Spotted furniture

We're having a meeting at our house tonight (possibly), so I have to furiously clean. I tried yesterday, but I had a terrible headache yet again. I don't know how three small children can leave such s swath of destruction in their paths. I did get the kitchen almost done yesterday, at least all the toys have been removed and you can walk across the floor without tripping. And I started on the dining room, which is shaping up. But the den is littered with dust, small pieces of plastic and crayon paper, as well as mashed popcorn kernels. Since this is the room we use the most, it always gets the dirtiest the fastest.

The living room is another matter altogether. Years ago, when we only had two children, I bought a set of natural pine bunkbeds. When Daelyn came along, we were very thankful to have them. But I've always been frustrated with the cheap, pressed board dressers we use for them. For two years now I've been looking for a nice solid wood dresser to match the bunkbeds. I finally found one at a U-Finish-It store and, after saving my little pennies (very little) for almost a year, I purchased a chest of drawers. It's now in the living room in pieces with a coat of natural finish and the first coat of polyurethane. Last night, I decided to attack the second coat so I could get it out of the living room and into the boy's bedroom before the meeting tonight (we might need the use of the living room), and discovered white spots ALL over the drawers and dresser. Some pieces were worse than others, but there weren't any that escaped the white spots. I have no idea what caused them, but I spent the better part of last night trying to sand them out, unsuccessfully, I might add. I did get a few drawers sanded and the second coat on them, but I still have two in very bad shape left and the sides of the dressers. And, because of the amount of sanding I did, they each probably need a third coat. Very little CLEANING got done.

So I still have all the cleaning to do as well as the dresser to finish and remove from the living room. And here I sit, typing.

Pray for nice weather. My one hope is that it doesn't rain and we'll have a pool party at a friend's house instead of the rain plan, which is my house. If it does rain, I guess my friends are just going to have to understand that I'm not perfect and neither is my home.

Regardless of what happens tonight, my in-laws will be here this weekend, bringing Deanna home, and I simply have run out of excuses for why my house is always messy. I know my mother-in-law doesn't inspect, nor does she expect, but for years when they visited, the house was messy because I was getting married, had just had a baby, or was pregnant with a very difficult pregnancy. All of those reasons were good and valid (even I can see that), but I am now solidly married and will never again be pregnant. Excuses (or at least good ones) are running horribly thin. My house needs to be clean for a change. So, the boys need to keep themselves occupied while I hunker-down. If it's not ready for tonight, perhaps it will be for Grandma and Grandpa's arrival.

Here's hoping!!