Smell the Clean

Thanks for the response to my "poll" - it did make me feel a lot better....phew. I was worried I was just really neglectful there...and I am, but so is every other normal human being. :0) So in honor of that little revelation I deep cleaned my kitchen tonight. I organized every cabinet. I cleaned out the refrigerator. I cleaned the microwave and the dishwasher and the stove and the cabinets and now I smell like a variety of chemicals. I haven't done the floors yet - I ran out of time and energy. Maybe tomorrow....

One of the new chemically scents in my arsenal's bouquet this time around was another revelation in itself. We have our microwave mounted above our oven. And you know it gets so sticky from the grease and oil splatters I guess. You can't see the dirt, but you can feel it - the little nooks and crannies of cabinets and counters around the oven gets the same way. I have never found anything really easy to use that will cut through that gunk (that's such a great word, gunk). Anyway you all probably know this already and have been using it for years. But I feel like Heloise tonight since I've stumbled upon this little "secret" weapon....

I've used it for sticky adhesive stuff for all those little "gifts" that my kids leave for me to deal with - stickers stuck to about anything - but it never dawned on me to use it for grease (even though it says right on the front of the bottle..."Removes stickers, GREASE, gum, etc, etc." - duh.) Anyway try it, you'll like it.

So what did I do with the kids while I tackled this project you ask....well a great big majority of it was done while my hubby was home in the evening. But I did do a smidgen of it when I was the only adult in the house. So I had big brothers watch after Lillie in the neighboring room and when I went to check on her this is what I found....

Hmmmmm.....now before you totally scold my boys, they placed her in a very appropriate box. See? It's her toy box.

Hey, could somebody, anybody please get me out of here?

Mom, please put down the camera and pick me up instead.

I think they must have learned it from you Ms. Mel - all those times of you putting one of my babies in some sort of box....

Now isn't she just so cute - even with goopy eyes and nose? Yep we go to the dr. first thing in the morning to try to get some meds for pink eye - which is now in both eyes. It has been the strangest pink eye I have ever encountered. No redness, no irritation - just drainage while she sleeps - but starting late this afternoon it is now out of boy eyes (can I just say eeewwww!) and it they are draining more frequently. So we're going to be seeing about that tomorrow!