Dorothy Hill Gates : The Battle of being Balanced...in my house!!!

So, funny story......

I was recently told by a lady in Walmart how she could never be a stay at home mom.
She said she would get bored to death.
She mentioned that you could only clean your house so much and then what!!
What do you do then???

I giggled, not really knowing how to respond and told her to have a wonderful day.
Then I walked off thinking.....

1. I am never bored

2. I can not clean my house enough, I have a 2 yr old

3. She must not have had kids...lol

There are days I feel like I am just going in a circle, picking up one mess after another.
I like a clean house.
I want everything in its place, and I want it to stay there!!!

But that is not realistic with a very, very active 2 year old. I want my son to enjoy his home. I want him to feel free to live in it. Make messes and create utter chaos, play airplanes and cars. Dump out his toys in every room and make it look as if a Tornado just hit smack in the center of our home..well, part of me does!!!!

Yes, part of me enjoys watching him play and be creative. Part of me can chill out and join right in his little imaginary fort that he made out of every pillow from my couch. Part of me can let loose and says "isn't this fun"?!?!.....but it's the other part of me that's screaming Agh!!!!!!..."I just cleaned this house"
It's the other part of me that sees all the creative messes as total destruction to all of my hard work. The messes just seem to mess with my head. My neat and tidy universe has become cluttered and chaotic!!

It's in these moments, that I have had to battle being balanced in my home. I have had to learn what works for us. Figure out what helps me keep my sanity and allow Arlee the freedom to enjoy his home.
I know I like a clean house. That will never change. I can not function in clutter. I do not judge others that can and do!!!!...it's just me and my environment.
My husband also needs a clean home. It would drive him loony if he came home to a house that had been over-taken by Toys-R-Us.

Arlee needs to be a child. He wants to play wherever I am. So toys end up in the living room, dining room, office and my bedroom.

So this is how I manage my organized chaos.
While Arlee is up and playing, I let him play.
I let him play hard!!!!
But if I notice he has made a mess in one room and he is no longer playing with that mess, we stop and clean up that mess.
I am trying to teach him once he is done playing with something, put it up or clean it up before moving on to the next thing.
He is getting pretty good at "ceen up" (as he calls it!!)

When it's time to get him ready for nap, we clean up and put all of his toys where they belong.
We clean his room and then he goes down for nap.
When he gets up, it's play time (destruction time) again. And I let him at it!!!!
Right before my hubby gets home, we do a quick clean up and I usually put on a cartoon for Arlee to watch. That way the Hubs can come home to a clean home. That is important to him.
And then soon enough, the Tornado hits again....Lee is usually right in the middle of this one!!
He loves playing with Arlee. He is a good daddy!!
And before he goes to bed we clean up again.
He knows where his toys go and how they are organized.
Kids are smart!
It is up to us to teach them and train them.
We made it into a game when we clean and we sing a "ceen up" song. I think he enjoys it just as much as making a mess.

So this has helped me to be a little more balanced.
It has taken me a little while to get here.
And I have had to learn to chill.
We have a clean home, a happy home but definitely a lived in home!!!!