Cleaning Up

I'm always trying to find a balance between keeping a clean (haha!) home and just letting go for the sake of enjoying my kids while they are young.  It is a VERY difficult balance because I can't stand living in clutter and unclean countertops, but I also LOVE watching the kids play and observing their imaginations at work.  So...I'm sure I'll continue on the never ending circle of finding the right balance that works for my family.

I've read on blogs and seen pins on Pinterest about just letting the mess go and embracing it for this time in my life.  They are only little once, right?  I've let myself believe that the last 2 1/2 years I've been home (side note - crazy that I've been home for almost 2 1/2 years!!!!).  I've bought into the idea that enjoying them while they are little is more important than a clean house.  And, while yes, I often choose my kids over cleaning, I believe there is nothing wrong with making the kids entertain themselves for awhile in order to tidy up a bit.

And then I read the most freeing blog post EVER!  The jist of the post is that her house is picked up every night before going to bed.  ALL FAMILY MEMEBERS ASSIST IN THIS PROCESS!  Everyone gets assigned a task (or a room) to tidy up and the entire family is done within a 15 minute window.  HOLY SMOKES, this lady is a genius!  It dawned on me that I don't have to CHOOSE between a "tidy" house and spending quality time with my kids.  I can have BOTH!

It's amazing how quickly the basement can be torn apart.  I mean literally, it can happen in less than 5 minutes.  Every single toy we own is scattered on the carpet.  When those days happen, and they happen often, I assign each kid one set of toys to clean.  Reagan is usually in charge of putting the trains and tracks away and Kyleigh is in charge of putting the kitchen away.  I pick up the odds and ends (let's be honest - they "need" to be put into the correct bin, so I take care of those!) and the basement is cleaned in about 10 minutes or less.  I had been doing this months prior to reading the post, but I always had some sort of guilt along with it.  I'm not sure why I felt guilty, but I did.  I never get any complaints about cleaning up the basement - the kids just know that this is part of our daily routine.  In fact, after I assign Reagan his task, he's very quick to ask what MY task is!

While my house will never be as clean as I want it to be with young children in the house, I'm okay with that.  BUT, I'm also okay with have the house tidy and the kids picking up their toys to be put away at the end of the day. 

Reagan and Kyleigh - August 2014

Notes from August 2014:

Reagan:

• Very helpful when I ask him to do something for me
• Can basically dress himself now, but has a hard time removing his t-shirt
• Tall enough to pee into the toilet without a stool - yay!!
• Pooping into the potty instead of pants has improved
• If I tell him something, even if Kyleigh is standing right next to him, he insists on repeating what I said to Kyleigh
• Pronouncing three correctly now (no longer "free")
• Getting better at taking dishes to the sink without me reminding him
• Listening better to things I ask of him (ex: if he's downstairs and I call his name, he'll come right away and say "Yes, mom?"
• Can still be very hyper and it's hard to get him to listen when he's like that.  He is also much rougher with Kyleigh in this state!

Kyleigh:

• Very naughty and sassy right now (yells no or screams at me)
• Wants to know where "the line" is and is constantly trying to push it further back
• Takes her diaper off during the night and then pees in the bed (first half of month)
• Good days and bad days of potty training (first half of month)
• Drinking water from the toilet - who does that????
• Still eating the cat food, but not daily
• Climbing out of crib or pack-n-play during nap or bed time
• Proficient at opening doors and uses this skill the most at bed time
• Obsessed with airplanes.  Points them out EVERY time she sees one
• Stopped potty training (last week of August)
• Still loves reading Thomas books
• Still sniffing/blowing through nostrils on people
• Runs to where I am and announces "Reagan went poops on the potty" EVERY TIME
• Can be very sweet and loving. ON HER TERMS!