Monday, February 02, 2009

real life

I was inspired when I found a post about what our homes are 'really' like and was so pleased to see that there is even a flickr group of photos depicting what the inside of our homes are like most often. I know when I am scouting around in the 'blogosphere' I am often dismayed to see that these people's homes are immaculate and that they manage to finish the crafts that are started with their children.

I am happy to see that I am not alone in my imperfections. It is wonderful that there are others out there who just use their forearm to clear off the kitchen table in order to take a photograph or realize after they've taken a picture of their beautiful little angels that there is a great green slime sliding down their upper lip.


So in the spirit of being human, here is a normal day at our house...

It actually gets difficult to enter/exit the house often with all the shoes, bags and coats that litter the floor in this location.
This is Briar and my bedroom. It is a minor miracle that my bed is made.
Liv's room. I often just shut the door.
The counters are completely filled and cleaned off multiple times a day. Where does all this 'stuff' come from?! And, yup, Liv is skipping in the kitchen and that is still one of the Christmas decorations hanging above the table.
Bloody Tinker Toys. Everywhere. We haven't gotten into the small lego yet and I am sure that it is the only toy that rivals these bits the extremely painful feeling when trod on. Briar is going through a phase where he can't just get toys out that he'd like to play with - he must empty the ENTIRE container onto the floor. As I tidy, I keep trying to assure myself that the physical activity of the action outweighs the annoyance I have for needing to pick up for the fifth time in one day.

What I should have done is take a photo of my craft table. THAT is a mess. An ever evolving mess!




16 comments:

Hallie said...

This is great! I am so inspired!

Anonymous said...

that made my morning, I think with all the stress going on in lives we need to decide what is really important to focus our energy on and it is not the pile of school newsletters, or crumbs under my table.

Would love to have you come for a visit, but I have to clean first...kidding.

Robin

Anonymous said...

I saw that post and loved it too. It's a nice reminder that nobody's perfect, and blogs are only a brief snapshot taken from a very specific angle.

Love your photos!

Ian Newbold said...

Loving the stars in your bedroom, and the playroom is awesome. They're supposed to look like that.

Anonymous said...

It looks like everyone is having fun, and isn't that the point of having toys! You have a new kitchen floor, when did that happen?
xoxo Danielle

darcie said...

do you know I recently uploaded pics to share, only to "unload" them because of all the shit in the background (foreground, sideground, etc etc)? I was horrified to go thru my pics and see that yes, indeed I must live like that because EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of my pictures has numerous objects that do not belong where they are. Such is life right? So very glad to see that I am not alone! Thank you for making my day - no week, no YEAR!!

Anonymous said...

Oh good...I am glad to see that I am not alone. Other houses do look like mine. YEH!
Great post! You made my day.
Jen

V said...

Yes, stepping on Lego pieces does hurt! I can attest to that. :o) But a good friend suggested something that I thought was a great idea. When her kids dump out all the thousands of pieces, they do so on a sheet on the floor, so all she or the kids have to do later is pick up the sheet and dump the pieces back in the box. Genius, right?

Your house looks so warm and inviting. Personally I prefer houses that look lived in and not like museums. I did a similar post awhile back. I took pics of all my favorite and meaningful things in my house. Was a great post if I do say so myself! :o)

Amber said...

Love it.
Noone is perfect and how the cracks begin to show over time..heheheh

Tricia said...

Your house is a home, and a beautifully lived in one at that! Mine is also a home, because I love my children's creativity and because I lived with a perfectionistic mom my whole life and I am determined that my children can feel free to live in their home, not live around it. Unfortunately at the moment, we are in the process of selling our house so it is a little less messy than usual and I hate it!
You are an amazing mother. I am glad there are other creative moms out there who live in their houses.
Keep on going!
Tricia :)

Unknown said...

i am so glad others live in their homes too! yes, i have piles of sorted laundry to be washed on my kitchen floor (my laundry closet if off it), but my kids and i were too busy playing candyland to do it!

we have the same kids chair but ours is navy.

i adore your blog btw.

Anonymous said...

I love peaking at your lovingly lived in home! Thank you! You're inspiring me to do the same. I'll have to let you know if I post my own version! There's no shame in living in an imperfectly tidy home, why not rejoice in it? :)

Anonymous said...

your honesty and openess are so refreshing.

Anonymous said...

Little Lego -- I love it!

The kids don't seem quite so interested, but it keeps me amused for hours.

Mis-spent youth, clearly...

Anonymous said...

I love the pics of your house- it looks just like mine! In fact, I was feeling kind of down about it until I read this blog. I still have a couple of Christmas decorations sitting in my front room, too! Yesterday I went to the library and checked out some books on de-cluttering my house. My favorite- "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" by Peter Walsh. How damn funny is that title? You are lovely...just wanted you to know. Keep the faith.

Anonymous said...

The house I grew up in was like this (actually, with 5 kids it was a lot more chaotic). My husband's house was immaculate. His mother employed a maid that came while he was at school so he wasn't even aware. He thought his mother always kept the house clean.
Imagine what it was like to marry such a man! He would get annoyed if the paper was left on the table over night.

Once I let him in on his mother's secret and I asked him what was more enjoyable - playing at his house or a friend's more "messy" house he relaxed. Good thing because we can't afford a maid and I'm not done with that paper!

(yikes, sorry for the long post. I can't write that on my own blog as my mother-in-law reads it and would be horrified that I told the internet her secret)