Life with toddler??

[Sassu]

Is it just me or is this normal?
EVERY night after I get DD to bed I come out of her room and feel like for the first time I can really SEE the house. And it looks like a bomb went off in every room. Is this just the norm for life with a toddler, 3 big house-dogs and a harried mom with a traveling husband or am I exceptionally worthless?
If it's the latter, give me some pointers please!

[kannondicarpo]

Sometimes I cannot even fins a clear spot where the bomb would have been. You are not alone mama. I have 2 and it is really bad some days. My only sanity saver is knowing that they obviously had a lot of fun destroying the place.

Oh and since I have learned a few things along the way.
*Place only one small shelf for books and don't have more books than fit there.
*Place a small basket in the main area to collect toys into and take back into the playroom/bedroom throughout the day.
*Have some focus toys that have a place of their own and can be put back easily. (I have a 3 tier book shelf...the top has a bead maze and a peg pounder. 2nd shelf is a shape sorter, ring stacker x 2, and stacking cups. These shelves are our focus toys. 3rd shelf is books.)

[Sassu]

Originally Posted by kannondicarpo Sometimes I cannot even fins a clear spot where the bomb would have been.

Exactly! And thanks for the tips - that's helpful. But the bad thing is that it's not just her stuff! My stuff is a wreck too - dinner clean up, mail sorting, laundry, etc. I usually pick up during nap time but it doesn't seem to matter. I guess I'm having trouble keeping up with her and the housework on my own all the time. So I end up doing a major overhaul after she's in bed every night. And sometimes I just don't feel up to it

[UnderTheStars]

Mine looks like a bomb went off followed by a tornado and tossed around by a hurricane. DH came home from work and busted his butt to get it cleaned up after dinner, which made me feel guilty (though I can't help it, because I had an extra kid today and they were seriously wearing me out!)

Besides, what's that old saying? Cleaning the house while the children are growing is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing?

[Cussin' Crafter]

as I was cleaning this evening I was thinking about how nice and clean my house USED to be. Now, even if the house is clean, the high up shelves and on top of the fridge are always cluttered with stuff that I need to keep out of reach from my DD. *sigh*

I pick up throughout the day but I don't really even bother to clean until about 8-9 at night after she is in bed otherwise she'll just mess it up in 1.5 seconds.

[pcjs]

LOL - no pets, one 8 month old and I'm not working and some days it looks like a bomb too and you know what - I just don't care - I will clean it up, but sometimes I just don't feel like it. (But, I'd do the same thing, pre-kid - mess it up, clean it up, mess it up - well, its always "clean"....) I can't even blame my child yet... its all us.

[lanwenyi]

My house is a wreck. I've come to terms with it. I keep the kids areas picked up and the rest of the house liveable. Come summer, I'm going to hire a mother's helper for a few mornings so I can get some of the clutter cleared out. In a few years, when the kids are older, I'll work more on keeping the house really neat. Right now, I just want to enjoy my kids while they're little.

[rappgirl3]

I'm sorry I won't be much help, just know I'm right there with you. My house needs serious help!!! And my boys continually spill, dump, scribble, (and sometimes pee)in the living room all day long!

[kittyn]

I don't know about bomb, but some random force of nature seems to deny me a clean house. This is just with me, a four year old, and his daddy. I look around at the end of the day or when everything's quiet and it's just...Wow, what happened?

Overall, ridiculous. I now am even more in awe of my mom for managing to raise two kids by herself with a full time job and keep the house at moderate to high level of clean. It's definately a skill that isn't inherited.

About the best idea I had was having a toy box in his room and a bin downstairs so that there is less dragging of kid toys everywhere under the sun. Now if I could find a permanent home for daddy toys I might actually be getting somewhere!

[dragondance]

Originally Posted by Sassu Exactly! And thanks for the tips - that's helpful. But the bad thing is that it's not just her stuff! My stuff is a wreck too - dinner clean up, mail sorting, laundry, etc. I usually pick up during nap time but it doesn't seem to matter. I guess I'm having trouble keeping up with her and the housework on my own all the time. So I end up doing a major overhaul after she's in bed every night. And sometimes I just don't feel up to it

We cut down on *our* stuff too--like one big & one little plate per person. That's it. Working on clothes now, too. It's so much nicer. (We still have the other dishes in case of guests--just not in the cabinet.) I generally have counters again .