Keeping the house clean

Last Saturday I went garage saling and bought an 8 man tent, a 5 qt. seasoned dutch oven, an ice cream maker, and a waterproof body glove baby carrier. When I returned home Paul gave me a very concerned look and suggested we have our own garage sale. I admitted I was in denial.

Now that the sign is up the reality of our move is finally sinking in and I am in full force scrubbing walls and starting to pack boxes. It is very difficult to keep everything in order with the kids up and running around. They seem to always "find their fun" digging through the bags and boxes I have labled D.I.


Today was especially hectic because our painter did not show up, we had an Elder's Quorum picnic that Paul was in charge of, and it was Maryanna's birthday. We celebrated her birthday along side breakfast by adding whip cream and candles to french toast. After the singing and unwrapping were through I spent the next hour frantatlically on the phone begging painters to come by and help us out. Meanwhile Paul was picking up moving boxes off Craig's list and then headed over to Toy "R" Us to find the pedal that was missing from Maryanna's new bike. Nobody was watching the kids. They were getting into some over ripe bananas and the mash was all over the kitchen in no time.

I decided they needed a distraction, a confined area, a place they could mess up no problem.....the 8 man tent! That is where they spent the majority of their fun for the day and that is where they will sleep tonight. It was enough entertainment thay I was allowed to clean out kid stuff without them knowing. I'm glad I did because I found one of those over ripe bananas in the bottom of Maryanna's backpack - this move just may generate enough stress to help me drop the excess baby weight.

It is now 12:22 am and I am back to add to this post. At exactly 11:55 pm Paul was downstairs watching the Olympics and packing up books; I was sweeping up the kitchen. Next thing I know there is a whoosing sound and screaming from the backyard. James comes running full force into the house, fast enough to dodge the sprinklers! The other kids weren't so lucky, our poor little birthday girl was soaking wet and disoriented when Paul rescued her. The other two boys were quite concerned about their wet blankies and stuffies. I became concerned about the mess I now had to not only clean up but also dry out. So maybe the 8 man tent was not the best idea but hey.....maybe I won't have to bathe them tomorrow morning.