One day. I've been back to work one day.
Today was my first day back to work post-holidays, and the initial thought that popped into my head when I got home, unlocked the front door, swung it open, and surveyed the ruins was "Oh my God. It's like Goldilocks has been here...with all of her sorority sisters." Someone left dishes in the sink (but I just washed dishes last night?!) Someone left dirty clothes in the bathroom floor (but I did laundry all weekend?!) Someone left toys strewn across the living room, crayons dumped on my nightstand, stuffed animals piled under the kitchen table, some interesting "make-up art" on the bathroom cabinet, and half of my jewelry spilled in the floor under my jewelry box. The whole house is like a crime scene, frozen in time; the remnants of what "went down" this morning while I accomplished the super-human feat of getting ready for work with and almost-2-yr-old an almost-4-yr-old running wild off of their early morning energy surge. (They did NOT get that from me.)
What amazes me most is that they are ABLE to create such destruction and chaos in their environment. The oldest is about 40 lbs. and the youngest about 30 lbs. So, you're talking like, 70 lbs. of kid total - that can produce up to 10X that weight in straight up MESS. It is indicative of their species to be messy, loud, and rambunctious, yes. However, it's almost as if my children are in constant training for some "5RM Trash-a-Houseathon" that I've failed to be aware of.
I've tried charts, threats, rewards (OK, bribes), and all kinds of begging and pleading. There has got to be a way to keep the house clean and not feel like a nag. My first goal is to better train the kids to pick up after themselves. I'm not setting an end-date for that goal, by the way.
♥M
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