Slave Driver, Part 2

Didn't I say there would be more?

Is it only 1:05?! Are there still 10 more hours in this day!?

The kids've been working and cleaning so hard today. I have sparkling toilets and windows and so-clean-you-can-eat-off-them tile floors and freshly laundered clothes. Oh, and extra bonus, you don't have to carve a path through the living room or the boys' bedroom. Yep, we're on a roll. Bob won't know whose house he's come home to tonight.

Hannah has been diligently organizing her closet, bookshelves, her entire room. I think she's used an entire can of Pledge. She said to me, "Mom, I love organizing things." I said, "Well, you're truly your grandmother's grandchild then." This made her happy, and she grinned. "Mom," she continued, "I just don't like putting things away." Said I, "Oh, well then that makes you my kid for sure!" This made her grin even bigger.

I am a little afraid of Elisabeth when she's actually a teenager. "This is the worst day of my life, of my whole entire life!" she shrieks. And, "You're the meanest mom ever!" This was in a subtle and subversive, barely audible undertone. It has even been reported to me that she called me ... dare I say the s-word? ... stupid. But I couldn't verify that without potentially shrieking back at her, so I've gone deaf (kinda like my own parents). And here's the funny part, after this whole ... ah, incident, she turned around and played angelically with Sariah. Sariah loves the faces Elisabeth makes at her, and how Elisabeth laughs, and how she shrieks, and how she plays. It's great fun watching them together.

And just so you know that I am an Equal Opportunity Slavedriver, I've been working just as hard. Well, harder I think, because you kinda have to crack the whip a few times to make the rest of 'em motivated to work while I'm trying to get my own work done, too. Anyhow, isn't it funny how, as moms, we have to make more work for ourselves? I discovered my mop irrevocably broken this morning, and didn't want to go buy a new one, so I mopped the old-fashioned Cinderella way, on my hands and knees using a rag. Boy, my baseboards are dirty, and the paneling in the dining area. I actually caught myself thinking, "Wow, if I cleaned the floors this way every time, my house would be so clean! What a good idea!"

A good idea?

That's why I don't clean very often. Too many bright ideas.