Kids, Blogging, And Keeping It Real: In the Land of "Mom"

Well, y'all...  I focused just a little too much of my energy on that buffet, so I have spent the last two days playing catch up doing absolutely nothing.  I have vegetated.  And I'm sure you know what has happened...  You know how it goes, don't you moms?  You take a couple of days to catch your breath after an exhausting project and then WHAM!  Its like a miniature wrecking crew hits your house. Actually, it did - and usually you call the members by their full name when they're being naughty.

I kind of regretted not really doing much but laundry (because it was either that or the older boys were going to mutiny) and certainly nothing in the crafty department, but I figured I would get back on track today.

And then, I woke up to this...

It was if the Lord was laughing at me saying:

"No sanding for you!"

"No painting for you!"

"Only CLEANING for you!"

"BAH HA HA HA HA HA"

Nah...  I don't really think the Lord thinks that way, but I do think He knows that I really, really, REALLY needed a day to focus only on getting the house back up to snuff without feeling like I had to be doing something creative.  I have to admit that sometimes I do feel pressured to blog about better and better things each day - especially since I have watched the numbers of visitors to my page grow the last week or so.  They might not be commenting, but they are looking.  (YAY!)  Do any of y'all veteran bloggers feel that way?

Anyway.

I decided when I started this blog that it wasn't going to be the usual blog showcasing how perfect I am, but rather how imperfect I am.  The Lord knows I put enough pressure on myself in real life (what mother doesn't?), without doing to the same in the blogosphere.  There was only one perfect person that has walked this earth and He certainly isn't sitting behind a computer blogging.  ;)

  

Sometimes as I'm looking through all the blogs out there, I wonder how these women can have it all together.  Their homes are immaculate (How do they have so much WHITE with KIDS???), their crafts are fantastic, and everything seems perfectly put together.  Where is the wreck and chaos that comes from a home with children???  Well...  That isn't me.  Its never been me.  And it probably never will be me.

When I'm working on a project, I find it nearly impossible to do it all.  Either the house is clean or I have a fantastic craft to share.  Obviously, I cannot multi-task to the degree that others can.  So, please know that if I've posted a project, my house is a disaster area. Its a full-time job keeping on top of 5 kids worth of messes in and of itself!  And I'll never pretend otherwise.  ;)

So, I've used this rainy day to clean this destroyed house.  Fun, fun.  Not.  In fact, its so not fun that I'm now taking a mini-break to blog while I bake some Oatmeal and Raisin, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate Chip cookies.  No, not from scratch, unless you call taking it from the refrigerator, scoring the lines on the block, and popping it in the oven "from scratch".  That's about as Better Crocker as I get.  LOL!

I recently read about a new cleaning product that I wanted to try over at the Susie Harris Blog.  She was asking for opinions from her readers and overwhelmingly everyone loved the product. 

Has anyone else ever used Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day cleaning products?

When I saw that Walmart carries them, I looked for some the next time I had to venture into one.  Being we live in Iowa, we're always a little behind the times, so I was holding my breath that they even carried it.  Fortunately, I was able to find the All Purpose Cleaner and the Countertop Spray.  Unfortunately, the only scent available was Lavender.  I was really looking forward to trying their Geranium, Basil, or Honeysuckle scents.  I am so jealous of y'all that live in metropolitan areas!

Well, my opinion of the product is that it is AWESOME!  I'm not really big into the whole "green" movement, but as far as a cleaner goes, its phenomenal.  And the scent?  WOW!  It smells so good that you actually want to keep cleaning.  Coming from me, that says a lot, as I hate cleaning.  And not only does it smell good, it works!  Has anyone else tried these?  What is your favorite scent?

So, I've cleaned the day away and finished up the laundry.  There are just not enough hours in the day, I tell ya!  I'm always really good about getting the laundry washed and folded.  Putting it away is another story.  The hubs made me laugh last night when he told me if they ever made an Olympic sport out of clothes stacking, I'd win the gold medal.  What ever made him say that I wonder...

I mean, just because they're over head high and you have to scale the sides to find what you're looking for...  LOL!

I mean, I have to deal with stuff like this...

Ever tried to get grass and dirt stains out of white football pants?  And then have to insert and rethread the pads?  Yeah.  Who has time for actually getting the laundry put away?  Don't I get points if I just get them cleaned????  These are now sparkly white, thank you very much.  My victories, no matter how small, must be bragged about.  ;)

And just because my crafting table looks like this sometimes...

Doesn't mean I'm completely disorganized.  Does it?

Well now, it looks like this...

Maybe not Pinterest organized, but my kind of organized.

Because to be perfectly honest, there's only so many waking hours in the day.  There's all kinds of things to do and then there's the important stuff...  Like spending time with the hubs and my kids.  So I get done what I can, when I can and then the rest of my time is theirs.

Because it was only yesterday that my boys looked like this:

And now they look like this:

And the others are growing up just as fast.

So, I have to make sure that I don't lose track of what's really important while I'm so focused on turning this old house into a home.  If there are some days I don't get the things done that I think need to be done (like laundry or painting or redoing furniture or windows or dusting - the list could go on and on), I hope that what's important does get done- like loving and enjoying my husband and kids.

Hmmm...  I wonder how I got off on that subject?  Must be the guilt of focusing so much on that buffet last week.  LOL!  Oh well...  Now its time to go enjoy some yummy cookies and milk, since the crew just tumbled in off the bus.  And that's as real as it gets.  ;)

Until tomorrow y'all...