Domestic Duties

I love freshly vacuummed floors, a dustfree bookshelf and a clean smelling bathroom. But unfortunately, this is not how my house is at all times. I am good about putting things away. You won't find a huge stack of mail on my kitchen counter or dishes overflowing my sink too often. This isn't to say that I am organized. I have spent most of my summer cleaning out and organizing my closets and drawers that I have just stuffed things in to get them out of sight.

It's just nearly impossible for me to have a clean house. Three kids under the age of 4 maximize the number of messes and spills in a house. My once blue and white couch is now a collage of different colors from varying types of disasters made by little monsters. And my mother in law reminds me nearly every time she sits down at my breakfast table about the time she sat in syrup there.

I only have 2 hours max to clean while all 3 are asleep for naptime. People say, "Oh, I just clean around them or why can't you clean while they are awake?"

Picture this actual scenario that happened last week:

The vacuum cleaner comes out of the closet. Emma Jo starts screaming at the sheer sight of it before it is even plugged in. When it starts, she uncontrollably cries. With her sobbing on my hip, I try to manuever the vacuum around the room. Mann follows me around, insisting that he could do a far better job and points out places I am missed. Daniel sits on the couch with his hands over his ears, complaining that he can't hear the TV.

I've seriously considered getting a maid. I grew up with a maid. I like to think that we had one because my mom disliked dusting, vacuuming and mopping as much as I do! But we really don't have that money to spend, so I am stuck with my domestic duties. But the best thing about cleaning is the finished project. A clean house! Like mine is right now....but wait, I hear a child getting out of bed. So much for my clean house. :)