I surrender

About twice a year I raise the white flag...and I call house cleaners.

While many people (including my own mother) have tried to convince me that it is A-O-K to have a house cleaner on a regular basis, I am too stubborn or prideful to do so. Perhaps it is my Midwest-hardworking-British/Scandinavian roots.  Or maybe it is the fact that I am a recovering perfectionist and I'd rather do it myself.

Pride, heritage, and perfectionism aside, the fact is, the cleaning isn't getting done and I need some HELP.

I blame Abby.

This girl is as sweet as they get, but she is 15 months old, and she is generally up-to-no-good.   I feel like I have 15-30 second windows to look away from her.  If I go any longer than that Abby will be opening cabinet doors (we have been saying we need to baby-proof for about 5 months now), racing for the door to the bathroom in hope that the toilet seat will have been left open, putting objects in the dryer, or climbing on anything that looks climb-able.  I have trouble emptying the dishwasher with Abby around, let alone cleaning bathrooms and dusting.

Oh yeah, and I blame the dog too.  

Bailey is pretty much the perfect family pet, but she is a lab, and labs shed.  I can't even think about the irretrievable hours of my life that have been spent using a vacuum, swiffer, or broom to rid our home of dog hair.  I will say that Bailey's efforts to keep the floor under the high chair clean almost make up for the
                                                               shedding.  Almost.

Those of you with clean homes out there, I don't know how you do it, but seriously, share your secrets with me o.k.?  Or just come over to my house and show me.  You can use my place to demonstrate your methods. That is totally fine with me.

My goal for the week has been to clean up my house enough so that it can be cleaned.

I think Thursday is going to feel like Christmas.  Thank you in advance Naked Clean!