Graduation prep week

This past week has been busy, busy, busy. I left Wichita on Tuesday and came to Ellinwood where I helped my sister, Teresa, clean her house to get ready for her daughter Katie's graduation on Sunday. Teresa had back surgery about a month and a half ago and she can't bend yet, so since I'm laid off, I offered to come and help her get her house in order. She paid one of our nieces to do some of the rooms for her, so I only had three rooms to clean: living room, dining room and kitchen. I started on Wednesday and did the kitchen. Nothing much to report there except the smoke alarm went off a couple of times while the oven was self-cleaning.

After the kitchen was finished I had to go back to my mom and dad's house and stay with Zach while my mom went to an eye doctor appointment. We had a short nap and then played outside on the porch. He's getting really good at going up and down and up and down the porch steps. When I got to their house on Tuesday we were out on the porch and Zach attempted to go down the first step and went head over heels down the stairs instead. Since my mom covered her face in case there was blood, I went over and retrieved him. He didn't hurt himself at all and was just that much more determined to do it all by himself after that, although much more carefully.

Thursday I moved on to the living room and dining room at Teresa's. They are really just one huge room and it wasn't too bad, except Teresa and her husband have lots of things that have to be dusted. Like antique hurricane lamps and teapot collections. Just when I thought I was finished dusting hurricane lamps, I'd find more tucked away behind a cabinet that stores teapots. Doh! Luckily I didn't have to dust inside her seven china cabinets. Yes, seven! And they have two cats. One of which is white and his hair is all over the house. Had to empty the vacuum a couple of times before it was all swept.

Other than the hairball and broken toe (not really, but I did set the very large sofa down on my right foot) I got from cleaning there, everything went just great. The graduate herself even helped me do some of the heavy lifting.

Thursday after my dad got finished working my mom, dad and I left Ellinwood to drive to Oakley where my sister, Jenny, lives. On Friday we helped her get ready for her daughter Anissa's graduation on Saturday. Yes, that's two graduations. One weekend. Priceless.

Friday we all cleaned (except my brother-in-law who'd gone to work and my dad who conveniently disappeared when he wasn't napping). I did the front porch, the living room, part of the dining room and one of the bedrooms. Jenny has a slightly smaller house (and fewer things to dust) than Teresa, but it's very similar. Jenny has beautiful navy blue carpet that shows every single speck of dirt and it had to be vacuumed more than once.

In the afternoon, Jenny and mom finished up the grocery shopping and we prepared some goodies for the reception after graduation. Things like macaroni salad, potato salad and lime green punch. Anissa's class colors are lime green and black. Saturday morning we decided to go out and eat breakfast so we wouldn't mess up the house getting a big breakfast prepared. It was a good decision.

Are you as tired as I am just hearing how busy the week was? More on the graduations themselves in later posts.