Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Kid Zone
My house is a kid-proofed, kid-blessed, kid-crazed kid-zone. Of course there's a Nerf-axe next to my foot as I sit down to use the potty. There are also crayon marks decorating my white blinds and marker drawings coating the sliding-glass doors.
The dining room houses Big Bird and all of his buddies, along with a bin of markers, a coloring book, a toy giraffe, and a miniature Barbie doll. A pink can of bunny bubbles sits on my kitchen counter, along with a pair of white socks, a white t-shirt, and a brush with the end chopped off of it (not sure how the heck that happened). Did I mention the Spider-man ball or the red microphone yet?
Shoes sprawl across my entryway as well; it's as if they leap out of the shoe-basket themselves greeting the new day. The coats look similar... draped above the shoe organizer as if a tornado threw them into an indistinguishable pile of rubble.
My family room is a disaster kid-zone too, with an Ariel beach towel laid across the floor, since my middle child decided to soak herself while fully clothed in the turtle pool yesterday after that fun rainstorm that we got. Then, there's my tan Labrador looking super cozy on my brown leather couch, along with a toy basketball set, a Dora doodle pad, and a blue and green pencil.
Below my leather sectional, there's a naked baby doll, a tipped over baby stroller, a stack of Legos, a Buzz Light-year plush toy, an orange hat, a white baby blanket (now used for the dollies), a knight's helmet from Legoland, a green cup, and a kangaroo toy. Not to mention... the Star Wars star-ship resting atop my coffee table or the Barbie sunglasses below the toy organizers; you get the picture. It's probably not too far off from your house right now if you're a parent of three young children. No matter how hard we try, the house looks like a toy-explosion at any given moment.
My outlook on some days reflects the clutter filling my home. When will this chaos end? When will the messes clean themselves up? When will my kids listen to me? However, when I find myself wishing this season away, I sort of want someone to smack me in the head, reminding me that I'm going to look back and miss all of this. Yes, even the crazy days, when I'd rather trade brains with my dog, just so I could sleep the afternoon away, able to ignore all the tasks around me.
Some of you parents of older kids might testify to this precious season when the kids are cute but inevitably mess-makers at every turn. I can tell I will continue to traverse these yin and yang types of feelings throughout my journey as a mom. I hate the messes, the kids' tantrums (especially my three-year-old princess), and the complaining. But, I love the donut-frosted kisses, the super huge hugs, and the sweet snuggles that come with this time period as well.
This post is just a reminder to find peace where you're at in life. No matter what phase your kids are in, try to accept them with a grain of salt. When I find myself taking things too seriously, I need to run out and do something silly...like have a twirling dance party with my kids in the middle of the kitchen.
I'd get arrested by the dancing police if they saw some of my crazy moves, but seriously, it's great cardio and my kids have a blast as well. Life is too short to get our undies knotted up in a wedgie over the minor encumbrances. Let's try to see the big picture by focusing on our kids' amazing attributes: their smiles, their laughter, and their forgiving hearts.
If you do need a break from it all and feel that you're losing your mind, remember that you can always lock yourself in the bathroom for a five minute time-out. That's what I do, but next time I need to remember to bring my MP3-player along to drown out the noisy banging on the door. Let's chill out and try to laugh more because life is so short and our kids are only young once.
Just keeping it real. Tell us how your house looks right now. Or, share a helpful tip for dealing with the kid-zones in your house. We'd love to hear from you.
The dining room houses Big Bird and all of his buddies, along with a bin of markers, a coloring book, a toy giraffe, and a miniature Barbie doll. A pink can of bunny bubbles sits on my kitchen counter, along with a pair of white socks, a white t-shirt, and a brush with the end chopped off of it (not sure how the heck that happened). Did I mention the Spider-man ball or the red microphone yet?
Shoes sprawl across my entryway as well; it's as if they leap out of the shoe-basket themselves greeting the new day. The coats look similar... draped above the shoe organizer as if a tornado threw them into an indistinguishable pile of rubble.
My family room is a disaster kid-zone too, with an Ariel beach towel laid across the floor, since my middle child decided to soak herself while fully clothed in the turtle pool yesterday after that fun rainstorm that we got. Then, there's my tan Labrador looking super cozy on my brown leather couch, along with a toy basketball set, a Dora doodle pad, and a blue and green pencil.
Below my leather sectional, there's a naked baby doll, a tipped over baby stroller, a stack of Legos, a Buzz Light-year plush toy, an orange hat, a white baby blanket (now used for the dollies), a knight's helmet from Legoland, a green cup, and a kangaroo toy. Not to mention... the Star Wars star-ship resting atop my coffee table or the Barbie sunglasses below the toy organizers; you get the picture. It's probably not too far off from your house right now if you're a parent of three young children. No matter how hard we try, the house looks like a toy-explosion at any given moment.
My outlook on some days reflects the clutter filling my home. When will this chaos end? When will the messes clean themselves up? When will my kids listen to me? However, when I find myself wishing this season away, I sort of want someone to smack me in the head, reminding me that I'm going to look back and miss all of this. Yes, even the crazy days, when I'd rather trade brains with my dog, just so I could sleep the afternoon away, able to ignore all the tasks around me.
Some of you parents of older kids might testify to this precious season when the kids are cute but inevitably mess-makers at every turn. I can tell I will continue to traverse these yin and yang types of feelings throughout my journey as a mom. I hate the messes, the kids' tantrums (especially my three-year-old princess), and the complaining. But, I love the donut-frosted kisses, the super huge hugs, and the sweet snuggles that come with this time period as well.
This post is just a reminder to find peace where you're at in life. No matter what phase your kids are in, try to accept them with a grain of salt. When I find myself taking things too seriously, I need to run out and do something silly...like have a twirling dance party with my kids in the middle of the kitchen.
I'd get arrested by the dancing police if they saw some of my crazy moves, but seriously, it's great cardio and my kids have a blast as well. Life is too short to get our undies knotted up in a wedgie over the minor encumbrances. Let's try to see the big picture by focusing on our kids' amazing attributes: their smiles, their laughter, and their forgiving hearts.
If you do need a break from it all and feel that you're losing your mind, remember that you can always lock yourself in the bathroom for a five minute time-out. That's what I do, but next time I need to remember to bring my MP3-player along to drown out the noisy banging on the door. Let's chill out and try to laugh more because life is so short and our kids are only young once.
Just keeping it real. Tell us how your house looks right now. Or, share a helpful tip for dealing with the kid-zones in your house. We'd love to hear from you.
