Dishes

We have a chore chart in our home that involves the living room and the kitchen. Both KatieJo & Samuel take turns being in charge of keeping one of them clean, and it rotates weekly. This week Samuel happens to be in charge of the Kitchen. When one is in charge of the Kitchen the chore is that they are responsible for putting clean dishes away and making sure the floor stays clean...i.e. picking up any toys that may have somehow gotten in there or sweeping etc.

Yesterday there were a lot of dishes to put away, and Samuel had just wiped out on his bike and hurt his knee. However, it was chore time so he had to go in and do his chores. I kept hearing moaning and complaining from the Kitchen and didn't really think a lot about it other than it was irritating me a little bit that he was complaining so much about doing his chore. It's not like this isn't something that happens everyday!

After a while he was still putting dishes away...yes there were a lot, but not so many that he should have taken an hour. I needed to get into the kitchen to start dinner and Stuart was about to get home and so unless the person in charge of the Kitchen is helping with dinner I usually kick them out. Yesterday was no exception. So dinner got made, put on the table and consumed. And as the kids were clearing the table I happened to have to use the bathroom.

As I walk into the bathroom I noticed a cake pan on the back of the toilet. Mind you this is the same cake pan Samuel had asked me where it belonged. As it turns out he hid dishes all over the house. I am laughing now, but at the time I was a tad bit irritated. There were baby bottles hidden behind step stools and other places, etc. It took him longer to hide the dishes than it would have if he had put them away. On top of that he started re-arranging my cupboards instead of putting dishes away, and even after I told him no he told me "trust me mom, it'll really be better this way."

I'm proud to say that I didn't yell, I didn't send him to his room, I didn't even get red in the face trying not to do these things. Instead I calmly (albeit a bit smugly) told him he had to do the dishes next week as well. He was less than thrilled (KatieJo did a happy dance though because neither of them like Kitchen duty). He also lost movie privledges-not that we really ever watch anything for the rest of the week.

My mom found it terribly funny, and got a really good laugh out of it. I on the other hand am frustrated. I don't really know any other children who would come up with something like that...and then to re-arrange the cupboards too? I'm going to go gray because of him! Thank goodness I love him!