About Sweetmama Editor
Nadine Silverthorne’s love of journaling began in Grade One with the entry, “I am the greatest dancer!” Two babies (and countless diaper changes) later, she has found her home away from home as editor of SweetMama. Don’t miss her humorous bi-weekly accounts of the joys and pains of working while raising them fabulous.
Multitasking
silver spoons canada
(May.03.09)
Two weekends ago, I took advantage of the rainy weather and decided to take a break from our overscheduled lives. After trying desperately to schedule a trip to the beach around lunch time and nap time the day before, (which, in true Toronto style, was like summer) I just didn't have it in me to attempt another big outing.
Between daycare, grandparents and weekend insanity, it feels like my kids are never home. So they were pretty excited about it. Except the more we stayed indoors, the more apparent it became that my house was in need of a good cleaning. With my cleaning lady out of the picture due to finances (sniff) I felt I had to tackle it before I put it off for a whole month.
So I set the kids up with an activity in their room and went next door to pull up my amazing Williams Sonoma gloves (they don't sell them online or I'd show you their awesomeness) and tackle the toilet. The one good thing about having a very small house is that the children are always nearby. I was able to interact with them while giving the tub the thorough once-over that I was now noticing the cleaning ladies had decided not to clean overlooked.
After I cleaned up all the fun splatterings from "boy who is learning to pee standing up," I decided to tackle the main floor. The children got a kick out of helping me pour baking soda all over the rug (which had a smell thanks to "girl who somehow pees through her diaper, even when I just changed it").
The best part about using eco-friendly cleaning solutions is that you can get the kids in on the cleaning without worrying. I don't know why, but my kids LOVE wiping counter tops. I let the older one pour the detergent into the washing machine and instructed him which buttons to push.
I also took our trusty, old Swiffer (NOT eco, I know, I have guilt about the toss factor -- but it works so well on cat hair!) and unscrew the bars until I can adjust it to the right height for them. My vacuum has a hand vac built-in and it's just small enough to get them in on that action too. (Bye-bye baking soda and bad carpet smell, thanks to toddler-who-wields-vaccum.)
Phyllis Diller once said that “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.” Sure, the results didn't last long, but it made me feel like I was wrong about needing the cleaning lady. I could be WITH my kids AND clean the house at the same time. And we could all kind of enjoy it. (It's not child labour if they like it right?)
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