cleaning house

How anyone with a one year old has a clean house, I'll never know.

This morning we had an appraiser coming (we're refinancing) and needed the house clean.  We spent several agonizing hours yesterday afternoon, evening, and this morning cleaning it (it hasn't been this clean in a long, long time!), and every time we'd do something, Rebecca would come along and destroy what we had just done.  She cried whenever the vacuum was on (Rachel is STILL is afraid of the vacuum and hides in her room whenever it's on), and spent a lot of time hanging on my legs while I tried to get something accomplished, wanting me to pick her up.

So not only is the actual cleaning process VERY hard, but KEEPING it that way is probably even harder.  This morning it was almost completely clean, but I had to follow Rebecca, aka "the human tornado," and put away everything she moved out of its place.  I couldn't wait until she was down for her nap so I wouldn't have to worry about her path of destruction.  And as soon as she got up from her nap we all left the house (I needed to get milk and bread anyway) so she couldn't destroy it!  We got home and the appraiser was already here, doing what he needed to do outside the house.  I let him in the house and then we went in the backyard to play, again, so she wouldn't destroy the clean house. 

So he's been gone for about a half hour, and already the house is no longer clean!  (Cleaner than usual, yes, but already on its way to Rebecca-induced destruction!) 

Sometimes I wonder why I bother trying to keep it clean!