MOM! Can we clean everything up and get the playdoh out? This question was asked by Kyna (age 2).

Sure, I said smiling a bit smugly, because it seems they have finally caught on to this rule I’ve been trying to teach.

No toys allowed out of the closet unless everything else is cleaned up!

Everything was cleaned up quickly, it always amazes me how quickly they can clean up if it comes with the promise of making a bigger mess. 🙂 (normally they rate about a toy a minute.)(and we have ALOT of toys!)

Can we bring the little table and chairs out to the kitchen and play there, instead of at the dining room table? Kenz asked.

Why? Why must I make so many hard decisions in 1 day’s time?

My smugness is fading because they don’t seem to be remembering the ‘Playdoh can only be played with at the dining room table’ rule.

Trust me, theres good reason for this rule. Have you ever tried picking stepped on, rolled on, smushed into and deeply entangled with every fiber playdoh out of carpet?

Yea, it’s not fun.

“Sure!” I answered with a smile. Because I’m ‘fun mom.’ You know, the mom who lets her kids randomly do fun things that kinda break the rules because she knows that they will grow up remembering the fun things more then they remember the playdoh free carpets.

About 45 minutes later, I walk past their playdoh table and step onto the living room carpet approximately the same second I realized my foot had just picked up a piece of playdoh.

NO!

I bent down and quickly snatched up that tiny piece of playdoh before any damage occurs.

Hey guys, if you’re done playing with this playdoh you need to put it away. (they do but they decide to use the 1 piece per minute method.)

Meanwhile, I’m putting away laundry, cleaning up and basically doing every task that requires me to walk through their playdoh infested area multiple times.

Did I mention that they were slowly cleaning up their mess, while playing in every other room of the house in between each tiny piece they picked up?

Put those last 2 paragraphs together and you will understand where the trouble started.

I stopped mid task to pry 3 more little pieces of playdoh off my foot. Guys! Do you want to clean this playdoh up now? or do you want me to set the timer? (we are working on using choices as a parenting tool) Sadly my choices right now came out as more of a threat then a choice.

I walked into the bathroom and stepped on a piece.

The kids were playing, not cleaning up. Okay I’m setting the timer! I told them. (setting the timer means there will be a consequence if the timer beeps and the mess isn’t cleaned up.)

I changed Myles diaper and peeled two more bits off the nursery carpet. (yes, I said carpet.)

I folded another load of laundry and picked playdoh off the dining room floor.

I cleaned up the kitchen a scratched some more off my foot.

I put the laundry away and gathered some playdoh off the hall floor.

At this point I’m really regretting my decision to break the ‘only at the dining room table’ rule, so as I grab a broom (and pick up another piece of playdoh) to sweep up the remainder of their playdoh mess, I vow to myself to never again break another rule that was actually put into place to save my sanity.

So, the moral of the story is this:

Fun moms don’t break rules that turn themselves into scary moms. 🙂