A clean house is a happy house.

So, I've found that the people who say that with pregnancy comes an increased sense of smell are correct . . . and ever since September 15, I feel like our house smells awful. Like a combination of rotten food and dog pee. I've put in about 7 Wallflowers (smelly plug-in things from Bath and Body Works) but it doensn't seem to be able to mask the scent. Our carpet Kyle doesn't smell it as strong as I do, but it has been driving me crazy.

So, we broke down and rented a carpet shampooer last night. We could only have it for 24 hours or we'd have to pay another $21 so we (and by we, I mean Kyle) were up until after mindnight last night shampooing the living room and hallway. Before we used it, we had to completely clean it out because it was moldy and the filter was clogged . . . that was kind of annoying. It seems to make a difference, though Murphy has left her mark in a few places and they will not go away. THis morning while Kyle was at work, I worked on the stairs, downstairs carpet and furniture.

The carpet at the bottom of our stairs was pretty much ruined when we painted the ceiling of the basement and didn't seal off the rest of the house properly. But it actually looks a little bit better after being cleaned.

Unfortunately, I did something stupid and tried to carry the shampooer up the stairs when it was completely full. About half way up the stairs I knew I was being dumb when I started having really painful cramps. I went and laid down and waited for Kyle to come home and do the rest. I don't think I've ever felt as scolded by my husband as I did when he got home . . . I guess I can't blame him. The cramps have subsided and I've learned my lesson: No more heavy lifting.

I do have to say that best part is when Kyle took the machine back to Home Depot, he mentioned that it was in pretty bad shape when we got it so they didn't charge us the rental fee . . . no questions asked! That was awesome! We can put that toward replacing the coffee table from IKEA in our living room that Murphy chewed all of the corners off of this week. :(

Anyway, I feel much better now that I'm in a clean house. It'll never be the same as it was pre-dog, but it's a lot better. I swear that if I see that dog even begin squat anywhere on my carpet, she'll be gone before she finishes peeing.