My house is a mess.

Three days of being 'frozen indoors' and all I have to say is I'm glad that none of you have dropped by my house today. It's not that bad, but as a self-proclaimed neat-freak at heart, it's enough to make me a little edgy. And not the kind of edgy that's cool- like in the fashion world or pushing my music to the top of the charts or anything like that. Nope. Just the kind of edgy that makes me snip at the kids to pick up around here, or hollers at them to stop jumping on the couch. I can walk from room to room and kick toys and pillows out of my way.
So, yeserday I pulled out the paints and thought maybe a "controlled mess" would get the urge to make a mess out of the kiddos systems. They were thrilled, of course. However, I haven't seen much improvement in their clean-up skills or in their listening skills even though we had an afternoon of art time.
Oh well. I'm sure the pioneer mothers would have gladly traded some messy rooms in a warm-enclosed environment in place of covered wagons and outhouses. So I will try to quit nagging the kids about cleaning up, and simply enjoy the fact that I have a warm, messy home.