Teen Labor

My kids have it pretty easy. (Stop laughing Chris!) They have a Mama who loves to do things for them and they take it for granted. They still have certain things they are required to do, but I will admit they are a bit spoiled in this area.

And then, every once in a while, I have a moment of brilliance that hits me like a bolt of lightening. Saturday was one of those days. My daughter and two of her friends wanted to go see a movie Saturday night. Since none of them are old enough to drive and they didn't have any luck conning anybody else to take them, they asked me if I would drive them. And BAM, it hit me. Make a deal with them! All three had to clean my house and then I would run them around. I would provide a list and they had to do everything on it. They readily agreed and I set about making the list. Here is what I came up with:

Gather all dirty laundry and take it to the laundry room
Put away all clean clothes
Pick up and empty all trash cans in house
Vacuum upstairs, the stairs and downstairs
Clean the girls bathroom (floors, toilet, mirror, counters and shower)
Clean Levi's bathroom (same as above)
Sweep the entry way
Sweep sunroom and kitchen
Sweep front porch and back porch
Wipe off kitchen counters
Wipe down dining table
Wipe down kid's play table
Bring down all clothes, shoes and other items no longer wanted so we can donate them
Move new vanity to Katie's room, organize her stuff in it

There are probably a couple other things in there I have forgotten. It took them about 2.5 hours, they missed a few areas and sped thru others (Chris says they just need more practice), but overall it was amazing. They were even happy and laughing as they did it. I then quite happily handed Katie movie money and drove them to the mall. You want to know what was really funny? One girl's mom called to make sure her daughter wasn't being a bother. I told her, nope, not at all, she was actually scrubbing a toilet right that minute. I don't think her mom believed me until she talked to her daughter. I think she thinks I have some kind of magical influence over these girls. Nope, I was just really lucky, and they really wanted to see a movie.

Life is good.