Mental Meanderings

Cleaning House *grimaces*

Being the single mother of two very bright and active kids is both heaven and hell. After spending three days sick in bed, rising only to ensure the kids were alive and ate something I finally felt recovered enough to take stock of the damage. The house? Totalled. lol Thankfull not irrecoverably since I don't think my home insurance covers rambunctious children, perhaps they'd count as an act of God?

It's interesting to see my home upended. It doesn't look all that different from when it's not upended except that the chaos extends further and in greater quantity. Toys and empty packets of nibbles strewn everywhere along with other various items that the kids made use of and discarded without packing away while they were more or less unsupervised lay in disarray in every room of the house. Dirty clothes on most floors, lots of trekked in dirt and sand, a few stray jelly beans, books, and still more toys seemed to create piles across the floor.

Thankfully it only took a few hours, lots of nagging, some raised voice, and a heap of praising to get two rooms so far back into order. I need to catch up with laundry but that'll probably take at least a week. Thankfully I can again see the floor in my room and the living room. My floorboards however are looking worse for wear. Many times I've very glad I hadn't yet saved and paid to have them sanded, waxed and polished. When I eventually do I'll probably have to stain as well but I'm waiting till my two rug rats are old enough not to poor chocolate icecream on squash jelly lollies onto it.

Sometimes it makes me wonder if having a husband around would make this any easier. I reflect on when my husband was around and think perhaps not. Having him home never seemed to make any difference to either the way the kids acted or the state of the house. If anything it just meant dirty dishes in every room instead of just the kitchen, more laundry, pee spattered toilet and grime smeared bathroom. Yep, definately better off as a single mother. *chuckles* See, good to reflect on the positives sometimes. lol

I am a little frustrated however because I was hunting for something as I cleaned today and couldn't find it. I had thought that on Friday it had sunk down the back of my bed and I was too sick to bother fishing it out so I could return it on time. It's a DVD now days overdue. They called about it already and I can't find it anywhere. It's not where I thought it was and it's not in any of the likely places. I may have to go in tomorrow and pay the replacement value which is a pain in the butt. I hate when this stuff happens. I should have followed my instincts and returned it last week.

Oh well, the priority tomorrow is to tackle the two kids rooms. It would be nice to see their floor and be able to walk around their bed to put new sheets on. It would be nice to put away baby boys folded clothes without risking contamination from the various types of dirt that creates a nature reserve on his wardrobe.

I'll also make more of a dent on the laundry and kitchen. It's times like this I'm thankful for two incredible investments I made for my home last year. Two modern conveniences that have been life changing. My airconditioner to stave away the scorching Australian summer heat and my dishwasher to make keeping up with dishes so much easier. I'm now contemplating getting a second tumble dryer to speed up laundry time.

Meanwhile, I'm tired and I want to have a break while there is quiet in the house and the kids are sleeping. I'm going to go read a book and not think about all the housework I have to do tomorrow. I guess the good thing is I might find this DVD. Of course if I don't, at least I'll have restored order for a few hours.

PS. If anyone knows how to make a six and two year old put away their things AS they finish playing PLEASE share this vital information with me. Even spending hours being coaxed to clean up doesn't seem to deter them from making the mess in the first place. *sighs and collapses in an exhausted heap*