A Clean House and Kids Who Love Each Other

This is my father, when he was probably about the age I am now. He has way more awesome hair than me, but I too could rock those high-waisted green pants

When I was a kid, any time a gift giving occasion (birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day, etc.) was approaching and we kids asked my mom what she wanted she would always say "I just want a clean house and kids who love each other." And we would always roll our eyes. We just wanted to go and buy something and be done with it! We didn't want to have to clean or get along. So inevitably we would buy her something she didn't really need and then argue in the messy basement that we refused to clean about who had dibs on the TV.

I feel kinda bad about that now. And now I get what my mom was getting at. As a parent, you don't really need a lot of stuff. Sure, I love stuff! I have a whole Amazon wishlist full of stuff that I want. (Also, Father's Day is my 35th birthday. I'm just sayin'.) But that's not what I want to get from my kids. It is really the simple things, like having a clean house, and having kids not scream at each other for large chunks of the day, that would make me really happy. So here, in no particular order, is the list of the simple things that I hope my kids give to me this father's day:

• When you wake up on my day off at 7am and I am still sleeping, you don't need to come into my bedroom to announce that you are awake and you are going to the bathroom now.
• When I am in the bathroom, please leave me alone. Why must that moment be when a fight breaks out, or the Wii won't work, or you need to tell me about the new level you just made on Minecraft? Can it wait 5 min, please?
• Please don't make me cut the crusts of your bread today. I know this is my own failure as a parent that I introduced you to the idea that crusts could be removed. If I could give any advice to new parent's it would be don't ever take the crusts off your children's bread! My children won't even eat the outer edge of a tortilla because they say it is the crust.
• Let me use the iPad sometimes.
• No Caillou or Twist (It doesn't go a little something like this) for an entire day.
• On that note, can we listen to my music in the car? And not The Laurie Berkner Band?
• Don't make me find your stuff. I rarely know where my own stuff is. I most certainly don't know where Gumdrop the Caterpillar, or the Wii remote or a very specific hot wheels car is.
• Just love each other. There is nothing better than when your kids get along.

So, Mom, sorry for thinking your gift idea was lame all those many years ago. Once again, you are proven right. And to my Dad who I think might occasionally read this blog, Happy Father's Day. I'm still hoping to someday measure up to being the kind of dad that you are. And I'm jealous of your hair (and your green pants.)

If you were unable to get any material gift ideas from my Amazon wish list, last year I wrote a Father's Day gift guide for Today's Mama. I think there are still some good ideas there. Check it out.