Clean Freaks

So, I know that what we do and how we act influences our children, but I am always surprised at what that REALLY looks like. A few months ago, I heard Ella banging around in her toy kitchen. She was slamming pots and pans down and stirring vigorously while mumbling to herself. Suddenly she turns to her baby doll, and says with a very harsh tone, "No! That is not 'asceptable'. You have time out!". She proceeds to slam her dolly into a chair and tells her to stay there. Next, Ella turns and grabs her vacuum cleaner and while erratically swishing it back and forth over the carpet she gripes, "I have to clean up this messy house!". "Ugh, Wow, Yeesh!", I think to myself. Is THAT what I look like? It made me think about what I teach, when I don't know that I am teaching. It is pretty funny, looking back at it and quite honestly, it could have been worse! She did not hit her baby and she did not use any curse words!

About a week ago, Ella came to me and said, "Momma, I cannot properly do my chores, if there is not a broom my size!". Now, this child has NOT been given the chore of sweeping, helping to make her bed, clear the table, pick up toys and put her clothes in the hamper, yes...sweep, no. Nonetheless, who can argue when a child asks for a pint sized broom, so...I bought a whole cleaning set. My kids went CRAZY! They saw it on my bed and BEGGED me to open it! They quickly filled the spray bottle with water and went off to clean EVERYTHING. Gavin discovered that water does not clean windows very well, so he asked for Windex. I obliged and he proceeded to clean ALL of the windows in the family room. AND...they look GOOD! Ella got her cloth and sprayed down everything that she could reach and wiped away more dirt than I care to admit was there. They made a huge clean spot on the kitchen floor and before I knew it, I was cleaning too. Not a bad thing, really, BUT it was 7:30 at night and there were dishes to do, bills to pay and LOTS of other Mommy jobs. Cleaning the kitchen floor, wiping up puddles of water and finsihing off the windows were NOT on my list. It turned into a cleaning frenzy and at the height of it, I heard myself say, "That is ENOUGH cleaning! I can't take it anymore! Turn in your tools and go take a bath!". I did snap some photos so that I have proof to show them that they once liked cleaning and helping mom! It was a bit crazy, but a lot fun!