load in the washer, two half loads still on the basement floor and WHAT????!!?? A full basket of dirty stuff up stairs waiting to come down to be washed.........sob....sob......sigh......