Thank God for Community Helpers

This week in school my 4yr olds are learning about Community Helpers.  This means people whose job it is to contribute to the betterment of the community.  They were given choices of what kind of community helper they wanted to be when they grow up.  I wish I could remember all the choices but it was your typical Fireman, Policeman, Plumber, with a little spice thrown in (pun intended) like Baker and Artist. 

I would like to give a shout out to the Community Helpers who are going to be enhancing the Dream House over the next couple of weeks.  Starting with the 2 most important:

CL:  In Pre-K they didn't have Cleaning Lady as a choice on the board but I would say our CL is an amazing Community Helper.  She keeps me neat and sane every other week.  She's an amazingly strong person with a positive attitude and a smile on her face.  Thank you for enhancing the Dream House CL!
I don't know if she would want me to put a pic of her on my blog so here is her FB profile pic.. it sums her up nicely:

Bug Killer:  Another wonderful gift that Cindy left me (in addition to the rug stains and disgusting blinds) were these special friends:

They are called house centipedes and they are mostly in the basement but sometimes on the first floor.  They are pretty much harmless to people but they can get to 3-4 inches long and they run super-fast and they freak me the hell out.  I HATE THEM.  Even CL hates them and she's not afraid of anything.  So tomorrow the Bug Killer is going to come and spray for these suckers and hopefully they will be gone forever.  Thank you for enhancing Dream House Bug Killer!

Chimney Sweeper and Fireplace Converter: Chimney Sweeper should definitely be on the Community Helpers list in Pre-K.  These guys do almost as much in preventing fires as the Firefighters.  Jacks of all trades, they also serve as animal control and handymen.  Anyway, it turns out that Jim and Cindy never ever not once used their wood burning fireplace in the 7yrs that they lived in Dream House.  Since Mr. Molly is not a lumberjack, we do not desire to use it as a wood burning fireplace either.  Thus, the Chimney Sweeper is going to come out and clean it (who knows what's in there considering all the dead birds in the furnace vent) and then convert it to gas log.  All hail the Chimney Sweeper, thank you for enhancing the Dream House!
Side note:  Chimney Sweepers will also clean out your dryer vent.  This is extremely important if you have hoodlums in your neighborhood who like to stick Styrofoam cups in your dryer vent.

Plumber:  This was a choice on the Pre-K wall but surprisingly not a Community Helper that any 4yr old picked as their future career.  This is despite the drama that ensued in the classroom when the boys' toilet overflowed twice.  My son has PTSD from this incident and now is constantly worried it will overflow again.  In Dream House, the toilets run randomly and sporadically and we don't know why.  The plumber will come and figure it out.  So far Mr. Molly's solution is to literally turn off the water to our toilet during the night so that it can't run.  I do not find this an acceptable solution.  Thank you Plumber, for enhancing the Dream House!

Sump Pump Cover Fixer:  Jim and Cindy were kind enough to install a back up battery on their sump pump when their basement flooded in 2007.  However, when they did this they broke the seal on the sump pump cover.  We initially were concerned that this would let in radon, but the home inspection showed normal levels of radon.  Instead it's probably letting in the beautiful bug you see above.  Thus, it needs to be resealed.  Thank you Sump Pump Cover Fixer for enhancing the Dream House!
Side note:  My TX readers may not be familiar with sump pumps since they don't have basements.  All you need to know is that this is what happens when you don't have one:

Not my basement, and I don't know those guys

Landscaper and Tree Trimmer:  Another one that didn't make the Pre-K list, much to my dismay.  Our yard guy mows every Friday in the summer and helps us monitor our sprinkler system.  Now he has been enlisted to trim our trees.  We have a couple dead branches in the back, and in the front one of the trees is touching the house.  I am wondering if he will somehow get rid of all the leaves too.  Regardless, this dude is important and vital to the outer appearance of Dream House... thank you Landscaper!

I'm sure some of the most special Community Helpers; Ms. Heather, Ms. Anita, Ms. Amanda, and Ms. Nicole would be proud of this post supporting their learning theme this week.  Thank you Teachers for molding the minds of my children during the day so we can go to work to pay for the Dream House!

Cleaning Lady

Our cleaning lady (CL) has been with us for over 5 years.  I don't remember exactly when she started but I know it was before I got pregnant, which was in June 2007. 

She started with us in our old house and she watched that house transform as we bought furniture, had kids, and Molly's Mom continuously redecorated.  CL had a key to our old house and we didn't think twice about it.  As she got openings in her schedule, I referred her to my friends.  My friends moved away and they referred her to their friends. 

Needless to say even though we don't see CL very often, communicating mostly through hand written notes, she is like a part of our family.  She did our final move out cleaning of our old house and she also cleaned our AH once or twice (I can't remember because I blocked those 6 weeks out of my mind). 

Shortly before we moved out of AH I got a call from CL's sister (who I have never met).  It turned out that CL was in the hospital with a collapsed lung.  As they were working to repair the lung, they found a spot of lung cancer.  We were devastated.  However, over time they were able to repair the lung and remove the cancer at the same time and she did not require any cancer treatment.  This woman has been through a lot and is extremely strong.  We are so happy that she is recovering because it could have been much much worse.

She said that her recovery was going to be 7-8 weeks.  She never specifically said she was coming back to work, but I assumed she was.  Regardless, I ended up sitting in the brand new (to us) 4500 sq ft house with no cleaning lady.  Oh and did I mention that Cindy left it not so very clean?  Well that too.

So I called one of those "Molly Maids" type services to get a quote on a one time cleaning, just to get us through until CL could come back.  They quoted me $700.  Uh huh.  Yeah right.

So I went to the store and bought cleaning supplies and decided I would do it myself.  Jeez louise.  The problem with cleaning is that once you start,  you can't stop.  You begin seeing dirt in places that you never noticed it before.  Plus, I have no "free time" since I work full time, have 2 kids, and have a Big Brother addition.

All this is to say that I have rediscovered how to clean.  I don't hate cleaning, I just don't have time to do it.  CL is coming back to work and has me on her schedule for 8/29 (PRAISE THE LORD) and all this cleaning drama will be over soon.  That is until Mr. Molly tells me that we can't afford to have CL clean this entire 4500 sq ft house every 2 weeks so I end up doing part of it myself anyway.

Progress

Last week was definitely a week of progress.  Between bringing all that furniture back from my Grandma's house and my mom being here all week to make everything perfect and clean, I feel like the house is really pretty settled.

Sunday:  Came home with a dining room table, 6 chairs, a china cabinet, a server/buffet, a triple dresser, a desk, and two twin beds. 

Monday:  Mom hung all the remaining pictures and rearranged some furniture.  She also hung a rug on the wall in the playroom.

Tuesday: Mom spent a lot of time cleaning.  Apparently, according to Mom, Cindy should be embarrassed at the state that she left the Dream House in, and she obviously has no idea how to clean.  I didn't point out that I also have no idea how to clean.  It was implied though since Mom had to purchase a bunch of cleaning supplies.

Wednesday:  I don't remember what happened on this day, but progress was made.

Thursday:  All at the same time the alarm guy, the electrician, and the furniture delivery guys arrived at Dream House.  The alarm guy hooked us up with alarms on 3 doors and 3 motion detectors.  The electrician hooked us up with 3 ceiling fans, one in each of the upstairs bedrooms.  And the furniture delivery guys brought the leather sectional and ottoman.  Phew! 

Friday:  Mom just cooked all morning because we had to go out of town (again) for a reunion (again) so that was the end of the progress.

Still much needs to be done and we are having our first BBQ with my very closest friends on Saturday.  My girls will not judge me for what still needs to be done and purchased or how clean/unclean it may or may not be.  Instead, they will celebrate with me and we will all enjoy each other's company.  The men will drink beer and eat brats.  The kids will destroy the playroom.  The end.