I had a very productive weekend. Although the weather was simply gorgeous we were stuck near home as Daddy had to do all the taxes and Rebecca was a) grounded (see searching for answers post) and b) a big biography project to do. This is her third big project in less than 2 months. I would have thought she would have learned, but she seems to like to save everything until the last possible moment... Gee, I wonder where she gets that from! She spent most of today trying to summarize the book she read into a 10 minute speech. I gave her some inex cards to work with which seemed futile in her desire to write another novel. Editing is a process to be learned and it's hard to teach a 4th grader what's really important and what's not. It's a hard skill and an important skill. Eventually she got it...

But I couldn't venture too far in case she needed me. That left me with only one option. To clean my house from top to bottom. Not vacuum and wipe down counters but empty out cupboards and cabinets and pantries and toss out what needed tossing and organize what needed organizing. And then I dared to do it. I tackled the fridge. But this is not Just Any Fridge. This is one Big Ass Sub-Zero that's about twice my height. But it had to be done. And this was the perfect time since it was empty, in dire needs of groceries. I started from the top shelf and worked my way down. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Coke Zero tucked away, way, way back on the top shelf. I tossed half empty containers and bottles whose expiration dates should have placed them in a museum. (I placed all the glass jars in the dish washer for future use -- centerpieces with spring flowers, containers for herb gardens, even fun drinking glasses.) I tossed veggies, and cheese and yogurt... I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until the shelves and walls and doors and drawers shone. I did the same to the freezer. It took an awfully long time, but it looked great and it felt great. I opened the windows and let the warm breezes drift through. There could be no better time for a Spring Clean!

After Christopher's soccer game this morning we all headed to the grocery store. I came home with bags and bags and bags filled with all sorts of items -- milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, apples, grapes, strawberries -- 3 containers of them! -- lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, olives, garlic, lemons, scallions, onions, chicken, sausages, lean ground beef, sliced chicken and cheese from the deli, pickles, water, dish washing detergent, sponges, SOS pads, paper towels, toothpaste for the kids, shampoo for Rebecca (Garnier Fructis) and Daddy (Neutrogena free and clear), orange juice, push-up-pops, sugar, salt, feta cheese, Greek yogurt, sour cream, juice boxes, Coke Zero, Diet Dr. Pepper, Salsa, whole wheat bread (for pb&j), rye bread, onion rolls, poppy rolls, English muffins, cereal, olives, marshmallows, a pack of Snoopy Band-aids, solution for my Swiffer refill...
And while I was putting all the food away and organizing it all I decided to stick a can of Coke Zero in the freezer to have a short while later. There is nothing better than an ice cold-almost frozen Coke Zero. I couldn't wait! And then as the kids were outside playing and collecting sticks and branches now visible because the snow has all melted away, I set out to clean my car -- my embarrassingly dirty car. I pulled the car out of the garage bay and carried up the great big shop vac and started cleaning away. What it needs is a really thorough scrubbing (detailing) at the car wash, but this would do and was a vast improvement. While I was doing this Daddy was burning all the sticks -- I let Rebecca out for this! -- and the kids were roasting marshmallows. And what fun they had!

Before I could finish the car the rains started down and we all headed indoors. That's when I decided it would be the perfect time to have my Coke Zero. And then CATASTROPHE! All over the inside of my newly-cleaned freezer... arghhhhh!!!!! And what a mess it made... and I had to chip all the frozen remnants off the shelves and what a mess the the frozen soda once melted made on the also newly cleaned floor!