The only thing I really required of them during this little vacation, was that they feed themselves breakfast and complete a short list of chores while I'm at work every morning. I get home around noon, so even if they slept until 11 (easily done), they could still get everything done before I showed up. Bonus for me - if there is any complaining about who has to do what or how unfair this whole chore business is, I don't have to listen to it.
I kept things pretty basic:
make bed
brush teeth and shower (they are boys, after all, and likely to forget)
unload the dishwasher
separate laundry
fold towels (I haven't folded any towels in 3 weeks!!!)
put away stacks of folded clothes
do 30 minutes of reading
eat (I swear they wouldn't if I didn't remind them!)
take out garbage
do the recycling
general pick up
anything else I could of as I'm heading out the door
See, nothing too tough or overwhelming. And to their credit, they completed the list every single day.
Except one.
Bothered by the fact that we own a billion (rough figure) toys and yet, all they ever seem to do with any regularity is play on the computer, I added this to the To Do List:
Play with toys for 45 minutes
I was kinda kidding, but kinda not. It was just there on the list with everything else I expected them to do.
Aaron, who takes everything very literally, worked hard to get it done.
A few minutes after I got home, he moped over to me and
"I've been playing with toys since 11:30...can't I stop now. Isn't this long enough???"
Well, I'm just a big softy, so I let him off the hook.
He ran down the stairs, jumping over the bottom three steps, his arms raised triumphantly.
"Woo Hoo!! I don't have to play with toys anymore!!
He'll do a dozen real chores without so much as a groan, just don't make him play with toys. Go figure.
9 comments:
That is so funny, Wendy! It reminds me of how Ava usually prefers "cleaning" and household tasks to playing or watching TV. Just seems so funny that what kids see as work.
he he Love the green by the way. Very soothing.
I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one that forces their kids to play with toys!!!
That totally cracks me up! Wait till they're teenagers. I can work till noon and come home and still find the teenagers still in bed!
You made them play with toys?
LOL that's so funny!
My kids like to play with toys, or at least they will play with them long enough to leave them scattered all over the floor, and then they don't want anything to do with them.
My favorites are the Polly Pockets and littlest pet shop.
Little tiny pieces everywhere.
There might have been a few times where a few Polly accessories might have been consumed by the vacuum.
Not that I did that on purpose or anything.............
oh my, that makes me giggle! what a sweet boy he is.
nice switch to green...I like it!
Welcome to Jill, the vacuumer of Polly Pocket pieces! I won't tell. Glad to see you over here.
The green is to show my need, desire and whine-y longing for spring. It's coming, right?
I have to admit, things stay cleaner when the toys stay in the closet.
It is so funny that he just didn't want play with toys any more. Like it was some terrible punishment like practicing the piano.. or something.
This cracks me up. I have never thought about it but I think this may be a wonderful punishment for my children.
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