small things {plopping}

small things #66 ... plopping

My kids are suffering from a serious malady.  I don't think it's life-threatening, but it is serious.  (Of course, if we can't find an antidote it might become life-threatening because I might lose my mind!)  Perhaps your kid's suffer from the same illness.  Here are the symptoms:

~ randomly depositing toys and other small items in strange and random places.

~ unconsciously dropping gadgets and gizmos on any flat surface when encountering another more desirable gadget or gizmo.

~ leaving socks, hair rubber bands, pj's, backpacks and shoes wherever they fall when they are shed from their bodies.

~ unloading precious belongings anywhere and wondering later where they are.

Any other families out there with rampant plopping in their homes?  Please tell me we aren't the only ones!

I have stood dumbfounded as I watched my son walk into the living room with a pair of socks in his hands and walk out of the living room having successfully deposited them in the La-Z-Boy.  Plop!

I have watched wide-eyed as my oldest daughter has cartwheeled into the family room with a magazine in her hand and cartwheeled back out leaving the magazine peeking half-way out from under the couch.  Plop!

I have watched stunned as my middle girl has walked up to the dining room table and exchanged her handful of Legos for the Strawberry Shortcake dolls she previously deposited there.  Plop!

I have observed flabbergasted as my baby girl has trotted into the kitchen with an armful of baby doll paraphernalia and dropped it on the floor upon spotting her Tinkerbell cell phone under the dishwasher.  Plop!

Plop!  Plop!  Plop!

A few times a day I declare that there is an abundance of ploppage building up on the flat surfaces of our home and my kids scurry around gathering up the items they have pollinated throughout the house  - which I'm grateful for.  But I truly wish that they would get into the habit of putting things away, or as we say in our house, "where they live."  

I keep thinking that they will catch on and realize that the amount of time that they spend cleaning up is 100% avoidable if they kept their belongings tidy, but I also recognize that it's a natural part of growing up.  Maybe there is a vaccine against this childhood disease.

Until the medical community discovers a way to immunize my kids against plopping, I'll just have to use my Buy It Back Box.  But I'm going to need a bigger box.

Plopping ... an opportunity for my kids to grow and learn.  And for Mommy to pray for patience.

small things {mvp's}

small things #47 ... mvp's

A few weeks ago, Brett came home and almost walked back out the door and drove away.  And I wouldn't have blamed him one bit.

The kids had been nutty.  The kids had been pestering.  The kids had been pushing one another's buttons.

And nutty, pestering button-pushers make for one crabby Mom.

My knee-jerk reaction had been to send them all to their rooms to clean.  But I knew that eventually they would have to come out and I would have to come up with a long-term plan for helping them to play nicely together.  Or at least to eat.

As Brett and I sat at the kitchen table following dinner, I unloaded all the garbly-gook that we had endured all day.  All the ways they had driven one another crazy and all the ways that I felt crazed.  (How Brett didn't make a break for it at that point, I have no idea!)

Essentially it all boiled down to one simple fact:  We weren't working as a team.

• Rather than helping clean up in the afternoon, I felt like I was cleaning up around them.
• Rather than being quick to jump in the van, I felt like I was herding them along from behind, reminding them of shoes, snacks and potty breaks.
• Rather than sitting and enjoying lunch together, I felt like I was referring a wrestling match with grabbing hands, bossy elbows and boisterous voices.
• Rather than chipping in with chores, I felt like I had to plead and beg for help around the house ... only to listen to sighing and grumbling and stomping feet.

I felt like I was on the losing team.  An awful feeling for certain!

While part of me wanted to discipline the kids for their unsportsmanlike conduct, I felt God leading in another way.  A better way.

I know I don't really like to have the whistle blown when I make a mistake or to have a big finger pointed at me with the pronouncement, "Foul!  Five minutes for fighting!"  More often than not, I already know when I've messed up.  What I truly appreciate and what motivates me more is to hear when I've done well ... atta-girl's and way-to-go's and good-job's inspire me to work harder and do better.

And the same goes for my kids.

God's prompting to praise my kids' good behavior as they practice good sportsmanship led us to celebrate a daily MVP - and we've experienced an incredible change in the attitudes in our house!

My job is to simply be on the look-out for the kid who is most on the ball, most motivated to help, most quick to obey ... the most valuable player of the day.

The kids' job is to be on their toes, work on their teamwork and play by our house rules.

At dinner I share the reasons why I chose that particular kid, write their name on the MVP chalk board and we celebrate with high-fives all around!  On more than one occasion it was such a tough decision that we got to celebrate all the kids ... that's a fantastic change-up.  

A true Cinderella-team transformation!

MVP ... most valuable player and the most validating plan for rebuilding our team!

Snapshots of the Heart ~ Self-Discipline

Last week I shared about the growing desire of my kids to be the bosses of this house ... and the plan I have in place to cure them of their bossy pants-itis.

Today is about my own problem with bossing.

Last week during my Bible study, I experienced a bit of an epiphany.  And it didn't even hurt.  The topic was concerning our tendency to be control freaks.  As a recovering C.F., I thought that I had this all under control (ba dump bump!), only to discover that I didn't.

I too have the propensity to pull on my bossy pants in the morning and go about my day making sure everybody (mainly my kids) are playing by my rules.  This could also be called "nagging" but that is such an unfortunate word.  Let's call it "gentle guiding".  Or "repetitive reminding".  Or, we could just call it as it truly is ... "bossing".

When Aaron doesn't get off the iPod within 2.4 seconds of my request for him to do so, I ask again.  And then again until he finally switches of.  Bossy.

When Norah fails to get all her clothes in the laundry at the end of the day, I point it out to her.  And sometimes without using my magic words.  Bossy.

When Ashley gets caught up in talking to Baby S and doesn't put her coloring books and markers away, I reminder her.  And then remind her again a bit more gruffly.  Bossy.

When Lydia is slow in getting her shoes and coat on, I say, "Chop, chop, hop to it!" and give her my grumpiest look.  Bossy.

There is a fine line between training and bossing and I think these past several weeks I've been tip-toeing across to the dark side.  Rather than nagging, uh, that is, repetitively reminding my kids to do what is asked of them, it would be more effective for me to say it once and then allow natural consequences to follow.

Let's see how that would be played out in the above scenarios:

Instead of bossing Aaron regarding his need to get off the iPod, I could ask him to shut it down and then begin keeping track of the amount of time that he continues to care for his Tap Zoo creatures.  This time would be subtracted from the next time he asks for screen time.  "Sure ... you can do some Wii.  I would say you have 45 minutes, but since you stayed on the iPod for an extra 15 minutes this morning, you can play for 30 minutes."  Let the groaning begin.  And the learning.

Instead of bossing Norah to pick up her clothes, I could ask her once and then whatever is left out after she heads to bed would go in the Bummer Bin to be earned back with chores later on.  "Where's your purple leotard?  Hmmm ... have you checked the Bummer Bin?  I think it was laying on the bathroom floor last night.  Sorry."  Let the moaning begin.  And the learning.

Instead of bossing Ashley when she forgets to clean up the kitchen table, I could remind her once and then when I'm setting the table, all the markers, stickers and books can be deposited in the Bummer Bin.  "Oh ... your coloring book?  I think it's in the Bummer Bin.  You can spot clean the floor for me if you'd like to have it back."  Let the grumbling begin.  And, you got it, the learning.

Instead of bossing Lydia to get her shoes and coat on, I can inform her that we are leaving and then head to the van.  I might add something like, "When you get your parts together and get buckled up, I'd love to give you a little treat."  When she fails to be quick and snappy, she will be terribly disappointed that she didn't get her little goodie.  "Sorry, Sweetie.  I hope you can do better next time."  Let the wailing begin.  And the, yes indeed, the learning.

Lots of lessons learned for the kids and me.  They are learning to be the bosses of themselves and the importance of responsibility.  I'm learning to let go of my kids and allow them to accept responsibility for themselves ... and spending my energy on enjoying my kids instead of bossing them.

Is this easy?  No. Way.  This requires huge amounts of self-discipline from me.  Keeping my mouth shut and allowing my kids to learn from experience.  Keeping my attitude positive and not turning a teachable moment into a I-told-you-so moment.  Keeping my eyes focused on the goal ... growing up responsible and respectful kids.

It's a doozy, for sure!

"Father, I pray that my children {and I} 

may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, 

doing what is right and just and fair."  

Proverbs 1:3

Snapshots of the Heart ~ Responsibility

We seem to be experiencing a bit of a Bossy Pants Invasion here in our home.

At any given moment of the day, you can hear a chorus of, "You should's", "You better's" or "You have to's" as my children attempt to boss each other.  It would appear that each of my kiddos are determined to be in charge of everybody and everything ... except for their own bodies and their own things.

Here are a few examples ... I'm sure they will be familiar to you:

Ashley standing with her hands on her hips reprimanding Aaron for using too much milk for his cereal ... mainly because she is overly worried that he might possibly use the last of the 3/4 gallon of milk.  Oh my head.

Or Norah correcting Lydia's use of the gymnastic mat ... but only because she wants to use the mat and her not-quite-cartwheeling sissy isn't moving off to the side quickly enough.  It makes my ears hurt.

Or Aaron informing Ashley that she needs to get her shoes on and go to the van, but he's lounging on the ottoman with his newest Bionicle in his hands and nary a shoe to be found on his foot.  My right eye starts twitching.

Or Lydia declaring with all her might that Ashley's choice to sit in her chosen spot on the couch is, "That not awesome!"  That passionate proclamation is accompanied by a thump on Ashley's back with a giant Curious George.  My shoulders tense up.

Because of this propensity to of my kids to pull on their bossy pants in the morning, we have a new saying in our home.

"Who are you the boss of?"

The correct answer, of course, is "Me."

As you can imagine we've been hearing this new chorus a lot.  That's what happens when you start a new training regimen with kids ... you have to be prepared to see it through until they get it.  Even if you flirt with a little insanity from the broken record effects of repeating the same phrase over and over and over ... and over and over again.

This gentle reminder of self-control is coupled with a few encouraging words to please allow Mommy to boss that other little person.  In severe cases of bossy pants-itis, I have also been known to send the bossy one off to do a job from The Great Learning Box.

"It would appear that you have a lot of energy and time right now.  Let's put that to some good use.  It looks like you get to wipe down the bannisters.  Thanks!"


Then I can address the recipient of the bossiness ...

"Why do you think So-and-so felt the need to boss you?  Are you doing something that needs correcting?  What can you do to be responsible for yourself?"

And then perhaps there is a little activity (read: chore) that they can do while they think about their own actions.  Which results in some other part of my house getting clean as well!  Bonus!

The hope, of course, is that each of these little people will be responsible for their own sweet little selves and eliminate the need for anyone else to boss them, er ... remind them of what is expected of them.

We all struggle with issues of self-control and a persistent desire to control those around us.  And when I say "we" I, of course, mean "me".

But that's an entire post for another day!

"Grant that my children may learn responsibility, 

for each one should care his own load."  

Galatians 6:5

Monkey See, Monkey Do

We have an interesting phenomenon here in our house.  One that has mixed results.  Without necessarily meaning to, our older kids are constant and consistent role models to Lydia.  Of good things and things, well ... not so good.

For example, if you were to join us around the kitchen table, you might find the following scenarios:

Aaron turns sideways on the bench and leans against the nearest wall.  With one elbow propped on the table, he dips a steak fry in ketchup and with great care, navigates the two and half feet to his mouth.  As you look across the table, you might find Lydia lounging in the same comfortable position, but not nearly as successful with the ketchup delivery.  This little monkey doesn't have quite the same hand-eye coordination.  In fact there is a small trail of red ketchup from her table to her mouth, traveling up her chin!

Gratefully, Aaron also models responsible behavior at the dinner table.  As he is faithful to say, "please", "thank you", "may I be excused?", we have heard Lydia mimic these same words.  She is learning the importance of good manners as she watches and listens to her older brother use those magic words.  Of course, she still has a way to go.  Recently during dinner she sat at her seat, pointed to her soup and informed me, "that smells stinkies."  That silly monkey followed her previous winning compliment with, "This bad."  Those zingers are 100% Lydia!

Norah is a busy body around the table.  Up.  Down.  Up.  Down.  Up.  Down.  She has a lot of trouble sitting, due in part to the fact that her body has trouble containing her boundless energy and due in part to the fact that there are so many amazing things to look at in the kitchen!  As we sit down to eat, someone will comment on a magazine that came in the mail ... Norah jumps up to find said magazine and show it to  us all.  "Please sit down."  Next a song comes on our Pandora station and someone asks who the artist is ... Norah jumps up to check the iPod and informs us that it's Jack Johnson.  "Please sit down."  Someone at the table mentions that they are thirsty ... Norah jumps up and races to the fridge to get more water.  "Please sit down."  It wouldn't be such a big deal that she wants to be such a finder/informer/helper if she didn't have her side-kick.  With each leap from the table, our littlest monkey is right on her heels, seeking to find, inform and help, too.  It's like Grand Central Station in our kitchen.  "Please sit down!"

On the flip side, Norah is a terrific role model when to comes time to help in the kitchen.  As she unloads the dishwasher or helps to set the table, she is quick to give manageable jobs to Lydia.  She encourages her little helper to carry the kids' bowls to the drawer or stack the plastic cups.  With each completed chore in the kitchen, Lydia is learning where things live and how to help clean up.  Of course, we're still working on that monkey not licking the silverware before returning them to the drawer or sucking the clean cups onto her cute little face ... but she's a work in progress!

Ashley is a slow-waker-upper in the mornings which often results in her laying sideways on the kitchen bench.  In the middle of breakfast.  One minute we are all eating together and the next minute I look across the table and Ashley has disappeared.  A quick peek under the table reveals our little missy slumped over, eyes part-way closed and sucking on her finger.  "Sit up, please."  She moans and groans and pulls herself up to a sitting position.  Propping her head on her hand she starts in on her cereal again with a sigh.  As soon as she is vertical again, Lydia takes her cue to get horizontal!  But she's happy and giggling.  She stretches out next to Ashley and pokes her sister in the hiney with her pointy toes.  "Sit up, please."  That goofy monkey peeks above the table to see if I'm serious and then quickly plops herself in from of her own cereal.  Just in time, because Ashley is headed back to being prone!

At the dinner table, Ashley is our cautious eater.  She doesn't jump into eating different foods very readily.  She is much more comfortable with the old faithfuls:  tacos, pasta, hamburgers.  But ... she is willing to have her three required bites.  The same night that Lydia had such glowing compliments about the pumpkin soup, Ashley was equally unexcited.  She did have her three bites, however, and even voluntarily ate a few additional spoonfuls later on in the meal.  Her obedience in at least trying unfamiliar dishes is a great model for Lydia.  As our littlest monkey watches Ashley grimace through her mandatory bites, she is more willing to follow suit ... same bites and same grimace!

Our big monkeys are showing our littlest monkey how life works in even more ways than just around the kitchen table.  In light of that truth, I can honestly say that I am RELIEVED that we laid the foundation with our older kids about what is expected in behavior and attitude.  They teach Lydia more in one day through their actions and conduct than I am able to do in my efforts of endless visits, talking-to's and time-outs.  Whew!

In reality we are all participating in this game of Monkey See, Monkey Do.  We watch the people in our circle of influence and we mimic things they say and do.  And then we turn around and realize that someone is watching us ... and doing and saying what we say and do.  This fact makes my heart hammer ... and I can only hope that whatever I'm doing is worth imitating!

The apostle Paul was a proponent of Monkey See, Monkey Do ... as long as the model was Jesus.  He committed his life to following Jesus' model for life and in his letters he repeatedly challenged his readers to do the same.

¹⁷ Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. (Philippians 3:17)


Not just because it was the right thing to do, but because this right way of life results in blessings and fullness.  We can choose the people we want to emulate by looking at their lives and seeing if the evidence of their faith confirms the rightness of their life.  It's a circle of rightness!


⁷ Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. (Hebrews 13:7)

What are you seeing?
What are you doing?
Does your life reflect your faith?

Day 1:  Mom in the Midst

Day 2:  My Button is Lame

Day 3:  Splendidly Lavish

Day 4:  Keeping My Head Above Water

Day 5:  Time-Warp Wednesday ~ Little Me

Day 6:  Me, Myself & I

Day 7:  Food For Though ~ Bacon

Day 8:  The Aches and Pains of Service

Day 9:  I Heart You

Day 10:  Who is Me? {part 1}

Day 11:  Who is Me? {part 2}

Day 12:  Who is Me?  {part 3}

Day 13:  Handmade with Care

Day 14:  Food For Thought ~ Carmel & Apples

Day 15:  A Bunch of Rocks

Day 16:  Not Recycled ... Redeemed

Day 17:  What Do You Do?

Day 18:  Washed on the Delicate Cycle

Day 19:  Know Thy Limits

Day 20:  One Snapshot ~ Many Stories

Day 21:  Food For Thought ~ Malt-O-Meal

Day 22:  Cartwheeling for Jesus

Day 23:  Take a Load Off

Day 24:  Listen!  Do You Smell Something?

Day 25:  Dinner Time!

Day 26:  Where Did It Go?

Day 27:  I'm on the Hunt

Day 28:  Food For Thought ~ Milk, It Does the Body Good

Day 29:  Oops. I Missed It.
Day 30:  Monkey See, Monkey Do

Something Yellow

Hmmm ... something yellow.  Something yellow.  Write about something yellow.

As I was working around the house and contemplating Mama Kat's writing prompts, I was struck by the variety of yellow things around the house that I could write about.

~My lovely bouquet of yellow alstroemeria sitting on my kitchen table ... a gift from my sweet hubby this past weekend.

~My hardy yellow rubber gloves that protect me from having to actually touch any of the nasty, soggy, slimy food particles during dish-duty.

~My amazing  yellow bottle of Tea Tree Oil.  One little dab and those pesky mosquito bites are itch-free!

~My trusty plastic yellow cup that follows me around the house.  Filled with ice water and always within reach when I get a little "firsty", as Lydia would say.

~The soft yellow glow of the lamp in the living room.  A sweet beacon beckoning me to settle into the couch for a good read ... with my feet up.

~The economy-sized yellow tub of Clorox Wipes that leave my counters, sinks and kitchen knobs squeaky clean and smelling clean.  Even in the hands of my littlest helpers.

~My  yellow sweetie Petey canary ... still singing to me as I toodle around the kitchen.  He has great taste in music!

~ My ...

... hold on a minute.  What is that?!  Is it? ... Yes.  Eww.  A piece of TP on the bathroom floor.  And it's yellow.  Gross.

Even with all of my efforts to find something yellow and sentimental to write about, I'm left with something yellow that makes me feel mental!  Aaahhh! ... As I stooped down to retrieve that little yellow memento that someone left for me, I couldn't help but think about all the other unfortunate bathroom habits that my little people have right now that I am in the process of working on.  My hope is that at the end of all this training and teaching, I will be sending responsible, fun, enjoyable and hygienic people out into the world!

I am working hard on training my kids to ...

• Aim for the toilet.  More challenging than it would seem.  And not just for my boy.
• Throw away their used tissues.  All the way into the trashcan, not just near it.  And most definitely NOT back in the box.
• Rinse the used up toothpaste down the sink.  As opposed to allowing it to dry and crust over.  Same goes for the actual toothbrush.
• Avoid spraying toothpaste on the bathroom sink.  Essentially, keeping the toothpaste in the mouth is the main goal.
• Forgo using their hands to wipe said toothpaste spray off the mirror.  It's not really cleaner, just smearier.
• Keep the hairbrushes away from the toothbrushes.  Makes me gag just thinking about it.
• Throw away the bandaid wrappers after binding their wounds.  This also goes for the used bandaids.  shudder ...
• Pick up the teensy-weensy, itty-bitty hair-do parts.  If they fall on the floor, they don't disappear into the bathroom rug.  They still need to be picked up.
• Flush.  Seems simple, but apparently this is a tough one.
• Keep the hand towels off the floor.  They seem to jump off the hook a lot, those pesky little hand wiper-thingies. Help Mommy keep them from misbehaving so much.
• Keep the water in the tub.  Of course, Liddy is the biggest culprit here, but the big kids are just as guilty of dowsing the bathroom floor on a regular basis.
• Put your clothes in the hamper.  Emphasis on "IN".  "Near" doesn't count and neither does hanging on the towel rack.  IN.

And finally ...

• Remember that Mommy loves the smell of a clean kid.  That goes for hands, heads, and hineys.  Take the time to actually use soap.  

Thank you.

Now ... if you'll excuse me, I need to pull on my yellow bathroom scrubbing gloves and get to work!

_____________________________________________

Prompt #2 from

Just Vacuuming? Nope.

Last Friday, we had a full schedule.  And not just a "I have a couple of things to do today" day, but a "when exactly is all that going to get done?" day.  A "well, if there were four of me this would be do-able" day.  A "what was I thinking?" day.  You get the picture.

At one point in the morning, I lugged out the vacuum for my weekly "get the Gimli mats off the floor" job. The added perk to this week's vacuuming was that Gimli was currently at "The Foxy Hound" getting his summer do'.  That meant that when he got home, there would be significantly less of him to shed on the floor and it would stay cleaner longer.  At least, that's the theory.

As I started up the vacuum, my two stay-at-home girls ran in opposite directions in search of their own vacuums.  One is a Shark and works while the other is purple, has googly eyes and says things like, "oooh-hooo ... I love cleaning up!"  Unfortunately the one that actually sucks up stuff actually has to be plugged in to be charged.  And since that didn't happen, no one wanted it.  And so ensued the battle for the happy vacuum.

As this mini-war waged on, I ... turned on my real, working, roaring vacuum.  Aaahhh ... the sweet bliss of a noisy chore.  :)  Unfortunately, while I couldn't hear them, I could see them:  grasping, crying and flailing.  Being the responsible mom, I stepped in and we started sharing; back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  Peace ensued for a bit.

I got back to sucking up pounds of dog hair and the girls happily shared for about 3 minutes.  This is when it dawned on me:  As a mom, I don't ever just do anything.  I don't just wash dishes - I also pour milk, blow noses and hand out animal crackers.  I don't just clean bathrooms - protect little hands from "ouchy chemicals", wipe bottoms and hand out Kleenex.   I don't just vacuum - I prevent WWIII.  And if you're a parent, it's the same for you.  Let's take a peak at just what we do, shall we?

Since my vacuuming tango is still rather fresh in my mind, we'll use this scenario:

You plug in the vacuum and your child runs screaming and crying from the room and hides her face in the pillows of the couch.  You give warm reassuring pats until she comes out and then you resume your task.  


Once you're back to vacuuming, you enlist your little people to pick up the toys from the floor as you approach.  Most of them make their way into toy basket.  With a little encouragement from you, the last remaining doll and random toy screwdriver find their way to the toy bin.  You continue with your vacuuming of the living room.  


A small fight breaks out over the play vacuum. (See? This scenario is based in my reality.  Scary, huh?)  While continuing to vacuum, you watch over your shoulder to see if they can work it out.  Nope.  The littler one chucks the happy vacuum ("Whee! I love doing chores!") at the older one, who proceeds to burst into understandable tears.  You turn off the vacuum, scoop the little stinker up and plop her in time-out.  You snatch a tissue for the slippery-nosed older child, check for wounds, snuggle her onto the couch and get back to work.  


You manage to vacuum half the living room before the calls from the corner, "Maaaaaammmaaaa!  Maaaammmmaaa!" become too loud to ignore.  Off again.  You head over to the culprit, have a brief discussion regarding sharing and "having nice hands".  The littlest one gives sweet "sawry" hugs to the older sniffler and then they are back to squealing and sharing and cleaning.  ...sigh... 


Back to vacuuming for you.  As soon as you finish with the downstairs, your oldest is tugging at your leg.  


"Remember, Mommy ... you said I could do the stairs." 

"Yep ... okay, here's how you do it."  


So ensues a quick tutorial on vacuuming stairs:  suck up the cracks, the use the brush on the carpet.


"Okay ... I'm a helper."  


Unfortunately, the little one isn't.  As the vacuuming begins again, the littlest one starts pestering by turning the vacuum off and on, and off and on ... and off.  Little eruptions of, "Mommmmm!  She's turning it off!" fill the air.  You are standing right there, so you know that already.  thankyouverymuch.  You proceed to have a few discussions with the turkey about "no touch" and "be a helper".  She offers a mumbled, "Ya, Mama" and heads off to find the perky vacuum, which you are surprised to find up on the dining room table.  Upon handing it to the little one, the older one pipes up, "I was using that!"  So ensues a discussion about ... you guessed it, "sharing".  After the stairs are de-haired, you proceed to vacuum the living room.  (And begin wondering ... "Why do we have so many rooms to vacuum?")

As the vacuuming continues you find yourself in the following situations:

• Asking the youngest child to climb off the vacuum so you can move it.  (repeat 12 times)
• Asking the older child to climb off the vacuum so you can move it. (repeat 8 times)
• Asking the older child to finish the job she started and put the cleaning wipes away.  Completely.
• Asking the younger child to sit down with her snack at the table.
• Wiping several bottoms.
• Washing several hands.
• Helping two little girls find homes for their Disney Princesses so they don't get sucked up in the vacuum.

... and ...

• Reinforcing the, "don't touch the plug" rule.  (repeat 6 times)

Eventually, you finally finish vacuuming the house.  And it only took you 1 hour and 22 minutes.

Now at the end of the day, you might be tempted to look back over your day and think, "Here's my list of things to do ... and all I got done was just vacuuming".  But I would say that you did more than just vacuum.   A lot more.

In the midst of your vacuuming ...

• You brought comfort to a scared child.
• You showed a child how to be brave.
• You taught the importance of sharing.
• You reinforced the value of being a servant.
• You gave instructions on how to vacuum.
• You taught how to clean up, 100%.
• You reinforced the importance of gentle, loving hands.
• You showed the importance of asking for forgiveness.
• You revealed the importance of offering forgiveness.
• You instructed in the safety of sitting while eating.
• You required obedience and reinforced the value of respecting authority.
• You reinforced the importance of good personal hygiene.
• You taught the worthiness of being responsible with your belongings.
• You gave practical instructions regarding the dangers of electricity.
• You showed your children, first-hand, the importance of perseverance and the value of seeing a job through to its end.

See ... you did a lot!

And that, my dear .... is why you are exhausted! :)

It's not the housework that is tough ... it's the all-important child-training that goes on during the housework that makes us tired.  The training, actually, is what is essential, though.  And the cleaning?  Well ... that falls more under the "facts of life" category.

Just don't ever forget that you aren't just keeping house ... you're loving & training your kids, too!

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Be sure to pop over to the side bar and read through "What's For Dinner?" and "Trekking Thru the Bible" ... all new this week! :)