Messy Hessy and all that Jazz

Yes, the Banks fam survived Disney World. and it survived us. Oh, what stories there are to tell. But that is for another day. Loved it as I did (and I REALLY did love it) I am sort of Disney-d out. So much gets skimmed in the retelling that it seems unfair to reflect here in a blase way. I will update on that later, I promise, complete with pics of frazzled and hot kids, me with a humidity-induced afro and gorgeous husband on silly rides.

But today I am posting on the messiest children's rooms on the planet, yes, I dared to say planet because if your kids' rooms can top these, then you deserve some sort of big-ass prize like a year's supply of Swiffer Sweepers or a Dyson vac (I'm not sharing mine!!!) or some other stupendous thing that I will say I'll send you and won't. So. If your children's rooms are worse than mine, I'll send you stuff. Maybe a box of McDonald's toys I've gleaned from the pile or terrible vending machine stuffed animals (or worse yet clowns) or busted Hotwheels tracks or piles of crayon nubs or half-eaten sidewalk chalk buckets.... MoooHoooHawHaw....

So how do you make children clean their rooms? Gwen, even threatened with no allowance ever or no sleepovers or no food or no anything will clean up minimally but as soon as my back is turned, the crap pile is back. And whenever I tell Fletcher it's time to clean up his room he gets a hangdog attitude and sadly muses, "But I like it messy. I can find anything I need here!" (The top two photos are of his room, the bottom three of Gwen's).

And maybe he's right. Creativity thrives in chaos. Or so I've lived. My whole life. As my little sister once said to our mother about our home, "Mom, this is one messy hessy!" And how. We grew up neck-deep in craft projects and magazine piles. And I am certainly not a neat freak (and let me tell you - neither is hubby!) We live in a large, divinely dumpy old home where even the yard isn't immune from "Stuff" like the giant trampoline with draping walls that have seen better days and loads of bedraggled garden plants, overgrown sunflowers and sun-faded Little Tykes toys. And home-made bricks, a broken car, collected busted glass for a "someday" mosaic - it goes on and on. Inside and out. And really, I like it that way. But how much is too much?

Come on, readers - anybody out there got a messy hessy - or messy kids rooms they'd like to share? I'd love to hear your thoughts and see you photos...