Friday, February 19, 2010

I Taught Ethan to Clean Toilets Today - Oh The Drama!

For those of you who have little boys (and even some grown ones) in your life, you know that having the toilet seat left up is the least of our problems when it comes to the bathrooms in our homes.  You know what I'm talking about here.

Now, I promise you I clean my house and that includes my toilets, but no one would ever know it if they came into my home and needed to go potty.  I do have proof however.  There are three facilities in our home, one downstairs off the kitchen and living room, one upstairs for our son and one in the master bathroom.  The one in the master bathroom is always clean.  That should prove that I do clean them.  But you wouldn't know it by looking at the others.

To spare you the disgusting details I decided not to take "before" photos.  You're welcome.  I think you can use your imagination.  Just picture one eight year old boy whose only concern with being neat when he takes care of his business is in hoping mom or dad won't notice his untidy behavior.

Tired of having to go up to use my bathroom all the time because I couldn't stand the thought of using the downstairs one I took matters into my own hands today.

No more asking Ethan to be neat when he went.  No more begging him.  No more complaining.  Nope.  I took a different approach today.

I told him we were going to do a project together.  He got all excited when he heard this because he loves doing projects with mom.  Little did he know that the project was going to be learning to clean toilets.  (Okay, I did feel a little quilty here, I mean I had him all excited about doing something fun with mom and then whammo - I burst that balloon right out of the sky.)

Our pleasure trip started with about five minutes of his trying to escape the bathroom repeating the mantra, "I'm not going to do it, I'm not going to do it."  I wish I could have gotten some pictures of that for you but I was too busy blocking the door.

This is Ethan's Bathroom


Once he calmed down and resigned to the fact that he was going to have to clean the toilets the theatrics came out a blazing with double barrels.

"This is disgusting!  This is gross!"  sniffle, sniffle.  Since level one (complaining) wasn't working on me, he decided to move it up to level two - crying.


See the open mouth?  Just insert a lot of noise coming out of there.

Okay, before we go any further I promise you I am not a bad mom, really I am not.  But if I had caved here and let him off the hook of cleaning the toilets I would forever be forced to go to the neighbors each time natured  called.  Besides, I'm doing this for his future girlfriends and some day future wife.



So between the crying (okay whaling), occasional escape attempts and pretend vomiting sound effects he managed to do a very good job.  I had him clean the toilet in his bathroom and the one downstairs, I cleaned my own myself.


This is the downstairs bathroom



After that I needed a stiff drink...of vitamin water.

Send your good vibes out to me because little does he know, this has become his very own personal new chore around the house.

"Ay Carumba!"

29 comments:

  1. You are a good Mom! I have 3 girls so I don't know about little boys. Well think about what girls have every month. I don't know what they do but it gets on the seat. And the trash doesn't make it to the trash can that is beside the potty. I do make them clean it. It has been a long battle. But my time is almost up, I only have one left at home. And that just happened 2 weeks ago. They are gone before you know it.

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  2. This is great! I think it's important our girls and boys are equipped with the knowledge of how to complete many chores, and to do them well. My 11 year old daughter doesn't fully appreciate why she needs to know how to do the dishes and laundry, but on the other hand, my 6 year old boy loves to dust and fold towels. :)

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  3. Following you back via Friday Follow.

    Love your story on making him clean the toilet- maybe I will be brave enough to teach my 10 yr. how.

    Can't wait to read more :)

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  4. This sounds like one of the most painful "lessons" ever - for you to teach! Glad we found each other - I've really thought about homeschooling too!

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  5. Jamie,
    Good for you. Now maybe he'll be more careful. I have a big boy, my hubby, and I have to clean the toilet everyday. (I'm a neat freak anyway.) What's the deal? I asked him one time, "How many of my bodily functions do you have to clean up after...?" He couldn't think of any.

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  6. haha you are a good mama for teaching him good habits and how to clean. they don't like it now but they will be thankful to know this when they go out on their own.

    I'm following you from Friday Follow!
    Heather
    http://www.ratherbechangingdiapers.com/

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  7. I am so eagerly looking forward to my boys being old enough to take that chore, you have no idea..... I expect a similar reaction.

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  8. As far as I'm concerned you're a Rock Star!!! Way to parent!! And his future wife will be forever in your debt!!!
    My son has his own bathroom, upstairs and I really try not to look in there!! About once a month he HAS to clean it, but only because I make hime, not because he thinks it's dirty!!! And he's 16! I've failed miserably, but not you girlfriend!!!! Keep up the good work!

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  9. Loving and appreciating all the great comments. My computer died on me late lastnight. Geek squad is coming to fix tomorrow! Thank goodness for the geeks in our life. Anyway, may not hear much from me for a day or two but I'll be reading on my husbands Notebook and of course Tweeting. Luv ya all. Jamie

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  10. Thanks for checking out my blog! Following you back!

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  11. I need to teach my little one to clean toilets~! I absolutely hate doing it! I am coming over from friday follows, after you came by my blog! Come back and follow again, my google didnt pick you up.

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  12. I have a 17 month old boy...oh, the joys ahead of me! :)

    Following from Follow Me Friday! :)

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  13. LOL That is too funny. Maybe he'll be sure to aim better next time :)

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  14. Good job Ethan! And way to go mummy! Thanks for the hilarious post! Love it! :D

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  15. I am SO RELIEVED that someone else has this "boy" issue! They act like I am the one who DESTROYED the toilet and the area surrounding it...drama is RIGHT!
    GOOD FOR YOU! His wife will thank you one day!

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  16. What a great idea - I should teach my son to clean our toliets too! After all he is the one that makes most of the mess (if you know what I mean!) :) Following you from Friday Follow. I am a homeschool mom too - come stop by my homeschool blog :)

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  17. Carolina gal here too Jamie! What a terrific Mom you are! Your post is so funny but it was a great lesson for your son!

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  18. Great idea! My daughter, who will be 18 in a few days, still hates to clean the toilet!

    Manuela

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  19. wow! i need to have kids.lol.thats awesome

    :) also, i have changed my website, i'm now at www.mirauncut.com

    ++MIRA++

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  20. Great idea! LOL I can't imagine my kids doing it though.

    Hi there! Thanks for joining the Blog Hop. I'm following you now. Love your blog. I'll be back later to read more.

    Happy Follow Friday!

    Tami
    www.heartsmakefamilies.com

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  21. Thank you for your sweet comment on my post :) Blaine is a great place - what a small world that your husbands parents live there too!! We are trying to be $$smart at a young age. Congrats on 20yrs of marriage.. and... manyyyy more!!
    -Ria

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  22. Haha that is fantastic! Maybe I should try this with my 5yo twin's who seem to pee on the toliet within minutes of me cleaning it! I have 4 boys so I understand the "I do clean it but you wouldn't know it!"! I will say that when my 11yo decides to be mouthy he gets punished by doing a chore, and I always start with the bathroom first! Works so well for him (unlike my daughter who only needs a tech toy taken away to correct her mouth!).

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  23. Good for you! I have had my sweet boy clean toliets too... and he doesn't like it either. You've inspired me to try it again. :) LOL.

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  24. Hi Jamie,
    You have an award over on my blog, The Improbable Housewife. :)

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  25. Ha! Brabo! I absolutely love that you made your son do that. I see nothing wrong with sharing the wealth with the family. I have a 3 year old who recently potty trained and can not wait until I can send him in to clean up after himself. Now, if I could only teach the husband...oh, well. Baby steps. =)
    Mindy
    www.thesuburbanlife.com

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  26. Hi,
    Returning the Friday Follow favor -
    Thanks for following me...
    dawn hild
    http://iowahippiechick.blogspot.com

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  27. haha looks like he is enjoying himself. It is great getting kids to learn new responsibilities.

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  28. Love it!!! :) He probably enjoys the new responsibility!

    Happy Friday!
    Kel
    http:betweenthelines-kam.blogspot.com

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  29. I came by from Lady Bloggers. This post cracked me up and I can soooo relate. I have two boys, one teen is still living at home. I will not go into his bathroom! And I refuse to clean any of them anymore, my DH has to do the others while my son does his. Because we all know that any mess in there is not from me!

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Oh I'm so happy you checked out my blog. I absolutely love hearing from each and every one of you - it truely makes my day! Jamie