Hi!

On Saturday, ben replaced our upstairs bathroom faucet with one made in this century, meaning he also had to replace pipes under the sink. Which? Are you kidding me? I thought the project would end in total disaster (no offense, sweetie). We even booked a plumber for first thing this morning just in case. But? He did it!
You can't totally see it in the picture, but he has caulk all over his face. (zOMG I am dying laughing right now. Caulk.)


While he was busy, I took Harry and Jack to the gym, to Target, to get a hair cut, and to Panera for second breakfast. Instead of the sports place we usually go for haircuts where Jack screams like a lamb and the stylists look like they want to kill me, we went to the kiddie salon where both boys could ride in car chairs and watch Dora while being shorn. Why don't I always come here? I thought to myself as Jack enjoyed his first tear-free cut. Then I paid for their cute little summer clips and remembered that the place doesn't let you tip on a credit/debit card, and I never have cash. I felt like such an asshole-- I guess that's why I never go back. I do that every freaking time. (Also I never quite feel bad enough to drive through road construction to an ATM and come back with a tip).

This hair cut makes Jack look even more like Ben-- if that were even possible

While I cleaned the house yesterday (including a blissful 45 minutes scrubbing the fridge and freezer-- gosh I love to organize food and clean appliances-- I really do), Ben took Harry and Jack outside to splash in a kind of awkwardly large blow up pool. He even put in on a hill to create a deep end and a shallow end. Klassy.



As much as I love cleaning my hose-- and I truly love it-- in the fall, I am going to work on my book for serious, and something has got to give. That something, we've decided, is housework. I have got to find a cleaning company I like and figure out a schedule that works for us. We have had 3 different house cleaners over various times in the last 3 years, and we haven't totally loved any of them. I ended up spending time cleaning after they came, which is stupid, even when we had them TWICE a WEEK. Part of this, I realize, is me being totally apeshit crazy about cleaning my house. But the other part of it is that the cleaners have sucked. So. Before school starts, we are going to figure this cleaning thing out. We need at least once a week but would be willing to have them come more often if it meant we could never clean anything again. But we don't want them in 2 times a week if we are still going to be cleaning. Such a dilemma. It's a silly thing to get stressed about, huh? But I AM stressed about it. Tell me, how do you stay zen about cleaning your house?