Desperate Times...

....call for desperate measures.

The 10 year old is turning 11 in a few weeks.

Due to some weekend conflicts, we are having his birthday party a bit early this year.

This means I need to be ready for 12 fifth graders to blast down the door on Friday afternoon. 

This house is so not ready.

When I shared with my two little cherubs that tonight we would be cleaning up for the party, the oldest quickly informed me that fifth graders do not care if the house is clean.  While he is most likely correct, my assumption is that most fifth grade parents would prefer that I do not lose their children in the clutter. 

And a clean toilet is always a good idea on any given day.

So....tonight I may have pulled out a version of bribery house cleaning.

I told the boys that on Saturday night, their dad and I would be having a movie night.  If they had their rooms cleaned up in 20 minutes, they would receive an invitation to that movie night.  If not, they would have to go to bed while we stayed up and watched a fun movie.

Voila...rooms cleaned in 20.

Next we moved to the living room.  I set the timer and told them that if the living room was picked up and vacuumed before the timer went off, we would also have pizza for movie night. 

We really must be very boring people, because they acted like this was the best thing ever.

After the living room, we moved to the dining room table, which was conveniently covered with folded laundry.  This time I asked them what they wanted to earn next for movie night.  Their choice: pop.

Pop?

These children are seriously deprived.

But, hey, I was good with pop.

We set the timer again, and in no time, the kitchen and dining room were lookin' good.

I must say, I am fairly proud of myself.

The house is pretty clean, and we planned a great family night in the process.

And...I don't have to cook.

It's a win-win for everyone.