A spot of tranquility

I've been trying to clean rooms at a time, rather than dust the whole house, vaccuum the whole house, etc. That way at least some rooms feel entirely clean and decluttered. I worked on our bedroom/bathroom/closet last week and it made a big difference. But as I'd walk up the stairs and see our clean bedroom, I'd also see the loft that had become the dumping ground for anything that didn't belong somewhere else. The tv cabinet was open. Hope's video game system was permanently plugged into the tv, as was Zach's xbox. The movie drawers were open, dvd cases stacked on the floor, Naomi's toys that I'd taken away were shoved on top of the tv cabinet so she couldn't reach them. Chairs were set up so the kids could watch tv, which they never sat in when they did bother to watch tv there. Chalk and markers littered the easel, and the box my printer came in was still sitting there, a year and a half after I got it for Christmas.

So the other night I decided to clean it all up. It probably only took 15 minutes to clean up, put away and throw away the things that didn't belong, dust, and shut the electronics up, but oh, what a difference. Now, when I walk up the stairs, it's like a breath of fresh air; open space that feels clear and decluttered, rather than the always-present 'stuff' that robs my feeling of peace. Now there are two, albeit small, but two areas of my house that I have taken back from the three little (and one big) clutter monsters who live with me. Small victories!!

Delayed Response

Pork chops were on the menu for dinner last night. Hope vacillates on pork, chicken, and steak- some nights she loves it, other nights it's gross and why on earth would we try to make her eat it?? David gave her a bite of the pork, she decided she didn't want it, and had chicken nuggets instead.

After I put the girls to bed, I heard Naomi crying so I went to check on her. Hope was also a little weepy, like she'd been crying but was getting herself under control. She told me she really needed to talk to David. When I asked why, she said, "Well, I think it might be too late, but I decided I want the pork for dinner". Yes, Hope, dinner ended two hours ago, it is indeed too late.

All Boy

Joel is such a little boy. Who teaches boys that they should like to wrestle? Or that it's mandatory to make car sounds and push around any object you happen to be holding? Why is the remote the first thing he goes for when he comes into the family room? Today at the zoo, we sat down in a grassy area to let the kids run around. Joel could've run anywhere, but he headed right toward the two boys playing catch with a football. He waited until one of the boys dropped it, picked up the football, and took off. And he wasn't giving anyone that football back. David finally took the football and gave it back to the boys, and took Joel to another part of the field to play. I think the boys thought it was funny that Joel liked their football, because they ended up over by Joel again. And again, Joel stole their ball and had no interest in returning it. Guess we'll be taking a stroll down the football aisle the next time we're at Target.