Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

That's what they say, anyway. And I think I agree - loving affects you in a positive way, generally. But tell me if this statement is also true:

Better to have cleaned and seen your house get destroyed 5 minutes later than never to have cleaned at all.

Do you agree? I am evaluating my thoughts on the subkect after cleaning the floors several times today. Again, generally, I think cleaning affects you in a positive way. But COME ON PEOPLE. How messy can a little family of 4 be? Can we really not prevent ourselves from making a mess for more than a few minutes?? EVA??

I spent a while cleaning the kitchen floor this morning. I thought, "I'll get it done in the morning so it can be fresh and clean for the rest of the day." MISTAKE.

Less than 2 hours later, Eva was sitting on the counter eating a plate heaped with delicious snacks like cheese, strawberries, blueberries, and a warm, fresh scone topped with lemon curd. And how did she thank me for providing such yummy food for her nourishment? She threw her plate on the floor. I didn't see it happen, and it was probably an accident, but I still wasn't happy. So I picked it up and swept the floor again, thinking how that one incident was rendering my good mopping job obsolete.

Then, several hours later, she was sitting at the island painting with her watercolors. She hasn't done that in a while, and I thought she would enjoy it. She was having a grand old time - still using more water than color - when I left the room to...ahem...use the ladies' room. (Actually in our house, it's one bathroom fits all genders, but for propriety's sake...) Not 10 seconds after I left the kitchen, I hear her watercolor container crash to the floor. "Uh oh!" she says.

"Uh oh, Eva!" I echo. "Did you spill your paint?"

"Yes."

"Did it make a big mess?"

"Yes."

"Can you clean it up?"

"Yes." Except for that she can't get off the barstool by herself, so asking her that was just wishful thinking. It was pretty cute that she said yes, though.

I returned to the kitchen to find my once sparkling floor spattered with a rainbow of paint. I growled, wiped it up, and swept up some more leftover lunch crumbs I found while I was down there wiping up paint.

See, laundry is one thing. I know that's inevitable. People get clothes dirty, period. Making your bed? Of course that has to be done everyday. Counters wiped off? Definitely. But floors? Why can't the turn-around time on floors be slower than clothes? In my humble opinion, floors should only need to be deep-cleaned once a week. Maybe I should have outlined my housekeeping standards before I decided to have 2 babies. Because they (a certain one in particular) is out to prove me dead wrong.

So, although my house is pretty clean most of the time, it still might be a good idea to call before you come over. Because - let's be honest - even I never know what might be on my kitchen floor.