Cleaning the kitchen

The kitchen finally got the better of me. I couldn't handle the dust, dirt, splatters and just general ickies anymore. When I got up this morning I thought maybe I would reorganize some of the cupboards (how do they get messed up so quickly?) and the junk drawer. But I ended up cleaning the guck out of the window sill and the sliding patio door, dusting the light fixtures, scrubbing the cabinets, washing the baseboard and cleaning the oven (well, it self-cleans). (Oh, and by the way, the oven takes four and half hours to self-clean, so if you make enchilada casserole with Nolan and plan to bake it before the kids have a soccer game at 5:30, you should not start the cleaning at 2:00! Thank goodness for good next door neighbors!!)

The bad thing about cleaning all those things is that I notice it, but for all the time it takes, nobody else does! In fact, when Dave came home, he asked what that smell was and that he hoped it wasn't dinner (it was the oven self-cleaning, of course), asked why it was so cold in the house (windows open to try to help with said odor) and asked what happened in the living room (moved furniture to get everything out of the kitchen and he came home early so it wasn't put away yet). Geez! But, the kids enjoyed having everything moved around for awhile. Nolan spent his rest time on top on the kitchen table. That doesn't happen every day!

On Tuesday, Nolan, Max and I met my friend Lisa and her son Connor at the Children's Museum. It was great--a perfect place for Max to run, and he could hit every button, pick up every ball and play with all the toys! I ended up buying a season pass since it's good at most children's museums nationwide (including Eau Claire, if we ever visit! And the DuPage museum (a little late, huh Nicole?) and the museum at Navy Pier. I think I'll take Abby and Cody to the museum with Nolan and Max at the end of the month when they have days off school, too. I think they'll really like it.

Here's Nolan by the big Harley. Must be the Milwaukee museum!

Farmers at heart.

Here's Max and Connor, Lisa's little boy.

Max spend at least 20 minutes putting balls in this and watching them. He probably would have spent another 20 if I had let him!


In the little kid area (3 and under) Max found this horse, just his size.

Grease monkeys...

Nolan the doctor. I have to get enough shots from him. Maybe it'll pay off one day!

Navigating in a wheelchair. Nolan actually did pretty good and figured out how to go around the whole little course that they had.

Max loves the markers. That's why I never let him play with them at home! First thing he did was take the cap off, color on the table, the paper, and then stuck it in his mouth. Looked like he'd been eating blueberries!


And that's that! I can't believe another week has passed and it's Friday again. The days go by so quickly, I'm truly amazed. I think the days and weeks go by quicker now than when I worked all day, which shocks me. There may be moments that go slow, but all in all, I can't believe I've been at home for nearly five months now. And I don't know what we would do if I weren't at home. Last week, Monday was church, Wednesday was church too (just the kickoff CCD week), Thursday was soccer and Abby has homework every night. Last year, it was all we could do for me to get home, get the kids from daycare, get them to church class on time, get home and get to bed. When is the homework? Or on soccer nights, if dinner isn't ready by 4:30, they don't have time to eat. I was rarely home with them before 5... that would have been lots of McD's! And the mornings... We used to have to LEAVE at 7. Now they rarely get up before 7. What a more relaxed life we lead. I knew it was hectic when I was doing it, but I guess I never realized how much!