Saturday, February 21, 2015

A Full House Is a Messy House, Apparently

Here in New England, we have a mysterious week of vacation from school in the middle of February. It's appropriately (if not creatively) named "February break."

Think of it like spring break, only completely miserable and boring because it's 5 degrees outside.

I don't know why it exists, I think our superintendent just likes to ski.

It'd be great if we did too, but seeing as we don't have the money, time, or talent, we have to find a backup plan.

Indoor attractions during February break are packed fuller than subway trains in Tokyo on a Japanese holiday, so that's out. Meaning that except for an outing to the public library (which was crawling with people) and a trip to the grocery store, we've been in the house a whole lot this week.

On the one hand, it's been nice spending time together. The kids play together more, and I'm enjoying the chance to do something with them other than herding them into the car for basketball practice (if we hurry, we'll only be 10 minutes late!) That part is nice.

But... with all 6 of us at home 24/7 for a week, our house looks like it's going to be featured on an episode of Hoarders.

There are American Girl doll clothes scattered down the length of the stairs. Someone's filled the baby's crib with stuffed animals.

Full House, Messy House -- what do you get when you combine one mom, 5 kids, and a weeklong school vacation in the middle of February? Pretty much a nuclear disaster area!  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
I don't even know what I'm looking at right now.

Mismatched shoes are littered randomly throughout the house, and don't even get me started on the stray socks. I'm just pretending not to see them at this point.

Full House, Messy House -- what do you get when you combine one mom, 5 kids, and a weeklong school vacation in the middle of February? Pretty much a nuclear disaster area!  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
I've never seen this American Girl doll horse not lying on its side just looking generally creepy.

The entire first floor is coated with a thin film of markers and Legos, and I don't even want to know what's upstairs.

Full House, Messy House -- what do you get when you combine one mom, 5 kids, and a weeklong school vacation in the middle of February? Pretty much a nuclear disaster area!  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Why choose markers from the bin one at a time as needed when you can just dump all 100 of them on the floor?

The kids are having fun going out in the snow to play every afternoon, which means that the mudroom is a quagmire of dripping snowpants and soggy mittens. And I spend about an hour a day wiping up puddles of water trailing between the front door and the bathroom (because it's just not as fun to pee before you put on all your snow gear and play outside for 20 seconds.)

Full House, Messy House -- what do you get when you combine one mom, 5 kids, and a weeklong school vacation in the middle of February? Pretty much a nuclear disaster area!  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
The sad, deflated pink "Happy Valentine's Day" balloon in the middle really says everything there is to say about our week.

Our "no eating in the living room" rule has obviously gone out the window. I say that because it looks like someone emptied a box of Ritz crackers on the couch and rolled around in them.

Forget snack times twice a day: the kids now want food every 6 or 7 minutes. The fridge is always open and I think there's a warm gallon of milk on the table right now, along with 10,000 scattered Rainbow Loom bands that no one will admit to dumping out.

Full House, Messy House -- what do you get when you combine one mom, 5 kids, and a weeklong school vacation in the middle of February? Pretty much a nuclear disaster area!  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
My daughter decided that my bed looked like a good place to start an elaborate craft.
Probably because the table was covered in Rainbow Looms and old milk.

Our life right now reads like a scene from Lord of the Flies, but I promise that normally, we're organized, responsible people with rules and a schedule. I run a tight ship during the school week.

The kids have gone a little insane during this free-wheeling February break, but I know that on Monday they'll be back in school and the house will return to its usual quasi-clean state  and then I'll miss having them home all day.

Motherhood's funny like that.


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7 comments:

Kendall said...

Motherhood is crazy like that! Baby Boy's not school aged yet, but being home with him all day, letting him roam and play and be his usually busy and toddler-disorganized self is good. Until, I look up and the entire house (living room, kitchen, office really) look like a hurricane came through!

Thankfully though, he'll usually help clean up and put things away, until I feel calmer because there's a sense of order. But, then I want him to sleep, so it's quiet and stays orderly for awhile....until I miss the noise and happiness of him playing :)

Anonymous said...

I very well remember these days :) You will get through them. Remember to take care of yourself.

Unknown said...

I guess being New *England* you have inherited the joys of English February half term. I couldn't agree more - it is a ridiculous time to have a holiday - cabin fever anyone? Best of luck with Op Tidy Up come Monday! :-) X

Jenny Evans said...

Is that what it is? We actually do have things here that I've noticed that are carried over from England.

Queen Mom Jen said...

Our summers are so hot in Southern Az so this is what my house looks like all summer long, just swap out the dripping snow boots for dripping swim suits and the scene is the same. Good luck surviving the rest of it!!

normaleverydaylife said...

We shouldn't have been on break, but with a week of snow days, it sure felt like it! I know what you mean about the messes. I'm hoping to get cleaned up as soon as school is back in session! :)

Jenny Evans said...

I absolutely loved your post on your blog about snow days. I think I read it about 3 times and it still makes me laugh just thinking about it. Our kids were probably in our respective houses shouting "STOP!" at their siblings at the same time!