I amaze me

I am celebrating my accomplishments.

Those who know me well would never accuse me of being a fantastic housekeeper. But in my new house I'm trying to keep things lovely, so you can imagine my dismay when the countertops in my kitchen got random odd stains on them. I've been trying to use natural cleaners, but my poor cleaning skills plus the homemade cleaning products made me fear for my counters. Would they ever be clean? Was I doomed to a dirty hippy, stained countertop life?

Have you ever gotten directions from someone that you are sure are wrong? I do all the time because I think I know better than geography. So what I do is follow the directions but second guess them all the way: "Turn left? Well, that doesn't make any sense. 46th St is right over there and crosses Myrtle in another block. I should be turning right. Oh well, when I get completely lost, it won't be my fault." And then the directions invariably turn out correct.

Anyway, I feel the same about natural cleaners: "Rub the counters with baking soda and lemon? Well that won't work. That's crazy." But I did. I sprinkled baking soda on the counters and literally rubbed them with a slice of lemon. And it worked. My countertops are spotless. I am a cleaning, eco-friendly supermom. Hear me roar.

My other accomplishment from this past week-- and the reason I haven't written in a week-- is that I went back to working outside the house. I'm working three days a week and trading off parenting responsibilities with Kent.

It's a great gig because:
*the girls have continuity of care. They don't have to go to daycare or have different sitters.
*Kent has been able to really step up as a co-parent. Tallulah's babyhood was difficult and her constant nursing forced him into a mommy-support role. But Moxie is so much more easy going and more of a daddy's girl, that his confidence levels are high and he has really embraced the primary caregivver role. Yay, Kent!
*I can self schedule my appointments during the workday and manage to get home at least once during the day to nurse.
*the money is great.
*Moxie is showing her adaptability and easy going nature. Boobs? Yummy. Bottle? Great.
*the job is not stressful and the work slightly pleasant and rewarding.
*when I get home I am really happy to see everybody unlike most evenings when I'm ready to throw babies out windows if Kent doesn't take them quick.

So it's good. Really. And I will continue to list the good aspects of this job and not be a baby about going back to work even though I feel like a big baby and all I really want to do is cuddle my girls and take them to fun summertime places and plant my garden and keep our house running smoothly. And when I hit traffic on the way home I WILL NOT throw a temper tantrum and cry because it's taking me so long to get back home to my family. And when my boobs hurt from a missed feeding I WILL NOT worry that I'll lose my milk and Moxie will be screwed and have to drink formula laced with chemicals and poison every meal of the day.

Nope. I will, however, watch craptastic tv after the girls go to bed as an escapist treat to myself. I just discovered hulu.com which has a ton of full episodes of more crappy tv than you can wish for. Ahh.

So, in conclusion, my countertops are pristine, I have a new job, and crappy television pleases me. God Bless America.