Surprisingly good day

[averygoodun42]

Geoff's been feeling poorly the last few days, enough so that he didn't leave the house at all yesterday nor this morning for church.

I didn't go to church to escape the boys because a) I didn't have enough of a voice to sing and b) there was a lot of stuff to do. We hosted a church group this evening, and there was much cleaning to be done in preparation.

So, I cleaned today. It's pretty much all I did (I figured it counted as exercise as not only was I in constant motion for a couple hours, but I was also moving furniture and such) today, and the living room looks quite nice for it. And I feel waaaaaaay better for it.

I like having a neat, tidy, speckle-free living room. This picking-up-toys thing really is necessary.

Which leads to the downside of the week and weekend.

Babe is stubborn to a fault. So am I. We play off each other in the worst ways, and... The upshot is that Babe is nearly out of toys. Almost all of his Christmas presents (both new and the returned confiscated toys) have been put in the donations pile. Some of his birthday presents, too, like his work bench. This all makes me sad.

I gave him many chances, and made as sure as I could that he understood the consequences of choosing not to pick up (I gave him hours' lead time and told him clearly that what wasn't picked up was going away). He said, repeatedly, that he didn't want his toys. He would rather give them away than pick them up.

So be it.

I will be requesting that he not get any toys until he learns to take care of what he has. To value what he has. It's... wrong to do otherwise, IMO. Now the only thing I have to determine is whether to donate ALL of the stuff, or try to sell some of it and put the proceeds in Babe's savings account (or IRA). It seems selfish to sell when there are needy out there, but...

I'll probably donate it all. *sigh*

On the plus side, he has been very careful the last few days to put away his sketchpad. He's been drawing a lot, creating his own star destroyers and other Star Wars' spacecraft. I was disappointed that he wouldn't clean up his cutting mess, which resulted in a suspension of the use of scissors for a week, but...

And now I'm going to try to seduce Geoff into doing a crossword with me.

Happy Sunday, all!

Comments

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

It seems very harsh, to me. On the other hand, perhaps if I'd taken such a line with #1 I wouldn't be forced to clean out her bloody rat's nest for her because she doesn't know where to begin. And perhaps if my mother hadn't picked up for me, I wouldn't be such a slob either... *sigh*

It's wonderful to hear that he's drawing.

[septentrion1970.livejournal.com]

No, it's not too harsh. I know several people who do that, and mainly it works. They put the toys in plastic bags and hide them so that they can give back the toys when the children have a better attitude with picking up their stuff. You only have the child, or two children, but imagine the chaos in a big family if you let the children do as they please? I've seen it, and it's no pleasant.

I thought the same about drawing. You can be proud of him.

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

His attitude stays the same except for occasional compliant patches... But, as my mum pointed out, he's only five. That's still very, very young.

I am proud of him!

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

It is harsh, and it might be overly harsh, I don't know. I've struck a compromise with him in that he can have his toys and not be forced to clean up every night, as long as they stay in his room. Living room is common area, and I will help him clean up what is allowed in the living room every night, but if his room toys come down and aren't cleaned up, they're gone. We'll see how that works. (And, of course, how the monthly cleaning of bedroom works...)

I love that he's drawing!