Sunday, January 25, 2009

Are you there, Spring? It's me, Sara...

So, I'm either nesting (which better not be the case because I'm certainly not pregnant) or Spring cleaning (which is weird because it's only January - wishful thinking?). When we moved into our house I would clean it all the time. I remember wondering if there would ever come a time when I wouldn't clean it so obsessively.

Hahaha

Enter - getting knocked up. Cleaning definitely took a backseat to baby belly. I used every pregnant excuse I could come up with (tired, heartburn, big ole' belly, swollen ankles, can't hold a broom and a blt at the same time...) I mean, I would clean, as in pick up here and there and dust off every once in awhile, but 102 was definitely in need of a life-altering top-to-bottom cleaning. I guess watching Nathan laying on his belly and 'almost' getting into crawling position made me take a second glance at my floors and not at the spots that get swept over every now and then, but the spots that a baby might crawl to and the things he might pick up to put in his mouth.

Oh, pleeeeeeease. I challenge you right now to look around your floors, in the tiny corners, under the edge of your sofas or the edge of the bottoms of your cabinets and not find something a little yucky. Please don't tell me that I'm the only person out there who let's these things slide a little.

I guess it hasn't been done much because since pregnancy I've had a 9+pound load to lug around when I'm here. He loves being held and since Jason's gone alot, I end up not having an extra set of hands to help me out in this department. (Of course, he says that I could do it when I'm not blogging or Facebooking - but, come on! That's my social life! haha, not really....well, kinda.)

My parents kept Nathan for us Saturday morning so I could work and Jason could get some stuff done around the house. They had to run some errands, so they decided to take Nathan with them. Well, he's obviously got his mama's charm, because he talked his Big Daddy into taking him into Babies R Us while Memaw was at the Dollar Store. Oh lord, I wish I had been there to witness this. How many grown men do you know would take a baby into Babies R Us by themselves?? So, not only did Nathan talk his Big Daddy into taking him into the biggest Baby store in the world (or at least Newnan), but he looked up at his grandaddy with those big baby blue eyes and batted them to the exact tune of, "please buy me a walker and a new highchair to keep at your house, Big Daddy, please..." It took me several years to perfect this look, but my son's a quick learner. Do you know that they actually came home with a walker AND a new highchair. I couldn't believe it. My dad is already spoiling his grandson. Next, it's going to be the latest fishing rods, four-wheelers and b.b.guns. Sweet ole' Big Daddy....

So, back to the original story, it was GREAT because I brought the walker over here and was able to put him in it while Jason and I cleaned (I added his name so he wouldn't get his feelings hurt, but he really just made me think he was helping by staying out of my way. Don't tell him I know his secret....) Nathan adores his walker. Hasn't quite figured out yet why he's moving around or how to get from one place to the next, but is interested in it happening. It's particularly funny when he scoots in front of the oven and catches his image (now that you can actually see a reflection in it). He starts smiling at himself and cooing. Just precious...

So, I started by going through the piles of mail, books, magazines, etc. and put all of it away. Took everything off the countertops and scrubbed (with clorox anywhere spray) them all down. Put dishes in dishwasher and kept laundry going. Wiped all surfaces including kitchen table, chairs and legs. Re-organized my pantry. Swept, swept, swept. Vacuumed the rugs and mopped. Oh, and scrubbed the bathroom down with every anti-bacterial product I could find. I think that if Nathan all of a sudden started crawling across the floors I would actually be able to enjoy watching him and not cringe at the thought of what he was crawling around on. I can't tell you how good this feels to my soul to clean! Spring better be on the way here with a quickness now that I put in all this hard work.

P.S. I think the Chinese definitely have the right idea, no shoes beyond the front door...
OH! And P.P.S. We were fixing to leave my parents' house the other night when Memaw started making Nathan belly laugh. It was absolutely the sweetest sound I have ever heard and luckily, my dad was able to grab his camera in time to catch it. So, here it is. Be sure to check out his little bald head...

5 comments:

Unknown said...

oh my floors are icky. then again we're getting ready to move so that has a lot to do with it. Well that and having a 2 year old that thinks that throwing all of his toys all over the floor is the way to go. YAY for finding a solution in the walker.
p.s no matter how clean your floors are once they get mobile they find things that you know was not there to put in their mouths.

Queen Berry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You have the most fabulous "voice" in your writing!! I love it! That is, I think, a Perkins-thing... like your Daddy's story telling and Elaine and Joyce's poetry. You make me proud!

Jennifer said...

I have the same feeling about cleaning right now! I am wanting everything perfectly clean, but not because I have a baby, just because I haven't done much of anything deep cleaning wise in the past few months. Thanks for inspiring me!

Jennifer said...

I am so glad you liked the letter game! I am passing you the letter R.