Photo Credit: Laurens Meurs
If you’ve known me a few years, you’re probably aware that I’m a klutz. In my college days, I was tripping, slipping, sliding, tottering, falling and hurting myself quite often. And not in a very graceful way either :D!
All that changed when I got married. My husband (sweetheart that he is) helped me by affirming over and over again that I was not a clumsy person. And by being at my side to steady me if I ever did trip/slip/slide/….
Then we had kids… and my whole world (er… I mean my house) became clumsy. If you walk into our home unannounced you’ll be sure to find any or all of the following scattered around our living room…
- Toys
- Legos
- Clothes
- Kitchen utensils
- Broken cars
- Cups
- Balls
- More broken cars
- Footwear
- Bottles
- Spoons
- Did I mention “broken cars”?
- School bags
- Plastic carry bags
- Books
- Cycles
Now, don’t get me wrong here. My husband & I (OK, its mostly my husband) makes sure the house is tidy (or at least navigable) but it rarely stays that way for more than a few minutes! My sons are somehow able to steer themselves through the obstacle course in our living room with no casualties, but every step I take is usually a disaster waiting to happen.
Thanks in part to my clumsy home but mostly due to my own carelessness, I have had quite a few “accidents” over the past few month that have caused me some pain. Remember the cabinet door that fell on my foot? And then I slipped on a puddle of water outside the bathroom. Oh, and an axle from one of the broken cars punctured my sole (OUCH!). And I slipped on a puddle of water (again!) in our living room 🙁 .
The last fall just about did me in – I didn’t know whether to yell, cry, laugh at myself or blame somebody else for my fall. But in keeping with my habit of speaking positively, here’s what I’ve surmised…
- Busted knees make earnest prayers.
- Keep pointed objects off the floor.
- Wear non-slip slippers (Is that an oxymoron?) at at all times.
- Get rid of broken toys when the kids aren’t looking (Shh!).
- Thank God, it wasn’t the kids!
If you have a bunch of small kids living with you, how do you keep the living room clean for more than 5 minutes? Seriously… I’d like to know.
hey sheenu,
as usual i enjoyed reading what u wrote!!! it still baffles me how my kids can get a perfectly tidy house messed up in under 5 min!!! but this is something that i try with my older daughter…before daddy comes home we put away all the toys and books and dust the living room furniture (cause delhi gets mighty dusty real fast). also she’s allowed to play with only one toy at a time and she has to put it back before she gets another one out and its the same with books.my one year old is still too young to understand the clean up concept and he’s the one who pulls out everything from an open cupboard so we try hard to keep all cupboards locked when he’s around! but as u say if u do come to our place unannounced i’d be embarrased to let u in…unless u accompany my husband after work 😉
deepu
Would you let your daughter tutor my sons?! 😀 jus kidding… Getting my sons to play with only one thing at a time doesn’t work. I guess, I should follow your lead and get the kids to put back their toys/books before my husband gets home. Thanks for the tip!
I have one daughter and she can trash a room in seconds. I can’t imagine having 2 others running around. Ha.
Have a super blessed day!
Beth
http://mydestinysharinghope.com/
LOL.. I hear ya! A blessed day to you too sister 🙂
I hope you get lots of ideas. Thanks for sharing your heart here.
Have a Blessed week,
Sherry
Thank you Sherry. For some reason, I am unable to comment on you blog 🙁 I love your latest post on lists – and yes, “Bible Study” is a starred item on my daily list as well. Wishing you God’s best as you “Read On”!
Make a “Strong” separator with latch to the living room from others n make sure its locked all times until someone is at the door. This will help the kids from going there n messing it, trust me if not any other room at-least u have to keep the living room from slipping, slopping, skidding, sliding etc! :-))
We did keep doors locked when they were younger.. Now all latches are either broken or taken off 🙂 And the living room is the only place big enough for the boys to play together in 🙂
I guess all moms have to go thro’ the same phase… but the end of the day, our kids’ smile takes away all tiredness…. 🙂
But u dear, apart from all the physical clumsiness r the strongest person i have known spiritually….. love the inspirations u share from the Word of God.
That’s the important thing to move on in life…. Strength in our Lord!
Sheena, buy a plastic box or a cardboard box or even better an old trunk…. and tell ur lil boys to put the toys in there after playing (make sure u help them by picking up few urself)…and push this box, under a bed or beside a cupboard….
juz ask them to help u tidy the house by giving them each a piece of cleaning cloth (make sure they clean places that are safe for them)…. u will be surprised at how helpful these kids are….
Thank you Jeny for your kind words! We try to get the kids to clean up after they are done with playing, but somehow it is more effective only when my husband is around ;). I should try letting them clean as well…
My older 5 had grown beyond most toys. My boys love to run outside or play with legos. My girlies adore playing “house” complete with dolls and tea! But that chaos of many small toys had passed me by. And I missed it. My twin boys are nearly 7 months and from nowhere little toys have appeared filling any empty space in our small house. There are days when I’d like to gather them all up and toss them. But mostly, there are days in which I am soooo glad to have the little people who love those little toys!
Thank you so much for linking up last week! It would be an honor if you stopped by again tomorrow to share! Blessings, Kasey
Thank you for sharing your perspective Kasey… I appreciate it. And yes, I have linked up again this week :). Blessings to you & your family.