The Lives of Ordinary Housewives

Thankfully, my husband has never underestimated the work of a housewife; he has always wanted me to stay home when/if we have non-school-age children ... He has learned to never dare comment on what I have or haven't accomplished in a day. HOWEVER, he also doesn't really notice the little things I do all day; he doesn't question what I do with my time. I guess he trusts that I will do what needs to be done in a timely manner. If there is something to eat, clothes for him to wear, and no fungus growing in the shower, he's fine. I think he sees my stacks of "stuff" piled here and there, the list and things I'm working on - but if they are not in his way, he doesn't really know what it is all about.

I guess that is one things about connecting with other "mommy bloggers" - you get feedback from women who encourage you in the daily, mundane tasks and who enjoy reading about your minor accomplishments of things that you should be doing anyway. It's not rocket science - and yet, raising a family and taking care of a household is just as important as inventing a new way to split an atom, in my opinion. :)

I think I blog more for not only recording our family's days (and sharing them with anyone who might be interested), but also for becoming a more efficient housekeeper, better cook, mom, and wife. I don't think I have as much to share as I do have to learn! You'd think as a grown woman, married 17+ years, with 3 kids, I'd have more wisdom than I do ... but really, I haven't taken caring for my family seriously until just the last few years. Now I have catching up & learning to do! As a working mom for 6+ years (outside the home), I realized how important it was to find the balance of the needs of those I worked for (especially since it was ministry) and my own family - and often, my family got the short end of the stick. I admire those women who can "do it all" - a career and a family; I just wasn't so good at it, I'm afraid. Thankfully, I had a husband who picked up some of the slack, and though he really liked that I worked too (especially since we worked at the same place), he tried to relieve some of my burden. I think the better I get at this homemaking stuff, the more he is glad I'm back home though. :)

So, Friday --- while this little girl was sleeping ...

I worked on one of those insignificant projects that no one notices but that HAVE TO BE done. See this chandelier - it hasn't been touched since we bought this house over 5 years ago. The globes & lights are obviously missing ... and when I went to take this picture, I said to myself I really should turn on the lights to get a better picture - but then realized THERE WERE NO LIGHTS! :)

Same with this ceiling fan - though I do think I swept the dust off the blades occasionally with my handy, dandy ceiling fan broom thingy. But thankfully, I don't think anyone but me (and maybe Miriam who loves the lights!) noticed how dusty dirty these things had become.

So, I took the light fixtures apart and ran the globes through the dishwasher ... and wow! What a sparkly difference. When Dan came home, I asked him if he noticed anything different ... and he said NO. Not that I expected him to! I'm kind of glad he's oblivious to the dust :) This week I also dusted all his bookcases ... that's 41 shelves in all just in the living room. Those are the little, unnoticeable things I am talking about - they need to be done, most people just do them without having a photo documentary about it ... but for me, the housekeeper-in-training, this was a BIG DEAL. I just needed to talk about it - and get an "atta girl" ... so if you read this, thank you. I'd like a star on my "chore chart", please! :)

PS See that shelf back there - that's the top of 4 of Dan's bookcases. I took all the knickknacks off there & dusted up there too (and cleaned the fake ivy by putting it in a bag of salt & shaking the salt through the ivy leaves)! :) I'm so proud of me! :) LOL