stuck

To us the vacuum cleaner is just as important as the toilet. Although sometimes we 'if it's yellow let it mellow' in the toilet-the vacuum cannot be in that category. We have a literal infestation of raisins throughout the house. Today the bank teller found a raisin in the change jar of Gretchen's that I was putting into her account. They look like little roaches and after living in a college house where this became a problem, this is quite unnerving. + these damn things are stuck to my feet or slippers all of the time. Crumbs, barbie shoes, polly pocket sportswear-it's everywhere. And we have two cats which take a lot of blame, but they are actually hygiene freaks compared to the children. I have taken apart the vacuum too many times to count within the last year. Fina has a tendency to eat everything that she puts in her mouth( I recently discovered a googly eye from a puppet in her diaper), so I'm always vacuuming. The first time I took apart the vacuum I found a Thing One, today I found a full piece of thick sidewalk chalk(of course with some Fina bite marks in it). I have found a barbie wig, a child's sock, a ping pong ball among the detritus in the tubes and filters of our bargain basement vacuum. Someone might say to me 'don't let your kids eat all over the house'-that's beyond laughable. Or watch more carefully what you vacuum-that again is hilarious because vacuuming is a sport at our house called 'vrooming' and Fina follows me screaming with joy attempting to put the cord around her next the entire time. Gretchen holds the cord like a lasso while she pretends that the vacuum is a horse. My eyes are concentrating on making sure I don't have to explain some strange accident to a nurse in the ER. My children are not scared of the vacuum, it is an activity at our house. Sometimes some other child will be here and run screaming to the couch when the vacuum is turned on. I want to scream 'don't teach my child that!' It's just like reading a children's book that shows kids who don't want to go to bed, we don't need those types of ideas promoted-those books should be banned. Banning the vacuum however is not an option. The panic I feel when it's not working is palpable. So the girls and I will continue to 'vroom' through thick and thin.