How can you tell when my children aren't home?

Well, for starters, it's dead silent in my house-then secondly, my kitchen looks like this (yes, this is a quick trip back to the 80's while we're at it) try not to notice the color of the tile as much as you notice the cleanliness of the tile:



Such clean floors, not a crumb or fruit snack wrapper in sight:

Not a dish in the sink:

Not a toy, blanket, Wii controller, dirty sock, half eaten bag of goldfish, sippy cup, backpack, or shoe on the ground. Oh, and the pillows are still on the couch.

I took the opportunity-while Sophee's was at preschool-to get the 'main' living area of the house cleaned. Now, before you think that I'm a neat freak (which I am-if only in my mind), just keep in mind that I only posted pictures of 2 rooms in the entire house. You should see the bedrooms, but I really couldn't embarass myself (or my mother) like that.

Anyway, I figured if I took a picture of it, I would have proof for my husband. It also reminds me of a story my Mom told me a long time ago. When she was a little girl she slipped out of bed one evening to find my Grandmother sitting on the couch-in peace and quiet-doing nothing. Just sitting. When my mom asked her what she was doing she replied, "I'm just enjoying what the house looks like when it's clean." Oh how I have remembered those words many times, after putting the kids to bed, picking things up, doing the dishes and vacuuming, only to sit down and admire my work-if only for a little while.

On a side note, now that I've mopped my floor today it's pretty much a guarentee that someone will spill their whole cup of milk or juice before the evening is over-it's Murphy's law.

And, on another note, I just have to share the most awesome candle I have ever seen!

My sweetie pie husband got this for me for Valentines day. Yes, I do realize it's not Valentine's day yet, but once I found out about this I just had to have it now! It's actually a candle warmer. They're made by a company named Scentsy (both my SIL's sell these). There's actually a light bulb in the bottom portion of this, and it heats up the scented wax that sits in a little dish on top. You can totally smell it all day long-I'm in love. I'm a candle freak. I think it stems from the fact that I'm allergic to fragrance, and can't wear perfumes, so this is how I get my 'smell good' fix.

Okay, so that's it. Not only does my kitchen look good, but it smells good too. What a lucky girl I am. The house is clean! (at least until 3:00, when the kids get home from school.)