Paddling

I had big plans for Friday, I don't go to work on a Friday so it feels like 'my day'. I always look forward to Fridays but almost every week something happens to spoil it, but this week I really shouldn't have bothered to get out of bed.

Sam was grumpy as he got ready for school (which is nothing unusual) but we managed to leave the house on time. We had only got as far as the drive when Sam 'split his difference' and had to go dashing back into the house in search of more school trousers. Thankfully it didn't take him long to change and he got to school in good time. That is the third pair of trousers he has written off in the same way this year! I don't know how he does it, the trousers are not too small and I haven't noticed Sam waving his legs around like Kenny Everett so I guess it will remain one of life's unsolved mysteries. Oh well at least M&S have a 3 for the price of 2 offer on school uniform.

When I got home after dropping Sam off, I walked in to find that the washing machine pipe had come out and it had flooded the kitchen. I felt like running away. I spent the next couple of hours paddling as I mopped up the water and tried to sort out everything that had got wet. It was like fighting a loosing battle, I thought I would never get back to normal. The water had even got into one of the kitchen cupboards, I had to take a break before dealing with that, but I was still scrubbing late into the evening - it would have been easier to go to work!

You Know You Have Lost The Plot When .........

Robbie went off on another rail tour at the weekend while I stayed at home and rushed around like a headless chicken. My step father is still in hospital and as well as my normal routine I have been driving my mum to and from hospital, taking her shopping and helping her with all the jobs that she can't manage to do on her own. When I got in on Saturday evening after visiting David and then doing my food shopping I was trying to get on with the washing while preparing a meal. I must have had a senior moment because I suddenly realised that I had filled the washing machine soap dispenser with frozen peas! It is much harder to get them out than to put them in, but eventually I got the meal and the laundry back on track.

My step father is making good progress, mum said that you can tell he is getting better because he is moaning all the time. When I went to see him on Saturday treated us to a monologue about his waterworks, eventually mum got cross with him and insisted on a change of subject, he started to tell us about his bowels instead until mum gave him a murderous look and he decided to discuss his laundry instead. I am so glad he is getting better, but it is hard work at times!

Robbie arrived home on Sunday afternoon, and on the way home he popped into Morrisons to buy meat and rolls for his lunch at work. He made an unauthorised purchase, a frying pan. I was furious because it was expensive, he hadn't consulted me and it was so small that you could only fry one egg at a time. I told him he had to take it back because I didn't want a frying pan, but when he told me that the carpet hadn't been hoovered for days (I did it yesterday!)
I decided I may have a use for it after all – he can wear it!

A Frustrating Day 11.08.07

I woke this morning to find Robbie already awake and sitting on the edge of the bed. He said he had to pop into work just for an hour or so, the journey takes more than an hour each way and that hour at work would have turned into one of those elastic hours that lasts almost all day! I know there was a good reason for wanting to go to work, but he had been feeling ill all night and he had commitments at home too and I made him choose the holiday or work. He is not a fast learner but eventually he worked out that I was serious and he decided to stay at home.

Our new washing machine was due to be delivered so he plodded off downstairs to tidy the kitchen and pull out the old washing machine. He reappeared a little later looking like a drowned rat, it seems that round one of his fight to displace the old washing machine was won conclusively by the washing machine! He was unable to isolate the water pipe and got an unexpected shower. He went back to try again and after a couple more dispiriting failures he finally managed to get the hot water pipe into the waste pipe so at least we didn't have to paddle around the kitchen - and the floor was extra clean! I once vowed that if I ever married again I would marry a plumber, having failed miserably in that particular quest I demanded that Robbie should leave it alone and get a plumber NOW!

The new washing machine came and the old one trundled of to the place where washing machines go to die. We waited, and waited and waited for the plumber, it was well past 3pm before he arrived. He made short work of the problem, devastated my bank account, and left to enjoy his weekend. All Robbie had to do then was to remove the protective fixings and get the machine on, just one problem - he didn't have the right tools for the job and wanted to be taken to the DIY shop to buy them. I used to have the correct tools, but 'Squirrel Nutkin' gets hold of them and stashes them in obscure places, then when we need them he denies all knowledge of them. I had so much washing to do, as well as countless other jobs so I wasn't amused, but when Robbie insisted on shaving before going out I lost the plot and after a 'full and frank' exchange of views he retreated to the bathroom and I thundered off to buy the socket set alone! I returned even poorer with sufficient tools to rebuild the entire house and finally the new washing machine was commissioned. My blood pressure must have been off the radar by this time and I really did feel like harming Robbie!

Later in the day we went to Tesco's to get supplies for the girls and to get some stuff to take with us. All was going well until Robbie got to the clothes section, he had his heart set on some terrifyingly loud shorts with big red flowers all over them. I hadn't the energy to argue and he bought two pairs of shorts and three T shirts. Soon afterwards I was innocently selecting some ladies hygiene items when Robbie came along and announced in a very loud voice that they had started to sell my preferred brand of tampons again, he was so excited by this that he was attracting attention. My look of horror was ignored and he proceeded to sort through all the boxes on display looking for the correct size, giving a running commentary as he did so. When the floor refused to swallow me up, I slunk away to hide in the frozen food section!

Choices 06.08.07

The new washing machine has been ordered, it was a compromise choice because we needed a prompt delivery, but it doesn't have a digital display! Now that the battle of the washing machine is a thing of the past I have to muster my energy to tackle a new problem, we need to buy a new iron and the likelihood of reaching agreement is minimal. The poor old ironing board is over 20 years old and is no longer up to the job so we have to get a new one. All that I am interested in is finding one that isn't too low, but no doubt Robbie will have an opinion on that too, I expect he will go for a gimmick instead of wanting one that is far more practical I am not sure if I have the energy for any more disagreement, maybe I should let Robbie rule the world!!

The Trouble With Tea Bags! 16.07.07

Sam is in trouble again! He is not that keen on appearing in the blog but on this occasion his safety may depend on it. I am so frustrated that I want to go and wake him up and ask exactly why he chose to add a tea bag to my load of white washing! It isn't the first time that I have fallen victim to his bizarre laundry experiments, it isn't even the first time I have had the tea bag treatment, but he hasn't done anything like this for ages and I must have been lulled into a false sense of security. When I emptied the dryer earlier today I noticed that my whites were streaked and stippled with yellowish brown marks, I was mystified until I found the remains of a teabag in the filter. It didn't require the services of Sherlock Holmes to deduce that Sam was at the root of the problem and the deep tea coloured stain on one of his school shirts was proof positive. The time bomb had been concealed in his shirt pocket!

Do you know how hard it is to remove tea leaves from a shirt pocket, I was still working on it at midnight having failed in my efforts to remove the stains, I am crossing my fingers that a third cycle in the washing machine may do the trick. If not Sam will find himself seriously in debt!

Sam is 12, he is funny, clever and he has a wider general knowledge than anyone else I know, he is also obsessive, outspoken, frustrating, and completely unpredictable. He has Asperger Syndrome and I love him just the way he is - but I wish he wouldn't mess with the washing machine. Oh well it isn't as bad as the time that a couple of wax crayons found their way into the tumble dryer!