Thursdays are cleaning day. This is because Joey is gone for over 1o hours of the day, and by the time he gets home I’m climbing the walls if I haven’t done something Very Productive Indeed. So I have spaced out all my housework to different and specific days of the week because a.) that’s how I roll, and b.) that’s how I roll. This makes sure it all gets done and that I know what I have to do still. Because since having a child, my brain has gotten forgetful.
Go figure.
Anyway, today is cleaning today. I am pleased to announce that I am now sitting in a clean (but not spotless, that went out the window when I had a child too) house. It used to take me 3 hours to clean. Now it takes me 1 1/2. Don’t judge me. I already feel like a scuzz because I only clean the second bathroom every other week now.
In between cleaning, which I mostly do when Analie is asleep, I have been playing with and reading to Analie. This week’s school lesson is to read nursery rhymes over and over and over again.
I don’t like nursery rhymes.
So we’re reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom instead. It fulfills the rhyme requirement and yet it’s not creepy.
The thought behind the rhyme repetition is that it’s teaching the baby to listen because I guess babies like rhymes. Rhyming books annoy me (except for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) so I’m taking Analie’s “textbook’s” word for it and doing what they tell me to. It’s also teaching her listening skills and to enjoy book reading. We’ve been reading books for ages now, and she really loves it. It’s super cute, if you ask me.
Right before the nap which she is currently taking, I had her help me vacuum the house. She rides in her sling while I do the vacuuming. Basically it’s twice as much work for me, but I am using it to teach her about work. I want her to grow up respecting work, even vacuuming (which is my least favorite household chore), and learning how to enjoy it. I hope that she can learn this while she works alongside me as she’s growing up, and doesn’t have a resentful attitude towards it.
I don’t remember resenting chores and yardwork too much growing up, but that’s always because as we grew older we learned how to make it fun. Especially with yard work. We became all OCD on lawn mowing patterns and procedure (THREE rings with the push mower around each tree, not TWO), and if someone (cough, THE KID) didn’t do it right we would get all over his case.
And now he’s just as crazy about it as the rest of us.
I’m sure we gave mom and dad their fair share of fits over chores. But for the most part, I remember enjoying the process of cleaning and working outside. I hope to pass that on to Analie, and I intend to start early.
After we vaccumed, we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom again, and then someone was clearly ready for her nap. All that vacuuming wore her out.
So I zipped her up in her sleep sack and we went to rock for a few minutes. I just love that she’s starting to engage with me more when we do her sleep ritual. She reaches up and touches my face and, lately, has been trying to grab my lip and rip it off. So we’re working on being gentle.
This morning’s sleep ritual was less a ritual and more of me saying “no no, be gentle” and disentangling tiny little fingers that were trying to yank my face apart.
And don’t even get me started on her fascination with my nose ring. She managed to get her hand on it last week and pulled it out. That’s when her face grabbing penchant stopped being cute and I realized it was time to learn about being gentle.
Such a random morning, and I wouldn’t change a single thing.
