Paula is my house cleaner. I love her. She's like part of the family.

Summer has really taken a toll on my house. The other day, Paula told me in her delightfully frank English that she had never seen my house such a mess.

Kind of a badge of honor.

She left the house spotless, and I took the kids out for the afternoon so they wouldn't mess things up.

By dinnertime, we were back to the usual state of affairs:

1. Mount Laundry: heaped on the floor - wet clothes, dry clothes, dirty clothes all mixed together - because my 3 year old who changes clothes 12 times a day was looking for his army shirt. The one with the permanent chocolate stain because I never get a chance to actually wash it.
2. The couch pillows: all on the floor.
3. ...along with 4 or 5 used sippy cups. Can't wait to be done with those things. 
4. Winter boots: lugged upstairs to wear with the army outfits - then left in the middle of the hall because they're too hot.
5. The mud room shoe baskets: emptied on the floor.
6. The barstool: pushed to the hall closet to retrieve the play guns from the Saturday box, where they will end up again by the end of the evening.
7. The curtain: pulled off the wall and the rod is being used as a sword.
8. Bathroom towels: soaking wet on the floor. 
9. Toilet seat: streaked with pee.
10. Front screen door: smudged and sticky and wide open.
11. The dog: escaped and wandering off leash to poop in the condo's yard. (Yes, I know her spot and yes, I pick it up and yes, I used the poop receptacle and not my neighbor's trash cans)

And the boys: shrieking like wild banshees up and down the front sidewalk, hiding in side yards, soldier-crawling through the neighbor's unmowed grass, firing water guns at our neighbors as they get home from work. In their nice work clothes.

How's your summer going? Is your house a complete disaster too?