Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Hurry! Company's Coming!

As a kid, I hated hearing "Hurry Up. Company's Coming." We all had to run around and clean up glasses, newspapers, toys and books. We all rushed around trying to make our house look like it was always neat and tidy. As a kid, I swore I wouldn't do this to my kids. I would be able to keep it so clean that we could always have people over at the last minute.


Fast forward to tonight.


I had a sitter coming. A babysitting co-op mommy. For the past two weeks, my house has been out of control due to a laundry room project, pregnancy scare and new love of reading blogs. Every day it is getting better but a sitter coming really helped motivate me.


As we were busy cleaning, my little boy said "Mommy, do we clean so that the sitter thinks we aren't messy?" Ouch. "Yes, we are pretending that our family room always looks like this."

Why do we do this to ourselves? We should all admit that our houses aren't always clean. Dishes aren't always put in the dishwasher. Kids leave toys out. I leave magazines all over the place. Our lives are busy. We are doing the best we can. We aren't perfect.

I can write this but I know I can't stop cleaning for company. Do you always clean up for company? Why? Why not? If your house is always clean, please don't share it with the rest of us. We are feeling bad enough already.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I always clean for company. If my parents are coming, I clean like it's a hospital ward!
Funny story...we held my daughter's birthday party on a Sunday but a friend of mine was confused and showed up on the day before. I was in the shower. the house was GROSS. I had not done a single thing and there was no food in the house. She came in. Hung out. Didn't seem to care about the mess and we're still friends!

OHmommy said...

Heehee... I hope for company. I am so happy my BF is coming in town. We need to clean house. :)

Melissa said...

Oh we have company coming saturday and I still haevnt cleaned the house OR the yard. I just can't get myself to do it .... blahhhh

Kristen said...

I totally clean for company as well. Isn't that how we teach kids to clean???

Great post! :)

KG said...

My place is on the market so I HAVE to keep it spotless - meaning I have to clean up what looks like Toys-R-Us barfed on my rug every morning before I leave!

Ok, I just saw your comment on Word Tangle that you're going to Myrtle Beach? Don't go! Change your plans and go to Charleston if possible - it's MUCH much nicer (and there are beaches there, too).

Rhea said...

ROFL The things our kids learn from us.

My inlaws are popping into town for a quick two-night visit and I'm in the mad dash to clean up around here also. It's fun, huh?! These impromtu visits help me keep my house clean though...

Anonymous said...

It's a joke in our house...when my husband comes home and the house is clean, he asks if my parents are coming over the next day. If my parents do come over and the house isn't spotless, I'm compared to my sis-in-law who should be totally ashamed of her house. It's next to impossible to keep a clean house w/ kids (unless you're a mom who stays home ALL DAY LONG just to do chores and yardwork.) To be honest though, I get so stressed out when my house is a pig-stye, which is just about always. I can't figure out how to stay on top of it all. Any suggestions...?

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