Week of Cleaning

We've had a productive week. I've been wanting to really clean the house and we got a good start this week. We had a short visit from some relatives last Thursday and we used that as our motivator. I always need motivation for this kind of thing. Of course, Monday and Tuesday were absolutely sunny and beautiful but, alas, we were inside cleaning and dusting, getting rid of clothes to donate, putting stuff away and throwing stuff out. The kids were so great. They really worked hard and did everything I asked them to. Chad is great at organizing, Carmen is good at cleaning and putting things away and, Alec ... well, he's just good at obeying me when I give him an order. Todd got motivated to clean part of his side of our office room. Thus, I was motivated to clean my side ... at a future date. Priorities! Clean everything the company will see first, then move on to everything else.

Lists really help me. If I don't make lists, I get scatter-brained. Now I need to make new lists, with the next phase of cleaning. Though after this week, I needed a few days rest to recover.

Carmen has really taken an interest in the kitchen this summer. She wants to learn how to cook. She has been regularly asking to empty the dishwasher and learned how to fill it as well. Tonight, she was looking at a recipe for making pancakes. She said, "This doesn't look hard." I said that I'm glad she thinks that way. I am not a confident cook and pancakes scare me. But we will do it together and perhaps some of her confidence will rub off on me. Todd is the resident pancake maker in this family. Every time I make them, they turn out icky, like those thin, round rubber sheets you use to open a jar with. I can't see wasting good ingredients on my disasters. Chad likes to flip pancakes so perhaps I'll have them work together. Alec can help by eating them. Alec is growing fast this summer - his increased appetite is evidence of this.

I'm sad that September is a few days away. I hate September. Something to do with school starting/summer ending. I need to remember that our school doesn't start until October. Yippee! Perhaps September will be warm. One can always hope.

How many blog posts have I ended with that last phrase? Must write this on my list: Increase phrase repertoire.