Happy Birthday! Clean the bathroom, would you?

I think I aged a year, this past week, not Aidan, LOL.

My sunny, funny middle child, turned 8 last Saturday! He had a wonderful birthday...I hope.

The thing about birthday parties, actually being on the birthday? How can I do my usual completely and totally anal melt-down, over the state of the house, and decide an hour before people arrive that really, the molding around the bottom of the walls, really needs a second scrubbing, if I have to make sure that one of the kids has a great birthday?

Birthday are a BIG deal, around here. HUGE. I have an entire week, myself. Except for my last birthday, The One We Will NOT Name. I grew up in a home, where my mother homecooked meals, EVERY night. It was a very exciting day, when we would get to eat fish sticks, mac and cheese, and green beans, on the occasional Saturday night for dinner. While cooking away, she also managed to have a totally and completely spotless house (seriously, I swear, it looked like a damn model home), and (this one is the kicker), SEWED ALL OF OUR CLOTHES. Seriously. Dresses, skirts, blouses, t-shirts, even JEANS.

Let's just say, that's a tough yardstick to have laying around. Though, in my case, you're more likely to find it laying in the middle of my lawn, after one of the kids have taken it outside to play with, and never brought back into the house.

I find myself eyeing up my house, with a drill sargent's eye, taking in where the cats have played "let's climb the wall", using their claws, usually only making it halfway up, before just kind of sliding down. Because really, why just let go, when you can leave little kitty claw marks all the way down the wall?

Say what you will, my cats are not under achivers.

As are my children, considering I found the "hiding" spot for boogers. None will confess as to whose boogers they actually are, which I find slightly comforting. I don't think I really want to know, who is wiping them on the wall, right beside the molding, in the upstairs bathroom.

I'm afraid it may be the large one, and then I'll have to divorce him.