Monday, February 11, 2008

I Hate Cleaning!

Ok, I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. I absolutely hate to clean!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I am not June Cleaver. For the younger set (OMG, am I that old?) that is the glorified, perfect stay-at-home mom of the 50s whose house was immaculate, full dinner on the table every night, and perfectly groomed as her husband walks through the door at 5pm.

Ok, that is TV. Let us face it in the real world this is not realistic for any mom working or stay-at-home, especially with two boys and a husband. Add in a dog and you are heading upstream against a raging river. A clean, uncluttered home now is just a pipe dream.

Let’s paint the real picture of my day. I am up, still dark - hi ho hi ho - off to work I go. (Still dark, seeing a trend?) Run errands at lunchtime (Wahoo a chance to see the sun), rush home to pick up the boys from daycare (dark again). As we walk in the door, it is time to whip up some sort of dinner while I fend off the boys snacking on whatever they can grab before the microwave beeps. Chicken nuggets are made of chicken, right?

This is when it gets ugly: playtime. Yikes! Within five minutes the playroom looks like a bomb has exploded with no survivors. Why can they take out toys 10X faster than they can put them away? Mommy is lucky enough to get to help. Hmmm, so not “fair.” I do not know what I will do when after school activities start. How did my mom do it all?

Onto bath and bed times we go. After a full day, all I really want to do is crawl in the tub and take a long, hot soak. Instead, I get the whirlwind of getting everyone ready and off to sleepy land without dropping of exhaustion.

I am working so hard to make sure my “little men” learn to clean up their messes, put their dishes in the sink, trash in trashcan, and clothes in the hampers. I hope that one day their wives will thank me. Ok, I can dream, right?

Now, it’s time to clean up (collect) dishes, load the dishwasher, clean the tables, vacuum, straightened up the kitchen, and pick up the clothes that all the boys have managed to deposit around the house when no one was looking. Come on how many pairs of socks do three males wear in a day anyway? Throw in some laundry and a home business and 11:00pm rolls around pretty quickly most nights.

Bedtime at last, as dear husband rolls over to ask what I did today. Good question! I wonder the same thing as I look at the pile of clothes on my bedroom floor, the dirty bathroom and unmade bed. What did I do today?

I turn on the TV only to watch a mom who has a cook, nanny, driver, and maid while she stays home and plays with the kids or has her nails done. Waaah!!! Why can’t I have a maid? I had one once a month what seems a lifetime ago. However, two daycare bills have ensured that the only maid, nanny, driver, and cook at our house is me.

Oh well, so my house is not clean, beds not made, and dust bunnies abound. Yes, it bugs me on a daily basis. Yet, as I sneak into look at my sleeping angels, I am reminded why a messy house is so worth it.

Our house is definitely “lived in” and that’s ok for now.

Tell me what you hate! Post your comments.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are few things in this life I like less than cleaning....a root canal comes to mind. But it is the one time I am glad we live in a relatively small house, and have only 1 bathroom to clean! I think the best things I've added to my cleaning routine are the swiffer products (specifically the new sweaper with vacum, awesome) and the method floor cleaners. Actually all the method stuff. Still no matter how easy you try to make it, you're still scrubbing a dang toilet and it's gross.

I look forward to the day when I can give my kids "real" chores. Right now my oldest helps, and cleans up after himself (but not his sister), but I long for the day when, like my own parents, I can D-e-l-e-g-a-t-e!!
Caroline

Anonymous said...

I'm so with you.
i love having a clean house but I'm pregnant with my third and the last thing i want to do (well almost) is clean!