"Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard." Arthur unknown.
One of the things I've heard from the older girls with the most frequently recently is, "Trust us mom, we JUST cleaned up." and, "It's impossible to keep it clean with the girls in the house." I've even seen/heard them tell the girls to go outside and play because they just can't seem to make any headway while the younger girls are in the house.
I distinctly remember feeling as though all I could manage was to move the mess from one room to another. I remember telling my husband I'd just cleaned something, or assuring him that the basket of laundry on the floor in the living room, while actually being the same basket, was not the same batch of laundry. I'm not sure he was ever convinced of that, but that's okay.
So when the older girls tell me that the younger ones came in and messed up the room they had just cleaned while they were busy in another one, I just smile and tell them I know exactly how they feel. I also make the little girls go back and clean their stuff up.
"Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard." Arthur unknown.
ReplyDeleteAin't that the truth!