cleaning and stuff

So I started to write this in my status update on facebook, and after i had it all written out and clicked send, it THEN told me it was too long...what's up with this? the old facebook used to just stop you when you were typing too much...the moment your space was up, it just wouldn't let you type any more....instead this let me keep on typing and after i had it all worded just right...THEN it tells me it's too long...what the heck? anyway....

Today i finally got around to the vacuuming. I've been meaning to do it for a few days now and there was a possibility of a friend coming with her two preemie twins later on and i figured that was a very good excuse to get some extra cleaning done. So i got the vacuum out, i did the whole floor and noticed it didn't seem to be performing as well as usual so when i was going to put on the hose attachment i took the head off and realized it was seriously dirty!! So i took the head all apart and took the belt off and replaced it ( i bought three the last time i went to the Kirby store) and i decided since i was spiffying up the vacuum i would also change the bag, so that was all fresh, then i took the little dust buster and sucked out all the excess dust and fur and hair that was clogging the head. Then after reattaching it all i decided to vacuum again since now it would work even better....then i decided to vacuum the couch too, get off any fur from the cat, who loves our new couch as much as we do i think. I took a little break after that and Elaine asked if there was any cleaning she could do (she's a little obsessive about the cleaning...she loves to do it!) so i decided i would sweep and mop and since i'd be moving the chairs out of the dining room, Elaine and Maggie could use clorox wipes to clean them. They thought that was the greatest thing ever. Maggie spent about thirty seconds on one chair...whereas Elaine spent about fifteen minutes on a chair cleaning every edge and nook and cranny. So after sweeping and mopping they wanted to know what else they could do....so i decided to let Elaine dust and then Maggie brought dirty clothes out to the garage for laundry (from the hampers in the bathroom). While Elaine was dusting i noticed the higher shelves which of course she couldn't reach and i noticed how seriously cluttered with random junk they had become...so i worked on that. I organized book shelves and on top of the Entertainment Center and in the kitchen too....i liked how clean everything was getting and i loved that girls were really excited to help.

Elaine had taken something to be put away in Katie's room and noticed how messy it was. It's been in a state of disarray as Katie is moving up a size in clothes and i'm trying to wait until i know if i need to keep her girl clothes for the new baby, or if the new baby is a boy and i can get rid of the clothes that don't fit her anymore. I've avoided cleaning Katie's room until i know for sure what to do with her old clothes...but in the meantime the rest of the room is a bit crazy too. Well this really bothered Elaine, Elaine can't handle a mess without at least trying to clean it. She makes her and Maggie's bed each morning and cleans their bathroom each morning too, any little mess and she's on it! So apparently Katie's bedroom was a big need for her, so when she asked if she could clean it i said sure. Normally if she asks to clean her room or the bathroom she's back out in ten minutes....she spent an HOUR in Katie's room! I didn't get a chance to look in there until i was putting Katie to bed and when i took her in there i hardly recognized the place! She had cleaned off the dresser and put every pair of shoes on the dresser organized by size and color. She stood all the stuffed animals upright by height. She put all the rest of the toys away more neatly on the shelves than i've ever seen them. She made a new place for diapers and wipes that i never would have thought of and they fit perfect. She also hung up every bib (there was a pile of clean bibs in a basket) between each rung on the crib. Now of course i had to take them down or Katie would have had a field day with them, but it looked so cute...they were hung up by height. She put a giant teddy bear in the rocking chair which looked so adorable....she worked so hard in there, i don't think it's been that neat since before Katie came home..when i very first set it up as her room.

I know that the kid's loving to help me clean won't last forever, especially for Maggie who mostly just likes to do it because Elaine does. But Elaine has a serious need for organization, i'm not entirely sure where it comes from, i love clean and organized but i don't think i was like that as a child! And i can almost guarantee it doesn't come from Adam, he likes it when i clean, but he doesn't care if it's a mess either. It's obviously very engrained in her to be like this though, i mean as a baby she used to sort her fruity cereal by color before she would eat it, even before 1 year old! crazy! cute though....not sure how this will play out later in life, but for now, i love it!

Obviously this is way more than i originally tried to post on facebook, but i love cleaning so much and with this pregnancy i don't always have the energy to do much of it....so this was a great day for me, and the girls too. And my friend with her twins did come to visit, and i felt better knowing she was visiting a very clean house!!