Today's rant and rave...well, everyday's rant and rave, but I'm doing it publically today.

A couple weeks ago, my visiting teaching companion used the expression "catch the dust before it falls." Every time I think about it, I find myself SO irritated (not with her, with the expression.) I try to be an organized person and, of course, I prefer my house to be clean all the time. But I feel like I'm trying to clean up the "dust" of a volcano eruption while it's still spewing ash! How do you catch the new stuff when it falls faster than you can keep up with it? It's not that I mind doing the work (once)....it's that I mind doing it, then doing it again 20 minutes later, and again 20 minutes later, and so on. I spend about 20-30 minutes a day vacuuming, depending on whether or not I vacuum the upstairs. Add to that 30 more minutes to mop just the main floor and that's nearly an hour! (Not daily, just when I have the time.) Do you know how much damage my ADD daughter can do in just 20 minutes without constant supervision? I am feeling particularly frustrated today because I am running around at 100 mph, trying to get my house in order before we leave for St. George in the next couple of days. By the time I finished vacuuming, the living room was a complete disaster. So I cleaned it again. I mopped and she went upstairs and pulled every article of clothing she could reach out of her closest, off their hangers, filled up a duffel bag and emptied it downstairs to "try on." Between her and a needy 1 year old who follows me around holding onto my legs, it is next to impossible to get anything done. I know I'm not the first to have kids while trying to keep a clean house. The part that really gets to me, is that people are able to accomplish it. I seriously spend almost my whole day picking up after my kids/doing chores. No wonder I feel like I'm no fun anymore. I don't have energy to do anything else after a day where I am going non-stop! What am I doing wrong? Is my daughter really that much more out of control than other kids? Is it that wives have husbands who are willing to actually help and/or pick up after themselves? What's the trick?

A MUCH needed break!

Anyone who knows me, knows I have the world's naughtiest daughter! Lately she is pushing me to the brink of insanity. I am being totally literal when I say that my day consists of following after her and picking up the disaster she just made. While I clean one up, she makes the next, and so on. I'm sure she's doing it for attention, but how do I give her attention when she's the one creating the issues that take up so much of my time? (I did try something new that worked today....hopefully it'll continue to work!)
Last Friday was my birthday and it was one of her worst days yet. (I swear she is getting worse and worse every day!) Kyle had told me earlier in the week that he'd planned something for Friday night/Saturday morning and to pack my ski gear and swim suit. Those were my only clues. I was in such a bad mood by Friday afternoon. I didn't know what to pack (I love that Kyle went out of his way to plan something special for me, but I don't think I'm so big on surprises....I like to be prepared) and the kids were making me crazy. The plan was for Kyle's sister to come pick up the kids in the early afternoon, so I thought I'd save myself the headache of what Kyah would get into while I showered, by showering after she picked them up. I waited and waited and she never came. I finally called to find out where she was and she and Kyle had decided that Kyle would leave work to come get us and take them to her. Thanks for telling me this. Then Kyle got there and I was even close to being ready. I even went so far as to say I didn't even want to go.
We dropped them off with Bambi and headed North (still with no clue where we were going.) We ended up going to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho for a quick overnight getaway. I did not realize just how bad I needed a break like that! Kyle got us a room at the Alpaca Inn. It is the nicest hotel in LHS, because they recently remodeled it. The little town is so cute. It pretty much just consists of main street with a few hotels and restaurants and of course, the pools. The buildings are all so old. It's really a neat place. The owner of the hotel was super super nice (as are all the people we came across there!) Once we got there and checked it, I was able to settle down and relax a bit. We went to one of the 4 restaurants. It was only fancy one there, inside the Riverside Hotel. They had this soupy artichoke/spinach dip I just wanted to drink, it was so good!

We went to the pools at 9:00 at night when the temperature was somewhere in the 20s. They have a good set-up.....they have heated locker rooms and heated floors, because it is SO cold! Your first instinct is to run from the dressing room, into one of five-3 foot deep pools. But you step into the pool and your next instinct is to step right back out! You definitely have to work your way into them because they are so hot! It was so nice and relaxing. It was totally dark and you are pretty much surrounded by steam coming off the water.
This is a daytime picture, but you get the point! It was so great to sit around and do virtually nothing! There is a ski resort just 25 miles away and we did plan on going skiing, but we both decided that we were so relaxed (and needed it) that we bagged the idea. We both love to ski, but let's be honest....it's a lot of work! Better saved for a time when that is the only plan! Instead, we slept in (if you call 8:30 sleeping in) went out for breakfast, went back to the Riverside Hotel where they have private rooms with small lava pools and soaked for a while longer, then got tandum couple massages. It was relaxing, but definitely not the best....and I've had the best! I told him I was sore and wanted an all over deep tissue massage and basically got an oil rub down. Can't complain too much though! We decided this is something we need to do more often. It's only about 2 1/2 hours away and is perfect for a quick relaxing vacation!