Monday, October 24, 2011

My Definition of Clean

...is clearly not the same as theirs.

Over the weekend, we gave the boys the task of cleaning their room.  When they went to bed last night, it actually looked pretty good.  I could see that there were still quite a few things on their dresser and desk that could be put away, but overall, it looked like they did a decent job.  But something in me just knew I needed to take a closer look.  This is what I found:


I decided to look under the bed, behind the door, and under the dresser and nightstand.  I used my kitchen broom to sweep everything I found into the center of their room.


I think there's a bit more work for them to do! Or, as my husband would say, "There's still some chicken on the bone."

The boys haven't seen this pile yet, but you'll kow when they do.  The wailing it is likely to cause will be loud enough to be heard around the world.

You know, this reminds me of something my mother used to do to me when I was a girl...oh, shoot.  I'm becoming my mother.  Bwahahahahaha!


7 comments:

Joanna said...

Oh hey! It's like I'm in your life. I JUST did this with the older two girls.

Me: Oh your room looks nice.
them: Thanks mom.
Me: did you clean behind here?
them: uh...
Me: ah, I see you didn't. Did you clean behind this?
them: uhhhhh...
Me: ah ha. well, get back to work.

Johanna said...

You know, sometimes I feel like we live parallel lives in different states. But lately, it's really starting to creep me out a little bit...

Johanna said...

We cannot be the only ones having this conversation today. Maybe we should start a group, like: Mothers United Toward Excellence (MUTE). Hmmm...maybe the name needs a little more work... Or maybe it is perfect since we must have only thought we were talking when we explained the cleaning procedure to begin with, when actually we must have been mute. That is the only thing that could explain the way we are sure we gave clear directions, but the children truly heard nothing. It really makes you wonder... ::scratches head::

Unknown said...

Well, the same thing happens to me except my reaction is usually this:

"Oh, I see you threw everything in the closet in a huge mess. Just make sure you close the door so I don't have to look at it."

I'm really thinking about leaving lots of their toys out for the Cerebral Palsy donation people. Cause did you know that Goodwill doesn't except toys anymore!!?

Joanna said...

Johanna - ROTFL. I think MUTE is perfect.

Marie - I've done that, too, but I finally got tired of ignoring the mess. And our Goodwill still takes toys (THEY DON'T TAKE TOYS???) so I've given a lot away. I recently packed up every single toy into a container and told them they could get them out once a week and that was it. Their rooms have been decidedly cleaner. Except for when I found the stuff behind the tables and under the beds on Friday.

Tina said...

I do the same things Johanna. I walk in and swipe my foot under everything and pull out the junk in a pile.
Aren't we so mean!

Unknown said...

That's weird that your Goodwill takes toys. Ours said they can't because of the liability. It's probably because of some crazy California law. I know blame everything I don't understand on "some crazy California law".