share your fun kids vs. mess messages

[Sonata]

Because I think our house needs some. I've clarified my philosophy in my mind -- I'm not going to spend energy feeling guilty about it! I know there is something like "excuse the mess, childhood happening here" or something like that. Aren't there other cute ones?

That would be more cheerful than my idea, which goes something like "if you don't like the clutter, you are welcome to fix it." :giggle

[ReedleBeetle]

There is:

Excuse the Mess, the children are making Memories.

or

Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky.

or

Tarry a moment to watch the chaos of a playground, crayola-colored shirts of running children, all trying out their wings

or

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing


Are any of those what you are looking for? :)

[Heather Micaela]

Hanging on my wall:

Song for a 5th Child (http://holyjoe.org/poetry/hamilton.htm)(AKA "Babies Don't Keep)

excerpt:

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.


What Did I Do Today? (http://magicalchildhood.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/what-did-i-do-today/)
excerpt:

What did I do this whole day through?
Not much that shows, I guess that’s true.
Unless you think that what I’ve done
Might be important to someone
With dark brown eyes and soft brown hair.
If that is true… I’ve done my share.”



My Mantra:giggle
Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

Others I found:

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. ~Nancie J. Carmody


We labor to make a house a home, then every time we're expecting visitors, we rush to turn it back into a house. ~Robert Brault


Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day. ~Simone de Beauvoir:shifty

[WingsOfTheMorning]

Love these!

[ReedleBeetle]

Heather Micaela! I love that one about Laboring to make a house a home and then when expecting visitors, rushing to turn it back into a house. :giggle

[Heather Micaela]

http://www. 2wired2tired.com /what-really-matters Link broken JIC the blog is punitive.

[ValiantJoy07]

:cup

[filmgirl2911]

I don't have any cute quotes, but I've been reminding myself recently that when people choose to visit us, we have children; they live here; they have things; those things are localized mostly, but they can also be everywhere.

In other words, if people want a clean, clutter-free place when they visit, they'll need to wait until my kids are in college :shify

[Luciola]

Excuse the mess, we're growing. :heart

[Sonata]

Great! Keep 'em coming! I'm going to paint our values on a plate for a wall hanging for dh for Christmas, and I thought maybe I'd make one for me. Regarding the housekeeping vs. the parenting. :)

I've heard it before, but I am all teary-eyed at the line about "I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep." :happytears

[Heather Micaela]

I've heard it before, but I am all teary-eyed at the line about "I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep." :happytears
Yeah my mom put the words on paper and painted around it and both poems are framed in my kitchen. I have a 2.5yo and he is my last baby (the 5th child even) so the words really ring true.

[Sonata]

The only problem is that none of my kids are actually babies. :-/

[Heather Micaela]

The only problem is that none of my kids are actually babies. :-/
You haven't read my sticky about them being babies through 5. :shifty:giggle

Yeah, those poems are not quite right when you do not have infants but the sentiment is. And even the mom of a teen might need to stop the running of the household to nurture her child, so mine will stay up:heart

[Sonata]

You're right, I don't literally think of him as a baby until 5! :giggle But it's not just the "baby" word, it's the baby actions. The sentiment is certainly the same, that I prioritize my kids' needs over the household's needs, and my son has a lot of needs. IDK about what my daughter will need, but my son needs very little rocking or cuddling. (Apparently my literal NTP side is coming out here!) I was taking a shower and imagining the revisions....

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go away.
I'm down on the floor 'cause my child needs to play!

So quiet down, clutter. Grout, don't you squirm.
My son's full of questions and needs me to learn!

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
The piles may grow 'til the top's out of reach,
But my children are wondering and it's my job to teach!

So quiet down, clutter. Piles, go away.
We've got baking and building and reading all day!

[LilacPhoenix]

:tu

[MegMarch]

Love it:heart

[WI Mama05]

A friend gave me one awhile back:
"My house isn't messy, it's a learning rich environment!"

[Stiina]

wow sonata, your rendition is fabulous!!