So begins my attempt to demonstrate to my children how much work I actually do for them. Starting Monday morning, I told them that starting Tuesday morning I would let them run the house for a week. I had them create a menu for the week, a grocery list, and a shopping budget of $100. The idea was quickly embraced, and the girls promptly strategizing.
Off to the grocery store we went. About 5 minutes into the experience I was quite sure I was going to be the psychotic mother behind the first ever WinCo Massacre. There was argument over who would push the cart, who would check off the grocery list, who would hold the pen, who would hold the coupons, and who was NOT allowed to touch the cart. What a sight to behold. After about 40 minutes we emerged successful in our quest with a grand total of $91.91, BUT the ground turkey had yet to be purchased. That required a trip to Fred Meyer. They were out of stock due to the currently advertised coupon. Crap.
We are currently almost done with day 2 and I am quite certain that my home is already a fire hazard. I never realized that my children were so opposed to throwing paper towels away, or any paper products for that matter. With the allergy season currently in full swing, there are used tissues sprinkled throughout the house; placed strategically....everywhere. I think my favorite is in the bathroom on top of the garbage can lid. It truly is the epitome of slackerdom.
I have mentioned a few times that they might want to get a jump on the cleaning, etc. because I would be keeping them up all night Monday night to finish everything that wasn't done during the week. I shall wake up Tuesday morning with my house in the condition it was the week before. It wasn't perfect, but it functional.
I have been doing mine and my husbands' dishes as well as our own personal laundry, but the rest is up to the kiddos. So far, the dishes have been washed 3 times, which isn't a bad showing, and the garbage and recycling have been taken out once. One of my daughters did managed to step over all the crap on the floors to wash the sliding glass door windows and the screen door windows. Is it me, or did she miss the point?
I am going to allow them to succeed or fail without interfering. I want to see what they have learned without my intervention. I want to see if they can step up to the challenge and get things done either individually or as a group. I freely admit that the group mentality in my house is more like mob mentality, but on rare occasions, my children band together and impress my socks off.
I think I'll post some photos on Friday as to the condition of my home. I have a feeling this is going to get interesting.
