Never-Ending Battle

It seems like no matter what I do, I can never keep my house as clean as I want it. This morning is a perfect example: Kenneth is eating yogurt in his high chair, I pour Andrew a bowl of cereal, turn around to finish cooking my eggs, only to find Andrew trying to take his bowl of cereal upstairs....really? I immediately tell him he may not eat his cereal upstairs and needs to come sit down at the table. He throws a gigantic tantrum and spills some of his cereal on the floor while walking back towards the kitchen, only to stop at his booster seat (he never sits in it) next to the wall and puts his cereal down again. I again tell him he must eat at the table. This time I grab the cereal and place it on the table, he throws another tantrum and sends himself to his room to whine/cry it out. I know, I'm such a mean mom. Meals are always a cleanliness battle, most of the time I end up with a table filthy and the floor covered in food the kids didn't want. And although meals are a challenge, nothing compares to their toys. I have recently moved the kids' toy box near the stairs because it fits perfectly in the little nook there, but it seems like it was a big mistake. Why you ask, well let me show you. 

This is a daily occurrence at our home, toys making their way down the stairs and into the living room at the bottom, not to mention the upstairs covered. I always feel so bad, because there have been plenty of occassions where people show up at our house unannounced usually while it looks like this. So, for those of you lucky ones who tend to show up when it does look like this, forgive me, I swear I do try to keep my house in somewhat of an order. And until my kids figure out that it's really not that funny to dump all their toys out of the toy box (and make mom pick them up later while asking over and over again to help), it appears this will continue to be my reality.