What happens when I don't clean ...

I'll admit that I like to have a clean, organized and tidy home.  But I want my children to remember that I let them play without being stressed over the mess they might make and that I gave them the gift of my time not "My mom cleaned our house all the time."

Finding a balance is a work in progress for me. I try to keep on a routine of cleaning one area of our home each day Monday - Friday.  Nathan and Grace have a chore each day that helps me in that area.  We each have a basket on our steps for things that need put away upstairs ... I put things in these baskets that I find around downstairs throughout the day. I try to  have the kids walk around downstairs in the evening with their baskets picking up things that need put away in their bedrooms and tidying up things they used downstairs.  Then the kids have a short time to put away the stuff in their baskets and tidy up their rooms.

But this week, I decided to skip the cleaning ... just keep things tidy.  Matt's parents are in the area for a week, a friend from Richmond stopped by for an overnight visit on their way to family in OH, it is Thanksgiving, Matt's birthday and my mom's birthday plus Matt is off for a couple days.

The spiders have had a party since I haven't been around with my cob web brush ... and I laughed at the learning opportunity me not cleaning created!  Matt discovered this spider in a corner of our kitchen spinning silk around it's capture ... a ladybug.  We watched as it worked its magic and smiled ... at what happens when I don't clean!