my crayola box

My home has become somewhat of a disaster of late. Cleaning has taken a back seat to spending time with the kids. I suspect this is a bit of a selfish choice - I need to de-stress and playing is more therapeutic than cleaning. This weekend we are going to have to dig through the mess to clean as we are having company on Sunday and we can't open the door to guests with the chaos that is home at present.

My 2 are very good at helping out with cleaning. My mom says I have 2 Cinderella children, but they like to clean. They will fight over who gets to clean the windows. Given a bottle of dish soap, a j-cloth and a bathing suit, they will happily climb into the bathtub and scrub for hours. Give them the responsibility and they will take on any challenge. My challenge is to allow them to do it in the time it takes them, and to understand it won't be as efficient (or as neat) as I would do.

We also need to update our art gallery. The front hall of our home is a long hallway covered in kids paintings and art projects. Visitors have remarked that our house looks like a daycare. Don't know if this is a positive comment and don't really care! The blackboard over the kitchen table is usually filled with notes back and forth. I will make sure the potty words are erased before the company arrives. 6's latest entertainment is to find as many words as possible that mean bum and list them on the blackboard. 4 thinks it is funny to write "Mommy is a poo poo" on the board. She thinks it is funny. I am happy she is writing. Eventually, the bathroom talk will lose its appeal (I hope!).

I cannot live in beige. My mother's home looks like a showcase. It is coordinated - follows all the decorating rules and 'flows' from one room to the next. By contrast, my home is a crayola box. Both kids chose the colour/theme of their own rooms. 6's is a purple haven accented by butterfly window clings, bug-themed wind chimes and pictures of frogs in hand-painted frames. 4 lives in a pink, green and gold 'princess' room. 12 pictures from a princess calendar were drymounted to her painted floor and varithaned. Magnetic paint on one wall is covered with princess magnets, and her bed has been painted with a gold crown and jewels. The playroom was painted by all the kids at 6's birthday party.

I love my happy colourful home. I just wish it were self-cleaning.