Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Cruel Mother Diaries: Spring Break Day 4

Ah... I they're getting the hang of it. The hang of not turning to the tv or the computer every time they're bored or restless. There was not a single mention of any type of screen until Emma got really tired after dinner and just wanted to "relax and watch one show, Mom!"

We spent almost the entire day cleaning out Emma's room. And let me tell you, it was downright alarming. Just the contents of her closet covered her entire room, bed included. The girl is a total pack rat and finds value in everything!

Here are some of the more random things I discovered:
  • a masking tape ball the size of a tennis ball
  • Valentine candy from last Valentine's Day
  • my small jelly roll pan that's been missing for months
  • various pieces of dress-up clothing she's had since she was a toddler
  • a fuzzy, hairy, sticky, absolutely disgusting gummy eyeball from last Halloween
Yeah, I know. You're wondering why I don't clean out her closet more often. I do! I clean it out every three months or so.

Well, I guess technically I clean it up, not out. That's why the chaos. They beauty of all the cleaning, though, lies in the fact that she was willing to get rid of things! I made her go through each and every little container of "treasures" and really decide if she cares enough about it to keep it. We filled a large laundry basket, a book box and a kitchen trash bag with rubbish.

Woohoo!

Her room *almost* looks amazing. We're not quite done. She still has to put a bunch of books on her bookshelves and clean off the top of her desk. When she's done, I'll take a photo and post it.

I didn't make her clean the whole day. I'm cruel enough to ban all screen time, but I'm not that cruel! We played Monopoly while eating lunch, then I gave the girls some money and sent them to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. (It had finally stopped raining.)

Today they're going to work with Daddy. I have to go to my writer's critique group and well... no child should have to sit through 2+ hours of grown-up chatter, no matter what the topic.

Off topic, but this is really funny and worth sharing... I went to Target last night and when I came home, Emma was laying on the couch reading the first chapter of the book I'm working on. I think I had heart palpitations. There's a certain scene in there that she very definitely should not read!

Fortunately, she hadn't gotten that far. I tore the pages out and gave her the chapter back. At first she was frustrated that there was something she was too young to read, but once I explained it was ooey-gooey kissing stuff, she made a face and said, "Good! I don't want to that stuff. Gross!"

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