It must be the warmer, rosier light that pours in my windows this time of year after the thin, tepid, short daylight hours of the long winter: I always get the urge to clean. Not just routine housekeeping. Get-into-the-corners-with-a-toothbrush cleaning. Perhaps because for the first time all winter I can actually SEE the dirt in the corners!

Today was so beautiful, I couldn't resist opening the windows, blinds, front door (our house is south-facing), and letting in the sunlight and fresh air. I threw "Wow 1999" onto the stereo while I pulled our little red-and-white sports car of a vacuum cleaner around the house. ( Fricka frackem fricka carpet under the dining table frackem!)

If our vacuum cleaner really were a sports car, it would be a Firebird--looks great, but a gutless wonder. We bought it from Costco just before we moved up here, and I excitedly vacuumed our whole house with it--suddenly, vacuuming was fun!!

Well, little did I know that that would be the best it ever operated. The problem is, the thing is so small that you have to empty the canister after every time you use it (and with my hair falling out in the post-baby-falling-out-in-chunks stage, it seems more like after ever ROOM!) AND clean the filter, which is a royal pain in the hind parts. As you use the little attached brush to scrub and scrub and scrub and scrub the filter, you can see a little cloud of dust growing from around your work area, and you suddenly wish you would have done this in the backyard, instead of at the kitchen garbage can! Now you get to vacuum even MORE!

However, on the plus side, it's sleek black and red design makes it look like a toy for the kids, so I always start out by saying "Jude, would you like to help Mommy vacuum?" Which he starts wagging excitedly to do. Okay, so he doesn't get much accomplished, but he has fun, he tries, and it's good practice for down the road.

Jabin got his first taste of formula today. I've been noticing he still seems hungry after eating the last few days, so I made some up. And yes, he drained me dry and ate another 2 ounces before bed tonight, so I guess my intuition is correct. Can't say I'm thrilled about being right, though, as switching to the bottle is always a royal PAIN, and I had hoped to at least make it to 6 months breastfeeding, as I had with Noah. Oh, well. I might be able to "milk" it out for another month, if I'm lucky. (You can groan. I give you permission. That pun was COMPLETELY intended!)

I am getting rather excited about going "home" (back to Sylvan Lake area) at Easter in a few weeks. It will be so great to see everyone again.

Okay, so I'm going to have to cut this short. Jabin is waking up to eat, and then it's beddy-bye time for me.

Quote of the Day:

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." - Mark Twain