I have these mom stress moments. You know the ones. I walk into a room that looks like it has just experienced a tornado. My head starts to spin and I feel my blood pressure rise. My kids (wise from experience) quickly start to sneak out of the room. It has happened so many times over the years that you would think it wouldn’t stress me anymore… but it does.
Then, because I too, am wise from experience… I go to my “happy place” … and find the courage to start singing (and I am a horrible singer!)…. the Clean Up Song:
It’s time to clean up clean up
Everybody do your share
Clean up clean up
Soon the mess will not be there
Clean up clean up
Look at this we’re almost done
Toys away — hey hey hey
Clean-up can be fun….
And just like a few little dwarfs out of the movie Snow White…everyone swings into action. Ever since my kids were teeny tiny … we have used the clean up song to motivate us while we pick up toys. I have a basket or “toy box” in just about every room … so it’s really easy for everyone to do their share. Books back on shelves, stuffed animals back in baskets, and toys in the toy boxes. It’s the weirdest darn thing. I can go from completely stressed to la-la land chill in a matter of minutes, and you know why? Because I made a decision a long time ago to STOP getting stressed over a messy house. That doesn’t mean that I DON’T get stressed anymore about it … it just means that I have learned how to STOP when I feel it coming on and move forward to a happier place.
See, I started realizing that as soon as things were picked back up, I felt good again. . . and the fact of the matter is, it really isn’t that hard to put things back where they go. . . and the process of getting there CAN be fun. I want to have fun with my kids and enjoy them whenever I can … so why not make even the “not so fun” moments fun. Who said picking up can’t be fun? … and of course, kids can have fun doing just about anything, especially if they don’t know better.
And of course, over the years… to keep everyone motivated, we have had to spice it up a bit. Sometimes we sing reaaaaalllly s — l— o—-w and move like turtles and other times we sing superrrrrrr fasssssssssssssstand race around like airplanes. It’s all really just about having fun … and what this has taught me is that kids can have fun doing anything. It’s moms that need to chill out an break into song now and then…it’s good for the soul, I tell you!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of GreatCleaners. The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the Arm & Hammer Brand.
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