What Does Your Husband Do When You're Not There?

So, my wife and kids went away this weekend. Yep, they left me HOME ALONE! They are heading to my brother-in-law's college graduation and I have to work... a whopping total of 3.5 hours Sunday morning. So, with all of the free time that I've got around the house, I figured that I would take a few minutes throughout the day to let people know, via the blog and via Twitter, what I'm up to this weekend. Seriously, it's like, what the internet was made for! Also, I will be shootin' some video during the day as well with a recap of the home alone-ness. This way, the next time you've got somewhere to go and your husband isn't going to come with you for one reason or another, you can rest assured that everything will be okay... or will it.

Update 1 (Sat., 11:30am): So, here is what I would like to get done this weekend. With everyone gone, I would love to get the whole house clean. And I mean REALLY clean. We haven't ever really caught up since Baby Sister was born... last August. If I get through that, I would like to mow the lawn. Yeah, big aspirations, I know. But, this is stuff that is really tricky to get done on a day-to-day basis... for me anyway. I am also going to be working on that "video diary" of my day that I promised earlier. So, there you go. Now, off to clean!

Update 2 (Sat., 3:15pm): Well, I've gotten a bunch done so far. The whole upstairs on the kids' side of the house is clean (with the exception of the bathroom, which is straightened up, but not clean-clean yet). The hallway and stairs up there are clean, the living room is clean. I did take a lunch break to eat, play guitar, and watch a little bit of Superman IV (I wouldn't ever make anyone else watch that with me... not the best). Next stops - family room, kitchen, rec room. Then, it's off to my bedroom, which is not going to be fun! Maybe I'll put together that video first. I'll be back!

Update 3 (Sat., 6:30pm): Let me give you a real quick example about what it's like to be a man. I said that I was going to clean the kitchen, right? Well, my first thought was to get on my hands and knees and scrub the floor. That lasted all of about 10 tiles. I decided to go with my trusty ol' Swiffer WetJet. The problem, I came to discover, was that we have no more Swiffer WetJet spray in the house! What to do? I wanted to clean the floor... I didn't want to scrub on my hands and knees... I should buy a real mop. But then I realized that there was an even better solution. I filled a cake pan with hot water and dish soap, then dipped my Swiffer into that and got to cleaning. Needless to say the floor was pretty wet when I finished. That's okay. I just put some bath towels in the hamper earlier, planning to do laundry later tonight! Those dried the floor off just fine. And that is how a man problem solves!

Update 4 (Sat., 10:30pm): The house is now clean. That's not to say that there is nothing to do tomorrow. The bathrooms actually still need to be clean-cleaned and then there is the dusting and the window cleaning. But, man, what a day. Thank you to everyone who has been following along and thank you all for your rooting me on via this blog as well as Twitter. See you tomorrow!

Update 5 (Sun., 10:30am): I am back from work (the whole reason that I had to stay home from the weekend getaway in the first place). On the agenda for today - bathroom cleaning, dusting, windows, and laundry. Here goes nothing!

Update 6 (Sun., 1:30pm): The bathrooms are done. Whew! You know, it's funny. If you're anything like me, on a regular basis, you kind of notice things that are dirty and have gotten that way so gradually over such a long period of time, you almost convince yourself that it's not dirt, but just something that happens with time. Like, there is no way that whatever it is can ever look like new again. Almost as if to prove it to youself, you try to clean it a little. When it doesn't sparkle you figure, oh well. Apparantly, we've been lying to ourselves. That stuff DOES get clean. You just need to ship out your spouse and kids and really take the time. Rats! I kind of liked it when the dirt was out of my control.

Update 7 (Sun., 5:00pm): Yikes! Lost track of time! That's okay, though. I just head from the family and they probably aren't going to be back for another 4 hours. So, I have plenty of time still. The thing is that, even though I have been cleaning for 2 days now, there is still going to be plenty that won't get done. Crazy, isn't it? When you're buying a house, you only think about things like, "Wow, this room is so open and airy." You never think about how long it's going to take you to CLEAN those windows!

Update 8 (Sun., 6:50pm): This is my last update of the weekend. Thanks for sticking around to check up on me. Everything is now clean. I just have to bring the 13 garbage bags that have accumulated in the living room out to the curb and tidy up after myself from dinner. Then, I'll head upstairs to my room, relax, and fold and hang laundry until the family comes home. It's amazing - with all of the time that I have spent cleaning this weekend, there is still so much that can be done. The refrigerator needs to be emptied and cleaned, for one. And, I never even got to mow the lawn! Well, off to the curb. Have a good night and thanks for visiting!

posted by Hubby