Simple things

Sometimes I think my expectations are just too high. I just expect too much out of my kids and myself as a homemaker. Maybe I'm unrealistic and compare myself too much to what I perceive other people to be like. But then there are days like today when I think, No, it's not too much to ask.

For instance, is it too much to ask that the pillow cases stay on the pillows? Because, lets all be honest, it's just gross to have a pillow without a pillow case (and a mattress without a sheet, which my kids also like to take off!) Does anyone else fight with this DAILY?!?! And it's not like I used to never have pillow cases on the pillows and now the kids are getting used to it. This is how it's always been. The expectation for a pillow case to stay on the pillow has always been there. Yet, here I am, day after day, fighting the same fight.

And is it too much to ask that I can use my broom to sweep my floor whenever it needs it (which is AT LEAST 3 times a day)? The other day I went to go sweep and found my broom like this:1st of all, HOW?!
2nd of all, WHY?!
3rd of all, ARRRGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!
But at the time I thought it was an easy fix. I'd just take the broom off the broken pole and put it on my mop pole. Then when I needed to mop, I'd just switch it off again. After all, It wouldn't be that big of a deal to have them share a pole. But today when I went to sweep after breakfast this is what my broom looked like:Notice anything missing? The BROOM PART! All I could find, in the WHOLE house was the pole. I asked the kids, multiple times if they'd seen the broom. Neither of them had any memory of even touching it. I searched high and low for it. I finally found it tonight, in Addie's bed (when trying to find her PILLOW CASE) under the blankets.

Is it too much to ask that clean laundry stays IN the drawers they belong in? I have the kids put their own laundry away. But it never fails that even though they put it in their drawers when they put it away, some how the clothes end up all over the floor within a couple days (or hours).

Is it too much to ask that when I go to bed at night, I'm able to just lay my head on my pillow and not have to search the house for it because it was used in some sort of fort or something once again? I swear I'm always saying 'PILLOW'S STAY IN THEIR CASES ON THE BED!!'

Is it too much to ask that our couches be for SITTING on. Not climbing, jumping, walking, and wallowing on? Now that we have these new couches with all the pillows (GRRR) it is EXTREMELY annoying to me when the kids walk around on the couches. The pillows end up flopped over and on the floor. Why would you even want to walk on the couch? I mean, honestly, it's not that big of an area, wouldn't you rather walk on the floor? Not my kids. They just pace on the couch, and sometimes, in my moments of weakness, I really do believe it's just to drive me insane!

Basically, I'm writing this as a reminder that when I'm grumpy at the end of the day, it's not just from having to handle the normal everyday kid stuff. It's that on top of all that 'normal' stuff, I have these very basic simple things (and many more)that I want, and feel justified in expecting, and my kids are fighting me tooth and nail on them (and quite frankly, they're winning!). But lets be honest, I wouldn't trade my life (with all of the little annoyances) for anything in the world!! My kids keep life interesting and lively, and I love them for it!