I walked into the kitchen one day barefooted. The kids were at the table eating breakfast. As soon as they saw me, they froze, a couple of them with spoons midway to their mouths. "WHAT?!" I asked."Mom," one of them explained, "you don't have any shoes on!" You would think that, having grown up in Africa where shoes are generally optional, I wouldn't be such a shoe fanatic in my own house. It's just that the Crumb Factor is so very high in my house, and there is nothing I despise more than attracting crumbs to my bare foot, or worse yet, stepping in a puddle of mystery liquid. So I've learned to just wear shoes around the house. Someday--maybe in 15 years or so--I won't have to be such a shoe freak.
It's not that I don't clean up. I do. Constantly, it seems. In fact, I've also become a sweeping fanatic. But not with a broom, my friends! A couple of years ago, I discovered the magic of broom vacuums. I'm not talking about that Dirt Devil thing that's shaped like a broom but is supposed to vacuum. I've heard that one's a bust. I'm talking about the battery operated sweepers. My first sweeper of this type was my hero sweeper. A green Shark. It died, and I miss it.
After a near-tearful goodbye to my Shark, I got a Swivel Sweeper...one of those As Seen on TV things. Honestly, I would have replaced my green Shark with a green Shark, but the Swivel Sweeper was cheaper at the Linens & Things Going Out of Business sale than the Shark, so the Shark was replaced. And I don't like it as much, but it still eats up the usual floor fare--wet rice, wet Cheerios, noodles...anything 4 little people can toss on the ground during any given mealtime.
Of course now our mealtimes have an added little bonus...of the four-legged time. Max. Cute little Max. As much as I will vouch for my sweepers, I'm afraid there is no better kitchen floor vacuum than my new puppy. Funny thing is I just added Kitchen Floor Sweeping as a rotating chore on the kids' chore charts. Last two meals, though, when Michael went to grab the trusty Swivel Sweeper to complete his job, we realized that there really was nothing left to vacuum. So much for teaching responsibility. As for Max, he's definitely a keeper, and he's earning his keep to boot. I just wish we had done this Inside Dog Thing nine years ago when the crumbs first began to fall.
8 comments:
It is so true... our dog Cosmo is often known as "Vacuum Dog." Too funny!
So true! I don't realize how messy my kids are until they eat at someone's house who does not have a dog. Of course our dog is a selective vacuum -- she doesn't vacuum broccoli bits, leaves, or dried playdough!
I know someone who named their dog "Hoover" for that very reason!
Too funny! That's what my mom used to call the family dog when I was growing up!
Four kids and a puppy?! My head would explode from the stress.
He will never need to be charged, and no belts will ever need to be changed. Dogs are awesome for liquid messes too! But be careful, they aren't picky about what they clean up. I once left the bathroom to go find something to clean up Sir Bugga-a-Lot's "sick" all over the floor. When I returned, the floor was licked clean! And then it was I that wanted to be sick!!!
Chaplain ~ TODAY I feel my head may explode because I'm watching 4 other kids, and the puppy has left me "presents" in a few places. Ugh!
Mama Knucker Hatch ~ Eewwww! Thanks for the warning. I have heard of dogs eating their own "mess" but not someone else's. Either way, eewwww!!
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