They even cleaned the toaster oven.

Here's a fairly universal thing about having a small baby: no matter how you try, you will probably not be able to keep up with housework for the first several months. All the books say to nap when the kid naps (yeah, right...see here), or at least relax and not stress about the gigantic tumbleweeds of animal hair that you see rolling across the living room floor as you nurse your precious bundle of needs. Or the fact that the bath tub has taken soap scum to a whole new level.

Well both Jay and I were having trouble with that part about not stressing about the increasing buildup of filth. I think most people probably do. It's not that we didn't have time to clean the house - we have time while Jupiter naps, we have time after he's in bed for the night, we can clean while he's awake - but rather that cleaning the house is probably the last thing a pair of tired new parents want to do with their precious non-baby time.

So against my feminist and class-conscious misgivings we hired a cleaning service. Oh. My. God. Best $100 we've spent in a good while. Two ladies showed up on Friday and cleaned this place like it has never been cleaned before. I don't know what terrible chemicals they used (the eco-friendly cleaning services are so damned expensive) but they got this place so spankin' clean it looks bigger. And smells nice. They even cleaned the toaster oven, the air intake vents, the bathroom fan, the microwave, the cobwebs on the OUTSIDE of our front door. We've decided that we're going to do this serious cleaning every three months and a maintenance cleaning every month in between. I am so excited.

So friends, don't hesitate. If you can afford to lay out a little extra cash each month, set aside your fears of living bourgeois and HIRE THE CLEANERS.