Weekend Warriors

Why is it when you have people coming over, suddenly all the flaws in your house appear out of nowhere? Dirty spots you've been walking by for months stand out and mock you as you try desperately to find and destroy each and every one of them.

Despite having the house clean and ready to go on Friday, the kids destroyed it by Saturday night. So after they finally fell sleep, I started cleaning in preparation for an open house we were having on Sunday for our friends, the Liggetts. Sure enough, everytime I thought I had a room ship-shape, I would notice something else that needed to be done. The smudge marks all over the fridge which had previously blended in with all the other kitchen clutter and grime suddenly stood out to as if to say, "don't I look disgusting," the dirt under the sink where the garbage can resides cries out, "ooh, you'd be embarrased if anyone saw messy me when they throw something away." And so you clean, and clean, and clean, and it still isn't good enough because you keep noticing something else. What should have been a half-hour job turns into three hours and if you weren't so exhausted because it's 3:00 a.m. and your eyes won't focus anymore, it might have been even longer. The really sad part about the whole ridiculous process is that when your guests arrive, there's such a crush of people in the kitchen they wouldn't have even noticed the messes you lost sleep to clean.

I enjoyed the open house so much, though, and I think everyone had a good time so it was absolutely worth it! And this morning I'm thrilled that I worked so hard because the house is so much cleaner than normal even after having an entire houseful of people here last night. Usually Monday's what I call "Recovery Day" because I have to clean an entire weekend's worth of messes after spending Sunday not doing any housework. It is a day of rest, right?

There was one mess that I'm glad I noticed, however. While folding blankets which we throw behind the recliner (also the dog's favorite hiding spot for chewing toys, shoes and pacifiers), I found what can only be called a petrified diaper. The dog has been known to take off with diapers while I'm changing them but I thought I'd always managed to get them away from her--Wrong! Who knows how long it's been there? The really disturbing part is that I didn't even smell it! Of course, being the lady of a house littered with daily dog doo and two girls in diapers, I shouldn't be surprised that I've gotten immune to the smell.

All in all, it was a super Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning, I went to a church leadership meeting (with the twins) while Paul juggled two overlapping soccer games. Rachel scored a goal and Spencer's team won. Yeah! On Sunday, my choir practice was wonderful. I am so happy with the choir. They are awesome singers and I love having the power in my hands to make them sing things just the way I want them to sound! At least I have control in one area of my life! Now Monday is officially underway (with us running with the stroller and dog in tow to R's bus stop so she didn't miss the bus) and I can report that the Madsen weekend warriors won their battles and today we can get back to our normal routine once again.