Sense of Accomplishment

I recently started looking around my house and wondering what I could do to improve my home and make it easier to maintain. Now with having Emily, its been a lot harder to keep up the housework because her days are so unpredictable. She's in that I want to be up and looking around but I cant do it myself quite yet stage. I'm left with a total of 4 hours worth of naptime a day in order to complete housework. This sounds like a lot but take into account that during this time I need to prepare and eat meals too.

First and the most obvious was I needed to get rid of some stuff. This is hard for me because there are lots of things in my home that have sentimental or emotional attachment. I managed to pack away some things that will hopefully be displayed in the next home we purchase (which will hopefully be larger than my current home). I am still having trouble with a few knic-knacks, but I'm sure they will find their place soon enough.

The next step was for me to create storage solutions that would help keep things neat and orderly. I always found that the neighbor's son didnt really have a place for his extra school supplies and book so he always left them on the table. Well once one thing was left on the table, it seemed to accumulate a steady stream of stuff. I remedied that situation by using an old basket and will have him store all of his school supplies in the basket and put the basket away each afternoon. I also have an issue with pending mail (bills that need to be paid and like items). I got another basket to keep on top of the microwave to catch all of that mail, since mail seemed to be piling up all around me. I then created a storage bin for all of Emily's items (pack n play sheets, waterproof pads, extra bibs, cloth diapers, etc.) to keep in the living room so I dont have to dash upstairs for these items.

Then came time for cleaning. I took everything off the counter tops and scrubbed the counter, washed the fronts of the appliances, cleaned inside the fridge, cleaned all of my ceiling fans, scrubbed down the bathroom with bleach :), dusted the living room and swept all the hard floors. My dog doesnt go to daycare until tomorrow so the vacuum will have to wait until then so I can move all the furniture and dont have to navigate around a very curious dog. For now I've just run the vacuum around the furniture. I also have to wait to polish the wood floors until tomorrow because he chases the polish mop, same for scrubbing the kitchen... he'll lay in the middle of the kitchen floor and roll around and get all wet... not fun!

I have a great sense of accomplishment looking at all I've gotten done so far. Its much easier to maintain a clean house when its actually clean. I havent tackled the bedrooms yet but that will come next week when my hubby is out of town. I had planned to get it accomplished this week, but his schedule changed and he is now able to be home with us for our anniversary and my goal is to just enjoy having him here :)

"The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour." (Proverbs 21:25)

Many Blessings!

Taking care of the neighbor's son has been a huge blessing. I love helping him with his homework and encouraging him to be a better student. He's such a great kid and he's a joy to have here at the house.

We were blessed to be able to trade in my small SUV for a mini-van last month. We prayed about it and God answered with a beautiful almost new Chrysler Town and Country Touring complete with DVD player system and back-up camera. I now have the space to haul more people around and we dont have to borrow a van to take our trip to Florida for Thanksgiving.

My husband found out that he would be traveling for our 3-year wedding anniversary. I was a little upset because we had made plans to spend the day together and celebrate with a nice dinner at Chima in the evening. I then found out that he would be taking a 5 day trip to Las Vegas starting on Halloween, just a week and a half after our anniversary. After much debate, we decided that I would accompany him to Las Vegas and celebrate our anniversary. I am very excited because it is my first trip. I have no interest in going to the casinos or most of the shows, but there are neat attractions there such as the Lion Habitat at MGM Grand, the Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio, the dancing fountains at the Bellagio, the Gondolas at The Venetian, the M&M world factory, the Coca-Cola Plant, and the Tropical Rain forest at the Mirage. I think it will be a nice trip away and a chance for us to spend some time together. He has to work during the day but we have the evenings to spend together and 1/2 the day on Monday and Thursday.

Emily is becoming very mobile. She is able to roll anywhere she wants to go. Its making it impossible for me to get any work done since she doesnt want to sleep a lot and she is very picky about what she's doing. I feel its more important for me to give attention to my daughter than to have a spotless home.