PractiGal

101 Things You Can Do With Laundry

Ever have trouble getting your spouse to help with the laundry?  Just let him (her) know how much fun it can be...

I like to combine tasks as much as I can... take something to the basement, throw a load of laundry in while I'm there, then carry something else back upstairs with me. One day, my husband and I were working on things in the basement at the same time, and he headed upstairs without anything in his hands. 'Wait! Don't go up empty handed...' I handed him a pile of wet clothes that I didn't want to go in the dryer. 'Here, hon, can you please hang these upstairs?' I headed up a little while later and saw the ceiling fan whizzing around out of the corner of my eye. I didn't think much of it til I noticed that hanging off the blades, whirling about in the air, were my bras! 'I thought that would help 'em dry!'

Tonight I needed a hand again. I was about to change a very wiggly baby & get him ready for bed. I asked my husband to get our son's clean pajamas out of the dryer while I wrestled the now mobile little guy to get his clothes off. My husband met us up at the changing table with a basket full of stuff from the dryer. Before I knew what was happening, I was wearing candycane pajama bottoms on my head! Our son was so intrigued and mesmerized by what I had on my head, that he stopped wiggling, rolling, and trying to get away! I changed his diaper and clothes without a struggle! I think I'll just keep that basket of clean clothes right there by the changing table. I think I'll try boxers tomorrow!

Drawing blood

I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to medical procedures and blood.  I prefer not to see blood on TV or in real life.  Years ago I fainted after having a baby tooth pulled; I've fainted after having small tubes of blood drawn too.  I decided it was time to get over my fear a few years ago, when I started donating blood.  Seemed like a good way to get over a fear and do a good deed.  It seems to be working -- I don't get excited about giving blood now, but I don't have the same level of anxiety about it as I once did. And I've never fainted after giving blood.

Now & then I'll feel a twinge of fear as I do something that feels risky, in that it might lead to an accident where there will be an injury with blood. Like yesterday for instance -- I was using my brand new chef's knife (a wonderful Christmas gift, which I asked for). The knife is amazing; I was chopping up a ton of veges to make a pot of soup, and it crossed my mind a few times that this knife could just as easily slide through a finger as it slid through those veges. I managed to make it through with all my fingers intact. I relaxed and played with my son while the soup cooked and my husband worked on a project in the basement. There was a lot of noise, and a lot of up & down the stairs, but I'm used to that. He's a handy guy and always has some project going on. He's very careful and responsible too, so I generally don't worry when I hear the power tools and banging.

So, I was a little surprised when he came into the kitchen and told me not to be concerned if I see a few drops of blood on the basement floor.

me: What happened? Did you cut yourself? (noticing the band-aided finger)

hubby: Yeah, kind of.

me: What happened? (concerned but not quite panicked)

hubby: I drilled through my finger.

me: What?!! Are you OK? Don't you need to elevate it? Do we need to go to the hospital? Do you feel faint? Why didn't you tell me when it happened? (definitely  pretty panicky now)

hubby: I didn't want you to panic. It's fine. I cleaned it out & the bleeding has pretty much stopped.  Want to see it?

me: No thanks!

Well, I had a look at it today. It literally did go through (in & out) the fleshy part of a finger tip.  I don't think I want to operate a drill again (not that I've done much of that myself!), and that experience didn't help me with my squeamishness.  I'll be flinching a little more now when I hear those power tools....