Mrs. Clean

   

This week's Spin Cycle, brought to you by Gretchen at Second Blooming, is on the subject of "clean."  I gotta say, the topic of clean has taken a whole other level these past 11 months.  Oh the things I have cleaned.  I write this on Tuesday night, as I stare at a white spot still wet from Resolve spray and Clorox wipes from where poop from Aubrey's blowout got on our floor.  Resolve has become my best friend.  It's amazing.  It cleans up all sorts of bodily fluid. Aubrey has really tested it, trust me.  So yes, cleaning...oh, cleaning...

 

 

Cleaning used to be one of those once a week things, and yes, we do our "cleaning" of the house once a week, but I find myself cleaning pretty much daily now that we have a 26 lb little one crawling around, wreaking havoc in her wake.  Hurricane Aubrey leaves debris and tragedy in her path.  Elmo, strewn across the floor, the alphabet blocks tossed everywhere.  H is nowhere near I.  God knows where M or N are.  She has discovered the magazine rack I have so carefully hidden from her, but apparently not carefully enough as pieces of magazines are discovered.  I discover a puddle of spit-up near her ball table.  A booger near her tub of toys that has been capsized, spilling its contents everywhere.  Blankets pulled off of my quilt rack.  Diapers pulled one by one out of the diaper bag. 

 

 

And then there is the kitchen.  The high chair.  Thank God the seat cover comes off, and you can wash it.  Cheerios and puffs are scattered across the floor, as well as the crumbs from where T or I have accidentally stepped on them.  Then there are the crumbs that have stuck to your sock after stepping on said Cheerios and have transplanted to some other location on the floor.  Puddles of sweet potato.  And used bottles.  Everywhere. 

 

 

Our nightly routine has become cleaning up this hot mess.  We manage to do it every night, because T and I are the type of people who can't stand messes like this.  Things must be put away before we go to bed.  Sure, things could slide, I'm sure, and as Aubrey gets older, it won't be us that is taking care of this mess.  Or hell, the mess will be somewhat controlled.  I hope.  But anyway, after we put the little monkey to bed, we find ourselves stooped over, picking up toys, vacuuming and Swiffer wet-jetting all over the place. 

 

 

My least favorite "cleaning" activity....arriving at Aubrey's daycare, peaking in the classroom window to discover "hey, that's not the outfit we put her in this morning!"  "Oh wait, what's in that plastic bag in her basket?"  And then there's the sinking realization.  There is poop in that bag.  It's the policy of her classroom to just take the dirty clothes, not scrape any of the "stuff" off, and just put it in a bag for the parents.  You pick up the bag, move it around to see if you can get a hint of what is inside...is it bad?  Just a squirt?  Or a total disaster?  And I swear, opening that bag has to be one of my least favorite activities, especially if that bag has been sitting there all morning. 

 

 

I am a Mom, and I clean.  I clean because I'm a Mom.  And I swear to God, I will remind Aubrey of this some day as she is older and complains about having to clean after herself. 

 

 

So cleaning has changed for sure.  And perhaps I have gotten better at it.  It's an art, I tell you, an art.  But that is what the word "clean" brings to mind. 

 

 

So what do others have to say about cleaning?  Maybe they don't talk about poop as much as I do, but what's more fun than talking about poop? Anyway, stop by Gretchen's blog and see what other spinners have to share!