Marla’s post about house cleaning for a camera crew awhile back got me thinking about the time I cleaned the house for the first CTV-Ottawa blogging segment.
I knew the on-camera discussion was going to be held in one part of the house, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to exclude the rest of the house from a good tidying. What if they needed a shot of me folding towels and putting them away in the linen closet? What if the cameraman needed a fork and was shocked by the amount of accumulated crumbs in the cutlery drawer?
So I cleaned, and among the things I cleaned (of course) was the downstairs WC. Part of cleaning this room involved a thorough de-cluttering and artful arrangement of existing doodads… of which there are plenty in this house.
I went to Loblaws the night before to get some last-minute groceries (What if Dani decided she needed a corned beef sandwich??) and I spotted a lovely glass soap dispenser. And it was on sale. It was calling out to me so I had to buy it.
And here it is:
It replaced the horrid plastic one I had refilled 20 times and just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Besides, it was horribly unfunky and contrary to the rules I have set for myself and for our household purchases. I love this soap dispenser. It matches the bathroom in every way. It makes me happy every time I use it.
Mark’s comment when I brought it home: “But it’s glass.”
Uh huh. And your point is? ?
As pretty as it is, I am sad to report that the other side of the sink currently features this:
I am tolerating the plastic cup because it fills a need. The girls need water. They need a cup. I need them not to bug me every time they need one. And yes, it’s one of those plastic cups that come from Ikea in a set of six. Everyone I know has at least one set of these. When aliens land on our planet after we have destroyed ourselves in a grand nuclear kaboom the only thing remaining on this entire planet will be (1) cockroaches (2) these plastic cups.
The other night we were at HomeSense, shopping but not really shopping, when I spyed a really neat drinking glass for $2.99. It was wide, short, with embedded beads of colour and little bubbles. It was a glass glass. It would be perfect for the bathroom. Both our bathrooms in fact!
Mark’s comment: “But it’s glass.”
“Are you afraid of it breaking and damaging the sink, or are you afraid of the girls’ hurting themselves?”
“The girls could drop it and hurt themselves.”
Okay.
Mark won. We left the cool glasses and bought a pillow instead.
I remember when the Emma started at her daycare at 17 months. We were used to putting a bib on her when she ate. They didn’t do bibs there. I couldn’t believe it. How could they not use bibs on all these dribbling kids? When I asked the daycare people about it they shrugged. It’s just what they do, to help teach them to eat properly and show them they can do it “just like the big kids do.”
Me: I think that kids should learn to use glassware early. In our house we ditched sippy cups fairly soon after the girls were old enough to reliably hold a cup in their hands. I can’t remember how old they were, but I do remember how glad I was to get rid of them. No more looking for the little stopper! No more fishing it out from the bottom of the dishwasher! No more losing and finding and tossing it out in the garbage after discovering one that accidentally rolled under the couch and now has something fuzzy growing inside!
Only once have we had an incident where a drinking glass was dropped and broken, and it wasn’t even here at home, it was at Bridgehead. I think that by using glassware we are encouraging the girls to be responsible and cautious. It helps foster confidence and that “I can do it myself” feeling that is fundamental to their mental and social development.
Besides, I wasn’t going to be dragging sippy cups with me wherever we went.
I am pleased that my girls can drink without sloshing something on themselves.
Yes, there is a small amount of risk involved here. Yes, someone could hurt themselves. But it has to be learned, just like kids have to learn how to ride a bike and to look both ways before they cross the street. Right?
So Mark, since we have glassware for drinking with our meals, doesn’t it makes sense that we have them in the bathrooms as well? And don’t go using the soapy hands excuse on me here. ;)
