cleaning club: the blog

Cleaning Club is all grown up now and has a blog of it's own! Check it out at CleaningClub.blogspot.com.

wax lips

We brought a little bit of leftover Halloween joy to Shannon & Michael tonight. You know you're dealing with a seasoned and laid-back mama when she will let you put wax lips on her baby. Hee hee!




And, the picture we forgot to take at the birth (whoops!):

cleaning club: birth edition

Yesterday Rachel and I had the great honor of being present while Shannon gave birth to her new son, Michael Francis.


Shannon had asked me early in her pregnancy if I would photograph the birth, and I was quick to agree! I have never attended a birth other than my own, and I was excited to capture the day with images for Shannon and her family.














And look! Rachel in action doing a bit of laundry before we left the house so everyone could rest. I helped by taking pictures of her :)


Now, I know that this all seems very far outside what you probably would consider normal for a little group of women who get together to clean each other's houses. But we say that this is how things *should* be! Women working together and supporting each other through life. The time we have spent in each others homes; helping with cleaning and organizing projects and supporting each other emotionally through all the daily trials of motherhood; has given us all such an amazing sense of trust and love for one another. It was truly a gift for us to be able to share this day with Shannon and her family, and I know we will never forget it as long as we live.


Happy birthday to Michael! And congratulations to Shannon and Pat- you guys did great and he is just beautiful. I am so thankful you are a part of our lives.


(I almost forgot: Michael's little hat is the Umbilical Cord pattern from Stitch 'N Bitch, adapted for sock yarn on size 3 needles. I used self striping yarn and it turned out so cute!)

painting

We painted our bedroom last week at cleaning club. It was really great because I had kept the room nice and straight after we worked in there the previous time, so all I had to do was mask off and move the furniture to the center of the room to prepare.

The colors look very bright on the computer screen, and it IS quite bright, but these photos might look a little more than in real life.


Just look at Rachel's concentration. You can't pay people to care this much about your paint job!


I paint with my mouth open. And we all often show up to cleaning club without showers, especially when we'll be getting dirty. That is a sign that you know your friends love you, when you can come over with bedhead and smelling funky!


Shannon manned the roller most of the day, and supervised a lot from the bed. The baby is getting big!! (I can't wait!!!!)

I did not take any full photos of the room after we were finished- I am shopping for duvet covers and curtains right now and I want to wait until I have them to reveal the finished room. So you'll have to settle for these photos of us working. The old paint was a dark cream color on 2 walls and a taupe color on the other 2. Jason and I chose a orange-y red and a yellow-y orange, but once they were up they really look like dark orange and a golden yellow. We still love it but it is definitely tricky to make choices based on those tiny swatches!


While we are doing cleaning club, the kids pretty much occupy themselves. They do well most of the time, and the older kids watch out for the younger ones. Lyle and Andrew (the youngest two kids) go back and forth- one minute they might be playing really well and the next minute one of them is clocking the other one with a toy over the head.




And then there are the things I only find out about when I see the photos...








Thank you so much you guys! I really love it and your help made it a one-day job instead of a whole weekend the way it would have been if I'd tackled it on my own. I can't wait to get things up in there- it is already becoming such a sanctuary for us and you have helped me make that happen. I heart cleaning club!!

new cups

I was absolutely showered with wonderful gifts from friends this past birthday, but the ones I wanted to make sure I shared here (because I promised!) are my new coffee vessels. I showed up at cleaning club (yes, they are such a wonderful and regular part of my life that nearly every sentence I speak includes them...) the week of my birthday and was presented with not one but two new coffee mugs! Both were chosen from my friends' personal collections and have already become a welcome part of mine. Currently I am trading off between the two, and there are things I love about both. I love the size and feel of the handle on the smaller one, and I love the beauty and sturdy, non-tip base of the taller one. But best of all is that they make me smile when I use them because they make me think of my friends.



Oh and hey! If you aren't tired of hearing about it already, go on over to Shannon's blog and read about the difference the club made in her dining room recently! Hooray!

to the rescue!

Cleaning club at my place yesterday.



Messy bedroom- stuff piling up on all the surfaces, furniture in need of rearranging, dusty ceiling fan and cobwebs in the corners...



We got the surfaces all cleared, the blinds and corners vacuumed, ceiling fan and doors/doorknobs cleaned, and rearranged the small bed and got rid of one of the little tables. Later in the afternoon I got the dust ruffle put back on and clean sheets on the bed (these were in the wash during cleaning club).





And a finishing touch of some fresh flowers from the yard, which actually are a sampling of the color palette we want to bring into this room soon. We're tired of the subdued blues and greens and are going to be doing red and orange in there hopefully before the summer is over.





I just know that if I had made the decision to clean up my room on my own, It would have taken me all day (instead of just an hour!) and I probably would not have rearranged or brought in flowers. I just love cleaning club for those reasons- we all marvel every week at how much we get done and how much more fun it is to work together.

Thank you so much Rachel & Shannon for helping me get my room back! I love it! And it is truly a gift to have your help making my home more functional for my family. THANKS!