Household Observations

First, my children's reactions to the vacuum cleaner is a testament to how very different they are. DD has always hated the vacuum since infancy, and now when I vacuum her strategy is to go to her room and play with her toys while I vacuum, being sure that if she has to venture out from the safety of our room, to give the vacuum a wide berth. Fortunately for us she no longer cries when the vacuum is on, which drove us just that little bit nuts for the first 18 months of her life.

DS, on the other hand, LOVES the vacuum cleaner! Even when it's not on, he is trying to get into the laundry room (where it lives) to see it and to pull off the on-board attachments so that he can wave them around victoriously like trophies and chew on them (we discourage this one strongly) and sort of treat them as a lovey. When I am vacuuming I usually have to incarcerate him in his exersaucer, because he will follow me around as I vacuum, patting the vacuum and attempting to dance with it. It is very cute but he gets all tangled up in the cord and stands right in front of it (so he can see it in all its glory, one presumes), and eventually I get sick of it and plop him into his exersaucer so I can finish in peace.

Ditto the hairdryer. DD hates it, DS loves it. And the shower--he loves it, she hates it. Just completely opposite in personalities. I imagine we will see more of this as DS gets older.

And speaking of vacuum cleaners, I have a surefire recipe for killing every type of vacuum cleaner sold on earth. We are on our third vacuum cleaner in about six years, and this last time we sprung for the BAD BOY of vacuum cleaners, that exorbitantly expensive but oh-so-gratifying-cleaning-power, the Dyson Animal. This is a $550 jobbie. Ouch. Yes, the frugal among my reading audience will be writhing in pain right about now. But now, about 18 months into ownership, our Dyson is mysteriously flagging in suction power. I will clean the filter again, but I suspect the pattern of dying vacuums is linked to a constant force in our household. No, not children. No, not ever-present dust bunnies or hair. I think it's the bird.

Yes, the bird. I think our African grey parrot's cage, feathers, and dander are too much for our Dyson. I use it to clean the birdcage, and I think it just can't handle the type and volume of cleaning required for a birdcage. I suspect all those cute and soft fluff feathers are clogging it up, and all the fine powdery dander is killing the 'lifetime' filter. I am going to have to phone the Dyson folks, because they do guarantee this machine for life. So I did not cough up $550 in vain, oh no. Instead I am going to call Dyson so often they are going to grumble when they see my number and tag me as "That Parrot Lady". Expect to see a new name for this machine in the future--the Dyson Cat & Dog. Yep, they didn't know what they were getting in for, tagging it with the generic "Animal" name. And I think our little African grey is going to make them regret it. Stay tuned.