Spring Cleaning...with a Toddler

The Other Half has friends coming for the weekend, I have a friend over for lunch early next week and our letting agency wants to do a routine inspection later on next week. So I decided it was a good time for a Spring Clean. However, any housework takes double the time when my Little Monster is around. She also has a rather frustrating habit of making a mess wherever I've just finished tidying.

I began yesterday with the Little Monster's bedroom, by far the most disorganised room in the flat. I cleared toys, washed windows, hoovered the carpet and removed all items that didn't belong in there, such as a small collection of the Other Half's socks. I organised her doll's house and her mini kitchen and her finger puppet theatre. I stepped back to admire my work for a moment before going to have a sit down. A loud noise from the bedroom. I nervously returned to find the Little Monster sat giggling on her bed, looking down on the carpet where she had just emptied her picnic basket and shopping basket. I gave up and had a cup of tea.

Today has been slightly better. I managed to get the laundry, washing up and drying up done while she played happily her in her now messy bedroom. I had to resort to putting a DVD on so that I could clean the kitchen and I am very grateful that she sat quietly to watch it. After finishing the kitchen, I paused to read Little Monster a book so that she didn't feel ignored. Then I washed the windows, changed the bedsheets and swept the floors. Now it's mid afternoon and I just have to hoover the living room rug and my bedroom carpet and tidy the living room. Cleaning the bathroom has to wait until after Little Monster's bedtime as it will involve climbing into the bath in order to reach all the tiles. On moving in, I immediately loved those tiles. Lovely irregular sand coloured stone. I thought the little cracks and crevices gave it a nice textured look, made it look homely. I now utterly despise them. They are the most difficult surface I have ever had to keep clean and seem to be dirty again within hours of being scrubbed.

I'm pleased with my productive day. I'm hardly a domestic goddess so it's nice to see the flat tidy for once. I know its unlikely even to last until the Other Half's friends arrive on Saturday but hopefully it'll only need a little tidy up at that point. Now I'm going to have a bagel and a cup of tea before finishing off the big clean.

A Whole Rainbow Variety of Stress

I'll try to start this post on a positive note. We've just enjoyed a nice visit from my brother-in-law. This had an added bonus in the form of a new PC he brought with him as mine sadly passed away a while ago. This gift came with a massive sense of relief as I have an essay due on Friday, which is currently about half complete, and the Other Half has taken away the laptop for the whole week, thus leaving me with no way completing said assignment. So, as soon as brother-in-law had kindly set up the PC for me (I have no technical computer skills whatsoever) and left to go home, I have downloaded a free word processing programme from the internet. "Brilliant", thought I. "Once the Little Monster has gone to bed, I can start typing away and have 1500 words ready to send off in no time". Alas, no.

I had cleverly saved the essay so far as a draft on my email account so that I can get it onto any other computer I need to use. Not quite so cleverly, I have saved it as a file type that will not open on my freshly downloaded word processor. At present, I have only one option. I must do the whole thing again. This is rather frustrating, particularly as I had managed to get about 750 words done already. So I shall be spending probably every evening this week frantically typing away to get this done and sent for Friday.

In addition, the Little Monster is starting to get the idea that the Other Half is at work and will be going there on a regular basis. Of course, she isn't outright saying that she misses Daddy. She's subtly showing her feelings through refusal to do anything she's asked. Although, it must be said, she is sitting rather quietly arranging her raisins into various patterns on her plate. Or I've assumed they're supposed to be patterns. Whatever she's doing, its calm and rather cute. Its nearly time to start making our dinner, which I think will be pasta. Lets hope it doesn't take another tantrum and 20 minutes of calming down time for her to eat it, as it did with her cheese sandwiches at lunchtime.

On top of these problems, I'm behind on my laundry, the house is a mess, I still have in-laws coming this week and I have no activities planned. And the raisins have moved to the new toy washing machine....oh dear.

The In Laws are Coming

My post title would strike fear into the hearts of many women. Indeed, some of my mummy friends would regard a visit from The Mother In Law as favourably as a visit from the four horseman of the apocalypse. This is mostly because many Mother In Laws are overbearing, critical and, most annoyingly of all, believe that the sun shines directly from their little boy's backside. This is why I am forever thankful for my mother-in-law. We don't have all the same ideas when it comes to raising a child and she has snuck the odd spoon of ice cream into my daughter's mouth when I'm not watching but compared to some horror stories I've heard of monsters-in-law who delight in making their victim daughter in law feel as though she is absolutely the worst wife and mother who has ever lived, I think I'm pretty lucky. She also regularly offers that if the Other Half misbehaves, she'll sort him out. He'd like to laugh that off but I reckon nothing gets to a bloke like being told off by Mummy. Plus, she's fairly complementary about me as the woman bringing up her grand daughter and looking after her son.

News of the upcoming visit next week has, however, sent me into a frenzy of cleaning and organising. Its not that my house isn't usually clean and tidy, its just that my standards change drastically when I know that visitors are expected. My attitude changes from "That'll do" to "It must be perfect!". This may sound strange but the fact that the Other Half is busy getting ready for his amateur dramatics group's performance next week, which he is partially directing and therefore is at home much less than usual is actually rather handy. Don't misunderstand me, I love having him around but my productivity increases by a large degree if he's elsewhere. Of course, The Little Monster doesn't make things easy. I already attempted to make her room look less like some sort of Toy Bomb had just been detonated in there. But within minutes of my efforts being complete, she'd emptied the toy box all over the carpet again. My plan of action is to make sure she's really tired at 8:30 so that she'll go straight to bed and to sleep so that I can carry on with the Great Tidy Up. Added to this, I have a 1000 word essay to plan and write by Sunday evening. Wish me luck!