Guest Blog: Bippity Boppity Boo! by Drama Queen

Remember that part in Cinderella when she is all ready for the ball but the step-sisters tear apart her pretty dress and all she can do is cry and cry?  And the worst part is is that you know how much she worked and stressed to make sure she could go but then just a few minutes of people being careless and mean just ruined all of it?




I feel like that sometimes when it comes to cleaning.

Like it or not, the truth is that it is hard to keep our home clean.  We've never been the type to shy away from hard work..but easy work can be a bit more challenging.  Why take your backpack all the way to the mudroom when it can be left in the living room?  Why drag dirty clothes back to your hamper when the bathroom floor seems sufficient?  I'm terrible with taking out the trash.  I'd rather scrub the entire bathroom with a toothbrush than empty the kitchen trash.  It's just a weird thing that we all seem to struggle a bit with.  But, while living here at home I've decided to try helping the littlest kids work harder to help Mom keep things clean.



One thing we've instituted is our weekly job chart.  By having that visual break-down everyday, it helps keep in mind the expectation that there is something they need to help out with.  We've also worked to make privilegs a little more chore-dependent.  Or offer rewards like easier jobs or a free day for extra good work.  Me, Mom, and Dog Walker all run it and I think its been helping. 

But there's one chore I just can't seem to get tackled each week.....

Bedrooms.

Bedrooms are terrible things.  They really are.  Because its not a major traffic zone, the floor can get piled up with all sorts of crazy stuff, and when you have two or even three children getting dressed in the same room, the laundry gets pretty out of control.  Toss in lots of toys and it can turn into a real battlefield.  Even poor Cinderella might be a bit phased by what can happen in a week.   

So this week, I hit my limit.  Or  maybe a brilliant idea.  (I'm not quite sure which..)  And yesterday afternoon I announced to the girls: "If your room is completely clean by midnight, I'll take the three of you to see Cinderella  tomorrow."

You'd think Lucifer had spotted Gus-Gus!  With a bit of coaxing, a minor amount of pleading, a ton of help, and quite a lot of encouraging words, we managed to get each other through it.  And the boys did too.  Prima Donna even did her Saturday jobs!  (That was a miracle way bigger than some gourd coach..)

And I guess the old song held true, because I ended up buying ten tickets today..It's true what you say about our dozen,

Put 'em together and what have you got
Bippity-boppity-boo!