17 hours...

We pick up the children to see our home in 17 hours.  It's SO not ready.  I had such high aspirations... like painting the bathroom and weedeating the back yard (read: jungle).  I may have to settle for scrubbing the fingerprints off the walls and picking up the clutter.  I am getting lots of cupboards and drawers organized, and those ones look great... but it seems to be distracting me from some of the other things that need to be done.  Like dealing with the PILES of homeschool stuff that has been sorted but not stored.

Other big distractions: Little "R" who is following me, making more messes.  Not to mention most of my day is being spent riding Sam...

Me (seeing both children playing "Old Maid" on the couch, the box tossed on the floor, no doubt soon to be kicked under the couch): "Sam, you are supposed to be cleaning your room."
Sam: "I'm done."
Me: "There's a huge pile of toys in the middle of the room."
Sam: "Oh, THAT!"
(2 minutes later I hear cosmic noises coming from the kitchen that could only be my endearing little Aspie.)
Me: "Sam, is your room done?"
Sam: "Yeah."
Me, checking: "Sam, there are still toys, and clothes and papers all over the floor and I-don't-know-what under your bedside table!"
Sam: "Where?"
Me: "EVERYWHERE!!"

Repeat, ad nauseum.  When it does finally look like he's made some progress, I need only move a bin under his bed or the beanbag in the corner to find everything that used to be in the middle of the room.  I swear it takes more effort to HIDE his things than to put them away properly.

Make no mistake, I love Sam tremendously.  But I'm afraid this child is going to be the death of me. 

Sigh.

Back to work.  (Sam is now sitting next to me on the couch, saying he's done again.  Too bad there are so many clothes in the doorway that the door won't even close... which is how he broke it off the hinges last week.  It's only been back on for a couple of days, and I'm afraid the prognosis isn't good.)

Comments

[AmyH]

Hilary, I am so excited for you to bring your new children home! How wonderful! I have been remiss at commenting but have been following along the story and am overjoyed with your family!

[Steph :o)]

Hilary, you are seriously nesting over there! :o) I know you want everything to look perfect for them, but you know what? I think those kids will "see" everything with their hearts, and pay no attention to organized drawers, etc. They will experience unconditional love, tons of fun, yummy nutritious food, and an emotionally stable family/home. *hug* Can't wait to hear all about their stay, friend!

[Gwendie]

I'm a mom to 6 (birth) kids in Oregon. Five of my children are on the Autism Spectrum, so I can totally relate to your story about Sam and his "Aspie" way of cleaning. I'm de-lurking to share with you a little tip about getting "Aspie" kids to clean their room independently (well,mostly...)

1. Have your child join you in cleaning their room. Help them decide where everything goes (or show them were you want it). 2. After the room is clean, take digital pictures of each section of the room - the closet, the bookcase, the bed etc.. Print the pictures onto paper in what ever format works best for your child. (One of my children has a binder with four pictures in it - one 8x11in. picture is inserted into each of the four plastic sleeves. Another child has a one-page laminated chart with 6 small pictures on it with written instructions under each picture.) 3.The next time the room needs cleaning, have your child look at the pictures - one section at a time - and have him make that section look like the picture. You will probably have to supervise this a time of two, but eventually the child should be able to understand what "go clean your room" means.

This technique has been a sanity saver in my home!

Praying that you and your growing family have a smooth transition,

Gwendie