A little note on my parenting

At first (when I was a new mom), I had a place for everything. Toys went here. Baby stuff went there. All were put nicely in baskets and were always organized. Toddler hood hit our house like a slap in the face. At that point, everything had a place- it was called the floor. Mom puts it back, child gets it out. Mom puts it back, child gets it out. "Wow Mom, this is a fun game." Mom still trys to keep things clean but loses some sanity in the process. Child #2 arrives. The baskets are now diaper holders and pretend trucks. Now everything is shoved into the closet only when guests arrive. Nothing organized- it's just labeled the toy closet.

Now, child #3 has taken his place in the family. Now that I'm seasoned in the art of "picking up" I've decided it's the most worthless use of time during the daily routine. Nope, it's not even thrown in the closet for company anymore. I was recently given a quote that says "When you have young children, cleaning up the house is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing" or something along those lines. SO true. What is the point? Do it once when you go to bed so they have something to do when they wake up- destroy it all again. My one saving grace is the extra room downstairs. We call it the "playroom" *sigh*. Did you hear the angels sing when you read that blessed word? Ok, let me type it again- listen really closely this time- "playroom". It's like music isn't it! The definition of this (for those unfamiliar) is "A room set aside for children to destroy at their own will; parents do not need to step foot in the room unless screaming occurs; the room needs only to be cleaned once a week or if the ultra clean neighbor is coming over to play; Deep cleaning should be performed ONLY by the mother once a month so that she can throw away any unwanted toys without the kids knowing." Yes, this is my secret to raising children. When running or noise gets to be too much, you'll often hear me say (or yell) "OUTSIDE OR IN THE PLAYROOM". Glorious words.