Brady, Pictures, and My Cleaning Routine...

I have taken so many pictures of Brady in his 17 months on this earth... Every day I keep adding to that! And ever since I got my iphone, I rarely use my camera anymore... It doesn't help any that Brady LOVES the camera! He has a small vocabulary, but "cheese" is in it! He knows what to do when you pick up a camera... Today was no different... I want you to notice all those toys by the fireplace... I have turned into the "mom with all the toys out" ... But the funny thing is, he doesn't play with one of them.. if you notice,he is laying on the floor playing with a calculator! The reason for this is, he is obsessed with buttons, remote control, phone, anything with buttons! So instead of him throwing my phone or the remote around, I got the clever idea to give him a calculator and he LOVES it! He doesn't even know the difference.. I tell him to go get his phone and he gets the calculator :) Now my electronics are safe again... I seriously could put all of those toys in the attic and he wouldn't notice... Hopefully he will get in the "playing with toys" stage sooner or later. Until then , they will remain all nice and neat in front of the fireplace... How cute is this picture... He looked at me for the picture, then turned back around to play with "his phone" just a swinging his foot.... he is so content... I love this boy! And Tonight my little helper was in full swing! First he loaded the dishwasher for me :) He loves doing this..up and down, in and out.. he could play with the dishwasher all day long. Every morning we unload the dishwasher from the night before... I believe that is his favorite part of his morning... I actually do all the work, he just pulls the the door open and the rolling shelves out... Oh well, you can never start too early teaching them the values of a clean house :) Next up, Laundry!! I don't know what it is about doors, but opening and shutting doors of all shapes and sizes is so much fun for him... books too for that matter.. he likes opening and shutting books, but not reading them for some reason... oh well, He shut the dryer door for me then pulled out all the towels from the basket that I had just unloaded from the dryer... if only I could teach him how to fold them instead of throwing them on the floor... But we couldn't start another load with out his clothes going in the washing machine... heheh... He never walks around the house naked! I know some might think that a good thing, and others have kids that never wears clothes, but Brady is one who always has clothes on.. so when I took them off to wash, he felt a little off... he became modest.. sweet boy.. he just acted differently. At least I can rest easier knowing he won't be a streaker. How funny is he with his shoes on and no clothes.. but he refused to walk without shoes or socks one on... haha His all time favorite part of the day... BATH TIME!! He could spend all day long in the bath tub.. as soon as he get finished eating he makes a bee line straight to the bathroom.. that child of mine is one scheduled child.. and I love it! He loves his routine and doesn't do well when he is off of it... Notice that fabulous toy he is playing with.. NOT! He has a frog pod full of toys that squirt water, balls, animals, etc.. but he has a Braves cup and his bubble bath, that is all he plays with ... it doesn't do me any good to buy him toys... But I must admit, I have only bought him a handful of toys in his life.. most of his toy are gifts for his birthday, Christmas, or other special occasions. I seriously am not responsible for the toy overload at my house. After bath time, Daddy got to play with Brady for a while... Brady likes to chase him around the couches, kitchen, table, wherever! Tonight, Daddy put him on the cutting board and pretended he was the turkey :) He pushed him and pulled him back, and Brady was just so impressed with this (notice his face) He sat perfectly still and enjoyed the ride.. Well that was our day for the most part. Well, our afternoon and evening anyway... You didn't miss much this morning. Today was Toilet, Tub, Towels Tuesday... which means I cleaned the bathrooms this morning... and even though it is one of my least favorite rooms to clean, I decide today to do it with a positive attitude.. SO instead of doing it complaining, I did it with appreciation that I have two toilets to clean. And two tubs. And towels to wash. When you look at it like that, it makes you grateful, then you don't mind cleaning the toilets...

Colossians 3:23

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the lord, not for men."

Just in case you were wondering... Yesterday was "Menu and Market Monday".. so I did just that! I planned out our meals for the week and went to the grocery store to get what we needed. Last night and tonight I have enjoyed cooking our supper... Baked Chicken Parm and Chicken Quesadillas... ummmm... many more meals to come :)

Tomorrow will be Wash Wednesday... which means Laundry! I started tonight though, by washing a couple loads.... I makes it easier having a planned night to do laundry so it doesn't pile up on you.. Then you only have a few loads a week... and its not considered done till it is folded and put away... just so you know! So I should have it all done by tomorrow night.

Thursday will be "Thoroughly Dusting" Thursday :) I gotta put dusting in there somewhere and there is no day of the week that starts with a D so I added an adjective... That includes dusting the house and cleaning all surfaces... Windex-ing the end tables, etc.

And Finally... Friday will be "Floors Friday"... pretty self explanatory... do all the floors in the house. Vacuum the bedrooms and the rug in the den, mop the tile floors in the kitchen and bath rooms, and clean the wood floors..

I haven't forgotten the kitchen... I clean it every morning! Ha.. I load the dishwasher after dinner each night so I unload it every morning.. and while Brady is sitting in his highchair after breakfast, I can do a spot clean of my kitchen.. shine my sink, clean my counter tops, and all that jazz...

This way the whole house stays clean and you don't waste a whole day doing it all.. just a little bit every day and it doesn't become overwhelming. It might not work for you, but this works for me. I like list, and schedules and having a clean house.. so this lets all of that work together for my good... It might help you out, or you can just call me crazy, but this is how I maintain my house.

Proverbs 31:13

"She works with eager hands"

I'm not sure if you have ever read about the Proverbs 31 woman.. but it is something I have recently came across and I love it.. I am nowhere close to being able to call myself a Proverbs 31 woman but it does give me something to work towards. If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to do so. Women Living Well does a study on this every Wednesday.. She breaks it down verse by verse each week. It is something work checking out if your interested.

Well that's it for me tonight! I know this has been a long post for me.. hopefully you didn't mind it...

till next time,

jenny