the cleaning lady

Kara has pretty much always liked "helping" me with housework. At least since she's been old enough to try. In the past it wasn't very much help, and often gave me more work to do in the end. But I thought it was important to let her try, so she could learn how to do it. I am finally starting to see the payoff. Kara is finally able to really help me around the house. Not only is she able to do several things correctly, but she often volunteers, or just starts helping on her own. Today was a good helping day for her. After lunch, as I was cleaning up, she got a rag from the drawer, got it wet and started washing down the stools they sit on at the counter. She then started wiping the counters, (which I'd already done, but I didn't want to discourage her) and she even asked if she could sweep the floor. It's amazing to see what she knows about the things that need to get done without my telling her. She has just learned a lot of it from seeing what I do all the time. She even put on a little apron, as I often do while cleaning.

It does backfire on me a little when I am trying to get away with a light cleaning day, and she keeps noticing the things I haven't done. She'll say, "mom, aren't you going to clean the fridge?" or, "I think you forgot about dusting". Today as I was vacuuming the livingroom, she started moving chairs and things so I could vacuum under them. I'll admit I was just planning on doing a quick job through the open part of the room.

Another way she likes to help is with decorating. Today she said she made a centerpiece for the glass table. It turns out she had spread a bunch of her artwork all over the table. cute and cluttered at the same time.

and she also told me that she had decorated the bookshelf, which really meant that she had set up some of her toys there.

but other than a few minor annoyances, I am so glad that her helping has started to be more helpful than not. It really can cut down the amount of time it takes me to clean the house, and it's also great quality time to spend together. I realize that sounds lame, but she gets to do something she loves, while I get some needed help. And I also get to make sure she is learning the correct way to do things. She can get a little meticulous about certain things, but I only have myself to blame for that. She's just trying to do it the same as me. And I think it's better to be a perfectionist, than to be lazy.

I try to make it fun. Today we had a dusting competition. I got all the high places, and Kara got the low.

and just to prove that my 4 year old isn't stuck doing my housework all day, here's a cute picture of the girls playing Uno Moo. Kiersten got it for Christmas from Grandma VanSickle. They both love this game, and always want to play it 3 or 4 times. Hopefully Kara's love of helping me clean is going to rub off on Kiersten too. So far, it hasn't, and Kiersten will usually only help clean up when bribed. But I think at 2 years old, I wasn't really making Kara help very much either.

10/6/09

Friday night, we went to the halloween store to get costumes for the girls. We didn't end up with one for Kiersten, but we got Kara's, and mine. Kara had to pee while we were there, but they don't have a public restroom. Ben was asking one of the employees where the nearest place was that would have one, and she took one look at Kara, and said we could use their employee bathroom. On the way back there, a zombie was crawling across the floor and lunging at Kara. I don't think I've ever seen her so terrified. It was hard to catch her, but I did. She calmed down after I picked her up, but after that she just wanted out of the store. I have to say, I can see why they don't usually let customers use that bathroom. It was a pretty scary experience as well. Then we went to dinner at Ruby tuesday, and had barely any leftovers for once.
Saturday, I made Ben clean out the garage, while I packed away all of Kiersten's 12 month clothing, and Kara's 3T clothing. I also packed up more than half of their baby blankets. They still have around 15 that I left out for them, but we were getting sick of having blankets strewn everywhere, so hopefully it will be easier to contain them now. Then I had to go to the post office, and I had a load of things to donate to goodwill, then I stopped at the store for some things. I came home and made some banana bread, and got some items cleaned up to get posted on craigslist. The garage is looking really great now.
Sunday, Ben and Kiersten stayed home to watch football and cartoons, while I took Kara out and about. I haven't had much one on one time with her since she started preschool. First we went to lunch, and then we went shopping at the mall. I needed new pants, since I'm getting sick of wearing skirts and shorts all the time. I only had one pair of pants that fit, because I had given away all my "skinny pants" to good will after I had Kiersten, thinking I'd never get that small again. I found some great deals, and was happy with what I got, while actually sticking to a budget for once. Kara wanted to get something too, so I let her get one dress. I was tempted to let her get more stuff, but I was determined not to overspend. After we left the mall, I talked Kara into getting her hair trimmed. When she heard me mention it to Ben earlier that morning, I called it a haircut, and she freaked out. She started crying and saying she didn't want to get her hair cut off. After changing the term to "hair trim", and explaining to her how little would actually be coming off, she agreed, and actually got excited about it. She did become a bit hesitant when we got there and she saw scissors, but I reminded her that she was just getting a trim. It was a 20 minute wait, and she had to go to the bathroom, so I took her over to fred meyer to go. I also let her pick out a treat, and told her we would open it after her hair was done. When I told the stylist it was her first haircut, she wanted me to stand right next to the chair. After she got started, she realized Kara was not going to melt down, and said I could go sit. I heard parts of their conversation, and I could tell Kara was driving it. They talked about her bee sting, her school, and the upcoming trip to the pumpkin patch, and Kiersten. The stylist was very impressed with Kara for doing so well. Kara is thrilled about her trim. She doesn't realize it basically looks the same as before, just a little cleaner and straighter. Afterward, we went to wal-mart to get a movie that ben called and requested I buy, then we headed home. I got dinner made and cleaned out my car before we put the girls to bed. We watched the movie Changeling. Ben didn't think I would like it, and he was right. I was up all night thinking of the different oppurtunities someone might have to kidnap one of my kids.
Yesterday I took Kara to school, then came home and played with Kiersten until it was time to go to the gym. I was working out with one of the trainers, so of course I was late. I got stuck on the way there, waiting for a train. I've never once seen a train on those tracks before, and even wondered if they were still used. So I was a few minutes late, but I still had a little time for a warm up. I decided only to stay for the training session, and not work out another hour since I was there later than usual, and I didn't want Kiersten to be getting hungry. After lunch and nap time, we picked Kara up from school. She started crying and said she never wanted to go back. So I called the teacher to see if she knew what had happened, because I couldn't get an answer out of Kara. Mrs. Wright said the only thing she could think of, was when they were supposed to be practicing marching in line, Kara kept stopping up the line and then running forward and pushing the girl in front of her, so she had to sit out the rest of the time. But that had happened earlier in the day, and she said Kara had seemed to get over it. I couldn't get Kara to talk right then, and we needed to hurry to pick Ben up from his Dr.'s office. Of course Kara had to go potty, so I had to pull off the freeway for that. It took forever to get back on, but we got there around the time his surgery was to be finished. As I walked in the door, my phone rang, and I was trying to answer it while holding a thrashing Kiersten, and trying to hold Kara's hand, who also wanted to be held, and was whining about it. I dropped my phone and had to call ben back. I told him I was there, and would be up in a minute. I dragged the kids upstairs, and by the time I got there, he was calling me again. I guess he was anxious to leave, but we still ended up waiting for the doctor to come speak to us for another 15 minutes. They took 4 biopsies from his throat. They confirmed again that he has eosinophilic esophagitis, and also a hiatus hernia. He has a new prescription that he will be on indefinitely, and to make sure he actually remembers to take it, I am supposed to get him one of those grandpa pill cases with the days of the week. We'll have the biopsy results in about a week or so. He still needs to follow up with the allergy doctor as well. The Dr. dilated his throat again, but said if he starts having any trouble swallowing, they'll need to do it again. The only problem is that he never notices he has trouble swallowing until food is stuck in his throat. Hopefully the new prescription will help. We finally got Kara to talk about getting in trouble at school. She also told us how much fun she had, so she decided she does want to go to school. We reminded her that she needs to listen to the teacher, and when she gets in trouble, it's because she needs to learn. She said she will not push the other kids again. We stopped and got dinner, and then went home. Ben and Kiersten both crashed on the couch, so I just cleaned up the house, and let Kara play. A lady came to buy my diaper genie I put on craigslist. She actually paid me with 4 dollar bills and 10 dimes. I was glad she got it for such a great deal. she had 2 boys the same ages as my girls, and they were an obvioius handful for her, just trying to get from her car to my door. She said she thought her little boy was potty trained and gave hers away. but it turns out, he isn't quite potty trained and her hubby didn't want her buying another one brand new. After a while, Kara got bored and asked to make cookies, so I figured that was a good thing to do. She picked chocolate chip, and I was glad she picked an easy cookie. I clipped coupons while she watched the cookies bake through the little window on the oven door. By the time all the batches were done, it was time for bed, so I woke up Ben and sent him upstairs, and brought the girls up to bed too.
This morning I had to wake up early to take Ben to get his car from the Dr.'s office parking lot. His throat is still hurting, but he felt fine to drive to work. The girls both took early naps, and I'm just working on laundry. I am really sore from my workout yesterday. I can barely get up and down the stairs. But it's a good kind of sore, like the soreness of fat being burned away, ha!

8/21/09

Last friday I had a headache all day, so when Ben got home, he fed the girls dinner so I could take a nap. I felt much better after, but the problem was, I couldn't fall asleep later that night. Ben and the girls were asleep, and I just wasn't tired, so I went downstairs for some cleaning time. A few weeks ago, glidden was giving away free paint, so I had ordered some paint that I thought would be good for our master bathroom. When I got it, I thought it might actually be better for the kitchen, but I hadn't quite decided. So as I was cleaning, I came across the can of paint. I decided to tape off the kitchen, just to see how much work it would be. It didn't take long at all, so I decided to go ahead and paint. I'm glad I used it for the kitchen and not the bathroom. There is a lot less wall space than I realized because of cupboards and appliances. I stayed up til 3:00 painting, then decided to take a break, but I fell asleep on the couch. Ben woke up at 7:30, and started looking for me. He was surprised to find me downstairs on the couch with the tv on and the kitchen painted green! I admit it was kinda random, but I like how it turned out. I hadn't finished above the cabinets, but it was mostly done. We had to hurry and start getting ourselves and the girls ready for Ben's fidelity softball game in Samammish. It was supposed to start at 10, but due to traffic, and a detour, we arrived at 11. Surprisingly, we were some of the first people there. By noon, most everyone had arrived and the game started. It was a combo softball game/barbeque with the Tukwila, Seattle, and Bellevue branches. It was fun to see everyone from Seattle again. I haven't seen some of those people in a really long time. It was also fun to see everyone else too. I didn't watch much of the game, but I still had fun playing with all the little kids that were there! Of course Kara made friends with all of them. As soon as that was finished, we headed over to a birthday party for Nathan and Sara's son, Ethan, who was turning 7. It was also at a park, so that was a pretty long day for us, and a fun day for the girls. We stopped at costco first for some stuff, and I waited in the car because Kiersten was sleeping. Ben and Kara came out with a new book for Kiersten, and flowers for me. Ben said Kara had insisted on getting them for me. Here is a picture of her smelling them. The birthday party was really fun. The kids all shot nerf guns at each other, and then they had a treasure hunt. They went all over the park until they finally found the treasure. Kiersten even had a goodie bag in the treasure, even though she didn't participate with the hunt. After the party, we came home and just crashed. I guess we are getting pretty old.
The next day, I decided to do as much cleaning as possible, and asked Ben if he could take the girls somewhere fun for 2 or 3 hours. He decided it would be a good day to visit his brother, Jason. He didn't want to drive all the way to Portland, so I think they met up about half and hour north of there. Here are a couple pictures.

It worked out well for me that they ended up being gone for more than 5 hours. I was really able to get a lot done. I got to a lot of those things, that don't need to be done too often, but still need to be done. Things like windows, washing walls, disinfecting lightswitches and doorknobs, that usually get sent to the bottom of my to-do list. They got to come home to an especially clean house, and then Ben helped me finish up the painting, and we all went to bed exhausted.

This week, Ben has had a lot going on at work. Tuesday their big boss came to town, and that was a late night, I think that was the night they did an event with clients until after 9:00. So the girls were in bed asleep by the time he got home. Then wednesday was his gym night after work, so he got home a bit late. Last night, the branch had a bowling get-together, which he ended up leaving early, but still didn't get home in time to have dinner with us. We have all felt like this has been a very long week. As for the girls and I, we have been up to the usual; going to they gym, grocery shopping, trips to the dry cleaner, doing laundry, and housework. And of course plenty of play time, and just goofing around. Yesterday, Kara woke up from a nap, convinced that Daddy had, "gone away in a balloon". she was really upset, and I tried to let her call him to see that he was okay, but we couldn't get him, so that was a few hours worth of drama for her. She was glad when he finally arrived home, and was okay. This weekend, we plan on going nowhere, and just relaxing around here all together.