House Cleaning

Wouldn't it be great if this post was titled House Cleaning to share some deep and poignant insight?

It's not.

It's actually about house cleaning.

I have spent the last 6 days cleaning my house, top to bottom, (really bottom to top since I started on the main level) and inside out (again, really just the inside, outside is kind of David's turf (please pardon the pun (and the alliteration))).

Mark and Anya served as my mostly willing slave labor and did a great deal of work on the wall washing, as well as smaller move and put back types of jobs. James, umm not so much. Peter tried, but often got distracted by things like windows and toys. Luke did his best to make it hard and interesting to clean with him around, but we managed to work around him.

I must say that I am extremely grateful that I have managed to complete another deep cleaning and I am even more grateful that I don't have to do it again for 6 months.

Let's see, highlights from cleaning include:

Anya warning Mark not to wash too close to the electricial thingys.

Cleaning chapstick and a bandaid off of James' wall. Then retrieving yet another oddity from the freezer, this time the vitamins. Why he has an obsession with putting odd things in the freezer I will never know.

Finding Anya joyously "washing" the dishes by rinsing them. (I am terrible about rinsing dishes, so she must have gotten that gene from her dad who hates that I am terrible about rinsing dishes) I haven't gotten around to teaching the kids how to actually clean up and load the dishwasher, so I was very impressed that she took this task upon herself.

After long exhausting days of cleaning finding Mark still awake at 11:30 pm with a flashlight and Trumpet of the Swan propped up on his knees. Anya finished it and "made" him read it. :)

Living with the door/shoe police. Peter may not speak English, but he is quite adept at making his point and takes his unofficial duties very seriously. He decided that he was in charge of being sure that everyone removes their shoes when we come home and that all doors within a 20 foot range of Luke are closed and secure.

Ahh, children. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. I guess the only thing left is to love 'em.