a clean house

some of you bloggers may not think this is such a big deal...but to me, it is. it's amazing. mood changing. uplifting. burdens gone. i could go on & on...what am i talking about? we have a clean house. not just so-so clean, but really super duper clean. why? how? you may be asking b/c as you know, we have a toddler & a newborn. WELL, the gerbicks hired it out! WHOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!

since about month 2 of the pregnancy, i was pretty much out of commision in the cleaning department. although wes cleaned, it wasn't the extent i usually go to; ya know? but i am so thankful that he did clean, let that be known. so our house has been building up filth for quite some time (10 months to be exact) & towards the end of the pregnancy, i just kept telling myself that i would get the 'nesting instinct' at the end of the 3rd trimester & then i would clean. ms amelia had other plans & arrived early, so the house was never cleaned (except the nursery...little squirt! she knew her room was clean, so out she came! in fact, the day my water really broke was the day my mom was here & cleaned the nursery, which was 5 days before her birth). and for the past 5 weeks, i have been so dis-heartened that our house is so gross...our bathroom had mold & ring around the everything; dust build up; little toddler finger prints & crayon markings everywhere; just general grime. this week was my breaking point & i believe wes' also. we just couldn't take it anymore & neither of us had the energy to do it. so we called & the first person fell through. i was DISTRAUGHT, thinking my house will never be clean again & i will have to start cleaning during their naps, etc.

*insert chariots of fire music here*

then...

wes told me someone was coming to clean the carpets friday morning. okay, wonderful! clean carpets that will no longer have toddler pee (see a previous post for explanation) & apple juice & crayon drawings & dog vomit & pee, etc etc etc stained into them. super! they came & it was beautiful (although a bit stressful b/c they arrived friday morning before all of us were mostly dressed, egads!).

then...

wes again informed me that he had found another cleaning service & the owner was coming over to give a cost estimate later that night. when i met her, i fell in love. she was so sweet & understanding & even had the kindness to lie & say "your house really isn't that bad" but i saw the look on her face when she checked out our shower...oh yes, indeed; nasty! she asked if we wanted a deep clean, i said YES! then before she left she said very gently "you look so tired, heidi; you really need this help." i couldn't agree more, my dear Mrs. Paulino!

so this morning, a married couple who barely spoke english (god bless the immigrants! i say tear down that damn border, but i won't get into politics right now) arrived about 8:45 a.m. & didn't leave until a bit after 3 p.m. she spent an entire hour in addy's bathroom. AN HOUR! it's gleaming in our house.

i just really feel like a burden has been lifted. it's the best few hundred bucks i've spent in a long time. (okay, my $100 hair appointment on friday & new post-baby gap jeans come pretty close). so we are here to share pictures. i highly recommend doing this to all new parents out there. HECK! you don't even have to be new parents!

can you see the shine on the fridge? on the floor? i didn't know it could shine...

now THIS in shiny!

they even made little flowers on all of the toilet papers & bows on the tissue boxes! SERIOUSLY.

what ya'all don't know is how gross this shower was before. imagine pink & some back-ish mold around about EVERYWHERE. i can't wait to take a shower... now if i could just find the energy to do that, even.

did i mention that the house just sort of sparkles? well, it does.