Kitchen counters

I love cooking in my kitchen.  Cleaning up. . . not my favorite activity.  The dishes are fine--I know where they go.  I can find a home.  It is all the other "stuff" that ends up on my kitchen counters.  My kids seems to put all kinds of things on the counters.  Right now there is a hair bow, a container of bubbles, a comb, a "special project", doggie, sunscreen, fake stick on snow white fingernails, 1/4 of a green pepper from Noel's play kitchen and six packages of sugar among the regulars on the counter.  Things end up here.

Wednesday night Gary and I took the boys to a White Caps (minor league baseball) game.  They had earned free tickets because of their reading.  Our babysitter not only navigated two girls who gave her a run for her money (so sorry Katelyn!) but she also cleaned up our kitchen.  The bread was in a different place, but it looked good there.  The stones (kids earn for jobs, behavior, and character) were different as well--another positive change!  I think I need to hire her to come over just to touch up my kitchen counters.

Why is this such a problem for me?  Why are my counters littered?  Here are my proposals.

1. I have four children who are regularly at home who leave stuff on the counter.  Sometimes I get in a "place" and I announce that I will be throwing away anything on the counter that doesn't not belong in the kitchen.  I do it too.
2.  I have four children who are regularly at home who take my time.  When I open the dishwasher, there is a little one who likes to help.  I'm less likely to open the dishwasher door as her help isn't always helpful.
3.  I have four children who are regularly at home who are messy.  They also want to eat three times a day and appreciate snacks.  And drinks.
4. My eyes change as the day goes on.  After the kids go to bed, my kitchen doesn't look very messy.  I often walk through and think "Cool."  Then I come in the morning and think "What happened?!?"   My morning eyes are the same eyes that see my kitchen when company is coming over.  Suddenly--things are much dirtier and messier.
5. I'm not very good at organizing.  Again my mom is shouting "Amen!"  It just isn't my gift.  Remember my babysitter?  She has a gift for putting things in good places.  So does my mom.  And my sister.  I'm good at laughing.  (Just wanted to throw in a positive thing about myself.)
6. I don't like it.  When I was teaching in Miami, God gave me a wonderful situation for a week.  I was hurting for money and had prayed about it, trying to figure out what to do.  A family of a student named Kaitlyn (should have named this post Kaitlyn!) called and said they were going out of town.  Kaitlyn was a sophomore and though she didn't need babysitting, they thought she might do better if someone stayed with her, took her to school, blah blah blah.  They thought she might have a party while they were gone.  shhh.  They also offered to pay me $35.00 a day to just be there.  Yes!  The first night we stopped at the grocery store and bought some food (I remember cookie dough) and went home.  We cooked, hung out, slept and went to school.  When we came home the next day the kitchen was spotless!  We had not left it spotless.  My dirty clothes from the night before were also clean and folded on my bed--including my underwear.  I was mortified (about the underwear)---and perplexed and excited about the kitchen.  Kaitlyn was not surprised however and told me about their housekeeper.  This happened the next day as well.  See, the housekeeper came EVERY DAY.  I began to leave things just to see if she would take care of them.  Yes she did.  I never saw her, but loved the magic that happened inside of that home.  I could cook to my heart,s content.  I could take things out as much as I wanted.  I could mess up the bed.  I could get super dirty clothes---and everything would magically be fixed the next day.  (As an aside: Kaitlyn later confessed to me that she was planning on getting a tattoo while her folks were gone.  She didn't and I'm grateful.  I also got to drive their super fancy and fast Audi.  Dreamy.)
7. I'm not always sure where things go.  I'm not sure if you have this problem, but I do.  I have blogged about it before and would give you the little link in a different color here. . . except I don't know how to do that.  Sigh.
8.  I'd rather do other things sometimes.

Hi.  My name is Shanda and it is perfectly o.k. that my kitchen counters have three lotions on them.  I'm still a swell person.