Lots of Cleaning

This last week we did a lot of cleaning around here. I wasn't able to exercise at the church because they have been refinishing the floor in the gym so I've had more time at home in the mornings and we really got a lot done.

On Monday, Michael and Rachel helped me clean their bathroom. I don't normally use that one so I don't always see the mess. Well, there were a lot of clothes in their that got left when children took baths, so we took all the laundry out and then swept and mopped the floor, cleaned off the toothpaste and wiped down walls, along with everything else. I also did a lot of laundry. It was a nice day so I hung all of the sheets outside on the line and then they smelled like sunshine.

Tuesday took us into Michael and Rachel's room. We took all of the toys out of their room, put their clothes in the hamper instead of the floor and moved the car rug out of the way. Then I pushed everything to one side of the room so that I could vacuum it and the shampoo the carpet. Once that side was dry, we moved everything to the other side and shampooed the other half of the room. Then, I re-arranged the beds. We moved Rachel's crib so that she can't see out the door if it is open. I am hoping that if the door gets left open at night the light won't be shining on her this way and wake her up. But, of course with moving them to different places, it took them a while to get used to and they didn't sleep well for a few days.

Wednesday found us in the Living Room. I really need to get a handle on our paper clutter. The girls bring home all kinds of papers from school that they just can't part with and before I know it, they have taken over my house. Most of the time I can get rid of them when the girls are at school, but there have been a few times when papers that they needed got mixed up with other papers and we had to go searching for them, not fun. After we dealt with the papers, we moved the two recliners and cleaned out under and behind them. I wanted to shampoo the living room carpet, but that didn't happen.

Thursday we went to story time and then I needed to make a quick trip to Twin, so not much got done around the house, but the little kids and I got to have lunch with Grandma Emmy and do a little shopping. The big girls went to Grandma Newey's house after school and got a yummy snack while they waited for me to come and pick them up.

By this time the Kitchen was in need of some TLC so that is what I did on Friday. I knew I wanted to clean up the garden and was going to need some counter space, so the juicer got put away and I took an inventory of the fridge and cleaned it out. Took out the garbage and made the kitchen more workable again.

The rest of the weekend found us mainly at Grandma and Grandpa Newey's house. We wanted to watch General Conference, but since we don't have cable or satelite, we went somewhere that did. Plus, Aunt Nicki and Aunt Melissa were up and that is always fun.

We did get to try some new foods this week. I roasted some okra. It was okay. I didn't care for it plain, so I added it to a salad. I'd eat it again, but I don't think it's something I would go out and buy on a regular basis. I think I would like to try it in some kind of soup if I ever do have it again, though. I also make stuffed acorn squash. I really liked it and Rachel really liked it. Robert said it was okay and the rest of the kids barely at any of it. I also got to try artichokes this weekend and I quite liked them. I'll say this for Bountiful Baskets, I may not be familiar with everything that we get and I may not get to choose what comes each week, but we are certainly trying new things.