fall cleaning.

If you saw what I’ve been up to lately, you’d probably think I was pregnant. I’m not. 

While the kids were all sick, I had too much time on my hands and began to take a really good look around the house-- so I got to cleaning: Fall cleaning. It’s like Spring cleaning except I love to do it before the holidays to make room for all the new Christmas presents and decorations. 

I made a chart and separated all the rooms into zones and made a goal to tackle two rooms a day. I’m thankful for a small house. Ha! 

The most rewarding room was the kitchen. I couldn’t believe the accumulation of  mismatched, not useful, forgotten about, never used items I found. 

This morning I felt like Vannah White from Wheel a Fortune showcasing my work to Chris. I would get his attention, open up a cabinet, then wave my hands invitingly in front of the newly organized area... More than once. 

Now I’m done and my house has been purged, de-cluttered and scrubbed. I plan on doing it again in six months. Fingers crossed. 

The boys wanted to spend today playing video games (yuck) so bad they tore apart their room, cleaned it and put it all back together first thing this morning without being asked. Praise God. Really. Anytime I don’t have to repeat myself a zillion times is a good day.  

Around lunch time, we all got ready and took our Christmas picture. 

Why is it that after taking way too many pictures and the muttering of a few unkind words by certain individuals that It seems like the best pictures are always the last ones. Occasionally, I’ve found it to be one of the very first, but no matter what the case, it’s done. 

It might not be ‘perfect’ since one of my kiddo’s face isn’t really visible, but it’s what I wanted over all and I’m happy with it. I already have my next year’s Christmas picture idea developing.  

Today is a beautiful day and all the kids are reading books and the house is quiet. Jace and two of the other littles are napping. 

The older boys took our treehouse down and Chris is mowing the backyard since we found that Jace really likes being outside. 

My goal is to have as little as possible to during Thanksgiving break. I’d like to get everything done before Thanksgiving that way we can enjoy it more. Except I would like Chris and the boys to redo the shingles on the roof (that’s easy, right?) or build the kids a better treehouse... that would be nice.