i'm a terrible housekeeper

I don't think there's any question about it. Housekeeping and anything to do with cleaning put me in a foul mood, make me a bear to live with, and is pretty much at the bottom of my "what I want to do with my day" list. I truly envy people who like to clean, or even who don't mind doing it - because they have clean houses and I don't. The boys come home telling stories of friends who have seven kids in their house and their house is so clean. Why can't our house be like that?

The other thing is that I have not figured out how to clean with babies around. Other people do it. I know. I've seen their houses. Now how do they do it? Oh, yeah. They don't turn into royal b****es when they clean like I do. Gemma and Oona start screaming their heads off five minutes into a cleaning job and I'm already stressed and that just makes it worse.

The problem is that I really hate having a dirty house, especially when company is coming. And even more especially when child-less company is coming. For dinner, tonight. Plus more stress because I'm meeting these people for the first time. They're old friends of my husbands who are moving to town in the fall and are on a house hunting trip.

The other problem is that I'm supposed to be cleaning today while Oona is sleeping. I even skipped Mindful Mamas to be able to do this. Plus my immune system is still struggling and I don't want to be exposed to any potential pathogens and be sick for even longer than I have been. But Oona is REFUSING to fall asleep. And it is driving me CRAZY! Every particle of dirt is looking ten times bigger than it actually is. I call my husband and he tells me to relax. He's coming home early so that he can clean. And then I feel guilty because I'm such a terrible housekeeper. I guess I'll have to figure out how to clean with babies around. TV babysitter?

Oona is still refusing to fall asleep. I guess I'll do the old shove it in the closet trick.