Today was a better day than I thought it would be! I was sooooo tired and the thought of facing household chores and homeschooling just did not excite me. The house is a wreck since we have been gone so much lately.
But for my own peace of mind I try to focus on what I have accomplished rather than all there is to be done. This morning the girls enjoyed an episode of Wishbone on PBS. It's weird because The GuitarMan grew up watching it. They had never seen it before but with all these new PBS channels we now have with the converter box there are more shows to choose from. We got our homeschooling finished today and even did some extra manipulative work in Math and read an extra book in Reading. The little ones enjoyed playtime with the puppies this afternoon. I managed to get all the children's laundry washed, dried, and put away. Supper was tacos so that made for happy children. Then we went to church where I teach Mission Friends. We are learning about missionaries in Jacksonville, Florida.
I am hoping to have a little more get-up-and-go tomorrow without needing to get up and go anywhere! Then maybe I can apply that energy to organizing the house and getting it cleaned up again. When my outsides are in disarray it's hard to get my insides to feel settled. Does that make sense? But I have really been trying to just not let it get to me when things get out of hand. Now this time it was totally understandable...we played throughout the weekend and stayed gone and played nursemaid so far this week! But that's just it...when life happens and your house shows it, do you freak out and make everyone miserable? I confess I have been guilty of it. But I would rather know that my emphasis was on memories and not just the house. I'll give you an example.
Sunday after church we ran home to get changed before heading to lunch. The Guitarman had a friend with him who wanted to see the puppies and while we were here some more of his friends from high school showed up. The next thing I knew I had a living room full of people, activity, music and laughter. On the one hand, I cringed because the house was a disaster but then on the other hand it was like I was saying on a previous post. It's the people who matter. I am so glad these kids know they can show up at my house unannounced and be greeted with a smile and a hug. For that matter, I'm so glad they would want to!
So if you are experiencing a little of what I'm talking about around your house, take a breath and relax. Do the little jobs first so you can see the results quickly. If you only have a minute here or there because of cranky children or extra work hours, whatever....try just cleaning off a table, then another. Wipe down the bathroom fixtures and scrub out the toilet. Throw misc items in a basket. Put them away when you get another minute. Make up the beds. Save the sweeping, mopping and vaccuuming for when you have time to zoom through and tackle all the rooms. Make sure you have cleaned up the clutter and dusted prior to it though. Instead of looking at the mess as a whole break it up into little jobs. You will gradually get it back to where it ought to be. If it takes a few days, oh well. Most of all, don't sacrifice your family for a perfect house. When all else fails do as I do. Turn on some loud fast music and get the kiddos involved. My girls like to play Musical Cleanup. It's like Musical Chairs except you clean instead of running around chairs. When the music stops you freeze. 21 Pickup is fun too. You set the timer for ever how long you want and the object is to put away 21 items before it rings. Incidentally this is very helpful in teaching little ones to count. Be creative and have fun!
But for my own peace of mind I try to focus on what I have accomplished rather than all there is to be done. This morning the girls enjoyed an episode of Wishbone on PBS. It's weird because The GuitarMan grew up watching it. They had never seen it before but with all these new PBS channels we now have with the converter box there are more shows to choose from. We got our homeschooling finished today and even did some extra manipulative work in Math and read an extra book in Reading. The little ones enjoyed playtime with the puppies this afternoon. I managed to get all the children's laundry washed, dried, and put away. Supper was tacos so that made for happy children. Then we went to church where I teach Mission Friends. We are learning about missionaries in Jacksonville, Florida.
I am hoping to have a little more get-up-and-go tomorrow without needing to get up and go anywhere! Then maybe I can apply that energy to organizing the house and getting it cleaned up again. When my outsides are in disarray it's hard to get my insides to feel settled. Does that make sense? But I have really been trying to just not let it get to me when things get out of hand. Now this time it was totally understandable...we played throughout the weekend and stayed gone and played nursemaid so far this week! But that's just it...when life happens and your house shows it, do you freak out and make everyone miserable? I confess I have been guilty of it. But I would rather know that my emphasis was on memories and not just the house. I'll give you an example.
Sunday after church we ran home to get changed before heading to lunch. The Guitarman had a friend with him who wanted to see the puppies and while we were here some more of his friends from high school showed up. The next thing I knew I had a living room full of people, activity, music and laughter. On the one hand, I cringed because the house was a disaster but then on the other hand it was like I was saying on a previous post. It's the people who matter. I am so glad these kids know they can show up at my house unannounced and be greeted with a smile and a hug. For that matter, I'm so glad they would want to!
So if you are experiencing a little of what I'm talking about around your house, take a breath and relax. Do the little jobs first so you can see the results quickly. If you only have a minute here or there because of cranky children or extra work hours, whatever....try just cleaning off a table, then another. Wipe down the bathroom fixtures and scrub out the toilet. Throw misc items in a basket. Put them away when you get another minute. Make up the beds. Save the sweeping, mopping and vaccuuming for when you have time to zoom through and tackle all the rooms. Make sure you have cleaned up the clutter and dusted prior to it though. Instead of looking at the mess as a whole break it up into little jobs. You will gradually get it back to where it ought to be. If it takes a few days, oh well. Most of all, don't sacrifice your family for a perfect house. When all else fails do as I do. Turn on some loud fast music and get the kiddos involved. My girls like to play Musical Cleanup. It's like Musical Chairs except you clean instead of running around chairs. When the music stops you freeze. 21 Pickup is fun too. You set the timer for ever how long you want and the object is to put away 21 items before it rings. Incidentally this is very helpful in teaching little ones to count. Be creative and have fun!
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