We had a small amount of school today then spent the day deep cleaning our bedrooms. I had noticed that although the surface of the rooms looked pretty orderly... there was nol ight passing under beds... baskets were heaping with shoved items... space under shelves was no longer empty... etc. I was shocked at Adam... I've always checked under his bed because he does a great job cleaning his room and keeping it clean. Then I stopped checking a few months ago because it was never an issue (however it was always an issue for Ashley and sometimes for Anna). So today I discovered, to my dismay, a bunch of stuff shoved under his bed... and he informed me that the girls told him to do it this way just to make it go quicker. "So, that's what I did," he proclaimed matter of factly with raised eyebrows, shoulders shrugged and palms of his hands turned upward. Ashley is no longer the solo shover (although the most frequent). The kids did pretty well... it is never a fun job. However, as they heard all day long...if they would just take the time to pick up rather than shove... then it won't take this long next time! They did get a couple hours in the afternoon to play before going to skating. Adam managed to dress up as a... ummm... I'm not sure if he's a Japanese Rockstar with his red kimono and red punk hair... or what, but he thought he was cool stuff! We had skating in the evening where the girls had a nice practice, then dinner and off to bed. I was exhausted by the end of the day! It would have been a lot easier to clean it all by myself while they played downstairs and gave me uninterrupted time, but I want them to see and deal with the mess. I think it's a good life skill to clean up your own space... but it sure took longer... more patience... more energy... and more attentiveness and redirecting from me! I will pull this "game" out again in a few weeks just so they can see how fast it happens... and so it doesn't wear me out as much!
