Judah . . . aka "Mr. Clean"

Sitting here trying to get over either food poisoning or the flu, feeling nauseated and uncomfortable, but loving life none-the-less because of the joy i see through my almost 2 year old's eyes (20 months).

God knew first to bless me with a husband that enjoys to clean our home (click here for more details on my amazing husband)...but never in my wildest dreams would I imagine my first-born son to take after his daddy so much. I think his first word after "mama" and "dada" was "LAUNDRY." You're telling me that's a big word...we were blown away. This child gets more joy from doing laundry than anyone I have ever met in my life. He knows where the laundry room is in every house we have ever visited...he has even indulged our neighbors in helping them with their laundry, not to mention both grandparents and brother/sister-in-laws.

Want to see a child throw a tantrum? Take Judah away from the laundry room and it's an outright disaster. You would never imagine how many battles we have had just trying to close the laundry room door.

We thought he was cute and innocent like all other children with the vacuums, brooms wanting to follow in the parents footsteps and help, but then laundry turned into a whole other beast. I haven't even brought up his love for helping with the dishwasher and now, cleaning toilets with the brush. His innocence strangely turned into a weird obsession...but it's an adorable obsession and one we are trying to let him indulge in for the sake of helping around the house.

If only I could teach him how to do it a little quicker. Each experience is about an hour long chore because he takes his sweet time and enjoys every detail.

Here is a quick snapshot at the process for just putting the clothes in the washing machine:


I'll have to film the next step for you all next time. Which includes getting the detergent out, and making sure we don't forget the downy fabric softener which he labeled "blue" because of the color of the bottle. After we put everything in...he gets on top of the washing machine and dances while it moves the clothes around. Again, that video to come at another date. Do you believe me a little now?

My newest discovery with my amazingly talented child is his love for cleaning the toilets. We have 3 bathrooms in our home and I just wish that I would have filmed the mental breakdowns when we finished the first and had to move to the second and so on. He couldn't take the thought that I would have to take the toilet brush away to move to the next bathroom. The sorrow was too great. Then, on the flip side, the joy when he realized he got to do it all over again, you can't put a price tag on cleaning with this kid.

Ok, not the best video to capture...but was a little tricky since this was the first time I realized how important this was to him- i'll get better next time around:


So...to all of you who read my facebook post regarding wanting to throw Judah his 2nd birthday at a laundry mat...maybe you now have a better idea...Even if we don't end up at a laundry mat...I think the "Mr Clean" party theme is in the near future...

Look for an update hopefully sooner than later...