Once upon a time before Jeff taught me the error of my ways I would clean for 3 hours every Saturday. And I liked it. Crack smoker! There was a satisfaction to having a nice, clean, sparkling house. I would CLEAN clean…scrub with a toothbrush clean. When my sister Kristy was staying with me she would vacuum and then I’d re-vacuum because her vacuum lines weren’t straight. OCD anyone?
These days there are so many other things I’d rather be doing than cleaning. I still do enjoy cleaning occasionally (usually when I’m angry, upset, or bored), but those times are much less frequent now with babies. I am finding it VERY difficult to keep a clean house…especially when my Shenzie Bear is deathly afraid of the vacuum. Now that I’m home everyday I HATE to look around and see the floors that need mopped, wood that needs dusted, carpets that need vacuumed. It gives me anxiety to know I have to somehow find time to do it all.
Every night after the babies go to bed I pick up toys, sweep the tile, wash high chairs, and clean the kitchen…yet my house still feels dirty. This weekend I conned Jeff into helping me mop the floors. It was great…he kept the babies upstairs while I used the death machine aka, the vacuum. That night after the babies were down we got busy…..cleaning ….get your minds out of the gutter!!! It was GREAT. The floors were sparkling clean and it didn’t take me an hour to do it all by myself. Thanks baby! I have learned by now not to complain when Jeff doesn’t do something the way I do it. It’s getting done and that is all that matters, right? For some reason I forgot that little fact so when Jeff walked across the sparkling clean floors with his dirty shoes I about had a fit. It was like I was possessed by the clean monster. !!WHY ARE YOU WALKING AND TRACKING DIRT ON THE NEWLY CLEANED FLOORS!! Poor guy.
This is the problem….now that the floors are clean I want them to stay clean for as long as possible. With babies it is just impossible to keep them clean. I follow them around and when they spill juice or drop a crumb I swoosh in and clean it up. I almost feel more anxiety now that they are clean than I did when they were dirty. Crazy anyone?
All I have to say is I am glad I don’t have OCD for reals like the poor mom of Jon and Kate + 8. Eight kids, twins, and sextuplets and she sweeps and mops 3 times a day. Now that is CRAZY!
Overall Cuteness
October 30th, 2007 at 9:49 am
You haven’t changed much girlie!!! Those little overalls are so adorable, along with those cuties in them!
October 30th, 2007 at 10:35 am
OMG I love those overall photos.
We do the every night clean up from dinner, clean high chairs, pick up toys
(sometimes), pick up food from floor, and clean dishes. Plus I fold baby laundry
every other day (they go through a lot of clothes at daycare). I confess we pay
someone to clean every other week, though I hear you on not wanting it messed
up during those few minutes that it actually is clean.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:36 am
What is it about overalls that are so cute on babies and not so cute on adults. Ethan had like 3 pairs and I loved them! Jon and Kate + 8 is my new favorite show…I thought you’d like it
October 30th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
You know I used to be like this too. I pretty much just gave up. Oh don’t get me wrong I like a clean house and sparkling floors, but your right they only stay that way until the kids get p. Some days I put all the toys back up and somedays I don’t. And for the crumbs, don’t tell anyone,but after the kids eat we let the dogs in to clean the floor until it can be mopped. shhhh!
October 30th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
UGH, I feel your anxiety over that.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Mark can vacuum the best lines in the carpet. i love when he vacumms, but HATE when he does teh floors or bathrooms. He doesn’t do it my way. he thinks I am a little crazy too. I guess it is better than not caring what your house looks like.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Awww, I love, love, love the overalls. I want to give them big bear hugs, they look so huggable. Poor Shenzie with the vacuum, mine just stare in awe. We had to hire a cleaning person, they are great, they even wipe baseboards. It’s too much for me. You’re good girl!
October 31st, 2007 at 7:19 am
The overall pics are just too cute for words! As for cleaning I wish I did more, alas, it is our plight to cohabitate with the dust rabbits (they graduated from bunny status long ago). And I have to second the Jon & Kate plus 8 thing — man does she clean like CRAZY!
October 31st, 2007 at 9:06 am
Oh, do I love babies in overalls!
I hate to tell you this, but over two years later, I still can’t keep up with my house! The minute I pick up, I find a stray sippie cup or a missing shoe. To fix this, I transformed our guest room to a play room. Well..it was ‘fixed’ for about a week and then toys that the Beans loved the best began to find their way back into my great room.
I think I’ll finally have a clean house in about 16 years, when they’re off to school!
November 1st, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I have those same Gymboree overalls but only one pair … they both are so cute in them
I have same problem with house cleaning and my guys … keping up with both is no can do.
November 3rd, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Love the picture of the them looking over the stairwell…They look so innocent don’t they! Keeping the house clean is a never ending chore!!! I know you think mine is clean most of the time but really I have my many many days. O and ask your brother about the clean shoes thing he’ll confirm that sometimes the possessed monster comes out of me too, it’s just that you want to enjoy your feet not sticking to the floor for just a few minutes right? I like to walk barefoot around our house.