It’s gone, I tell ya….gone. I have absolutely Zero patience with anything these days, but least of all with Kiki. I feel like I’m at my wit’s end with that girl! She is surly, grumpy, and worst of all, argumentative!! Geez, no matter what I say, she’s going to come back with a "but…" or an "nuh-uh…" or a plain old "no, actually…." Now, to outsiders, she is about the politest little child you’d want to meet. People tell me that all the time. Which is nice, I suppose, but do ya think I could get a little of that at home?? Her messes are getting to me as well… it’s like, the more I pick up, the more she messes up! I am so not exaggerating!! I just feel like I want to up and smack her in the head. Of course I don’t…. but sometimes I have to leave the room….
I feel like I really dropped the parenting ball somewhere along the line, that she somehow thinks she can get away with doing absolutely nothing around here, not even clean up after herself. Or being respectful. I thought I’d at least worked on that one! It’s so hard, because I struggle with that "messiness" myself, so she sees that, but there is no way on earth I can keep my stuff picked up and her stuff as well! Not gonna happen! I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of clutter… an ocean of clothing and papers….
I guess I need to be thankful that we just have one week of school left (YeeHaw!!) …. maybe I can shift gears and get this place under some semblance of control. Doubtful…. I’ve tried before…sigh…. but, since I really can’t afford the gas this summer even to drive across town, I will probably be staying home most of the summer, so maybe I’ll get some stuff done. Where there’s breath there’s hope, right?
Mama's Midlife Mire 
You know I think all moms want to smack their kids at one time or another…. everyday. Yeah we are all imperfect beings and can only do the best we can do as parents. In the end our kids will still end up making their own mistakes and doing things we don\’t love, but if they make it to have kids of their own then we have succeded. God help us all.
As far as the cleaning thing goes. I\’m with you on that one. If we could just let it go. My personality loves a neat tidy house, but if I really had one, I would never rest.
God bless
guess if she won\’t clean it up you should give it to a child that would take care of it…i know that worked for my brother and i…only once did we ever have our toys given away…well my brother more than once…but me only once…♥~♥ :oD the shortest distance between two people is a smile… :oD ♥~♥
Yes my dear friend, there is hope, and with school over, you can take a breathe and recharge, so you both can get the house organized. Just because you don\’t have the house emaculate, it doesn\’t excuse Kiki, and she could at least get her things back to her space instead of everywhere, for a start. If not, I liked MrS SkRuMshZ suggestion very well. She should be helping you in other jobs around the house as well. It could be teachable and fun moments with cooking, laundry, vaccuming, and dishes. If you don\’t help her get a grip on it now… you will really have rebellion problems in her teen years…and I hope you will consider taking any priviledges away till she sees you mean business. Praying much.
Sounds like she\’s just being a kid. As long as others don\’t start telling you she is not polite or disruptive when you are not around I think you have it made. Some never get out of that stage of leaving their stuff around but I know from experience that it they think it\’s getting to you they will do it more. So pick up your own stuff and make it a rule she doesn\’t leave the house to be with her friends until her stuff is out of your area. Then do your self a favor and let her live in her messy room for a while. They do surprise you by cleaning it every now and then.
When mine got to bad I\’d warn them once then rake the room out for them into the hall way where it had to be sorted and put back neatly. At least for one day it would be and they can chose whether I do it in front of their firends or not. smile they grow up fast. LJ
It is my dream to get my house SCRUBBED and ORGANIZED this summer. I say that every year. Does it ever happen? Nooooo. I get some closets cleaned, and maybe all of the dresser drawers, but my enthusiasm fades before I get to my kitchen and basement. My walls never get washed, and all of my windows have never been washed in the same week or even the same month for that matter. When summer comes I\’d rather go for walks, go out on our boat, work in my flower garden, read books for hours on end… I have a million excuses.
In the past my solution for messy kids has been taking their belongings I find all over the house, and putting them in a garbage bag and hiding the bag. Lately when Victoria isn\’t home, I take everything that Victoria leaves around the house, and toss it into a pile in the middle of her bedroom floor. She is required to pick up her room every day before doing anything fun, so the stuff does get put away. If she doesn\’t clean her room, she cannot come out of it. She also unloads the dishwasher, sweeps the living room and her bedroom, folds towels, puts away her own laundry, and empties wastebaskets. When she leaves her dishes on the table we call her into the dining room – no matter what she is doing, to have her take them to the sink and rinse them off. I struggle with messiness myself, and I hope that I can teach her to be neater than I am.