The will to clean...

So, I have to say that I have a big BIG problem with motivation when it comes to cleaning.

Let me just say, I love having a clean house. I feel satisfied then and comfortable with staying home and just enjoying my squeaky-clean house. But on any given day really, I find decimated Goldfish crackers ground into the carpet, piles of "we should keep it but what should I do with it?" statements and receipts in the office, the dreaded laundry, my ever-shedding hair on the bathroom floor and approximately 8,353,982 toys littering the house (despite me packing up two boxes of toys away).

And somehow it is a miracle to not have a single dirty dish. One day, one ant will wander in and hit the jackpot, then bring his three billion friends and won't I be sorry? So I find myself needing to sweep and scrub everyday and, while there's satisfaction in it, it's so hard to be disciplined!

I think that I've even posted on this just recently, but I want to make a public resolution so you can all kick my butt if I don't follow through.

I have a week off for spring break, so my resolution is to get the entire house clean. If I clean one room a day, I should be all done before go back to work. Here's my schedule (because lists are cool):

Today: the living room & hallway: vacuum, dust, baseboards, windows, clean toys
Sun. : Jack's room: put toddler bed in, disassemble crib for the 700th time, vacuum, dust, organize, tackle Jack's closet.
Mon.: office: file paperwork away & make desk functional again, stack books for when we find another bookcase, then vacuum
Tuesday: hall bathroom: mop, clean counter/mirror/tub, put off cleaning toilet...okay, fine, toilet
Wednesday: our bathroom: ditto above, plus fix sink, that is stuck in "plugged" position
Thursday: our room: vacuum, dust, organize closet and dresser
Friday: guest room: vacuum, dust, organize closet
Saturday: kitchen: mop, scrub, wash, sanitize
Sunday: vacuum living room & hallway again.

Yes, I realize I'm vacuuming nearly everyday this way. Well, it just works for me. Or it won't and I'll just vacuum the whole house on Sunday. Tempting...

So, I'll try to report on my progress each day, so keep me accountable! Today's work starts right after a dirty diaper change! (Ew.)

a Magical birthday

This past weekend sure was a workout! I had a great time, but lugging a child around with me made me quite tired! Friday, the 28th, we went to Disneyland since Liz got in for free! But it wasn't just an ordinary trip to Disneyland...Mom and Dad came too!!! They hadn't been to Disneyland since they took me when I was FIVE YEARS OLD!!! That's twenty-two years!

So, it was John, me, Jack, Dad, Mom, Liz, Theresa and Gabe. I slept like crap the night before...I think, honestly, I was too excited! I finally fell asleep around 2 a.m., but we got up at 5 a.m. and left at 6:15 a.m. Yaaaaaaawn.

It was so incredibly hot that day...hot and muggy. You know when you go on a water ride and get completely soaked and have to put up with wet, clingy, abrasive pants all day? Yes, well we all went on Splash Mountain and got soaked...and we all dried. Well, with the exception of Liz. She actually got 100% soaked, so it probably took longer for her. It was oppressively hot before we ever entered the park! I was worried my mom would lose her drive for fun in the heat, but she stayed until dusk! I am SO PROUD OF MY MOM!!! She went on nearly everything we did, with the exception of some of the rougher rides like the Matterhorn and Space Mountain.

We were able to do just about all the "big" attractions. Space Mountain, It's a Small World, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, Tarzan's Treehouse, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, (Jack and I went on) Winnie the Pooh, Big Thunder Railroad and probably others I can't remember.

We had a fantastic lunch at the Blue Bayou. Chef Moises and Chef Jonathan were so awesome at working with mom's restrictive diet to create a custom salad, even going so far as to hunt down veggies they don't carry in their kitchen! Thank you, Blue Bayou, for making my mom's day so much easier!

Mom did hit her wall around dusk, which was totally understandable! Honestly, if it wasn't Liz's birthday, I would have been okay with going home then too! Mom and Dad left and then we kind of split up to do what we wanted to do. Liz, Gabe and Theresa went on Space Mountain again. John and I walked Mom and Dad out, then waited for the fireworks to start. The fireworks show was amazing...I teared up a little bit. Which figures. I tear up at everything though. Liz makes fun of me, but she said she cried too, so HA!

Then we walked through Downtown Disney and got Liz her first shot! I'm glad it was with us and I'm glad it was just a taste and not a horrible experience for her. Often a 21st birthday is a terrible excuse for someone to take someone out to get absolutely drunk...and anyone who has been drunk can tell you why it's not memorable in a positive way by the next morning! I also thought it was kind of cool that the entire day was spent celebrating all the magic of childhood before focusing on how old she is and whatever society has deemed appropriate for her to do now. And, again, I'm glad it ended well too.

We ate at the Jazz Kitchen, which was fantastic, then finally, finally, FINALLY went home! I had soooo much fun, but it was a long day and my feet were killing me. Everyone was tired and headache-y and sore. John got called in to work on the way home and didn't get back home til 6:30 a.m. (have I mentioned how much I LOVE my man?) and Liz spent the night at my house in preparation for a great weekend up in Santa Ynez/Solvang! The next post will be all about that!