Mirror, mirror, on the wall! Who's the messiest one of all?

As most parents (especially moms) know, kids' rooms can quickly become the "black hole" of the house. Who knows what's in there, how it got there, and if it will ever again see daylight?

Last week Afton and I have a very large and unpleasant (to put it nicely) encounter regarding her (lack of) care for her room. As a result she lost possession of her American Girl doll, and lost the privilege of television and computer time for a week.

So Mom to the rescue! Saturday we spent about 4 hours cleaning out, sorting out, throwing out, and putting away whatever remained. At the end of the process the room looked pristine. Now she has to keep it this way to keep any earned privileges.

To make the process easier to repeat and maintain, I suggested that we take photos of her room that we can print out and have as a reference for her. You know...picture-worth-a-thousand-words theory!

Off she went with the camera to have her own "designer photo shoot." Thank heaven for digital! Once she was done, she returned to me with the camera and urged me to look at her photos.

Of course, I obliged. I scrolled through the dozen or so photos, commenting on how nice her room looked, doesn't she want to keep it this way, etc.

Suddenly the photos abruptly changed into chaos and catastrophe! She had poked her head and the camera into my "scrapbook/sewing" room and taken a photo of the current disaster-in-progress.

Afton: "So Mom. How come your room is so messy?"

Mom: " I dunno. Maybe because I spend all my time cleaning up after everyone else?"

Guess the next person to lose TV will be me! Better get to work and clean up my room!