What would you do?
I like to have the house a little extra tidy for Sundays. It helps me relax and enjoy the day. (Hence, if you’ve read my earlier posts on scheduling & priorities, you’ll understand why I schedule cleaning bathrooms & windows on Saturdays.) This past Sat. night hubby took our oldest child to a ball game, and the infant was sick & sleeping. I decided to finally get the kitchen floor mopped. The 2-year-old could “help.”
Everyday (sometimes twice) I sweep the kitchen floor. It often needs mopped, too, but I have this mental hang-up about mopping unless I’ve first swept. And if I’m going to sweep in preparation for mopping, I always think, well if I’m going to go to all this trouble then I should wipe the table, high chair, and counter tops first, because you know when wiping them crumbs will inevitably fall on the floor. But before I can do the wiping, the dirty dishes must first be removed & piled in the sink, the recyclables put away, the trash thrown away, the pb & j put back in the pantry. And by the time I do all those things, I’m too tired to mop. So it doesn’t often get done.
Sunday morning was not fun for me, because I had been up most the night with my little one (who couldn’t breathe through his little nose,) but seeing that clean kitchen certainly helped my mood. I held my breath and waited to see how long it would last. I didn’t have to wait long.
In the afternoon, I made smoothies. With blueberries. Outstanding nutritional value, but prone to staining whatever they come in contact with. The baby was once again napping, so I crept down stairs for a few minutes while the kiddos enjoyed their snack. Through the floorboards above me, I heard a lot of naughty giggling.
Five minutes into my respite, I headed back upstairs to see what was so funny. After what I saw, this is what I imagine happened:
- 2-year-old spills a drop accidentally on the table. Decides it would be fun to draw in the mess.
- 4-year-old thinks, “hey, that looks like fun!” and not-accidentally spills some of his drink, too. He finger paints a landscape.
- 2-year-old is watching and absentmindedly wipes his messy hands on his shirt.
- 4-year-old sees the messy shirt and thinks, “hey, that looks like fun!” And dips his hand in his cup & wipes it all over the front of his shirt. Also thinks, “hey, mom’s not in here anyway. I won’t get in trouble.”
- 2-year-old pours remaining smoothie all over the table and rubs it all over to make sure the entire surface is covered. At this point, hysterics set in & smoothie gets rubbed all over the floor, the high chair, their faces, and their shirts.
- 4-year-old hears mom coming and says, “quick, run to the bathroom and wash our hands!” Also thinks, “I’m gonna get it.”
- 2-year-old follows obediently, but trips on the carpet in his hurry and smoothie ends up soaking into the fibers. Mom witnesses this part. Dad comes out of the bedroom - he also didn’t feel well and had been trying to rest.
What would you have done? What should we have done?
