The last few days have been great. Thursday night I had plans to continue my kitchen de-cluttering, but I had something I had to attend to first. It was past time to sweep and mop the floors, but I just kept putting it off. I finally decided to get the lead out and get it done when I got home Thursday. I turned on ‘The Lorax’ and plopped my kid in front of the TV while I got started. Of course the first thing to do is to sweep, but this wasn’t just a casual sweep. I had to move the chairs, get under the table and in the corners, so of course that meant that I was cleaning as I went. Then it was time to vacuum. There’s no point in sweeping if you track dirt from the carpet right back onto the floor. My vacuum has a setting for floors, so after I vacuumed the carpet I went over the floor real quick. Finally it was time to get the mop out. Our mop has two sides, one side is a dust mop, then you flip it over and you have a cloth side for mopping. It is washable, which is really nice because with two dogs, a toddler, and a husband our floors get pretty gross. Instead of a water bucket I use hardwood floor cleaner that you squirt on the floor and then mop up. I like the Murphy’s Oil Natural cleaner. When I was done I put a basket by the front door for us to put our shoes in so that we track in as little dirt as possible. The whole operation took a little over an hour and after working all day I was pretty pooped out, so the kitchen didn’t get de-cluttered any further but I was happy with what I had gotten done. If you ask me one of life’s little pleasures is the feeling of taking your shoes and socks off after a long day and walking on a clean floor.
My mom was down in Tampa during the week on business so we made plans to meet in Orlando on Friday and take the little one to Sea World on Saturday, so Friday was a big day for me. I got the little one to daycare promising to pick him up before nap time. That meant I only had three and a half hours to get everything done. I rushed home and packed an overnight bag for me and the little guy, then I had a meeting at 10. Before leaving I also needed to get the oil changed in my van, put air in the tires, and take some boxes of clutter to Goodwill, so I enlisted the help of my hubby. I’m glad that I did because my meeting lasted 30 minutes longer than I expected. Since he had taken care of everything else, we actually had time to sit back and chill before I went to get the little guy.
Since I picked up my toddler before nap but after lunch I figured he would sleep most of the two hour ride to Orlando. I gave him a bottle and sure enough, he was asleep within the hour. He would have slept the whole way if traffic hadn’t added an extra hour to the drive. Despite that, he did great in the car, playing with his trucks and books while I drove. I was listening to Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban and I think that had a calming effect too.
I had never been to Sea World so I was just as amazed by it as my little guy. We rode all the kiddy rides, visited the aquariums and touch tank, and caught a couple of shows. My favorite part was the One Ocean show where the Killer Whales try their best to soak the entire stadium. It was an incredible show, although the little guy had more fun swinging from the hand rails than he did watching the orca
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We said goodbye after a too short visit, but were encouraged knowing that we will see each other again next month when the little one turns 3. I have a good friend that lives in Orlando, so before heading home we stopped and had dinner with her. It was a great day spent with family and good friends. The ride back home was not quite as tranquil as the ride down. My tot was exhausted, but rather than sleep he elected to cry the whole way home. I tried giving him his truck, his juice cup, his books, I tried singing to him, and finally succumbed to the idea that, if I wanted to make it home before dawn, I would simply have to drive and let him have his fit. He did finally calm down, but it was a frustrating end to a great day. As soon as we got home I put him in a bath to calm him down and had him in bed by about 8:15. He was asleep in less than half an hour. I was asleep an hour later. I was pooped.
Today I got back to de-cluttering. It was time to re-tackle the counter where we keep our vitamins and medicine. Since my little guy is getting taller by the minute it occurred to me that it was no longer responsible to have our supply of medicine where he would soon be able to reach it. We just happened to have a small, unused cabinet where the spices used to be. It is now the new medicine cabinet. I put everything in there except for the vitamins that we take on a daily basis. I kept those where we could see them so that we don’t forget to take them. What a great way to wrap up the weekend. Now it’s time to put the little one to sleep so that I can have some adult time before I hit the hay.
How did you spend the weekend? I would love to hear your stories.