Domestic Goddess Camp, 2012!

I'll admit it, when it comes to "playing house", I'm not very good at it. Cleaning, doing dishes, laundry, cooking...all things that make me say UGH! I don't like any of it. If I had the money, I'd hire a housekeeper in a second...and never worry about cleaning my house again.

Because of my feelings towards keeping the house clean, my house often resembles a tornado sight. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't like a dirty house, but I'm perfectly fine with living in a messy house. And when I say messy house, I mean a house that looks lived in - basically toys everywhere...definitely not something you'd see on the cover of a magazine or among a house tour.

My mother, however, is one of those women that expects her house to be spit-spot clean 24/7. It's a blessing and a curse. The woman is a mother to six children, and now has opened her home to foster children - yet she still finds the time to scrub her house every single day. And when she left on vacation? She left me two pages of things that needed to be kept up with while she was gone. One of the most important things? Keeping her house immaculately clean. UGH!

So, while I'm enjoying my relaxing time at my mother's, I also feel like I'm attending Domestic Goddess Camp. I'm learning what it takes to keep my mother's house up to her standards..and it's not easy AT ALL.

I hand wash dishes 2-3 times a day. No rinsing and loading dishes like I'm accustomed to at my house. Oh no. The dishwasher is one of the items in my parent's house that is more for looks than use. Which I don't blame her - if I looked after as many people as she does - it would cost a fortune to run the dishwasher so much.

I have cooked dinner each night I've been here - with the exception of the first night when we ate pizza. That's probably more than I've cooked this entire year. When I live with a man that cooks as wonderfully as Hubby does - then I don't have to worry about it.

Today I'll be doing everyone's laundry. At my house, the older kids do their own laundry. It's one of the few chores they have. But, at my mom's house - no one is allowed to use her washer except me...cause it's like one of her children. Don't ask. Anywho, because of her love of the washer, I'm the one that has to wash all of the clothes. And laundry will need to be done 2 times a week...not once a week like I'm used to.

Now, you're probably reading this and thinking that I'm complaining. I'm not. Well, I am but that's not my entire intention. My point in the midst of the whining is that I'm actually enjoying it. It's not bothering me near as much as I thought it would. In actuality, it's taking me back to how I used to be...before I was blessed with Hubby in my life.

You see, I'm no stranger at being a domestic goddess. Back before I met the most wonderful man in the world who spoils me rotten and doesn't make me do very much around my house, I was very much like my mom. I cooked, cleaned, bathed, washed, vacuumed and dusted day in and day out...while also working. It's how I'd been raised, and I how I just knew things to be done.

Once Hubby and I got together, he basically took over the kitchen as his domain. Rarely was I asked or expected to prepare anything. As my kids began to get older, I started including them in doing some of the chores around the house. They learned how to stack the dishwasher, run a vacuum, and put their own toys and stuff away. Then, I got so sick of picking up clothes from all over their room, and not being able to tell which were clean and which were dirty - I started making them do their own laundry. My days as the Domestic Goddess became less frequent, and once every couple of weeks I found her and cleaned the house from top to bottom.

So, as part of my Relaxation Extravaganza, I'm also rediscovering my Domestic Goddess roots. I'm remembering how quickly it is to hand wash a few dishes, to tidy up a small mess, and to keep a house clean but still cozy. I may be a completely different person by the time I get back to my own house. Will Hubby even recognize me?

Speaking of which - I better go, there's breakfast dishes to wash and laundry to get done. Can't enjoy the sunshine out on the porch all day.

Till next time. ;)