Cleaning up after the Frog Princess

When I woke from my 60 day couch coma, I was confronted with this:





For most of the time I was checked out, I assumed my little clan was cruising along on cleaning autopilot, staying on top of potential disasters. I belong to the "nip it in the bud" school of thought when it comes to cleaning and believed I had sent my entire family to this same school. What is the saying?  "never assume..."  In reality they belong more to the "wait until it becomes a problem" cleaning school.  


Also, it never dawned on me that all the couch cuddling I was demanding was taking away from not just my productivity, but theirs as well. I guess I thought that after I passed out at 9pm, they were meeting in the kitchen and dutifully executing house work. And to be fair, they must have been a little, because the well worn path I took from door, to desk, to kitchen and finally couch looked pretty good. Clearly they know my hot spots and took great care to make sure I didn't have to stress about what I could easily see. But the rest of the house...


I could have taken similar photos of any room off the beat and path. And the laundry...oh my stars. The only way I can ensure not cussing a blue streak when discussing the laundry is to go totally poly anna and throw out things like "oh my stars."


In typical type A fashion, I decided the house in shambles had presented us with some great opportunities, teaching moments if you will.  Don't you wish your mom/wife was an HR professional?  In the mess, there were lessons to be learned about:

• Team building
• Organization
• Giving to others via donating...lots and lots of donating
• Time management
• Sanitation (gag)
• Food safety (double super gag...I'm not sure what it was)
• Patience
• Humility
• Kindness...wait...what?

Turns out when your family is trying their hardest to manage a household in the manner you would, it's not very kind to point out every moment they fall short of the glory. It's not very patient to skip over all the things they did do... to point out what they did not. And it takes a great deal of humility to return to your house after walking out in a huff, to hug your husband and say "I love you" and acknowledge that his priorities do not need to mirror yours.  And that even though it may not be my cleaning style, he and the girls did give it a shot:) 


I thought I was "back." I was.. only like the Terminator "I'm back", not the good kind. The terminator wasn't in control for very long, but while it was...EEEEK!  It's hard to admit you are wrong, especially when you are sort of right. But as hard as it may be, I know when I'm wrong and I needed put on my big girl pants and let the girls see an adult apologize, sincerely apologize. So I did and they responded with smiles and new found enthusiasm for getting our home back in order.   We are one week strong with no laundry piled up, tidy (ish) tween bedrooms and floors not adorned with "dog hair" throw rugs:)  NOW I'm back, with the good stuff. 


BONUS to cleaning up 2 months worth of randomly discarded stuff? You can find treasures.   Like the heartfelt poetry of a 10 year old frog princess (I've translated on the right for those of you who don't happen to speak 5th grade spelling very well)



Little miss Annika has a fairly wicked case of dyslexia, so for a very long time she hated reading and writing and flat out refused to even attempt either.  Grammy pants introduced her to Dick and Jane books and pretty bags of books with cool lights and kitty cat book marks...and her whole world changed.  I tried to make it intellectual, Grandma made it awesome.  And look at her now, a poet.


And an artist.

I'm dying for this to be me!!  I need spring and grass and to run around in my favorite skirts and apron with ugly gardening shoes...and a flower in my hand.  

Now instead of begging her to throw away old notebooks, I'm begging her to let me page through them for more treasures, more soul soothing words of wisdom from my Frog Princess.


Other little tidbits of yumminess:


Baby boy...in boy blue...eating blue berries for breakfast.








Watching Annika interview my Dad over the interwebs.





Stolen moments on the kitchen floor after dinner clean up.  Nerf gun = boys bonding.






Stolen moments on the dinning room floor after monster cookies.  Sugar rush + Cars = fun with sisters.



I'm planning some pretty fantastic stolen moments for this weekend!  Some spontaneous, craaazy moments beginning with...skipping work today:P  More to come. In the meantime, you should do something spontaneous and unpredictable today too...it's Friday!


* After posting edit...whatever you do on this blessed Friday, please squeeze in some prayer for the people of Japan.  If not prayer, then whatever you do to throw positive, healing energy out into the universe:)