Happy Stuff

Yesterday, my mom Martha Stewart'ed my home.
See, I've had this problem. I grew up in the same house for most of my life. I lived there for 20 years, basically, until I got married. In my old home, I knew where things went. They'd gone in the same places for years. My mom will be the first to admit she's total Type A, OCD, clean freak. It's her way of having some sense of control over life. I swear you could walk into our home at any point in time, as long as there weren't any major renovations going on, and it would be spotless.  It's still that way. Growing up, we knew there were expectations of how things needed to be. Don't get me wrong; we still got to be kids. We'd grab our sleeping bags and slide down the stairs on them, all Slip-'n-Slide-like during sleepovers. We'd have pizza and movie nights in the living room. We made messes, but we knew those messes needed to be cleaned eventually. Everything had its place, and it stayed that way. We all had chores, and we did them. Because my mom said so. That's just how it was.

Fast forward to now. I could give you the entire story of how we got to where we are. Actually, I did, but just erased it, because it was going to take over this whole post. But after almost 5 years of marriage, I was at a loss. I didn't know where things needed to go. Where they should go. Where all of this crap that we couldn't throw away, but that didn't have a home, needed to go. If certain random objects should be thrown out/donated/kept. And where in the world to put all of Noah's toys. I needed an objective opinion. I needed my mom.

So yesterday, we spent five hours organizing. Along the way, she'd give me tips, which I promptly wrote down. I made a list of supplies that will make our lives a million times simpler and more organized. She gave Brad a little come-to-Jesus talk about how we can make our little home a "palace", and it's not that hard; we just need to agree on prioritizing what we want to do (like finally paint our kitchen!) to it.

In the meantime, this girl is extremely happy. I feel like I can breathe again.

***

While we were cleaning, Noah found his old high chair. And has been obsessed with it ever since. Yesterday, he fell asleep in it. This morning, he's eating his breakfast in it. It's actually really cute. And helpful.

***

We've been doing lots of crafty, simple type fun lately. Like cardboard box playing. And sidewalk painting. I prefer that over video games and tv any day.

(1 cup corn starch + 1 cup water, pour into muffin tins, then add food coloring)

I would also like to say how happy I am that android finally got instagram. I've been jealous of my iphone friends for a while now. I saw where some of my friends have uploaded like 5000 pictures already. I have a lot of catching up to do...


***

This time next week?
I'll be sitting right here:

via

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am.

I don't normally announce vacations before we actually leave, because that's supposed to be a big internet no-no. But I can't help it. Plus, our neighbors will be watching our house like hawks... with a loaded shotgun... ready for anyone that might try something. Okay, not really. But we do have a cop as a neighbor, so I'm not too concerned.

***

Speaking of our neighbors...

Ever since my bro-in-law came to get their trampoline from our yard, we've been looking to get one for Noah. He loves to bounce and jump, and he had so much fun on theirs. I felt bad that he didn't really have much to play with back there, except for his sand box.

Last week, our neighbor came over and said they were about to put their trampoline on craigslist, but they wanted to offer it to us first. For free.

I thought I might cry. Instead I gave him a hug. And eventually some cupcakes. We just couldn't justify spending the money at the moment, even on one from craigslist. So this was totally unexpected, but such a major blessing.

We have the best neighbors ever. And they've made one little boy very very happy.

 

Messy Mom Monday

So remember last week, when I piggybacked on Brittany and Jess's posts about being a perfectly imperfect mom? And remember how I said it'd be fun if all the moms out there in blogland rallied and, in a way, celebrated the fact that we don't all have it all together? Well right after I posted it, I was informed that this exact idea was in the works. Great minds, people.

So this is the state of our situation as of 9 o'clock this morning. Since then, things have changed a little... for example, I swapped my pj pants for yoga pants (because there's a HUGE difference, right?).

Yep. Christmas pj pants that are way too big on me, because they're technically guy pants. But they're really comfy. I wear Christmas pj's all year round, actually. They pair nicely with my Kenny Chesney shirt, don't you think?

Hot sauce that was left on the table last night.

I'm sure that "keep refrigerated" label is just a suggestion.

Guess what today is!

 

The living room.

I have a chair that's supposed to go in that empty corner where the Christmas tree once was. But I'm currently in a battle with the husband. He wants to keep it upstairs, because it's the perfect "video game chair". Sigh.

I'm in the middle of another project. I've wanted to paint this bookshelf for a while now. I finally primed most of it (as much as one can do while keeping a curious toddler out of the paint). I let it dry outside, then brought it back in and stuck it right there until I can finish.

It also makes a nice place to put your wallet and newspaper ads.

 

 

Oh looky there. A lonesome sock on the stairs.

And no, I didn't drop it while bringing down the laundry.

I think it's been there for three days now. Sometimes I like to leave things, just to see if "someone else" will happen to take care of it. Especially since it's not my sock, and I'm positive I didn't put it there.

 And finally, you'll remember this familiar scene from last week's post.

Couch cushions on the floor with random junk everywhere.

I'm proud to say that most of this stuff has been taken care of now.

The cushions are put away, along with the hot sauce. And I'm about halfway through the laundry.

However, the sock is still there.

Just keepin' it real, folks.

Have a Happy Monday!

And if you can muster up some courage, feel free to join the party!

Keepin' It Real

A blog I follow did a post yesterday about the feeling of inadequacy that seems to go along with motherhood sometimes. You look around and see all these other moms strolling their clean, dolled up babies in the most beautiful stroller imaginable. They somehow have their hair done, teeth brushed, house clean, and no bags under their eyes. And then it hits you that somehow?... you must be doing something wrong. Because your house is a wreck, you forgot to shower yesterday, and you can't remember the last time you got more than 3 hours of sleep. All those moms are lucky. Their babies are sleeping through the night. Their toddlers are angels. Their cars are immaculate. Their husband is home by 5pm every evening, so they get a nice break while hubby does the bath routine. They have plenty of extra time to get things done during the day.

Or do they? Are they being totally truthful? Or are they just putting on an act? Are they secretly exhausted? Maybe in order to save themselves from another onslaught of unsolicited advice, they just lie. I'd never even considered that option!
Of course, I don't think ALL moms who "have it together" are lying. Of course not. But the reality is that no one is perfect. And to play the comparison game and putting on an act to make yourself feel better is just a waste of time and energy.

My friend Jess went the extra step and showed us what real motherhood looks like. How a mom of 4 kids (2 being babies) actually lives.

And then I thought how fun it would be if there was some huge mommy-blog movement. Kind of like a party. Where all the moms peeled back the curtains and were honest as to how they really lived. What part of life they tend to struggle with. Because really? Nobody has it all together. It's not humanly possible. Somewhere, something is having to be compromised. Whether it's toys all over the living room or contemplating being a SAHM vs a Working Mom vs a Work from Home Mom. Whether it's a rough patch in a marriage or worrying about your kid not talking/crawling/walking/eating with a spoon/getting teeth/being shy/not sleeping/etc... there's always going to be something that keeps you from feeling like you "have it all together". And I think we just have to choose what's worth focusing on and what we're willing to let slide. And those choices are different for everyone. For me, it's choosing to run instead of vaccuum every day. Or working on "pretend play" and speech with Noah instead of blogging again.

And to tag along with Brittany and Jessica, here's what my house looked like yesterday.
I should probably note that it's not always this bad. But for the sake of "keeping it real"...

Every day, without fail, Noah throws all of the cushions on the floor.
Here he is, lounging around, completely oblivious to the chaos.

Random toys are strewn throughout the house. At the end of the day, I try to tidy up and at least create some room to walk. But to be honest, it doesn't always happen. Sometimes all I want to do shut my bedroom door, climb in bed, and pretend it's not there.

We've been purging some, trying to redo our office/guest room.
Here's our trash/donation pile, complete with a couple of dirty (fyi, not stinky) diapers.

I'm embarrassed to say that our Christmas garland is still up.
The tripod has yet to find a permanent home.
Whoops... there's another diaper. Hey, it was raining.
I hate sloshing through mud to go to the dumpster outside.

Hence, why the recycling is still by the door...



Remember the spot where our pretty Christmas tree was?
Yeah. Well now it's being occupied by a tent.

I think you've seen enough.
However, if I were going to play the "my house is perfect!" game?
I'd probably take a picture in this room. Because as of yesterday, it was the only one worth showing.

But don't worry. By 10 o'clock last night, cushions were back on the couch, diapers were thrown away, (most toys) put in bins, and items were donated this morning. However, the tent and garland still remain.




(no original source found)

And this concludes our tour of Casa de Kemper... keepin' it real style.