Children, order, sanity

Ah, the elusive trifecta. As the old saying goes, you can only have two of the three. You can have children and sanity, but your house will be a mess. You can have order and sanity, but only as long as you remain childless. Or you can have children and order, and lose your mind in the process.

For the past year, it hasn't been so bad that I can only pull off two thirds of the ideal. I don't care too much if the house is strewn with toys, so long as it's clean (and there's nobody coming over.) But now that we have the prospect of selling our house on the horizon... I am completely freaked. There is just so much STUFF, especially since Christmas (a toy kitchen may be Liam's dream come true but man, it takes up a lot of real estate!)

Also, that cleanliness thing I was talking about has grown increasingly elusive now that Mallory is a force to be reckoned with. There are bits of food mashed into the carpet and upholstery, sticky dribbles on the floor that attract dust like magnets. And let's not pin it all on Mallory. Liam has contributed some dribbles of his own to the floor around the toilet, and I can't be washing the bathroom floor with every single visit. Usually I am doing well if I can just keep Mallory away from the toilet while Liam is using it!

And, I have to admit, I've gotten lazy. I used to vacuum the floor multiple times per day on account of how much food gets dropped on it. Now, I just pick up the bigger chunks by hand, and run the vacuum through once. I don't mind cleaning if I can see the evidence of my handiwork, but now when I clean, it doesn't last - and it's frustrating. It's all too easy to think, why not put it off - since it will just get dirty and I'll have to do it all over again?

The good news is that, by the time our house hits the market, I will be back to work. Which means that we will all be spending a lot less time in it. And maybe that's the key. The house gets such a workout when we are in it and actively using it all day long - raiding the kitchen, rummaging for toys, leaving evidence of life in our quakes. When the kids are off to Cindy's for the day, and I'm off to my cubicle - well, I hope our agent can work some magic during those daytime hours. Because outside of 9-to-5, all hell will still be breaking loose for years to come.