On kids and dogs and messy houses

[Adina P]

OMD.  I don't know how anyone with little kids and dogs that chew things up survive childhood!!!  Luckily Rosco doesn't chew things up and Boca is only interested in baby socks (98% of the time put away) and really tiny things and paper and things that seem like they could possibly be paper or could be ingredients for paper.  Like wood.  Like the gnocchi sized wooden nesting doll my 18 month old dropped from the table as he was playing. 

Believe me, I have consciously made an effort to keep Boca's presence and said nesting dolls separated by time and distance.  When nesting dolls are out.  Boca is confined.  But I can't keep up.  So when I realized the two things were present in the same room, I panicked, then thought it couldn't hurt to ask.  So I did. 

"Boca drop it!"

Sure enough...out plops the bottom half of the middle sized nesting doll. 

"Boca, drop it!" has become my knee jerk reaction any time I see my little black doodle enter or exit a room she wasn't in 5 seconds prior.  This is probably the only command she listens to anymore without assistance.

Trying to keep stuff off the floor is an utterly ridiculous and a shoved-in-your-face lesson in futility. 

For all the lovely plans I have of helping/teaching my kids the lesson called "Before we get out new toys, we put already-played-with toys away" it never happens.  Oh it might happen once in a while when I'm not already immersed in cooking, computering, changing a diaper, tending to one crying kid, feeding dogs, tidying up, chasing one kid, etc...but the rest of the time 10 piles of toys appear magically in every walking space of the house. 

What I need is a play room.  A play room with a vortex that sucks toys back in should a child try to exit with any in hand.  Of course that doesn't keep the two legged kids from turning all of the rest of my household belongings into toys and spreading those far and wide. 

I used to be very staunch in the whole "if you have dogs, just keep the house picked up.  have your kids put toys away, close doors, etc."  But seriously.  How?  I have things to do, websites to visit, blogs to write! ;-)

[Lynda Kamrath]

Yep, my sister in law had the same thing - a playroom, when her four kids were little.  And they usually had a dog of some sort.  I remember one time being at her house and she was folding clothes.  As she was folding away, two of the kids and the dog were in her closet.  We found out later that they were pulling all the clothes off the hangers and making stacks on the floor.  I had suspected something, but not that.

But she did not worry too much about it and she lived through it.  They are all teenaged and above and the eldest son is a professional hockey player.  At least they are all at home with you.  And I assume your husband is not a neatnic (like mine).  Enjoy. These are the days to remember and you will get used to just dropping things into the trash.  Anything can be replaced except those kids and dogs.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Oh Adina, I feel your pain. Every toy we have in our house has teeth marks in it, and we just have grandkids who visit. I am sure frustration abounds at your house over Boca's kleptomania. 

[Adina P]

My 3 y.o. is super sad right now.  She's REALLY into puzzles and she got a new one this weekend with lots of pieces (not a baby puzzle) and wants to play with it frequently.  Today she sat at the table in the dining room to keep little brother from messing it up for her.  But at some point from the kids room I heard something that sounded wrong...so I told Boca "drop it" -- sure enough something came out.  I thought it was tissue, but nope.  A PUZZLE PIECE!  Now my daughter wasn't irresponsible about her puzzle, but a piece had dropped to the floor without her knowing. She was pretty bummed that it was destroyed.  So now Boca has to be out of the room when puzzles are being played.  This isn't really a 'mess' issue, but a frustrating thing about Hoover dogs and kids living together. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

When Evie (who is two) comes over, I go on supergrandmom programing. Because the rest of the world can stop when she comes over, I constantly go after her and pick up. She doesn't live her 24/7 so I can mostly keep things under control.  My world is not the real world where doodles, kids, and  moms and dads live.  I don't know how you do it either. Luckily, when my kids were little, we had dogs who, once out of puppyhood, never played with toys. It was awesome.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

When my nieces visit it seems like it only takes seconds for my house to become completely overcome with a variety of toys. It's a mystery to me how 3 young girls can destroy a house so fast!!! My boys have enjoyed destroying many stuffed animals, barbies, crayons, puzzle pieces, and many other random toys left lying around. Fozzie's mustache hides so much stuff I have really have to look carefully when toys are around:-)

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Funny stuff.  Brings back memories of my son and our then Lab- who never learned the "drop" command, btw!. These days  it's the dog's toys that are all over our house!  The chewing has finally waned a bit for our 9 month old-no more stealing my glasses off the night table, for instance. Raiding the laundry basket is still on his list, though!  

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Adina, Loved your blog!! Sometimes I miss those days. Sometimes I don't :) Our kids were 8 & 10 when we got our first family dog, so I don't remember the chewing part with small toys, although with that said, my memory is going :)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

My mothers always said, " Clean homes?  Who is taking care of the kids?"  " A clean house may mean, neglected kids"

If nothing else, I used this excuse often to explain my messy home and happy kids

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

My daughter has two dogs and two kids.  Until her recent maternity leave, she was working two different jobs and when she was home, her priority was to give undivided attention to Kayla, the 2 1/2 year old.  Most days her house looks like a tornado hit!  "Drop it" is heard frequently and many of Kayla's toys have doggie tooth marks.

Kayla is at our house two days a week.  We have a playroom - it can start out neat but is a mess within moments of her being in there.  She's a dumper - she'll go from bin to bin and dump out the contents.  When asked why she's doing that, she answers, "I like it".  Thirty years ago, with my daughter, I would have stopped the dumping, but now it doesn't seem that important.  Also, the playroom lacks the "vortex" so nearly every time we come downstairs, Kayla loads up with "friends" she NEEDS to bring with her - so the mess spills out everywhere.  Fortunately, Sedona is not a chewer so both she and the toys are safe.  Years ago, I may have looked at my messy house and seen it as a "failure" (not a good mommy/wife/housekeeper), but today I see it as evidence of a happy girl!!

Loved your blog, Adina - it sent me on a nice trip down memory lane!!!  

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

This blog made me smile.  I have all but given up on keeping my house clean.  I have two doodles and two boys (and a husband!).  I am a teacher and the only time I even attempt really clean is when I have a break from school.  A weekend is just not long enough, especially with all the sport events my kids are involved in.  Just keeping us all in clean underwear is a major chore!  I now have lowered my standards since before kids, so at least I don't get so down on myself all the time about it.  When our first "baby" died (which was after my son Shane was born) we went dogless for a few years just because I wanted to focus on the boys and I KNEW I wouldn't be able to handle it and it wouldn't be fair to any dog.  I am now so glad I did!  Enjoy your doodles and kids!