Monday, November 12, 2007

Strength Will Rise

I recently discovered His Girl and loved how her whole family worked together to very quickly get a bunch of housework done. I need to know her secret, especially the part about how she got her kids to do it without complaining. That is awesome!



It makes me realize that the time has come. We have to get our house on the market SOON, we're shooting for before Thanksgiving. And I need help.



How do I keep my wood floors clean??? Emily is 11 months old now, and she's learning to eat people food (I guess I should say table food, she's not a puppy haha!). Also, she's still crawling, so I often find little finger paintings all over the floors where she drooled or spit up and played in it with her hands. It's cute for me, the mom, but I don't think a prospective buyer will see the beauty in it.



So. What are some secrets to keeping those floors shiny new every. single. day? And how do I get my 5 and 7 year olds to scrape the globs of toothpaste out of the sink every. single. morning. after they're done brushing? And...



Oh I could go on and on. I do have some secrets of my own from last year when we moved. I remember being 9 months pregnant, loading baskets full of laundry, clean or dirty, into my car, along with any other clutter that I just didn't have a place for so that a realtor could bring someone through the house.



It's funny to look back. I did this a year ago when I was pregnant, then some more with a brand new baby. Here I am today, not pregnant, but it's harder. I have more house to clean and a crawling tornado to keep up with. But you know what? Just like we said last year, it is what it is. If those floors aren't shiny, well, then it is what it is. And we will still move. And the company Eric works for will buy our house if it doesn't sell in 60 days.



But that doesn't mean I get to slack off. I have to try...



Jesus helped me last year. He'll help me again this time around. Last year the song that pulled me through was Let Your Joy Be My Joy from a Women of Faith soundtrack. This year, it's Strength Will Rise by Lincoln Brewster. Of course, there are many many more uplifting songs, but it seems I've connected the current days to this song.



You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God, You do not faint you, won't grow weary. You're the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need, and lift us up on wings like eagles. Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord...

4 comments:

His Girl said...

The reason I wrote about my family cleaning up without complaint is because it was such an amazing event! Afterward, I thanked them for their help and their amazing attitudes. Kenzie, my mini-me told me "well, that's because we were so panicked! We didn't have time to remember to whine!" My son said that we should schedule people to call us and pop in on a regular basis. hardy har har. Sarcastic kids.

As for keeping your floors clean, I think the secret is to change your definition of clean. Works for me ;)

Thanks for the shout out! Your blog was a great discovery for me! Can't wait to read more!!!

Still Learning said...

I was about to post my trick this weekend. I gave everyone a basket and it was a game to pick up and count their own items that were on the floor or out of their normal place. (B won by a long shot....but he didn't clean his bookcases or desk)MG lost by tons....but as we all decided it was our job to teach her and we failed. Luke got the little surprise treat. The best part was the house was cleaned in record time. These last 2 nights everyone just freshes the place up. Make it a competitive game and my kids are suckered in. As for the wood floors. My mother in law had me dry swiffer and then she had a terry cloth mop that I would spray with a wood cleaner. In between she would spot clean with the cleaner and a hand towel.
With the wood laminate floors in my brown house =Swiffer Wet Jet made a formula for wood floors...but your floors are beautiful....it might mess them up. I just had a thought.....cover them in carpet like your cute blue house!! HA HA but maybe a or some cheap plastic table clothes for under Emily's eating areas that you could roll up and put in the garage. and some rag rugs in the hallway leading from your dining room, that you could gather up easily. I still remember putting dirty bottles back in the fridge when we sold. Thank you God that both houses sold quickly......saved my sanity. You know your house is so beautiful I don't think a few spots on the wood floor will really distract too much.
I am amazed how long this comment can go...I'll just keep rambling a while... Or maybe go to bed!

melanie said...

that song has been my song.. all year. that rocks that they will buy your house in 60 days!
i tend to wait until 2 hours before a showing and clean like mad, before that it's kinda pointless at our house. plus, it's a good workout. i will be praying that it's a smooth transaction!

Truth said...

It's funny, I was sure I commented on this post, but I don't see it. I don't have any advice on the kitchen floor-do you have a dog to keep the crumbs off? I think your idea of the baskets in the car is perfect!

I tried to reply to your meatloaf question on my blog. Funny, I couldn't do it, my own blog. But yes, you can use ground beef in place of the turkey. Ketchup on egg sandwiches? LOL, my kids would probably be ok with it but I am not a ketchup fan. I gag that my kids put ketchup on bacon sandwiches. They got that from their dad.

Hope you don't have to show your home too many times.