We had a great work day today! My mom came out and helped me get some of my priorities accomplished, which feels pretty much amazing. Maybe they wouldn’t be other peoples priorities, but of the things on my list that I can do without Bradys help, they were bugging me the most.
Mom read stories to Dekker and Laela while I puttered around the kitchen a bit, and then we got them fed. Rowan slept almost all day, so if I don’t mention him much, its because he wasn’t exactly participating. We all sat and relaxed for about a half hour before the kids went to bed, so we could all have some food and snuggles and relaxed time. Once the kids went to bed (and Rowan kept sleeping) my mom and I checked the list over and began! We got the basement bathroom beautifully cleaned, scrubbed a stain out of the rug, and dressed the guest bed. Then we moved upstairs and absolutely killed the upstairs bathroom. The water here is pretty hard and, I won’t lie, the toilet and tub were in rough shape. Rough. Really not good at all. I can’t stress this enough. My mom is an incredible sport and was eager to jump on those really big, gruelling jobs. Once she had made a ton of headway on the tub, we swapped and I jumped in to work on the tub while she started cleaning the toilet. I thought that there would be permanent stains but little did I know that calcium buildup comes off! Yes, it requires an absurd amount of elbow grease, but it does happen! Our bathroom is positively sparkly! We still have to replace the tub faucet so it doesn’t drip anymore, but thats pretty much it and the bathroom will be done. I even washed the walls! After bathrooms, I did a bit more wiping down cabinets and doors around the house. I had no idea those little areas around the doorknobs and light switches could get so filthy, but my goodness, it looks so fresh and new around here. I’m so pleased with whats come out of all of this hard work. While there is still lots to do, it feels better, and like we’re actually making progress. I’ve been nervous about getting this all ready, but now I feel ready and motivated. I have much bigger and more pivotal things to be afraid of at this point :/ Merp.
I’m so pleased with today. Not only did we work really hard and get the big ugly cleaning out of the way, but the kids were peaches. Dekker was incredibly helpful and friendly today!! When I go back over it in my head, I feel like it was easier for me to have compassion for him because he had less of an attitude, but maybe he had less of an attitude because I was softer with him. Either way, he was so sweet and loving today, which made my day so much richer. Laela was a bit more snippy with Dekker than usual, which makes me wonder how many of their fights she starts, haha! But she was beautiful and entertaining as all get out, as per usual. And Rowan did exactly what I needed him to do, and slept all day long. I’m a bit nervous about what our night will look like, but he had some wakeful time this evening so hopefully that helps. I guess we’ll know soon…