Toys, Toys, Everywhere Toys

Let's take this equation, if you will...

  Mom has 4 boys ---> 4 boys have lots of toys ---> toys make lots of mess ---> x
    Solve for x (x is who cleans up the mess)

Okay, I was actually PRETTY good at math in school, so let me take a stab... 

   x = 4 boys

Right?  I mean, the toys that are making the mess belong to the boys, so they are the ones who clean them up, right?  Right?

Wrong.

   x = Mom of 4 boys

What?  That doesn't make sense!  That's not logically correct! 

Welcome to motherhood.  Erase all logic from your brain (wait, that's assuming you still have one...mine was completely depleted somewhere between number 2 and number 3).

To be fair, my oldest is pretty good at cleaning up his stuff - and he's actually at school from 8 - 3, so he barely has time to make too much of a mess.  My 4-yo is getting better...if I remind him once...or twice.  Maybe 3 times.  And he really starts off with good intentions.  But, he gets distracted during the actual cleaning and usually, the distraction ends up in more mess.  And my 2-yo?  Well, he does know the clean-up song and sings it quite well as I clean up.  The baby isn't quite old enough to make a mess yet...oh gosh, so really, I'm still cleaning the mess of 3 kids...it's going to get worse??!?!?!?

Back in May, I sent my 3 boys to Camp Nanny and Grandad from Thursday through Sunday.  Me and my big pregnant self bought new bins, containers, shelves and baskets.  I pulled every single toy from every single nook and cranny in my house and threw away toys that were missing pieces, donated toys that weren't played with and channeled my inner preschool teacher and reorganized the heck out of the remaining toys.  Toys were organized.  Books were organized.  And there were even labels.  Oh yeah, I was so confident in my organizing that I thought I'd even teach all of them to read WHILE putting their toys in their assigned places.  The weekend left me exhausted but satisfied to have once again restored some serious order to my house.

It is now October.  Shelves have fallen.  Labels are strewn about like debris after a tornado.  Toys are either on the floor or in the wrong place.  I trip over toys and mutter to myself about a wasted 4 days I spent back in May when I should have been babymooning someplace hot and tropical.  I lecture about picking up and pitching in and I find myself getting worked up about it. 

If I take a step back to try to gain a little perspective on the situation (which is not always an easy task), I know that it does not REALLY matter in the grand scheme of things.  In fact, 20 years from now, I'll grow misty thinking about the toys that are no longer around to trip over and the current disorder of my house.  I still firmly believe in teaching the kids how to pitch in and pick up after themselves.  But, I'm REALLY trying to let it go a little bit and relish the chaos while I still am lucky enough to have it.