Under The Couch This Week

....not too much! It really must be weather related, because, while there was some clutter, it was NOTHING like what I usually find. Here's the list:

14 plastic marbles belonging to a game (various colors)
child's frying pan
Christmas themed mouse doll
6 big Lego pieces
plastic loaf of bread
wooden watermelon slice
one of our phones
umbrella cover
1 pair of underwear
1 girl's t-shirt
toy fishing rod
McDonald's American Idol figurine
2 crayons
2 small Lego pieces
a hair elastic
lamb doll
baby toy (must have been pulled out of the donation bag downstairs)
golf ball
instruction manual to the Zelda game for the Wii
worn out glo necklace (gift from the magician at the Dockside Restaurant)
jar of peppermint foot cream
cat shaped bath scrubby

See? Not so bad. Do you know what wasn't under the couch?

THE NINTENDO DS LITE! See more on this below.

Very Little Under The Couch This Week!

Imagine how amazed I was when I pulled out the couch and saw this:



That, to me, is a normal amount of stuff that would accumulate under a couch in the space of two weeks. I thought maybe the amount of outdoor play this week was making a big difference...

...until I saw this:



Apparently, someone has stopped throwing things behind and under the couch and has started throwing them behind the chair.! I did notice that Jack's toy bin was a little low this week, but I foolishly thought Jim had pared it down by taking some stuff down to the playroom. The little pile of stuff behind the chair reminds me of a squirrel's secret store of nuts. Which would make sense, since I sometimes believe Jack is a little nuts.

I'm pretty sure it's Jack, but the thought did cross my mind that Lily might be tossing his toys down there to annoy him. I'm going to have to keep my eyes open and see who the culprit is!

Eeeeek! What's Under My Couch This Week?

My mom commented to me the other day that I hadn't posted about what was under my couch in several weeks. Four, to be exact. This is what I found today:



Unbelievable. The list is so overwhelming I almost don't want to post it. Here it is:

Magnetic pen
Fire truck ladder
4 children's books
2 magnetic fish
2 small firetrucks
Frog pull toy
1 glass
3 sippy cups (empty, thank goodness!)
21 items belonging to the Littlest Pet Shop
Word Bus game board
Jewelry box drawer
Toothbrush
1 pair of socks, 2 other, non-matching socks
Pajama top
1 of Jack's navy blue crocs
1 of Jack's brown shoes
Yellow plastic ball
Orange rubber ball
Plastic bread roll
Spinner ball from a baby toy
2 accessories for Mr. Potato Head
Jesus action figure
Small plush dog
2 pair sunglasses
Toy drill
2 construction vehicles
Jack's hard hat
Jack's "guy"
Small magnetic drawing board
Scotch tape
10 Lite Brite bulbs
2 non-matching Polly Pocket shoes
2 Hot Wheels
Wooden box lid
Plastic screw
Large Lego piece
3 coloring/activity books
Toy spoon
Gold Mardi Gras beads
Kitchen magnet
Magnetic doll's outfit
Plastic Tepee from Lincoln Logs
Metal tin
Cat ears
3 hair elastics
Plastic dinosaur
Multicolored rubber ball
2 pencils
Polly Pocket "Belle" doll
Ratchet tool
Plastic Mickey Mouse straw
Ambulance stamper
Coaster
3 Caribou game cards
Baby teething ring
1 Crayon
1 pen
Plastic shade pull
Nail clippers

This is what it looked like when I was finished:



In other news, I found $2.18 in house change today. I'm saving up to buy some yarn!

What's Under My Couch This Week -- EEK!

Due to our late bouts of sickness, I have not been regularly cleaning under the couch. I was horrified when I pulled out the couch today and found all of the following:

box of Kleenex
2 Birthday Cards to Jack
empty software box (so glad we were hanging onto this)
1 pink sock
Word Bus game board (with our names written on it in grease pencil)
2 plastic cocktail glass hangers shaped like monkeys
2 Little Petshop animals
2 Little People
4 children's books
numerous drawings on printer paper
toy car
knitting pattern with first page ripped off
2 pens
cat toy
2 rubber balls (one of which has shown up under the couch repeatedly)
outlet safety cover (glad it's doing its job)
2 barrettes
clear plastic container of unknown origin
Jack's hard hat
3 big lego pieces
toy digger
2 toy screws
Lily's knitty tool
Mr. Potato Head's ear, eye patch and hat
2 markers
broken tiara
2 unsharpened pencils
2 wooden blocks
pen cap
magnetic fish
magnetic building toys (several pieces)
seeing stone from McDonald's Happy Meal
3 small lego pieces
child's plastics fork
toy fire truck
yellow plastic ball
plastic bread roll (also making a repeat appearance)
cleaning tool for the carpet sweeper
paper plane shooter Jim made out of legos
knit alphabet block
1 pink Croc
3 Valentines to Lily
plastic dolphin bath toy
my brush
scotch tape
wind up monkey toy
2 magnets to the toy calendar
bag of Hall's cough drops
1 black plastic tube of unknown origin
small ring with pink flower on it

I'm curious how some things keep coming back despite the fact that I put them away each time. Today I threw out a small garbage bag of toys and put together a bag of toys to donate. If any of those show up under the couch next week, I will be very, very afraid.

Hey, What's Under My Couch?

I had a bumper crop of detritus under the couch this week. More importantly, I have solved the mysterious disappearance of two new sippy cups that Jim purchased last week. Also, I made $1.50 in couch change! Here's this week's list:

Fresh produce flyer from Shaw's supermarket
Christmas pillow
Wooden frog pull toy
3 children's books
2 brand new sippy cups
Tigger doll
1 empty Play-Doh container
Plastic tea pot lid
Inflatable ball from Jack's infant play mat that has been in storage for months
Hair brush
1 of Lily's brown shoes
1 binky
Penguin ruler
Disney music player (broken)
Seal doll
Homemade paper frisbee
Bionicle figure
Plastic bread roll
Yellow plastic ball
Blue crayon
Fimo clay bead necklace (given to Lily for her dress up play)
Small pink koosk ball
Approximately 20 loose pages from Lily's Strawberry Shortcake note pad
1 Sacagawea dollar coin
2 quarters
1 rubber coaster
1 heart shaped pink foam sticker
1 blue marble
1 Hot Wheels car
Pink, light-up spinning top
2 pipe cleaners
Blue string
1 White Pearl eraser
1 Chuck E. Cheese token
1 red magic marker cap

What's Under My Couch This Week

I spent about 2 hours cleaning the living room today and there was a bumper crop of detritus under the couch. Here's this week's list:

Windows software box (empty)
small rubber octopus
a Bionicle toy from McDonald's
1 Hot Wheels car
Jack's toy cookie jar
about 30 foam stickers
3 children's books
a wooden frog pull toy
1 red marble
a plastic donut hole
1 blue rubber ball
1 red marble
1 pink rubber ball
an empty potato chip bag
1 knit alphabet block
Lily's stuffed penguin
1 pair of Play-Doh scissors
a nectarine
1 screw driver
a yellow marker with no cap
1 and 1/2 chocolate chip cookies from last weekend
1 lens from my sunglasses that Jack destroyed
a plastic teapot lid
a pair of manicure scissors
Jack's toy mop
a wooden jewelry tray
2 magazines
2 cat toys
1 child's croc
1 Lego piece
1 binky
my knitting pattern book (I'm crocheting a sweater)
1 child's sock

Most of the toys that were under the couch are already out of the toy basket and on my floor again. This room never stays clean for long if the children are in here.

What's Under My Couch This Week

This is the worst it's been so far. I haven't cleaned it out in a couple of weeks, so stuff really had an opportunity to pile up under there. Also, Jack's new favorite naughty thing is to throw things behind the couch whenever I leave the room. He may have been doing this along, which would account for the assortment I find every time, but I only caught him doing it last week. Anyway, here's this week's list. Enjoy!

Oskar's Electronic Chip tag (we had him tagged when he was altered)
3 plastic marbles (two grey, one red). I have no idea what these are for
1 yellow dump truck
1 piece of wooden bread
2 pieces of the bath toy set Jack got for Christmas
Activity bar belonging to the kid's walker
Wii travel bag (Jack uses this to "go work")
1 Stride-Rite sandal (Jack's)
3 spoons
1 roll of scotch tape
1 pair of scissors
1 small bear
6 Hot Wheels cars
2 pieces of Lego
a bent hinge from the kitchen cabinet we removed over the stove
the air tube from our old fish tank
1 clear plastic ruler
1 curtain wand
1 yellow marker
2 automatic pencils
a spool of ecru thread
1 lip gloss
a clear plastic container of unknown origin
1 sippy cup with dregs of milk
1 hair elastic
1 yellow plastic ball
2 rubber balls from Lily's Cariboo game
1 inflatable ball with bell inside from Jack's baby play mat
1 pink adult croc
1 pink child's croc
1/2 box of kleenex
Jack's Christmas book
Hello Kitty Ornament
1 plastic hammer
1 pink plastic drinking cup
1 pink plastic measuring cup
1 business card case
1 rattle
4 Apples to Apples game cards
1 empty Play-Doh container...again
1 magnetic part to our Ipod stand
CD containing our old MS Windows software
Small yellow plastic cup

Yikes.

What's Under My Couch This Week

I know you probably weren't expecting a list this week. Why would there be a list? We've been gone for more than a week and only home for about five days. And yet...this is what I found under the couch today:

1 catnip mouse
1 sparkly pom pom (I keep throwing these away, and yet more appear!)
2 pieces from Lily's Little Pet Shop
1 red marker
1 small pink koosh ball
1 object built from legos
1 plastic tepee (???)
1 medicine measuring cup
1 pair of Jack's shoes
1 pair of Lily's shoes
1 yellow plastic ball
2 golf balls
1 magnetic shirt from Lily's ballerina
1 Mickey Mouse straw

I can tell by the items that Oskar was a big help in collecting this weeks pile o' odds and ends.

Anyway, before we head off to our friends' house for New Year's Eve, let me explain a little bit about the five days of radio silence on the blog. We got home at about 6:30 am on Thursday (the 27th) and pretty much slept all day. Jack, Lily and I were all suffering from a nasty cold. I spent the next day sleeping, too. Thank goodness Jim was home this week so that I got a chance to rest and get rid of the cold quickly.

We have been putting off tackling the biggest decluttering job in the house -- the office. As many of you know, we have a small entry way room that we've been using as an office. We bought a pie safe to use as storage and placed that across from the door with a nice wood mirror over it. We also had an old wooden desk, some metal hanging file holders and a plastic filing cabinet with the printer on top. Every time we printed, the printer shook the whole filing cabinet. It also lost one roller any time we tried to move it.

We tried several different arrangements, but the office never really worked. Jim and I had been talking about getting some better storage and organization for the room, so once again we turned to our old friend IKEA for ideas.

We decided to buy a tall bookcase with two frosted glass doors and a new desk. We also planned to buy a bunch of boxes and magazine holders to organize all of our paperwork. I had also been planning to buy new dishes (yay!), so we thought we'd take care of that as well.

For some reason, we decided to go to IKEA in the afternoon. On a Saturday. It was not good. We have never seen so many people in that store. We skipped our usual trip to the restaurant and went right to the showroom. Lily was a cranky mess because she was still suffering some cold symptoms. Trying to shop with her was like trying to jog on a beach with a millstone tied around your leg. Add in pushing two stroller carts through a throng of customers and you will get some idea of how we felt.

We had already picked out the bookcase and doors we wanted, so all we needed from that section was the warehouse location to pick everything up. We had to spend some time picking out a desk. Our first choice was discontinued, and our second choice was much larger than we thought it would be. We ended up finding a nice desk made from the same wood as the bookcase. We spent some time looking at storage for Lily's room, but since she kept screaming "Nothing in my room can change!" we decided not to buy much.

The next stop was the downstairs marketplace. It was so packed it was difficult to get the stroller carts around. I picked up two boxes containing 6-place settings of our new dishes, four serving dishes and eight coffee mugs. Since the dishes are stoneware, the two IKEA bags were pretty heavy. We added a computer keyboard holder (fits under the desk) and a metal cord organizer, 10 magazine holders, 4 book ends, and 8 small storage boxes. It was a lot of stuff. By the time we got to the warehouse, we had two full IKEA bags. We then picked up a big cart so we could get a 78 inch box containing our bookcase, two 78 inch glass and metal doors and a giant box with our desk in it. Don't ask me how, but we managed to get it all in the Honda along with two adults and two children, and nothing had to be tied to the roof!

That evening, Jim and I put the desk together. We really like it. Unfortunately, the keyboard holder doesn't work well with the height of the desk, so we decided we would return it. Then Jim went to get the bookcase. When we opened the box...it was 1/2 the width of the bookcase we wanted.

If you've ever shopped at IKEA, you will know how confusing the warehouse is. This is not the first time that Jim and I have come home with the wrong item or an item that needs to be returned. We often end up having to go back the next day. I think it's a part of their marketing strategy!

So we were off to IKEA again yesterday. It was nowhere near as crowded and everyone was well rested and in a good mood, so the trip went quickly. We ended up getting the storage unit for Lily and an area rug for her room. We also picked up some new glasses and more storage boxes for the bookcase. Although the 78 inch bookcase box was thicker this time around, we found a better way to get it in the car, and the storage box fit easily into the back, so the trip home was a lot more comfortable.

We cleaned Lily's room and put together her storage unit. I will have to post some pictures later. The only bad thing is that they were out of pink bins, so we only got one of the three we need. We'll be going back to IKEA in a few weeks. Their evil marketing ploy is working.

Jim and I then put the bookcase together and installed the doors (after several frustrating attempts -- it's amazing how the "easy" illustration instructions can be interpreted so many different ways). The office looks great. We still have a lot of stuff to shred (can you say "bank statements from 2001 to 2006?") but it's amazing how big that small office looks now. I'll post some pictures of that, too.

Soooo...that's why we've been so busy since we got home and why there have been no posts. I'll be downloading some pictures later this week and will make a few posts about Christmas and the rest of our California trip. In summary -- the kids had a great time, Jack broke at least five things, Lily played more Polly Pocket, Jack got two minor head injuries, and the red-eye plane trip home went smoothly!

Have a happy new year.

The Weekly Couch List

Yes, it's time for my weekly list of the stuff I found under my couch. I've mostly finished packing -- there are just a few things that I'll put in tomorrow, like toothpaste and shampoo. I also put in a lasagna for dinner and cleaned the living room. While I'm waiting for the lasagna to bake, I figured I might as well post the list.

You know you can't wait for it!

1 Christmas tree ornament
1 broken Christmas tree ornament
1 bridge for Thomas the Train
1 Miss Baby
1 plush dog
3 children's books
1 notice of settlement payout from the USDC Visa lawsuit (we're getting $25)
3 tins of magnets (Jack keeps throwing them behind the couch)
1 sippy cup with milk
2 binkies
1 GameBoy game
1 wooden block
1 wooden bead
1 wooden milk carton
1 pen
1 magnetic skirt for Lily's ballerina
1 neon glowstick (no longer glowing)
1 LED light that hangs from your ear
Remote to the playroom television
1 glass stone
3 socks (a pair and a single)
1 unused gift tag
1 hamster from the Little Pet Shop

As a bonus, and because we have moved the chair next to the couch in order to accommodate the tree, here's what I found under the chair:

1 half eaten apple (!!!!)
2 children's books
1 giant lego piece
1 glass stone
1 empty play dough container
1 magnetic tutu to Lily's ballerina
1 chip clip
1 cat toy
1 sippy cup with water

Normally, I wouldn't bother with the chair because nothing really goes under there. However, it appears the couch detritus is spreading to the chair now that they're so close together! Honestly, I'm a little concerned about the empty play dough container. I can't help but wonder where the play dough is. Hopefully, it hasn't been jammed in the DVD player or flushed down the toilet.

Just a few final thoughts before we head out on our Great Expedition tomorrow. The kids are very excited. Every time we got in the car today, Jack said "Go RIDEY PLAYne!" Lily was happy there was only "one more sleep" until the trip. Jack is a huge plane fan, so I can't wait to see him when he gets on a really big plane. The last trip to NC, the pilot let him sit in the cockpit and even press the buttons during the flight check. Jack was in toddler heaven.

Now that most of the packing is finished, I do feel a little less stressed. Of course, has Jim packed anything? No. Has he printed out the plane tickets and travel confirmations that I asked for last week? No. Has he ordered a cab for tomorrow morning? No. Has he taken our Christmas treats to the 2 neighbors? No. Has he dropped off a key for the neighbor kid who will look after the cats and the mail? No. I am afraid I will end up doing most, if not all of these things after the kids go to bed. What I'd really like to do is watch a movie (I bought Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix today) and relax. We'll see how that comes out!

Seriously, What's Under My Couch?!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been keeping track of everything I find under the couch.

It all started when I skipped my weekly heavy cleaning in the living room during Thanksgiving week. My usual routine is to clean under the furniture and rugs every Tuesday. That particular Tuesday, however, I decided to skip the weekly deep cleaning since we weren't having any company for Thanksgiving. Instead, I just gave the room a quick vacuum and dusting.

The following Tuesday, I pulled out the couch for my usual cleaning and literally gasped out loud at the amount of detritus that had piled up under there in just two short weeks. There were 22 childrens' books, along with a huge assortment of random objects. There was so much stuff under there that I had to push a pile of it out just to get behind the couch to pick up the rest. I started wondering if this was a normal thing, or if my family is just extraordinarily messy.

The next week, I wrote down everything that I found and sent it in an e-mail to my mom. Here's an excerpt from my message:

1 toy tractor
1 purple bead bracelet
1 Miss Baby
1 red plastic hammer
1 toy hot pad
1 plastic spoon
1 plastic plate
1 broken pink noisemaker
1 People Magazine
1 In Touch Magazine
1 small wad of toy stuffing (I'm guessing from Lily's penguin, which has burst at the seams).
1 pink satin glove with pink feather trim
1 lion finger puppet
1 roll of black electrical tape
1 white plastic tube that may or may not belong to Jim's food processor
1 glass paperweight
1 purple scrunchy
2 children's books
1 orange pompom
3 articles from Lily's Littlest Pet Shop
1 orange spider ring
2 drawings by Lily
1 purple Barbie tiara
1 black and chrome plastic ring of unknown origin
12 beads belonging to the Mankala game that Jim foolishly thought was appropriate for a 2 and 4 year old to play with

I'm not even mentioning the numerous shredded kleenexes from Jack's self-invented kite game, and the other crumbs and normal detritus that gathers during the week.

What is wrong with my children? Why do they shove things under the sofa?

Six days later, I cleaned under the couch again. This is today's find:

1 mitten
1 Christmas pillow
3 cat toys
2 sparkle pom-poms from Lily's craft box
3 unused Kleenexes from Jack's "kite" game
1 superball
1 plastic spoon
1 princess wand from Disney Princesses on Ice
4 childrens' books
1 small funnel
1 pad of pink post-its
1 red marker missing a cap
1 half of a barrett
1 Christmas ornament
1 nickel
1 pacifier
1 sheet of computer paper
2 pieces of clothing from the wooden ballerina doll Lily received last night
2 hair elastics (1 pink, 1 brown)
1/2 of a black crayon

My mom has gotten a kick out of my lists and thought I should start a blog about it. I'd actually been thinking about canning the photo blog and starting something new during the past few weeks. The photo blog is a great idea, but I hate the grind of taking pictures, downloading them, uploading them to Flickr and then posting them. There are so many other ways I'd rather spend my time. It got so that I wouldn't bother posting anything at all because I didn't have new photos or didn't feel like taking the time to post them. The result -- a photo blog that hasn't been updated in a year.

My new blog will be a place that I can write about the day to day things going on with the kids and our family. I really enjoy writing and it's one of the things I miss now that I'm at home full time. I will definitely post pictures on occasion, but I'll probably give you a written update more often. I'll definitely be more inclined to update when I don't feel I have to post pictures to do it!