Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Now Hiring Out: Child Slave Labor (Only I Don't Think You Want to Hire Them)

With all this free time from Christmas break and endless snow days, it's time to put them to work. Last week, I taught Julia how to do laundry and she and Jenna washed all their clothes. (They put them away too) But cleaning up after dinner... long time readers know this has been a continual battle.

Tonight, Trace decided that Julia and Jenna should clean up the kitchen after dinner. I wasn't sure this would work, but when I tried to help I was yelled at and told to leave. Hey, no arguments from me! Imagine my surprise when I went into the kitchen after they were done.

The kitchen counter. What? We're supposed to wipe that off? We might want to eat those mini marshmallows later.

Mess? What mess? No one said we had to wipe off the stove.

What? These dishes? I can't believe you noticed them, Mom.

I'm now hiring my children out as indentured servants. Only serious applicants need apply

12 comments:

Brandy said...

I think they took a nap instead of cleaning. LOL!

Jules said...

So-was ANYTHING different than when you left it?

Denise Grover Swank said...

Ummm, the table was cleared off. That's about it.

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

I think they have been taking lessons from Katie. She does not realize that if she empties the clean dishes that there might be dirty ones to go in, too. Or that behind her. On the stove. There might be more dishes. Or that when she does load the dishwasher, she tends to spill all the water on the floor that she used to rinse. Yep...apparently Katie is hiring herself out as a dish tutor!

Jill from Killeny Glen said...

So WHAT did they do? AND...did you LOOK at the clothes they washed and put away last week? Did they really get washed?

XOXO
Jill

Shannon said...

How are kids so oblivious?

Earlier this evening I folded some laundry... left the basket on the sofa. Told Hannah to come get her clothes to put away. She walked into the living room, looked right at me and said "what clothes?"

Ummmm... the ones in this big blue basket... that's sitting on the sofa right in front of you!

Unknown said...

Were the dishes in the sink clean? How long did it take to "clean up"? Gotta love their efforts.

Heather said...

Obliviousness.

Is that even a word?

Clearly it should be, 'cause that's what kids are, aren't they?

The Fab 5 said...

So funny that is what my kitchen looks like!!!! I think I will pass on the offer I have 3 slaves of my own that do the same kind of work!!

Anonymous said...

Keep posting stuff like this i really like it

Birgitte Necessary said...

HOW do you do it with 6 kids?? I feel like I'm drowning in mess with just 3. But I have started a new rule with the teenagers. One has Monday as his "vacuum the whole upstairs" day and the other has Friday as his. I told them I'd take Wednesday. So now at least things only go "crunch" every other day when I walk across the room.

They still don't do laundry well, but at least they can bring up their dirty clothes and take down clean. This is progress. Now if you ever figure out how to get teenagers to hang up the wet towels after showering I want a blog post on that!!

Kudos to you for your determiation! Love your blog. Need it for inspiration. :)

Liz Czukas said...

This is hysterical! Just think of it this way: they can only get better from here.

- Liz