3 Little Boys & 1 Little Girl = 1 BIG MESS!

So I’m not quite sure how 4 little kids can make such a big mess so fast! I cleaned the house really well today (vacuumed, mopped, cleaned bathrooms, etc.) Well, to look at the house tonight, you’d think I never clean! Now that the weather is nice and warm, the kids are outside most of the time, playing in the sandbox, riding bikes, digging in dirt, rolling in the grass--whatever they can do to get as dirty as possible (and bring as much of it into the house on themselves) as possible. I think that Clay and Jonah like to collect sand and dirt and rocks in their pockets. Half the time, I have them take their pants off before they come in the house so I can shake them out. I actually found a pile of sand in Clay’s bed tonight. I’m not quite sure how that happened, but it’s true. And there are little trails of sand and dirt and dirty little handprints all through the house. Then there is the “special talent” of boys…“sword fighting.” Not in the usual sense, with little plastic swords, but in the bathroom, while going potty at the same time (Yea, I know…gross). I had never heard of this strange entertainment until Neil told me stories of when he was a kid (with 2 other brothers). I guess they just couldn’t possibly wait for THEIR turn…they just HAD to go at the same time. So Neil usually just ended up peeing on his brother’s leg (on purpose of course). His poor mom! I can only imagine the conversation (and the mess) afterwards! Well, the other day, Clay said he had to go potty, and Jonah was already going, so they went at the same time. Well, Jonah had to explain to Clay that it was called “sword fighting” with their pee. Well, Clay thought that was about the funniest thing ever! He was laughing so hard he was lucky to get (most of it) in the toilet! Thank goodness for Clorox Sanitizing Wipes. We use a lot of those around here! And then there is our sweet little princess Tessa. She has this funny method of cleaning (if you can call it that). If I ask her to clean her room, she just shoves everything under her bed, in the closet, or in her toy box that is piled as high as she is tall, with toys, stuffed animals, dirty clothes, or whatever. Most of the time, she has a pile of clean clothes on her dresser (that were supposed to be put away), some of which end up on the floor with the dirty clothes, dirty clothes shoved in her drawers with the clean clothes, and dirty and clean clothes in her closet, some in the basket, some around it on the floor. But at least our kids are always happy and willing to help clean the house, fold laundry, and do dishes (even if it’s not quite as clean as I’d like), at least they are getting into the habit. But boy, can they make a mess fast! :)