Little John does a great job of keeping his room clean. He did share a room with Thomas, but Thomas isn't as good at keeping his room clean. We offered John to have his own room but the "privilege" (if that's what he wants to call it :) of having his own room comes with keeping the kids bathroom clean WITHOUT getting mad at everybody for the messes they make but asking them to clean up their mess and if they don't, talking to mom or dad about it. It's a deal and it's going well.
Thomas, Jack, and Sam love to share a room and now John and I can hang out in one room with the three who like us to be around when they fall asleep. John's room is ALWAYS clean and so far so good.
Big John made all the beds. The bunkbed was just for convenience so it's not fancy but he got all the dimensions and design for the other two beds from Potterybarn and whipped up a couple beds for the boys. He's such a handy man.
I had a talk with little John about Jolie and me. We shared a room growing up and my side of the room was always a mess. Somehow everyone in my family got the clean bug but me. (I can organize, I just struggle to keep things in their place). I told him that I still struggle with keeping things clean (just in case he hadn't noticed) but I'm continually working on it and hoping that I magically get great at it. I asked him to not make Thomas feel bad but that we would continue to encourage him.
Which reminds me:
One time I heard John and Thomas in their room getting along great. After a while I went up and little John helped Thomas clean EVERYTHING. He helped him clean out his drawers; they organized the clothes and passed clothes down to Jack that didn't fit anymore. They went through any papers that Thomas had and got a box to keep the important ones; they made the beds, decorated the dressers and made the room really nice. They had fun doing it together and Thomas worked like crazy. I've encouraged John to be more encouraging to Thomas that way.
(Just like Jolie and my mom are to me when they come by and help me get things in order).
Oh thank heaven for family!
