Fidget Spinners and Toothbrushes

A three-day weekend with rain in the forecast and in actuality.

Boo.

Fourth parts of swimming or some outdoor adventure went out the door.

Lucky for my family, I like a good cleaning out when everyone is trapped inside. As Camille said after we cleaned up her room, 'that was fun.' Ah, yes. Passing along the sweet joy of cleaning and organizing.

And, finding things.

My girls like to pack away various items in backpacks, purses, drawers and containers. Oftentimes, we spend many minutes looking for that one lost something and discover it in a backpack. (The girls have about four backpacks each. They also have about 10 purses. Each. Add to that an overwhelming amount of tote bags, wallets and pencil cases.)

We've got a lot of storage where you can hide Barbie clothes and accessories, American Girl clothes and accessories and My Little Pony clothes and accessories. Can you believe those little horses have clothes? Yes, tutus. And, head wear.

Pencils, lip gloss, stickers, candy, ponytail ties, rings, bracelets and nail polish also find their way into the many, many bags we have on hand.

When it is time to do a room clean up and put things in their place, we start by emptying out drawers. The girls have a teacher drawer, an American Girl drawer and a personal drawer. The girls can fill those drawers up with whatever they want. When it is too full, emptying begins. This go-round, we pulled the drawers out. We found a pair of G's basketball shorts that had wedged between the back and the bottom drawer. The girls have used this dresser for over a year.

We also found old Valentine's Day candy. Caroline had a half-eaten bag of Fritos in her drawer.

After we bagged up the trash, sorted through Barbies and made tough decisions about what play jewelry to keep, the girls had an organized room. We are on day two and it is still looking good.

Along with finding the shorts, the girls found Barbie shoes in the bottom of Caroline's teacher tote. Camille exclaimed, 'I've been looking for these.' (Really, the gold wrap up the legs stilettos? You missed those?)

The biggest find, sitting underneath the Michael Jackson Thriller hat and the Jessie from Toy Story hat, Caroline's fidget spinner. Overjoyed. She needed a fidget spinner after the week or so we've been looking for the fidget spinner. She was so anxious about where she had put it and why she couldn't find that bright yellow toy. It was in her room all along. Tucked under the hats in the dress-up area. Not in the place where it belonged, but in their room nonetheless.

What a find. Organizing may not feel like a fourth part to most of you, but to me, it brings such pleasure. Finding the lost toy made it an even better fourth part.

That wasn't the only organizing and clean-up effort. With only three more days of school, I went through the pile of art work and homework I've saved. Cleaned that out into a more modest, savable stack. I went through my files and whittled those down.

Then came the bathroom. The bathroom shared by the girls and now, that their brother is home from college for the summer -- it's his bathroom, too. Along with headbands, nail polish and play makeup, there now is boy stuff -- shaving cream, after shave and razors.

Plus, six toothbrushes.

He brought home six toothbrushes. I laid them out on the counter and asked him to decide if he needed all six. They haven't moved. All six are still there. They aren't labeled with the days of the week. There are six.

How long will they be there? Until he moves back to school in August.

How many times will I ask him to go through them? Several.

When will I eventually shove all six back in the drawer? Tomorrow.

I need a fidget spinner. Where did Caroline put that thing?

Right now, I'm so glad he is home. It's been enjoyable and pleasant. He's been spending time with us, eating with us, going to the pool and even staying at home with his sisters when G and I are out.

This week, he is off a couple of days so he is going to be home. I don't know if that means the toothbrushes will be put away, but it does mean he'll be having dinner with us. I don't know if he will empty the dishwasher or pull up the trash can, but it does mean he'll watch basketball with his dad.

I don't know if he will clean and organize his room, but it does mean he will be living here if even just for a few months out of the year. He's here.

With six toothbrushes on the bathroom counter.

Where's that fidget spinner?