<p>Kat - I’m impressed!!! :)</p>
<p>Kat- another impressed Mom.
S is pulling his frozen pizza out of the oven. His lunch. It is 4:50 PM. Need I say more. Just as I was thinking about timing for cooking dinner.</p>
<p>Kat, I’m impressed and now also very depressed :(</p>
<p>just relax. you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy your clean home. talk to the kids, play a game of cards, watch a movie. they won’t be around long enough.</p>
<p>All three of mine have completed undergrad, two are in grad school, one is applying. Having all three here for the holiday plus Grandma moved in this year makes clear that we downsized and are a wee bit overcrowded, but it is a fun crowd. With three girls in one room I cannot expect neatness as there is just not enough room for everyone and everything. Plus they sleep with the dog & cat in their room & bed, too. The one who ends up on the floor gets grumpy though!</p>
<p>In prior years i have felt all the complaints ya’ll are saying, but this was an amazing visit. D1 filled my car with gas and refused reimbursement…she said, “whoever drives it should just fill it if it is less than 1/4 tank!!!” What a wow moment. She picked up groceries, too. Then one weekend she vacuumed the entire house, even the stairs and she dusted. We had asked her to vacuum the kids room and she just kept going. My baby grew up!</p>
<p>Have hope and keep nagging :D</p>
<p>It was sad when the last two drove off this morning, but I am also very busy with laundering the bedding, rearranging the bedroom, etc. So, even when they are good guests, there is a sense of getting back to normal and getting all the mess and clutter cleaned up.</p>
<p>*stinky boy room - I found it’s due to a lot of sweaty stuff thrown on the carpet *</p>
<p>Yep…and dirty socks under and on the side of the bed. And, sweaty bedding and pillows. And, stinky shoes. </p>
<p>Their rooms need to be aired out even when it’s cold outside.</p>
<p>“The dishwasher is constantly going.” - Yea, but at least we have dishwasher at our house! My kids grew up never having to wash dishes, so they think that just emptying it is a chore.</p>
<p>This was recently posted in another thread, but just in case anyone missed it, it’s priceless: </p>
<p>[Kids</a> home on college break: Homo studentus universitatus season is winding to a close - Chicago Tribune](<a href=“A peek at the winter habits of homo studentus universitatus”>A peek at the winter habits of homo studentus universitatus)</p>
<p>My kiddos really like waking late (noon is early for them). They try to have their earliest course start at or after noon. We are now into the visits to the docs before D goes back to the U on Friday morning & S starts his job (maybe February?) S saw the optometrist today & tomorrow we all go to the allergist and internist.</p>
<p>I’m sad that we’ve all been somewhat under the weather around here. D didn’t get to do as much as she had hoped, but the bright side is that she is home resting and recharging herself. </p>
<p>S has also been home a lot since returning in August–he’s helping us declutter our house, cleaning off mildew and organize our home. He even helped do some billing and update our webpage. Unfortunately my kids aren’t as well trained as the kittens above, but S has programmed the Roomba to automatically vacuum the bedrooms M-F @ 10 am every day! Both kiddos generally sleep through it but sometimes he gets up & reads the paper. His room is the cleanest in the house & he helped clean D’s room before she came home (looks like she’s returning it to its natural messy state again ASAP). Fortunately, no one leaves wet things on our wood floors–they do get that it is very bad for the floor.</p>
<p>We have noticed that leftovers don’t last very long in the fridge any more, especially if they’re from a takeout. :)</p>
<p>" have new appreciation for those grandmothers and great-grandmothers who are raising a new generation of children because of family problems. They are saints, and I am not. "</p>
<p>-Nope, they are not. They are lucky people who will stay young longer than the rest of us, who do not need to figure out some hobby in thier 60s to fill their time after work. I love having my grandkids in a summer. It is different for me, though. I do not raise them, I have them only for 2 - 3 weeks. They go to summer camp, as both of us work full time and I have very short vacation. House feels veru lively with them.</p>
<p>Another note is about lists / rules. I use very few as they create stress as if you have lists/rules, then you have to stick to them. My one rule for grandkids - no crying. If you cry, you must be in great pain, so we need to take you to emergency room. There is no other reason for crying, everybody can communicate using verbal skills. No rules for my college kid, but she is older, graduating in May. I was impressed by condition of her bedroom after she left, no pick up needed before cleanning lady. But it used to be messy in a past. Yes, they grow up, even if you do not have rules, it happens somehow.</p>