Extreme Makeover

Sheesh. Time slips by almost undetected these days. I wake up - usually to a whine, a yell or a foul odor...or a combination of all three - then after much needed diaper changes I whisk the kids downstairs to dine on a mildly sugary breakfast and I embark on my day of productivity (all pre-planned the night before). Go me! Usually by noon or so I settle for survival over productivity and set my aim to complete at the very least ONE task on my to-do list. Sometimes I get that one task done. No, really, I do. Sometimes.
This week a neighbor moved from our street and left me with a bit of mother-to-mother advice on her last afternoon in our circle. "You have four kids, you need to get over that." "That" being ownership of a home that isn't in shambles. She'd come by to borrow the telephone, like the whole phone complete with wires and everything, and noticed my slight panic as I scanned my disaster zone of a house that afternoon. Oh, why do people only come over when I decide to live dangerously and say yes to the restless natives, I mean, my children? "Why yes, you may use that mattress left on the floor by our semi-live-in-guest-uncle as a gymnastics mat. Yes, you can bounce toys off it, and each other off it and YES you may play with play-dough, eat pancakes drowning in syrup and use unwashable markers ALL AT THE SAME TIME! Yes, you may have all your toys down from the shelves, pretend you are a marching band and parade over the fresh carpet-like layer of toys AND the crackers Noah left behind on the floor. Yes, you may even eat the newly formed cracker crumbs. Yes, the pillows can be pretend islands scattered across the kitchen floor, I mean, ocean and look, the syrup mess helps them stay in place as you jump island to island! Wonderful! Yes, you may bring EVERY bug you find in the backyard inside the house to be your pets and yes, clothing is optional today and diapers are as well! Sure, eat candy for lunch, pull the files from the filing cabinet at lightning speed to make "rain" and don't forget to empty the bottom two pantry shelves as well. Yes, yes, yes!!!...Wait!!! What do you mean someone is at the door? Quick! Stomp on those bugs, pick up those islands and put on some pants!"
Why do mothers fall in to the two extremes: "hyper-clean mom" or "to-hell-with-the-house mom"??? With four kids it seems that many guests expect my house to be a trash heap while others think that with each baby delivered I'm endowed with more superpowers to juggle homemaking responsibilities, child-rearing and more with great ease, all with a couple hours of rest each night. Well, here's the truth - in our house we ebb and flow. We have good days and bad days - and we have a well, lived-in home.
So, yeah, before that phone was returned to my house the kids were bathed, the house was spotless and smelled of green, eco-friendly cleaners mixed with a garlic/lemon roasted chicken. The kids were lined up in order by height and were reciting memory verses and mathematical equations as I opened the door to my former neighbor.
"Get over it..." NEVER!!! (read "never" with first finger pointed high in the air and much enthusiasm). I will never get over doing my best! Some days my best is getting through the shower, but other days I can pull off an outing with all four kids, prepare a three course meal (I am married to a food-driven Italian!) and still manage to get to bed with a clean kitchen. "Best" is relative to the day, (and let's not forget, the children) but still totally attainable. I think a better term would be diligence, right?
So, what kind of mom are you??? I'm in the middle - not too hyper and not too hellish either. I used to be hellish...oh, the horror! I've never been able to reach hyper-clean status for more than half an hour and even then it was debatable.