In an attempt to require a bit more responsibility from my 'have-it-pretty-easy" children, I assigned an extra task for their weekly commission pay that they are getting. One of the new tasks is them taking turns unloading the dishwasher every day (I'm nice, so I take Sundays). I'm kicking myself for not doing this before. Not only have I gone 2 days without emptying the dishwasher, I've also been able to put off reloading it because I am waiting for them to get home from school (and we all know how I love to procrastinate). Another unexpected bonus is that I get to do a treasure hunt every evening while I'm trying to get dinner ready. "Now where would that pasta strainer be? O, yeah, of course it would be sitting right next to the cereal boxes!"
It is amazing to me that although my dear wee ones have been getting silverware, plates, cups and all sorts of other utensils from our kitchen cabinets for, oh, let's say the last 9 years, when it comes time to replace the clean item from the dishwasher, it's just a mystery as to where it should go.
The funniest thing was me trying to explain to Brainy Boy that we have two sets of silverware - an old set that dad and I had from back when we first got married, and a newer set, that actually still has all the pieces. It's not a huge deal, but generally I do separate the two sets so we eat from matching forks and spoons at the dinner table. As I tried to help him distinguish the two sets by observing that one has a flowered pattern and the other does not, he looked at me as though I were totally nutso, not getting it at all - kind of like "Uh, Ma, a fork's a fork." As you may have guessed, we've eaten dinner with an eclectic mix of utensils for the past two nights. I will say though, that both nights, my dishwasher has been empty by dinnertime without any reminder from me, so I'm not complaining.
It is amazing to me that although my dear wee ones have been getting silverware, plates, cups and all sorts of other utensils from our kitchen cabinets for, oh, let's say the last 9 years, when it comes time to replace the clean item from the dishwasher, it's just a mystery as to where it should go.
The funniest thing was me trying to explain to Brainy Boy that we have two sets of silverware - an old set that dad and I had from back when we first got married, and a newer set, that actually still has all the pieces. It's not a huge deal, but generally I do separate the two sets so we eat from matching forks and spoons at the dinner table. As I tried to help him distinguish the two sets by observing that one has a flowered pattern and the other does not, he looked at me as though I were totally nutso, not getting it at all - kind of like "Uh, Ma, a fork's a fork." As you may have guessed, we've eaten dinner with an eclectic mix of utensils for the past two nights. I will say though, that both nights, my dishwasher has been empty by dinnertime without any reminder from me, so I'm not complaining.
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