What if & Day 103. 262 Days Left.

Their room looked like this

Mommy: Addison help mommy clean-up so we can get ready for a nap.
Addison: I can’t clean-up mommy. I don’t know how.
Mommy: So what do you know how to do?
Addison: thinking… Make a mess.

So this got me thinking...

•What if I didn't pick the shoes off the floor that almost just barely made it away?

•What if I didn't put away the 4 ½ pairs of socks that Addison someone likes to wear on her hands & feet and leaves on the back balcony?

•What if I didn't wipe the ginormous crumbs off the table that somehow fell off someone's plate?

•What if I didn't wipe the crunchies off the dining room chairs; you know the ones nobody else seems to mind sitting on?

•What if I didn't scoop up the random pile of blocks and Littlest Pet Shops that were left on the living roon floor before vaccuming?

•What if I didn’t vacuum the fur-ball tumbleweeds that blow around
the house?

•What if I didn't clear the two dozen Toy Story Friends from behind the sofa pillows?

•What if I didn't re-straighten the pillows and blankets haphazardly strewn across the couch?

•What if I didn't put the step stool back where it belongs, instead of in the middle of the hallway floor?

•What if I didn't wipe the nasty glob of toothpaste off the countertop and inside the sink ... right next to the sticky hand print smears on the mirror?

•What if I didn't hang up the sodden towels on the very available towel racks?

•What if I didn't gather and throw into the trash all the semi-used Kleenex from every corner of the house?

•What if I didn't toss the dirty undies in the washer and dispose of the wet overnight pull-ups lying on the floor?

•What if I didn't re-shelve the books that have escaped the bookshelf?

•What if I didn’t wipe down the chocolate milk splattered walls and mop the juice spots off the white tile floors?

•What if I didn’t wipe up the ten piles of cat vomit my precious pests pets are kind enough to leave for me every morning?

•What if I didn’t actually put the bathtoys away? After all, I went out (per hubby request- he gives the nightly bath) and purchased a toy net for that very reason.

maybe I should have had him read the instructions for use.


What if? What if? What if?

It is very likely, if I did not do these things, the house would appear on an episode of Hoarders…

But maybe… just maybe, I am not giving my family enough credit and perhaps I am missing out on some very teachable opportunities. All too often, I don't give them enough chances to prove they can be responsible. I think that it's just easier for me to pick up the socks, toys, dirty clothes and books rather than setting that responsibility back on very small yet able shoulders. In reality, it's a disservice to them for me to continue to clean up after them. Therefore, it is time they start doing some things for themselves, it is time for them to learn how to do something other than just "make a mess", especially since they are fully capable.

Send a search party to my house if in a week you don’t hear from me.
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Day 103
Just another toddler mess