the "keeping it real 2009" campaign

so pam had a "keeping it real" post on her blog the other day & i loved every bit of it & knew i wanted to join in.

you see, i like interior design...i love looking at & collecting magazines with ideas and inspiration in hopes of one day being able to incorporate some of the ideas into my own home. i love going to the parade of homes every year...for the same reason...inspiration. the only problem with this little passion of mine is this.

so i look at these magazines & go to these home shows and see perfection...literally. i mean everything is beautiful, the beds are perfectly made & don't have wrinkle in them...everything is immaculately cleaned & organized & coordinating...the kitchens have bowls of fresh fruit or freshly baked goodies on the counter...there's fresh flowers in every room, i mean really, everything is just blissful. so of course, i look at these beautiful homes & i think..."i want my house to be and feel like that." and then i want to recreate it in my own house......and i am learning that that is just not realistic. i've had to remind myself that those homes are not lived in. and homes are for living in! yes, i can have a neat & tidy house MOST of the time...but to be cleaning up after my kids ALL day long is not my idea of fun. i'm learning that i'm only going to be in this stage of my life once...and then it's going to be gone & if i don't make the most of it & try to enjoy each day...messy house or not...i'll look back and regret it. i'm learning (slowly but surely) to go with the flow...if things are bit chaotic around the house & the kids want me watch tv with them...but i really have soooo much to do and can't possibly take the time to sit down...i'm learning to SIT DOWN & enjoy a half hour of watching animal planet or whatever we watch. and you know what? everything turns out to be okay. eventually things get put away (it may be days later), but it all gets done, eventually!

so anyway...here's my pictures. now this was my house sunday afternoon after church. yes people, i didn't use saturday as my get ready for sunday day...but that's okay...because sunday was still a great day!

here's our table with a sippy cup full of old milk from the night before & some lovely folded laundry that has a tint of mildew smell to it, seeing as how i left it in the washer for a day too long. BUT there is a solution to that...soak the clothes in the washer for about 30 minutes with a combination of 1 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup baking soda...it works great! trust me...i would know! :)

then we move on to the kitchen floor...emerson's been cooking up a storm in her kitchen & had a hay day. mind you, just after i took these pictures, zac brought me 2 bowls that emerson had stuck in her kitchen's fridge that were full of rotten cucumbers and olives from a week and a half ago. that was a pretty sight...and smell.

the kids' table...and yes it is right in front of the tv, and yes they do eat their meals there, and yes they do watch tv while they're eating.

so here's my magical laundry basket. this thing has come in very handy many times when i'm in a hurry to get things straightened up before someone's coming over. the only problem is that it takes me a week to get it unloaded. so here sits this basket...and this time i did better, it only sat like that for probably 3 days...something to be proud of! :)

i had to laugh to myself the other day when i was thinking back to the first 2 or 3 years of our marriage. every sunday we'd have like a 5 course meal...roast, potatoes, carrots, jello, and rolls. i'd get the table all fancied up and put the food in pretty dishes, it was always something to look forward to. well, life is different now, and we've probably had that meal once this whole year. but there will come a day when i'll have more time and energy to cook bigger meals...but for now, i like simple. it works best for us at the moment...

so i made some progress and cleared off the table for us to eat...and moved the clothes upstairs to my room to join the other clothes that were already draping the chair for a few days....and there they stayed until the next day when i forced myself to get the job done...and i must say...it always feels so good afterwards!

here's the hall closet...as you can tell emerson has definitely been there ripping the toothbrushes out of their package in the process. not sure what she accomplished in all of that, but i'm learning that that's just what 2 year olds do...they like to make messes of anything they can get their hands on. and hey, if it makes her happy...fine. one day i'll have my nice, pretty, perfectly organized closet...but now's not the time for that...at least not for me! :)