Feb 20, 2008

Cleaning Day

Yesterday, Brayden and I did some cleaning upstairs. He's entering his "Terrible Two's" stage (although he somehow manages to do it in a very SWEET way!), and the busier I keep him, the better behaved he is. (He learned the word "No" last week, and he's now practicing it a lot.) So, though hard to believe, one of his favorite things to do when we can't get outside is to clean! Yesterday he and I cleaned upstairs. We gathered all the trash (he brings me the trash baskets, I empty them into a larger trash bag, put in a new liner, and he puts the basket back), dusted, and he windexed toilet seats and sides of tubs while I windexed mirrors and windows. He LIKES to clean toilets, but I'm just not comfortable with exposing him to germs like that, so he's happy if he can just windex the tanks and the top of the seat lids. He also helped me put away laundry (he can reach the shelf in the linen closet for clean towels and washcloths). He didn't want me to vaccuum -- for some reason he's scared of my upstairs vac, though it's exactly the same as the downstairs vac! Last, he helped me make the bed. Downstairs, he vac'd the family room and kitchen for me. Because I have a big heavy cannister vac he can't move around, I stand behind him and hold the hose and move the vac - but he does all the manual labor. The child has a "thing" about vac'ing under furniture and wayyyy in the corners! He does a great job! So today, I need to get back upstairs and finish the cleaning. My To Do List is: -- Vac upstairs -- Vac stairs and wipe down staircase sideboards -- Finish cleaning both upstairs bathrooms - tubs, toilets -- Wash both bathroom floors -- Put clean comforter and pillowcases on guest bed -- Clean sheets on master bed -- Clean towels in bathrooms In addition, I'm trying to do a major quilt room re-organization, so I'll work on that today for the afternoon. This morning Jeff is running a little late, so I made him a breakfast burrito he can take with him on the drive to work. One of his favorite breakfasts. I buy ONE 1/4 inch thick slice of "cooked ham" (called "boiled ham" in some parts of the country), and cube this up to have in the refrigerator to use in omelettes, on salads, and to throw in bean soup when I make it. This ham is actually the least expensive lunchmeat we can buy here, despite the fact it's "pure" ham. Far more popular in New England than in Ohio. So here's my recipes for BREAKFAST BURRITO 1 tsp diced onion* 1 tbsp diced green pepper 1/4 cup (or so) cubed ham (1/4 inch cubes) 2 eggs 1 tbsp milk or cream 1 slice American cheese Dash salt, dash pepper 1 flour tortilla In a lightly buttered small fry pan, cook the onion, green pepper and ham until the onion is cooked through. In a small bowl, mix the eggs and milk as in scrambled eggs. Pour into the pan over the ham, onions, pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir just like scrambled eggs until eggs are cooked through. Cut cheese slice in half and lay end to end on tortilla. Scoop cooked egg mixture on top (the heat of the eggs will melt the cheese). Roll up like a burrito and wrap in aluminum foil. *I use only a small amount of onions because I know Jeff doesn't want "onion breath" at work!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It's fun that Brayden likes to clean! My boss' son who is a month younger than Brayden is also a neat freak. I wouldn't worry about the germs as much as the chemicals. He doesn't touch any of the cleaning fluids, does he? I wouldn't even want to breathe them. I am actually switching to green cleaning fluids (starting with bathroom cleaners) when the current ones run out.

By the way, we just got a new vacuum and we LOVE it! It is not an expensive one - just a mid-range Bissell. But now, vacuuming is fun for us as well!!