A Sparkling Valentine

Nope, I'm not talking about jewelry here.

Rather, a sparkling (professionally cleaned) house is what made my heart skip a beat this year.  

Do you remember my lengthy, pre-baby, to do list I posted a couple of weeks ago?!  I am proud to report that with the help of Chris, I (almost) dominated it.  Almost.  A few remaining tasks have been staring me in the face each day on the refrigerator including: baseboards, bathrooms, blinds and scrubbing the floors.  I have been dreading taking a day (sans Logan) to get them all done and I could feel my back ache and my knees hurt simply by looking at them.

A relevant tangent: Valentine's Day is something that we very mildly celebrate around here.  I specifically remember Chris and I's first year together.  The day passed without so much as a call, let alone the surprise flowers, chocolates and knock on my door with an out of state visit from him that I had conjured up in my head.  When it was finally 10pm, I think I called and said something along the lines of, "Ummm?  So, I guess you don't really do Valentine's Day, huh?"  Of course, he had no idea what the big deal was.  Since that day, he has done a great job of making the day special in some way. But for the most part, we don't go all out.

So this year?  This year, I was spoiled rotten when Chris purchased a few hours worth of housecleaning services to finish up the aforementioned tasks.

You may be reminded of Father of the Bride in which Bryan purchases Annie a blender for their wedding and she gets so bent out of shape that her future husband expects her to be a domestic housewife.  But not me!  This is one of the best gifts I could have asked for.  Seriously.

I have never had a cleaning service before (my mom is probably laughing out loud at this, because neither has she and has three children and 36 years on me) and had no idea what to expect.  Yesterday, before they arrived, I felt similar to that of when you wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.  I wasn't sure what to clean and what to leave untouched prior to them coming.  I pulled up the rugs, put a few things in their place, created a priority list for the time we had allotted and hoped for the best.  It felt strange leaving a key under the mat for total strangers, but off Logan and I went for the morning.  

When we returned home from music class and a couple of errands, I was greeted to freshly mopped floors, dusted blinds, gleaming baseboards and bathroom fixtures that sparkled.  And, let me tell you, It. Was. Awesome.

While we won't be getting the house professionally cleaned on a regular basis a) due to budget and b) seeing as how I still consider cleaning the house as one of my mostly-stay-at-mom job descriptions (call me old fashioned), it was such a treat to have the cumbersome things knocked out in just a few hours.  Especially at 38 weeks pregnant.  Baby W can arrive at any time now, as I feel comfortable introducing him to his new, clean, surroundings.  Two weeks yall...

Hope your Valentine's Day sparkled as well - in one way or another!