Fall Cleaning

Wow! Today is my 50th post! I'll have to figure out a way to celebrate that one! How about by getting more comments than I've ever had before! (hint, hint!) Maybe a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte! O.K., I'll quit being weird and get on with other news....

Yesterday was another gorgeous, warm day! I even opened the windows for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I wanted to take advantage of some fresh air while we still have the opportunity. Winter months create some pretty stale air around here! Joshua was feeling pretty icky with a cold, so he stayed home and slept the morning away. I had school with the kids and then we all had lunch together. It was fun having Daddy home even if he was sick! The warm sunshine got me motivated to get outside and clean some windows. Wow, did they ever need a cleaning! We have two big windows, one in the living room and one in the dining nook, that look out over the back deck. I had to wipe them 3 times over before they sparkled enough for me! The back door and screen door (both have glass) were absolutely filthy and I was embarrassed I hadn't noticed until yesterday! The previous owners had a dog and I'm sure that was dog slobber I was scrubbing off the glass! GROSS! But, that wasn't even the worst! There is a window in the basement that was just covered with a film of dried mud. You could hardly see out! I wanted to clean that window from Day1, but the reason I had not done so, was it's location. In order to get to this window from outside, you needed to crawl under the back deck! Once I got the other windows clean, I was officially in "conquer" mode! It was time to clean that window. First, we tried spraying it with high pressure water, but the dirt didn't budge! Then, I opened the window from the inside (standing on a table), and tried to reach around and clean it from that angle. That wasn't happening either! So, I'm sure you've guessed the next step! I wriggled myself under that deck, cobwebs and all, and cleaned that crazy window by hand! Once I got under the low crossbeam, I was able to sit up partially, so that made it a little easier. We were throwing out our old patio furniture cushions, so Joshua had the idea to put those down where I had to crawl. That was much more pleasant than dirt! And today, the window is bright and clear, and I'm so glad I picked yesterday to clean, because this morning there was snow on the ground! This last picture is Joshua's idea of keeping the kids occupied and out of his hair (he decided to get in on the action and organize the shed). I was cleaning the living room window and Joshua had just handed over the hose to Sara for a turn. I hear him say, "Now, stay there for a LONG time, cause the tree needs LOTS of water." I was dying laughing! He denies the forced slave labour, but I know better! :-)

I think I overdid it yesterday because today, I'm very snuffly and sniffly today. It won't be as productive a day, that's for sure! Rachel is here today, but it will be a short day, cause her grandparents are coming to pick her up at 2:30 p.m. and then they'll pick up Hailey and Dallin at school. I need to be having school with everyone, so I'd better go....