It is time to clean the house .... AGAIN. I guess the nesting will stop once the baby arrives but in the meantime I have enlisted the help of everyone in the home.
Those who know me well know that Don Aslett is one of my heros. You can imagine how excited I was when a Don Aslett cleaning center was opened right here in UT. It was worth the drive to South Jordan to pick up all sorts of great cleaning supplies like these dust mops, squeegees, and microfiber cleaning cloths. Maryanna is wearing one of the baby sized dust mitts I sewed out of a microfiber cleaning cloth. And don't worry she was safe standing on the back of the couch.
When I was little I remember my mom pouring sudsy water around the kitchen floor then giving each child a couple of rags to put on our feet so we could "ice skate" around the kitchen floor. It worked! We thought we were playing while we were actually helping and cleaning. Here are some of the games I now play with my own kids.... dust mop racing, dirty dust mitt contests, vaccum tag, and clean the shark's teeth (wiping down the ladder back kitchen chairs).
I was once criticized for making my children work. I was told "children should not be the servants in a home...they should instead be given opportunities to be enriched - you should hire a maid". Well.... I have had a cleaning lady in the past because the fact is the kids don't do the best cleaning and I myself am unable to do it all. But I do believe in getting children to work. I was inspired by Merrilee Boyack and her ideas in this book. In addition was lucky to have a few personal consulting sessions with Marie Ricks - that was a great Christmas present!
So you all can have a good laugh imagining me, even bigger than I was here, scrubbing bathroom floors, changing bedding, and hauling all sorts of laundry around the house. My friend Marie' was right when she told me..."awaiting the arrival of a baby is a lot like selling your house, you always got to be ready and the house cannot get messy". Well at least keeping the house in order keeps me somewhat distracted.
kids will never learn how to clean and will never be cleaners in thier own homes if they don't learn to do it young. Who are these psycho people that say these crazy things to you? They must have serious problems with their own kids:) I hope today you get to have the baby. All the housework has gotta help you go into labor.
ReplyDeleteI also had someone react very offensively when they saw that Ethan's job was to feed the cat at 2 years old. I thought he had pretty easy! Whatever with those nutsos! I was just going to e-mail you but since I'm already here, what's your opinion on a sewing machine, brand, etc.? I've been waiting forever to buy my own because I just can't decide! Anyway, hope the little babe comes soon - the house looks great!
ReplyDeleteSo true. I believe in raising hard working individuals. At least I am trying. Scott's father once said he knew he raised his boys right when they could clean the bathroom and pass his inspection at once. I really appreciate that. That is my goal for my boys too.
ReplyDeleteWhenever my kids come and say they are bored, I give them a job. They either do it for me, or stop asking me to entertain them. Works for me either way.
I love your mops. Did you get them at the Don Aslet store? I'm going to have to buy all new cleaning supplies when we move b/c they are all moldy and disgusting.
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