that i don't have it all together.
or get it all done.
i keep getting comments or emails asking "how do you do it all?"
"how can you handle everything?"
you say you feel exhausted.
and overwhelmed.
ME TOO.
i got another one of those emails yesterday.
i looked up from my computer and shook my head.
i picked up my camera and made sure i showed you the reality of my home.
i did not touch one thing in these rooms.
this is exactly what they looked like at 10 AM yesterday.
i am not proud of this.
but this is reality.
we do clean it up….but it never stays clean.
my kids have lots of chores but yet it always is a big ol' mess in here!
i get really discouraged when i clean it up or we all clean up and by bedtime…..
it looks just as dirty as before.
ugh.
it is a vicious cycle.
so now you know….i do not have it all together.
i'm sure you knew this was real life but i think in blogland we often forget.
we see the pretty all the time and think "why can't i be that way?"
"how can SHE get all of that done?"
"what is wrong with ME?!"
nothing.
the pretty-pretty is not real life.
laundry
over flowing toilets
kids throwing up all night
disgruntled teenagers
finger prints
piles of shoes
sticky floors
smelly dogs
hurt feelings
full schedules
bad grades
good grades
talking back
spilled milk
running late
that is real….but not fun to look at.
cut yourself some slack today.
i am trying my best to be a great mom and i bet you are too.
that is all we can do!
now i have to hang christmas decorations.
AND obviously….CLEAN SOMETHING.
Cathy - Thank You… I feel right at home..
Kelly - Thank goodness! I feel so much better. ~Kelly
unDeniably Domestic
Danny - “The pretty-pretty is not real life.” What a perfect way to sum it all up. Thanks.
LauraZarrin - Thanks for posting the real! It’s my reality, too. It helps to know that it’s the same for you. I can stop beating myself up. Thank you!
H-Mama @ Family Team - ‘Real’ posts are the best posts. Love this! 🙂
Rebecca A - Thanks for being real and really cute at the same time. My sister and I love reading your blog. We too struggle with being perfect. I have given up but have to repeat it to myself to remember. Have a merry Christmas and keep up the fun!
Josie - Your art projects are so very cool. Your house is beautiful, as is your family and this blog. With this post of actual life YOU are the BEST and you are now book marked on my computer to check in to aww what fun things you have created. BRAVO. You are awesome!
Leslie @farm fresh fun - Oh come on, even your messes are pretty! Those pics, those pics… I want you to shoot our messy house n family of crazies and make it all look that pretty! <3
Melissa - I just found your blog… And THANK YOU for this post! It makes me feel NORMAL! 🙂
Heather - Thank you so much for posting this! I have three teenage boys and their rooms always look like that! I’m so glad I’m not the only one.
I came over from 320 Sycamore blog and I’m so glad she posted about you. I can’t wait to read more of your blog.
katie - Thank you! Thank you! My house looks very similar to this and I always wonder how everyone else keeps such a well kept house. Awww a breath of fresh air!
Rebecca - Thanks so much for this post. I needed it! I struggle with being unorganized and my husband is one that thinks since I stay home things shouldn’t get so messy and I feel guilty alot about this. Thanks for reminding me that real life is busy and messy and it’s okay! 🙂
Cheryl - What a great post! I just found you as I was browsing Blogland. Thank you so much for being REAL. It’s true. It’s easy to get caught up in the pretty, pottery barn style photos that I see and sometimes I do think,”geez, what’s wrong with me that I can’t pull of that style?” So thank you. Have a Merry Christmas. Peace and health to you and yours.
Cheryl
erica - i needed to see that today…thank you for the reminder.
Kristen @ More Than Mulberries - This is my first time visiting your blog and I already love you. I’ll keep coming back for sure. Thank you for posting this, a well lived in house is true perfection really. What’s the saying, “Women who have a clean house are boring.” Ha!
TulipGirl - Even your mess looks clean and cute! *L*
Angela - I just found your blog and luvah it!!! Reading this post I knew this was the blog for me!!! I just finished tackling the 52 millionth dirty dish and putting the trillionth load of clothes in the dryer. Real life and the chaos that goes with it, albeit frustrating at times, is the true diamond in the rough, it is not the perfectly mounted diamond ring!! 🙂 I can’t wait to go thru the posts, etc, consider me a new and will be a long time follower. Take care 🙂 Angela
Michelle - You have no idea how many people you helped with this. Blogland is wonderful but it shiny and is not altogether real. Thank you, thank you, thank you Meg, for a making a corner that is real. Love you!
Tara @ Tara Being Tara - I just found your blog from 320 Sycamore, and I’m already hooked. Isn’t it amazing how we all worry about what our homes look like, when in reality, they look like everyone else’s? I hate our floors – they are old, cheap laminate that are chipped in a hundred places. We get more compliments on how lovely the floors are than anything else. I’m your newest follower!!
Wylie - This is awesome! It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the messes and overlook the blessings. I have four (all grown now), and my house looked like yours constantly. Now I have one daughter home, while she is looking for an apartment, and her room looks like the teenager’s in your house. I just keep the door shut. 🙂
Sarah - I love this post. I’m always amazed when I go over to people’s houses and they are perfect. And I run around like crazy trying to make my house presentable when someone is coming over. I guess they probably do the same thing. But sometimes it feels like i’m the most disorganized, gross person in the world when I look around me. *sigh*
Mary Anna - This is my first visit, and it’s love at first sight!
I have a friend who makes remarks like “Doesn’t it just drive you crazy when the Legos are all over the living room floor?” (as she’s sitting in my living room!) I respond that I’ve become really good at stepping over them!
I look at it this way – when my boys are men, will they remember that my house was sparkling clean and they weren’t allowed to play or will they remember impromptu light saber fights in the living room, the Jedi Ballerina (battle arena, aka the foyer), the formal dining room exploding with craftiness at their fingertips)?
aubrey - My favorite post. I’m relieved. I’m not the only one with the same problem. I thought something was wrong with me. I thought it was because I have four kids and we live in 1000 sq. feet. I guess it happens in big houses too. Of course, your messes are more colorful and have a much prettier background–or underground. whatever. And I’m so painting our big filing cabinet red. That’s awesome–except that I though I actually had an original idea to use ours as a dresser too. 🙂 Messy or not, I love seeing pictures of your house. Old houses are the best. (On the surface right? Ours is oldish too–but only 50 years.)
Bella - Oh wow, had to come see what all this was about,my first time here, and what do I see, the same thing I see everyday at my place too, he he. I just smiled the whole way thru, it was so nice to see, someone else put it all out there. My VERY FIRST blog post, was a tour of my messy home, and then I cleaned it A BIT, for a quick before and after. I was hooked to blogging, and I think that was also the LAST Time my house got cleaned all at once, lol. This was back in eary August, lol.
I love your blog, and am so happy I found you, oh and LOVE your hair, in your profile pic. So cute. 🙂
Bella 🙂
Kim - I actually stopped reading your blog for a while because as much as I loved it, I just felt so inadequate afterwards. 🙂 I was just sitting here and decided to come visit you again and saw this post. You really are real! You’ve made a believer outta me again! Thank you!!!!! You’re even more awesome than before!
Bored Housewife - I love you.
Maggie B - It is so seriously, refreshingly welcome to see a little honesty out there! I just adore ooohhing and aaahing at all the beautiful, retouched and drool-worthy photos on all these gorgeous blogs I enjoy reading, but it is so nice to know that at least someone out there also has a bunch of messy kids, laundry, dishes piling up and the wherewithall to realize that this is what life is all about! Make the most of it, dirt and all! Thank you for the beautiful post!
Laura - I LOVE it when you show us your house – clean or messy. It’s always beautiful – lived in and loved in. Thanks for the encouragement today Meg! I needed it!
loniann - Thank you Thank you for posting this side of life. Too often, I beat myself up about not having that model looking home.
I love your blog. Read it often. Keep it up!
Loni
Texas
Gretch-A-Sketch@ishootnouns - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! I am so glad I am NOT alone!!!!
Farmers Wifey - THIS is what I love about blogging..the reality of it all. I love that you did this..it makes you more loved and more human..and it makes me feel Normal.
Amanda Elton - ha ha! I didn’t realize we lived at the same house! 😉 I have 4 boys so double your mess times two and add lots of stinkiness for my house!! Thanks for posting that. You are not alone. 🙂
Richelle - Meg – I have been reading your blog for a while now and have always loved it. This is my first comment. Tears are streaming down my face as I read this post. Thank you. I really needed it today. I am feeling overwhelmed and insignificant and just not good enough at anything. I love my Lord and Savior and I know I am His precious child – which is enough. But you are right – you read blogs, people’s facebook status updates, Christmas card letters, etc. and you start to look at the lives of others and measure yours on the two dimensional view you have of theirs. I can’t thank you enough. I think we all need to be more real in our lives – it does more for others than we could ever imagine. Blessings to you and your family.
In the words of my 9 year old – You ROCK!
Richelle
Grace - Can’t thank you enough for your honesty in sharing this with us. We’re all in these trenches together, aren’t we?
crystal - These are the prettiest picture ever!!! Am I sick to say that they make my heart feel happy???
Christy - I just found this link from another blog. I really needed this today. Thank you!
Lori - Makes me like you even more!!
Brandi - Thank you for your honesty! I love LOVE mom blogs for inspiration, crafty fun ideas, etc. but sometimes I do leave feeling a little inadequate like why aren’t my kids in smocked dresses neatly crafting while Xmas music plays in the background?!? So thank you thank you a BIG thank you for keeping it real! 😉 As long as your house is functioning for all the fun stuff you’re doing with your family, then that’s perfectly good enough.
Sarah - Meg, this is awesome. You really have a way of making us all feel that we’re in the same boat.
Lee Ann - You have no idea how much this post means to me – to stop comparing myself and home to others, life is messy – you are so right. It is okay to have a mess. Home is where you live.
elisa - Thanks for this 🙂
NSB MOM - that is great!
Jeannie - …but with humility comes wisdom.(Prov 11:2b) And from where I am sitting, you are truly wise. Thank you for your humility and your words of wisdom and encouragement each day. It is a blessing looking into your world each day, no matter a perfect or messy scene. All your pictures just give a glimpse of how much love you shower on your family! A messy home is a cozy home–at least that is the excuse I use! So, off I go to clean up a house that looks like yours right now, but at least I can smile and not feel alone:)
Janna - I don’t even know you …BUT I LOVE YOU MAN!!! That’s all too common around this house. You are awesome to show us we are not alone. I tell my sister if you want to have a hobby, you have to make the time to do it…the mess will ALWAYS be there! Thank you again, so glad I started following you not long ago;)
Amber - Thank you. Simply because now I don’t feel quite so overwhelmed and incompetent with my own home.
Tanya @ Life in 3D - As I scrolled down my heart leapt and burst with happiness…
SORRY.
I feel SO NORMAL now.
THANKS for keepin’ it real…truth?…I don’t feel like a big mess in this moment because of this post.
Betcha didn’t think Littlest Pet Shop world could do that for someone did ya?!?!
Carol - Hahaha! Now, you’re going to get emails asking you what you do all day since obviously you’re not cleaning the house! Thanks for keeping it real!
Tracy Fisher - This is why I love reading your blog!!!!
Thanks for keeping it real. Tracy (www.tfisherart.com)
Karen Gerstenberger - This is one of MANY reasons that I love you & your blog: reality & fun. Real life is MESSY, but it’s totally worth it.
I love a tidy house, but a bit of PERSPECTIVE: now we are empty-nesters (since David is away at college and Katie is in Heaven – she would have been a sophomore this year), and believe me, I would love to have a bit of mess, if I could have my girl back! Thank you for keeping it honest.
krystall - I love you even more after reading this or should I say seeing this,
Krystall
Julie - I heart your messy house!!!
Kat - I LOVE that you share and that you always, always keep it real!!!
This is what makes me love your blog and you even more Meg.
I can totally relate to the overflowing drawers, my 8 year old daughter is like this.
We also live in a small house, which makes it look even messier quicker.
HOW do these other blog people get their homes looking so picture perfect? It really does make us normal people feel inadequate.
After being up at 3.30am with a vomiting two year old, having a messy house and a manic Monday trying to get two older kids to school and deal with a difficult four year old, I feel soooo much better from reading this post.
You rock!!
Quinn - Don’t worry too much about not being able to keep up with all the work pouring over you; it is what makes your house, your house. No one’s house looks like the perfect house we think everyone else has, and yet we are all striving for the perfection we see in magazines. I swear it is just the media and commercialism coming over us. Almost like a vicious cycle… Your house shows creativity, the fact of real life. So please don’t fuss over the small things, as much as we all love a clean house!
stacia - HA! Love love love it!!! My DOWNSTAIRS was picked up for an event recently. The upstairs was OFF limits and even then the “clean” lasted 1 day 🙂 Yup…life is a bit messy!!! Thank you SO much!!!!
Leslie - I just let out a big sigh of relief . . . thank you! I think I’m cutting myself some slack today knowing my life is just as REAL as others out there.
aimee - HAHAHAHA i love you meg! 🙂
Monica Huete - Thanks for the shots !!! I have got three children and … it is not easy !!! You spent the whole day trying to clean and organize things and in only “FIVE” minutes kids arrive and the “mess” is there again, hehe. I just decided to take it easy, there are more important things to live for than a fabulous cleaned and organized home.
Thanks again for sharing your experiences !!! … ^__^
Aimee @ In THIS Life - THANK YOU!!!!!
Cassy - That’s why I love you… You are awesome AND you are real. Thank you.
Wendy @ Living Creatively - THANK YOU!!! I was just here debating about what to do– paint, scrub floors & do laundry & dishes & other housework until I crash… grade papers… and I was wondering what on earth is WRONG with me. How do other women do it all?! How do they keep up? How are they *perfect* and i’m always falling apart.
THANK YOU. You have a new follower!
Melanie - What a fabulous post. I never think that blogland is perfect. I know that some of the girls that are doing projects and blogging all the time have let something go in their lives. I know that if I go off every day, my house gets a little messy. (I only have one son and he is 16) The girls in blogland are letting the laundry go, the closets go, etc. It is not perfect. I have always told you that you are a great mom. A fun mom that does things with the kids. Lets them do crafts etc. I am not that mom. I have to have a clean and organized house and that is what Caden will remember when he leaves the house. We just have to be ourselves and not try to be something we are not. I am orderly and neat and I can’t change that to be something different. Praise yourself for being a good mom, a Christian, a testimony to others. You have a lot of wonderful qualities.
Allie - I read your blog every day. This very well may be my favorite post. I was feeling overwhelmed and now I don’t feel so alone. Your house is still gorgeous. Somehow, your mess looks charming 🙂
Michele - Thank you.
Amy R. - I feel better now about leaving the dishes in my sink for another night. Thanks for your honesty. It is a great reminder that we don’t have to have it all together and no one really does! I am going to start cuddling with my kids more and stop worrying about the house so much.
Rebecca - Thank You. You don’t know how much this means.
amy jupin - i knew, while reading this, that it was going to be one of those posts with LOTS of comments. as moms, sisters, friends, daughters, etc. we sure put a lot of pressure on ourselves–and our homes suffer greatly at times, don’t they?! my home looks exactly like these pictures, especially the kitchen sink! i truly appreciate this post, meg!
susan - I love you Meg!!!!! thanks for keeping it real!!!
god bless
colleen - Thanks for being real. As I read i thought this probably resonates with soooo many women… confirmed by the 242 comments on this post. I hate that we put so much pressure on ourselves by comparison to something that rarely exists – the perfect mom. That i am not. i am a needy sinner delighted that God never made a commandment against a messy house! Thankful that the grace of Jesus is always lavish and amazing! Thanks again.
Jennifer - I agree that you are even more awesome for showing reality. Thank you. You do appear to have it completely together, and it’s not that I feel better about myself for your short comings….that’s not it at all. It’s good to know you are human as well! x0x0x0
My living room is Littlest Pet Shop hell as well. 🙁
Heather - It is funny….even your messes are colorful and seem to be happy! I actually don’t have a messy house, but I am IN my home all day with my girls (we homeschool) and everyone has cleaning chores to do to keep the house picked up. I need it clean to concentrate on schooling or I’d constantly be thinking about how I need to clean up! If we all had to bolt out the door in the morning for school/work I’m sure my home would look the same – only not quite so “chipper.” 🙂
Jen R - Oh my…THANK YOU so much for this! Sometimes I sit with coffee in hand reading the blogs I adore – every one gorgeous & perfect. Then walk into my family room where it looks like a bomb went off – immediate shame. 🙂 Thank you, Thank you for being a REAL person. I love your Blog – the pretty & not so pretty! 🙂
Jessica Johnson - I’ve been following for a little while, yet to comment. But just had to on this one because I LOVE it! 🙂 I think this encouraged me more than all the blogs I’ve ever read COMBINED. I’m not alone in the craziness!
xxoo
katie - i want this post framed in my house.
adrienne - o lol girl!!! i feel right at home 🙂
andrea - and….that is why i love reading your blog
Michelle - I love you.
Thanks for helping me to remember that I’m not alone.
Parenthood is hard and houses are messy–that’s life.
And it’s okay.
Lisa - You are so awesome for sharing these photos, and so BRAVE! I would never want to post the pictures of what my house look like MOST of the time! Good to put things in perspective once in a while, but of course who wants to look at messy pictures all the time, we like living in our little fantasy world that everything looks good 24/7!! lol Plus, it we take pictures when it’s all clean and neat, we can freeze it just like that!
Now…off to decorate and CLEAN!
Andrea from Orlando - Wow! That is messy, hehehe:) Thanks for sharing. That’s my house too.
Ana - Thank you. so. much.
Dee - Thanks for this!
Heather - I have more respect for you now than ever before! One more reason to adore you and your blog. You have made me feel so much better about myself. I am constantly struggling with the feeling that I just don’t measure up to the “superwomen” I see on other blogs. Now I realize that we all have our dirty little secrets- aka laundry piles- laying around! 🙂
Thank You Meg!
Blessings,
Heather:)
Julie - THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!!!
the whyte house - i always love the “keepin’ it real” posts. 🙂 it looks like everything is unpacked from your trip, though! takes us like 3 weeks to do that! 🙂
Patty - Thank you.
April Driggers - I love you man! Thanks for keepin it real!
Now.. clean that $hit up! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha! (just kidding)
Kelly - Blog hopping this morning and stumbled upon your blog. I LOVE IT!!! what a refreshing post this is. As a mom of 3, a full time student, full time wife, part time employee I am full time crazy and feel like I am going to burst at times ~ ESPECIALLY when others think I “have it all together”… HAHAHA what a laugh.
BTW..I LOVE LOVE the sink shot!!! it is one of my pet peeves, but somehow my sink looks the same!
Beth @ Dirty Laundry - Instead of Littlest Pets in the Foyer, it is Matchbox cars parked on the foyer rug, because there are lines on the rug and they are, apparently, perfect parking spaces. Also, the sun shines in the front door in the morning and it is warm and sunny and the best place to play and park your 500 Matchbox cars (and sometimes army guys). And I am always frustrated by it, stepping all over those cars. But you are right! You made me feel better about them, and someday I will miss those cars. Thanks, Meg.
mary - Forget the mess ~ I LOVE the Pet Shop world. In our house it was Fisher Price world but looked the same and was always right in the middle of the living room. Enjoy every minute ~ it goes SO fast.
danielle - amen, sister. my life everrryyday. and i only have two!
jennibell - THANK YOU for this. You know how to keep it “real”. And inspire. I *love* the filing cabinets repurposed as drawers — ingenious!!! And the other thing I saw in these pictures? Love. Not a mom nagging all the time to “pick up, clean up” (that would be me since we have the house on the market right now). . .it looks like your kids have time to PLAY and that is awesome.
Have a great weekend!
Karen Lehmann - you have NO IDEA how much better i feel after seeing those photos. thank you.
carols - YAY! I can match those messy kids rooms and bathrooms! I will not be judged by my kids rooms, nope, no way, not doing it. Bigger fish to fry over here. My heart and head are clean, and so are my kids, and I’ll take that any day over the alternative. The craft room got an out loud laugh from me…that would be my home office. Next time…open a few closet doors for our entertainment, will ya? You’re a doll.
Alexandra/The Empress - oh, well, of course you have 218 comments on this post.
Of course you do…your home’s loveliness still shines through.
Thanks to Dana, I’m here.
My house is a true mess. yours is a pretty mess.
Beth Ann - Thanks for sharing!!! I do my best to keep my main level clean, but upstairs – FORGET IT. I joke that our master bedroom looks like a good (or bad?) episode of hoarders. Laundry piles, stuff to put away/find a home, anything random, treadmill in the corner, throw pillows – thrown about.
Andrea - Amazing. I see the same “just stepped out of” pants on the floor of our bathroom every night. I see the same piles of clothes, open drawers, dishes (mine are not as cute) every day. This is why I want to be you: because you are so real, yet so inspiring.
Liz @ Perfect Chaos - As if it’s even possible, I love you even more now that I feel like I can REALLY relate to you. Thank you for this post. Not because you’re not perfect, but because you’re real!
cathy - BABIES DON’T KEEP
Mother, oh Mother,
come shake out your cloth,
empty the dustpan,
poison the moth,
hang out the washing
and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house
is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery,
blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little
Boy Blue (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done
and there’s nothing for stew
and out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
but I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing
will wait till tomorrow,
for Children grow up,
as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep……
~Author Unknown ~
a beautifull life
Anita - I NEEDED THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
We often blog and think we are the only ones who do not have it all together. I have been sick and my house is a wreck, laundry is not done and no decorations are out and I have been giving myself a HARD time. THANKS!!!
Dina - Thank you for being so real! This is why I love your blog. I have a HUGE phobia of people ‘popping in’. My tiny house which includes 5 humans and 1 dog, is ALWAYS a disaster and I’m a SAHM! I beat myself up everyday that I’m really sucking at this current profession… but the reality is, those people that ‘pop’ in could care less about my mess. They seem un-comfortable if they happen to see everything in a perfect state.
Why do we do this to ourselves? REAL is the way to go… thank you:-)
Julie - you are even cooler than i knew! thank you for being so real.
jaz - Oh my gosh, 210 comments – that kind of sums it right up there.
xoxox
Holly - Ah LOVED this!!! Pure, TRUE, and completely honest!!! and yet, you are always an inspiration! Thanks for sharing and making us mamas feel normal 😉 whatever that is, right? Hee…hee..
Alice - In the craft room picture, what is all over the “M”? I have an “a” and I am not sure what to do with it and I love yours.Thanks
Dawn - Thank you from the deepest part of my heart for sharing this – I’ve been looking at all the pretty online and beating myself up over all the messy in my own life. It’s good to come back to reality and know that everyone has both in their lives 🙂
September - This just what I needed to hear today! Thanks!
Heather - I love you. I love this. It’s so easy to forget when we see such gorgeous shots on peoples blogs that they likely cleaned up specifically to take those pics. Or had just finished a huge clean and thought hey, I should take a pic now.
Amy - I absolutely love this. It’s nice to see that someone else has an imperfect house like mine. And I don’t want to spend every day trying to make my house perfect. I want to try and enjoy every minute with our 4 kids while they are still kids!! (oh, and just curious….what program do you use to put the text boxes on your pics like that? They are super cute!!)
Daniela - THANK YOU!!!
Lora - Thanks… i feel better.
:O)
sharron - your mess is even colorful just like you!
thanks for sharing it with us!
🙂
Rach - My favorite is “the teenager’s room.” It reminds me of when I left home and my mother had to figure out what to do with all of the road signs I had “acquired” on some rowdy weekend adventures.
Stacia - I love love love this post. Thanks for taking the time to post it.
I love the filing cabinet in the boys’ room. Is it a dresser? Or actually a filing cabinet?
Your craft room looks exactly like mine. If my entire house is clean…that means you can’t walk in the craft room.
Kristin S - I absolutely love this post.
Any woman who would let her kids’ feet hit her head for 30 hours is a hero in my book.
And honestly, I think most of us have messes. While I don’t want to end up on “Hoarders”, I’m OK with some mess and clutter but still get frustrated that I wonder what others will think. Thank you for giving me the freedom to LIVE in my home.
Kathy - This is awesome! Thanks for sharing- your blog is fabulous!
julia - Simpletruths - *sigh*
Thank you. This is just the motivation I need to do two very important things
1 – clean a little something
2 – not think I’m a bad person because only half of the dining table is visible at any one time 🙂
Cathi I love that quote “A clean house is a sign of a misspent life”
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!
mbt - Thanks so much for being so real and for sharing.
Christine Ishmael - Hey Meg…love this post…I’m in the same boat as you with 6 kids! The one question I have is why do the kids NEVER close the drawers of their dressers?? How hard is that??? And I JUST got home from Costco and the box of 50 chips has already been halfway eaten….aaaagggghhhhh!!! This is why Moms drink so much diet coke and shop for hours and hours on end…see? I just justified the shopping I’m about to do…
karen - tears…thanks meg!
Kimmie - Thank you! 🙂
Andrea @ Big Creek Cottage - Meg, I love ya girl and this post is why….I spent today…instead of working as I should have been….I work from home 95% of the time…I spent the day picking up my house…I couldn’t even clean because there is so much just to pick up! Geesh….and laundry….well…the pile is high…very high. thanks for reminding us that we all are just doing the best we can……including you…….
By the way..I need at least one waffle picture per week…that guy makes me SMILE! Happy Friday!
Sandy - Thanks for being so real Meg!!
Crystal @ Ordinary Days - Sounds like you might be tired of hearing this but…get ready for it…You’re STILL “so great”. This post my dear is one of the reasons you are “so great”. Sorry. Had to tell you even if you don’t want to hear it today. 🙂 I love a real, genuine, authentic person. And WHY can’t the kids shut the drawers??? For the life of me, I can’t figure it out. lol
steph - thanks… i needed this today. knowing others are in the same boat, makes me feel less alone. now i need to go clean! ha ha!
Terri Upton - Thank you so much for that post! I thought my teenage daughter was the only one who could destroy her room, her bathroom and practically every room she is in. At least I only have one at home. My son is in college and he was home for Thanksgiving I found out he is a neat freak. What????? Anyway, thanks for sharing.
Aimee - Thank you for this post. Thank you for making me feel better about my messy house and reminding me that I am not the only one!
Regina - i love that you posted pictures! thanks so much for that encouragement b/c although i’ve never commented on that in particular, i have often wondered! i stayed home all day in my jammers to clean up piles that look very similar to yours. i stll have more to go though.
jodi - And this is why you are my favorite blogger. We are all in this together- You are always “keepin it real”!
Sarah - This seriously made my day. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this! It’s so easy to get down on yourself for not being perfect, and it’s hard to remember that no one is. Aaaah, sigh of relief! 🙂
barb c - you rock!
carolyn - love this post. but, somehow, even your messy is cute…
Kori - OK. This is rad! I love your house even more now. Everything looks as it should and does make me feel less together. Every post I read makes me wish more and more that we were neighbors and friends!! Is that weird??
I hope not.
P.S. I CANNOT let my son see the pics of your boys’ room!! I am forever on his case about his books and magazines littering his floor and his clothes not being put away properly! He’d NEVER pick anything up if I let him see other boys rooms looking like he likes his to look!!!!!
dawn - Thank you. And you can come over to my house any day — you’ll feel right at home. 🙂
Belinda - Relief floods the blogosphere. Mothers cheer aloud infront of their computers. We are not alone! xx
jody - Whew.
I am relieved to see this.
Keep keepin’ on Mama!
Thanks for sharing.
Love,
Mom of 4 boys under 5 (my messes are only going to get BIGGER.) :))
And I wouldn’t have it any other way (and neither would you or any other Mama…)
Courtney Walsh - Yep. Here too. Not proud, but it’s reality.
I’ll have a clean house when they’re all married…but I’ll miss them more than anything.
Trina McNeilly - I love you..ha…seriously i love this about you and you’re blog. You’re blog is always my fresh of breath air blog.
So here is my question…so any advice for living with a bit of a mess? And not freaking out about it. I think looking at blogs all the time has def made me feel way less adequate about my home. And like I can’t quite keep up.
Stephanie - Thanks for keeping it real! I have a sign in my kitchen that says
“A CLEAN HOUSE IS A SIGN OF A MISSPENT LIFE” and I truly believe this! We’re all in the same boat!
Darcy - I love you for showing us your real house. We’re all in the same boat!
Laura Phelps - love the daisy bowl in the sink
lets start a weekly posting in blogland
“real life at 10 am on Friday”
take a picture
post it
everyone feels better
love you
mess and all
Michelle - From the bottom of my heart….THANK YOU!
Suzette - You ROCK! And so do I!
Suesan Kennard - Thank you for sharing!
I have a similar situation at my house, although my youngest are now teenagers. I grew up in a house like this, and now that we are all grown, my Mom has the cleanest house on the block.
I will live with the occasional messes if it means I get to enjoy my kids for awhile. I do not possess the ability to stress over a clean sink, but that said, I’m much happier when my sink is clean! Go figure.
I’m a new follower.
Ana Hogan - Thank you for this post. 🙂 I have to admit, I walked around my house this morning and thought about you and your house! I thought, “why can’t I get it together like Meg?”. I still think you’re an amazing woman and I’m happy to know that it’s normal for a house to look like this…especially when people are actually living in it!
jessica kiehn - THANK YOU! I am so tired of every blog mom trying to come across as perfect. Posting their only perfect pictures, only telling their perfect stories…it’s disgusting.
Thank you for truth. It doesn’t mean we have to air our dirty laundry and whine and gripe, but the truth is always more encouraging and empowering to hear from someone than fake, magazine life crap.
Thank you for posting this, because you have so many readers, and they falsely look up to you like you are some Mother God to worship, haha! You are real! So are they! We are all just doing our best in this thing!
Again…love the post:)
Jacci - Meg – this is good stuff. GOOD stuff! I *know* you honored God with this transparency because your post was a word written according to the need of the moment. You gave grace to those “hearing” you 🙂
Praise God He’s sufficient, because *none* of us are!
~Jacci in Ohio
Alyssa - Where is the LOVE IT button….Cause it made me smile today…I only have 3 kids…But the almost 3 yr old is with me all day and anything I accompish in one room is counteracted by the mess she makes in another room…
Today the Phone man is coming and I am in almost in tears trying to “clean” My house looks like your house…
Love the filing cabinet dresser that idea ROCKS>
Kiss kiss
Alyssa
Kellie - Oh, I love you! Your are real. You make every mom out there feel ok. Thank you!!!!!
sue - I think this is the best post yet.I was only thinking about you the other day and ‘How does Meg do it all with that big house ” I guess you don’t after all.Thanks for the honesty.
Jen - This made me want to cry. Not kidding. Thank you.
elma riedstra - Oh Meg:) Whatever works for you:) I know I am just one that can”t function in a mess:) I do, like you a ton of laundry a day which I love to do. I wash and fold and my kids have to put their wash away.They also have to make up their beds when they wake up. Even our little ones they keep up their rooms. With eight kids I just expect them to put wash away and keep the bedroooms clean:) Have a wonderful weekend:)
Danielle - Awesome! I love this post, this is real life! I have six kiddos and my house looks exactly the same way all the time. I must admit though I’m a little disappointed in that I thought it got better as they got older, but apparently not as you have teenagers. My oldest is nine so I guess I should just give up:)lol Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your life with us, your blog has always been an encouragement to me. You live life and you live it to the fullest, you are truly blessed. And I love that you honor
God through it all:)
Lucylu ~ - wowza!
Amber P - What I see is a woman who is SO present with her kids and that is WAY more important than having a put together home. To me, your home is full of warmth, love, joy, and FUN! I am reading The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. Sally states “But it’s the way I respond to my children in everyday moments that gives me the best chance of winning their hearts. If I have integrity and patience in the small moments of heart, then I have a far better chance of influencing them in the larger and more critical issues of life.” We cannot do it all. Something has to give somewhere. Time invested in our kids is more important than having a gorgeous, organized home. I admit that I struggle with this very thing – being present for my kids, being a slave to ‘getting things done’. In reality, it doesnt’ matter if my home is clean & beautiful or if I have all the laundry done. (Which I never do!) But I can let go of the guilt of not having it done! I really admire you Meg ~ for the kind of mother that you are.
Els - Ha ha ha! love it!
midwestmom - this is why your blog is my favorite. my first click of my day. everyday. thank you so much for this post day!
Anna - Awesome!
A few housecleaning quotes
– I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home…. I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. ~Nancie J. Carmody
– Thank God for dirty dishes,
they have a tale to tell;
while others may go hungry,
we’re eating very well.
~Author Unknown
karen - Thank you so much for posting this. There are so many blogs out there that only show the airbrushed pictures of…well, everything in their life. I stopped reading them because I was starting to feel inferior about…well, everything in my life. But my sister e-mailed me this link and simply wrote, “Good post.”
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you.
Linda - Thanks for the reality check. Not just yours but mine too. We forget sometimes that blogland is usually everyone’s best foot forward. I think with the holidays we all get ourselves bogged down. When really we just need to enjoy the simplicity of life. Enjoy our families and our friends.
Megan - Kimberlee and I have had this conversation before–about blogland and deceiving perfection. When I walk into someone’s house I always feel more at home if I can relate to them…and sometimes it’s seeing real life and not a neat and clean house! LOVE this post…and my house looks likes this too 99% of the time…
Ellen - Thank you.
Karen - Posts like this are why you are so loved!
Donna - Thanks for bringing some of us back to reality. I have read your blog for quite a while now and marvel at “Craft Thursday” and the fun that you have with your family, friends and one of the dream jobs that I would love…which is not sitting at a desk in a corporation. My comment doesn’t help you to get your house clean, but it does help me to know that mine isn’t the only one that is “lived in”!
Brook - Thank you for this post!! Life is messy. So are houses. I have 4 kids and it’s IMPOSSIBLE to have my house clean all at the same time or for any length of time. It always makes me laugh when someone comes over for a party where I spent hours cleaning and thinks it looks like that all the time. Hilarious and impossible. Thanks for keeping it real.
Adrienne S - Ok..I love that you did this! I read blogs mostly for the pictures and I love yours, but I always wonder how it looks so clean. I am so glad to see you keep it real like the rest of us!
Janelle - Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are so many times that I just ask myself “WHY CAN’T I KEEP THIS HOUSE CLEAN??
a pocket full of posies - YOU just TOTALLY and COMPLETELY ROCK!!!!- thanks for sharing your “real” world, so that we ALL can feel better about our “real” worlds!!
Many Blessings!
Jill
linda - love ya meg!! thanks for keeping it real!! your house shows how comfortable you live…where your priorities are…and that your house is filled with love…and thanks for the pep talk!! 🙂
Melissa Hermon - thanks for sharing! Not sure why someone else’s mess makes us feel better about our own, but it does! I have been trying to focus more on the kids than the mess- but it’s tough to juggle it all. Thanks again for your honesty
Mary Craig - This just made me love you EVEN MORE!
marci - OH MY GOSH THANK YOU!!
you just made my dang day!
taniawillis - oh meg…….how i love you.
melissa*320 sycamore - *love* it. things in blogworld look a little too perfect sometimes..thank you for being real! 🙂
Jeannine - I think you’re amazing!
Jodi - Cleaning can always be put off to tomorrow. :o)
Cris - Oh my Meg…
Thanks for “keeping it real”. This is why I LOVE your blog. No one wants to read about a perfect wife, a perfect house, and perfect kids. We want to read about someone who is normal, just like us. The other stuff just isn’t reality.
Talysa - ha! overflowing toilets….we just had one this week! And my child just jumped in the shower in disbelief and didn’t say anything! I walk by and think they are running bath water. Not pretty. But oh so real. Thanks for being real. Thanks for taking that “virtual” weight off our shoulders.
This time of year it is especially easy for me to feel like I’m not measuring up when all these gorgeous Christmas trees and Tours of Homes are popping up here in blogland.
I consider it an accomplishment just to have a tree up…that stays up. 🙂
Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode - Meg, if I could I would high five you right now! That is how my house looks, well 90% of the time. Thank you for letting us know you are one of us! Yea!!!
Valerie
Dar - Love you even more after this post:)
Diana Thompson - I love it!!! I have been following your blog for awhile now, and I don’t think that I have ever commented. I truly admire the mom that you are, you are awesome and that is what is important!! Who cares if the laundry is not done, or dishes in the sink? Your kids are loved and that is what matters!! I think you are such a great gal and this post just reitterated that to me!!!! LOVE your realness!!! (is that a word??)
Ellen Patton - Great post. 🙂
Keri ~ Forever Folding Laundry - You’re so right – no one has it all together! Thank goodness we’re all in the same boat! My house looks the same – and I only have 3 of your 5. 🙂
And on those days I’m feeling the most grossed out by my house I try to tell myself that I’m doing my best and I know someday they’ll be gone and I’ll miss the mess. Thanks for being fabulous – and real – all at the same time. Win. 🙂
Charlene@Adventures-In-Mommy-Land - I just did a post about this not that long ago, because people kept asking me the same thing. “How can you have 6 kids and do all that you do….” etc. etc. In reality my house is completely destroyed LOL! That’s life! Right now, I’m sitting on the couch with the laptop looking at about 5 over flowing laundry baskets filled with clothes that need to be folded and put away hahaha. And there’s more overflowing on the floor in the laundry room waiting to be washed.
I need to drag out our Christmas stuff too. I only have a small portion of it done and no tree yet. On a good note, I’m done Christmas shopping for 2 out of 6 kids.
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - great keepin’ it real post Meg!
april - all i can say is thank you….sometimes I do look at your blog and think it is all perfect….but of course you are going to want to put the “best” pics on your blog…I do the same thing…but a dose of your reality makes me feel like we are so the same….love it!!!
MGF - breathe taking to know that everyone is not perfect.
Laura Rizzi - A short comment…because I must go clean…but after reading your post I will go clean with a smile. Thank you for sharing your reality with us, knowing others are the same position can always help change our perspective. Thank you MEG!!
Kristin Hayne - THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU!!
I am turning to you daily to get inspiration and truth!! 🙂 I know a lot of people look up to you and admire you… thanks for showing us the pretty things in life and also the UGLY little things in life. What I truly see when I look at your pictures is a lived in HOME!!! It is frustrating to constantly try to keep up with it all but the daily reminders (though a bit much at times)really make my heart happy. I love seeing a messy house… that means there are busy little, happy people that live there. Thanks for sharing the the cold hard truth!! You are a gem!!
allison - Thanks Meg. I so needed this today. A reminder of real life. I so get sucked into the pretty pretty thing on blogs so much so sometimes, that it paralyzes me to do anything. I mean, why bother? I’m never going to acheive that perfection anyway, right? Sometimes I just want to cry, I am so exhausted and can’t figure out why with just one almost 15 month old baby I can’t get it all done?? Big sigh. PMS doesn’t help my attitude today either…lol.
Love your blog:)
Allison
Kim McCoy - The BEST post I’ve seen in blog land in a while. Makes me feel normal. Thanks for sharing and being honest.
Denise - I liked you before this post, but now I love you. 🙂
Lindsey@ Piecefully Home - i love honesty!! i hate messes, though! 🙂 and my house is a great big huge mess, but having three kids I’ve learned to let that go. we have laundry piles, dish piles, little people piles, barbie piles, wii game piles, lego piles, shoe piles….
Stephanie - THANK YOU for sharing this! I don’t know why, but as you say, when I see all the pretty, shiny, crafty goodness in blog-land, I somehow internalize it and think my life should not be so mess. And you are absolutely right, it is discouraging to clean and have it messed up in minutes, if not hours! (That’s why I hate cleaning the kitchen especially!) I appreciate the glimpse into your ‘real’ life, it has reminded me of where things really stand!
Shauna - i really heart you.
you are loving and brave.
i am smiling at you, right now.
Karen - Take heart! My house used to look much like yours (and everyone else who had young families)! There WILL come a time when you clean it and it stays clean. But that comes with a high price-no messy little ones or even disgruntled teenagers living with you to clean up after. I love my grown-up children and am fortunate to see them often but I sure miss those days and would do it all over in a snap, given the opportunity. So do your best, close your eyes to the rest and give each one of those sweet babies an extra hug today!
Stephanie@Geezees - Oh how i LOVE this post! It’s good know that i am not alone with the laundry and dishes that never end! Thank you Meg for posting this!!
Jane Mc - You rock Meg!
Esther - Oh Meg….in all honestly I could not survive at your house…lol. I can’t deny the connection of an orderly house and an orderly mind, when all is clean and free, I think more clearly, get more done. I had 3 kids at home and ran a business from home so I do know….my concern is for the kids, I believe that being organized is a very important skill for their future. I run a very large corporation now and my #1 problem with the younger employees is that they are so messy- and have problems finding things, and their paper trails are always at lost, which in the business I am in it is extremely important.
I am just saying’…..
Jill - Oh thank Heaven! 🙂
Jessica - Love this post! Thanks for keeping it real…
connie libby - Thanks for that. Looking around my house this morning as I sit here at the computer sipping coffee, I am feeling guilty for not having a cleaner house. Reality check, I’m not alone! I’m thankful for the grace this post extended me, you rock! (My house looks just about the same, if not worse! :))
kathleen - I just wanted to tell you how much I have been loving your blog, I just look forward to it. My friends told me about it a couple of months ago and I loved it right off. As everyone else does!! It takes time and lots of heart to faithfully blog, especially the good, meaningful stuff, and I so appreciate it. Thanks so much!
Kirsten - I love this. My house looks the SAME! Thanks for being real. 🙂
Holly - I live the same battle too. Funny thing though. I actually woke up this morning and there was not a single dirty dish in the house! That never happens!
The Fairy's Apprentice - Oh, Megan, I love you even more! Your house is alive and you too! Our home looks exactly like yours :)). We clean up, of course, but in about 15 minutes after we finish looks exactly like before we started.
Love you! Camelia
Tanya H - And this, Meg, is why we love you. 🙂
Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Seriously.
You are loved. and amazing. and loved!
jennifer delossantos - That looks like my upstairs. The main level stays pretty picked up because I have a home day care and so people are walking through everyday. Everyone assumes that the whole house is that way. WRONG. The upstairs has clothes everywhere, the beds are never made, the dresser drawers are always open. Kate throws everything out of her dresser, daily. Life is messy. But we are all happy. Oh, and Kate has the same polka dot sheets as your little girls!
Danielle H. - Thank you – I’m a mom with a full-time job and my house is the area that gets sacrified the most as I can’t do it all. Makes me feel like I’m not such a failure 🙂
Chiot's Run - No worries, you need to remember all those studies that say dirt is good for kids, keeps them from getting asthma & allergies, so you’re really doing it for your kid’s health 🙂
Those kids are getting old enough to start doing some chores. When was in 4th grade my mom taught me how to do laundry and I’ve been doing my own every since.
Sugar Mama - I wrote a post yesterday about laundry. I thought to myself “what a boring post” but it’s my every day.
You know what I see when I look at these pictures? I see a house that kids can be kids, where a family can be a family, and people LIVE.
Mindy W - This is just plain really good.
Cathi - Thank you for this post! Have you heard the quote , “a clean house is a sign of a misspent life”? I think of that often when I get overwhelmed by all I feel needs to be done in my house. The fact that your house is “lived in” shows your priorities are where they should be- on the people in your family and living life. When your kids are all grown up and on their own you can have a house that will stay clean for more than a few minutes. Thank you for showing your home and your life on this blog!
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1498998191 - Pokadots still make your house look cheerful! Maybe I don’t need to clean just throw in more polka dots!
jennifer - This post right here is exactly why I keep reading your blog. You keep it real in the middle of all the pretty. Thanks for you honesty. It’s my favorite thing about you. Oh, and the mutual love for polka dots too! 🙂
Debbie Smallie - Just what I needed this morning. Thanks for keeping it real!
kristin - You are so awesome… inspiring and keeping it real, all at the same time.
Brianna - thank you for this. I don’t feel so alone anymore!
alamama - thanks! i am so glad you put the real photos out there too. sometimes i get the keeping up with the bloggers (jones) feeling.
bobbie - The pictures of your kids clothes on top of the dresser instead of in it and all over the floor is my life. It drives me crazy but I just shut the door and walk away.
Someone once told me there will be a time in my life to have a clean houst (when the kids are all gone) but this just isn’t my time and I need to learn to enjoy it.
Thanks for sharing!
Kimberly - You’re so full of “amazingness,” Meg. These are the reasons why I love reading your blog every day: you try to make a more meaningful life for you as a woman, a Christian, a wife, a mom, a friend, and everything else to everyone else. You fail sometimes, but you are so full of win most of the time. As much as I like how you’re talented, fun, caring, and crafty, I also like that you’re cranky, moody, and messy.
I stop reading blogs that only show happy-happy-pefect all the time. It’s so exhausting and not inspirational at all.
You, you invigorate me. As a former bread winner and now a stay-at-home mom, I always feel less lost after reading your blog. I encourage you to continue to be real and to live in the moment and to continue to hope the way that you do.
P.S.–I loath doing laundry, too!
Routhie - Thank you. It’s easy to forget what is important, esp when the house is a mess and you’re overwhelmed. I feel like I am drowning in laundry, clutter, and to-do lists, but so is everyone else. Now, I am going to ignore my housework, shower, and help make Christmas cards at my daughter’s school, which I know has made this week pretty awesome for her and her class. Thanks again for keepin’ it real. 🙂 <3
Ali - Thank you Meg!
Michelle Whitlow - thank you for sharing!!! Boy, you’re brave!! I never try to be perfect on my blog but man my house looks like a tornado most days!! My husband comes home from work and gives me ‘that look’. Ugh…
Tracie - I sometimes feel buried under junk too, but I let go of some of my type A clean-freak tendencies when I had my kids. We try to straighten up the house before bed, but I only make them straighten their rooms when I have to vacuum. Hey, look at it this way, someday they’ll be gone and the mess won’t be so bad and you’ll miss it!
Shana - If it helps…I have a friend who’s house is spotless – however…her kids can’t sit on the furniture, walk through with food, eat certain things (like food), or have shoes on inside.
I think you are living LIFE – which means too busy to worry about the trivial stuff – laundry, dishes, etc. Play, have fun, and enjoy!
Love you
rosie at 3 rosebuds - What I love about your blog is that you “get” it-the kids are only little once. They only want to hang out with you for so long and then they have their own lives, they get jobs, they go away to school and there will still be laundry and dusting to do but there won’t be those little ones to hug and squeeze and drop everything to spend time with. Here’s to real life!!
Amy - Thanks Meg. That’s why I love you. You are so humble and can tell the truth even when it’s not pretty. And my house looks at least that bad or worse most days. I have 3 under 5 and it is tornado city. I get discouraged and feel like a gross pig. But then I put up the Christmas tree instead of clean. So I know a lot of it is just my personality. I would rather have fun than clean. Anyway, thanks for being honest. Love ya Meg!
elizabeth of course - Hahaha! I love you! I love that you’re a real person. And I don’t care if you house is a mess, you’re hair is always great! hahaha!
Maria - Thank you!!!!! I’m a mom of three who works one full time job and MULTIPLE part time jobs and I can NOT keep up with the house. Your pictures made me feel normal again! My house may not be clean, but my life is pretty darn good, otherwise!!! So no complaints from me!!
Dori - Thanks! You’re awesome!
Karen H. - I didn’t think it was possible to love you any more than I already did – and then you posted these pictures!!! Some days I think “What is WRONG with US???” because our house can’t stay clean!!! And I love the Littlest Pet Shop town in your foyer… I have the same thing!!!
Melissa - Thanks for sharing! I would go insane but I would imagine you just have to learn to deal with it. Makes me feel better about not always having everything perfectly picked up at home.
julie - Thank you for posting these. As a home school mom to 4 girlies I have recently started to feel like an absolute housekeeping failure. Even thought about writing a blog post about it today but hopped on over here instead. So glad I did. I am not alone:) BTW…L.O.V.E. your blog, your photos, your craft Thursdays, your decorating style……this just might be my favorite blog!
Susan - As a mom of 6 kids under the age of 8 who can’t seem to keep anything cleaned in her house, you don’t know how much I needed to read this today. Thanks so much for showing your readers that you are just as “normal” as the rest of us! Thanks again, Susan
Toni :O) - Whoa….I love the honesty but I think I’m a neat freak in my own house and I’ve created two more after seeing your photos…sigh…my kids never have clothes on their floor…laying other places instead I guess. What I’m not good at is trying to keep everything clean, I’ve given up trying to dust, vacuum and mop as often…working 45-50 hours a week outside the home just doesn’t give me the time to keep up on it all. I’m glad to see we’re all in this mess called life together! Keep being real, keep smiling and keep those colors coming, cause it’s a breath of fresh air to see your posts every.single.time! Especially cute Waffle…love your dog almost as much as my own!
Niki - I just love you, Meg! You bring a smile to all of our faces and remind us to strive for the best and accept that we’re never going to be perfect! That’s why we have our Father! Thanks, Sister!
Jen - Thank you! I do not feel alone.
kristy - God bless you for this. I feel like I clean all day and it still looks TRASHED at the end of the day. I’m all for being real with people…. but its still a hard thing to do myself.
Flower Patch Farmgirl - You rule the school.
Carla - Thank you for being real.
Nicole - Thank you so much for this! I have 5 kids myself and with activities and just everyday “things” I can’t seem to get it all done! I know, I should stay off of the computer! haha! I needed this today as I look at the breakfast dishes on the table, trash ready to go out and a downstairs bathroom that seriously needs a good scrubbing with 4 boys in the house! Thanks for a great blog! You rock!
Nicole
Marcia - It is all about balance, I guess … and your post today certainly puts it into perspective for me. I took a “personal day” from work and dreamed of sewing, decorating, reading, relaxing – even napping. But the floors need to be mopped, the laundry done, the dead mums yanked, the list goes on. Catching up with your blog feeds one need for me: to sit down with a cup of coffee and refocus on getting the balance. Thank you so much and God bless you today.
Julie M - I can soo relate!
Hugsandunicorns.blogspot.com - Ha! I love this! Thank you for sharing. We have been trying to clean so we can put up the Christmas tree. Think it will happen?
Janelle - I’m reading your blog instead of cleaning up my house. I have my Daisy troop here this afternoon and I am supposed to clean up the house for them! Its like inviting a heard of elephants into your living room! Thanks for keeping it real!
Jaime @ Queen of the Creek - 1) Totally understand about the Littlest Pet Shop thing! lol
2) Love the red filing cabinet drawers in the boys room.
3) With the size of your family and ALL THAT YOU DO, I think you’d be weird if your house was super de-duper clean all the time. You LIVE in your house.
I agree with Katie – I enjoying playing hostess every once in a while – it’s when my house is the cleanest. And we just moved from a 3 bedroom apartment to a 5 bedroom, 3800sq house. I have a WHOLE lot more cleaning then I ever had. And seriously… what would the kids and I ever talk about if I am not constantly reminding (nagging) them to clean up after themselves! 😛
Big hugs! =)
Mindi Slone - Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
You just validated my home’s existence today. I might have to share this with my hubby!
Staci - This is why I love you!!! We all just need to live life…dirty, ugly, pretty, doesn’t matter…LIVE AND LOVE OUR LIVES!!!! Thanks Megan!!!
Jessica - Inspired by you, I posted pictures of MY messy house on my blog! http://www.pinkpeanutbutter.typepad.com
Jennifer Andersen - Thank you. I needed this. Makes me feel better.
Christie - Thank you for this! I found you not that long ago and am hooked. You feel like a long lost friend in the way you are in your life and I love that. I’m a full time working mom of 2 little girls and all day I read about these so called “perfect, have it all together” moms who blog, do so many things I want to do with my girls, decorate their house, thrift shop, cook and bake, and most of all craft. So thank you for showing us that you don’t have it all together and you do what you can do to what you love and sometimes the house looks like a tornado. So what, right? That’s what I try to do with my family each night and weekend, put aside the crazy mess and do what we love. So thank you for this honest post.
Katie - I was just looking around my house yesterday and thought to myself…we need to have people over to get this place cleaned up…company is the best medicine. Seriously though we have a 6 year old , 4yo, 2yo and 5 month old baby and my husband works in the transportation industry which means he is “bringing christmas to america” and very busy right now. I have to come to terms with the mess and find joy in Jesus…
Vanessa - Love it! I’m not the only one!!! Thanks for sharing your “imperfect” life with us 🙂
Stephanie - I needed this. today. My heart has been heavy with guilt over a house I can never make look like the magazines or blogs I browse. thank you. For letting me see your reality so that I can learn to let that guilt go and know that we are all just doing our best.
Annie - Thank you, thank you, thank you. As a young married sans children, I read a lot of blogging moms (like yourself) who have such pretty homes, great kids, time to craft and cook like Martha, and I look around my little apartment and think: NO. WAY. I am struggling with just one other person to take care of! What a relief to know it’s a struggle even for those with years of experience. Your blog is always such a fun, honest place to visit, and today was no exception. Thank you for letting us know that while life is beautiful, the little messes do exist, and that’s okay.
Kacey - Ah, Meg…you’re the coolest! Thanks for sharing the messy stuff. It makes me feel better.
Mary - Thank you for this!! Often when I see things in blogland I think “gahh! My house will never be that cute/perfect/awesome!” You are right, I WILL cut myself some slack today.
Oh, and I personally think you are doing a fantastic job!!! 🙂
Jessica - Thank you for your honesty!
Maybe we mom bloggers should make the 3rd of every month blog post all about how our houses REALLY look like–take pictures of dirty/messy rooms or the laundry pile or dirty dishes.
That will be a great reminder to ourselves and others that no one is perfect!
Roberta - Opps, don’t know what a carobon copy is. Meant to type carbon 😉
Roberta - I appreciate you posting this! I only have 3 kids but my house is pretty much a carobon copy of yours. Everything is clean underneath but, oh the clutter. Noone knows how to put anything away but me and I can’t keep up with 5 peoples messes. I love your honesty. That is why I’ve stopped reading so many blogs. They seemed too fake. I like reading something I can relate to.
jenn - Love it! But I must insist that you refrain from posting any further pictures of MY kitchen without my express wrtten permission! 😉
Vicki - Megan, thank you!! 🙂
stacie - Thank you. I have five kids also and there is no way a house can stay put together all the time. I don’t have a craft room and I craft so you know what my dinning room looks like and I homeschool to boot. I’m showing my husband these pics when he gets home. Just so he knows its not just us. Thank you agian 🙂 stacie from rockentot
nicki - I have 5 kids too (similar age spread) and I live this post almost daily. Thank you for sharing the REAL of life with us.
KTG - Thank you for this. My least favorite thing to do is putting away laundry for 4 people it’s never ending.
Lisa - LOVE this post – and your home is such a sign of a house filled with family and life being well lived!
Kasey - It’s good to see what ‘real life’ is like, especially when most of us bloggers share the same thing. -I clean my house top to bottom… I spend the entire weekend [I work full time] cleaning and than by Monday night it is all a mess again. I totally understand what it’s like but ive gotten to the point where I will get to it when I can get to it. -I’m not going to make it a point to have my house super spotless just so I can show it off on my ‘Blog’. That’s not what life [and my blog] is about.
Thanks for ‘keeping it real’! 🙂
Tara - you are refreshing.
thanks for showing us real life at your house….
megan - Megan-
Love the reality check! i agree…reality sucks so sometimes it is nice to escape it…even if it is only momentary.
glad you keep it all in perspective.
still wishing you were my neighbor though…i would have some great laughs with you.
megan (in maine)
Ali - Hey, who’s been taking photos at my house?!!
Kerri - This is my house, too!!! THANK YOU!!! I feel like such a loser sometimes…
Kimberlee J. - Right on…keep it real.
I love that about you.
Clean today because tomorrow there will be none of that!
christy - I could just give you a big hug right now! It is so refreshing to see messes in blogland! I’m so tired of picture perfect, because my house is not!! I have to boys 5 & 6 and they are MESSY!
Micah - LOL that is MY craft room except you’d need to add dirty laundry, a sewing machine, serger, bits of fabric and thread pieces everywhere, a pile of fabric, pet food, kitty litter, construction dirt from my husband’s workboots, sawdust from the garage, a goodwill giveaway bag, everyone’s icky play shoes. It looks SO nice when I clean it up… but it never stays clean for long!
Thanks for sharing your real life pics.
Penny - I love your foyer! That built in bench (I think) is beautiful! Toys just add to the beauty. My two oldest are out of the house. Just a 16 year old here now. Her room looks much like Lauren’s room. And just the other day I was looking for my glue gun in the craft room. Never found it and was pretty disgusted with myself for the mess in there! Thanks for making me see it isn’t just me!
sara @ it's good to be queen - thank. you. this is so good. that is my house right now. we are moving tomorrow actually so it is even worse. we came home from thanksgiving and i didn’t feel the need to unpack since we were moving in a week. so we have laundry spilling out of suitcases all over the house. isn’t laundry such a stinkin’ pain?!
thanks so much…i needed this today. 🙂
Samantha Lee - You are as refreshing as ever . . . even with the mess! Thank you for honesty.
jenny - you have no idea how much i needed this today. :0)
Jen@thecottagenest - I love that you did this. It’s good for us to tell each other that it’s okay to not be perfect. Thanks for this today and during this season when I put so much pressure on myself!
donna - even your messes look happy!!!
BULLYMAMA3 - Thank you so much for your honesty…we all need more of that!! We live in a world (or at least a country) where everything is supposed to be perfect or it isn’t worth anything. I don’t know how you do it but you always seem to post things that really strike a chord with me at just the right time (maybe that is part of your purpose w/God??) In a way you really do have it all together because you are giving your kids a wonderfully fufilling life by doing all the great things you do with them and you are an inspiration to many women that really need it (among a lot of other things!) but those are the things that should be in the “having it all together list” not an immaculate house that doesn’t let anyone have an ounce of creativity. Thanks again for making my day (AGAIN!)
Natalie - so encouraging!
Ann R. - I just left a comment, but was laughing when I scrolled back to the pics (think I am going to share with hubby). I think sometimes HE thinks I am the only one…they don’t really know…but I had to laugh at the craft room – looks like mine with the target bags for christmas gifts right?
Lori - Hahahahaha! GREAT post and so true! Whew! I feel so much better now.
Julie - Thanks for keeping it real, Meg. I must say, tho, I now have kitchen sink envy ~ here’s mine ~ http://wristonsingermany.blogspot.com/2010/06/things-i-wont-miss.html ~ and I won’t miss it one bit when we move! Oh, and mine would look like yours if it could hold that much! We’re a family of seven too. 😉
Ann R. - Meg – we still love you, that is why we love you – you are REAL! Have been following you over a year and have sent comments and emails, have sent vitamins, did the operation christmas child and thank you SO MUCH for all of it! Again, my girlfriends and I are also REAL, no fake here, all reality. We are all meeting for breakfast this morning and we will discuss the things we all have in common – messy homes, blessed families, overwhelmingness of the holiday and the peacefulness of the holiday, sickness and health. This is all part of life, and if we all find a balance with it, we are all good, and I think that is how we stay grounded is thru each other. So thank you Meg – I love the REALNESS *is that even a word?* Your beautiful blog, your colorful home, crafty Thursdays, messy rooms and all most importantly your HEART! So glad you posted that cause last night I totally cleaned my kitchen and felt great about it, till the hubby came home and we made a huge mess getting out all the Christmas stuff – oh well, tis the season. Hey – saw a craft you might want to do – the GRATEFUL frame/poster – it is totally up your alley! You would love it – let me know if your interested! Happy Friday!
visart-dali.com - Oh wow, so this is how it looks like in a real life! I love it, it is so relaxing and comforting to see that I am not the only one…
Thank you for that!
jennifer wood - Thank you Meg, love you:)
Angel/TaDa!Creations - Thanks for showing me that we are not so different. It’s easy to think that everyone else is doing life perfectly and I am the only one that can’t seem to get it together.
Oh how I wish I had space for a “family closet” right in or next to the laundry room. Then there would be no more hauling clothes to every end of the house only for it all to end up right back there. It’s the never ending battle that is so difficult to get a hold of. Most every day we are rifling through the clean-clothes-that-just-need-to-be-folded-and-put-away-piles anyway. Off to find my husband a clean towel before he gets out of the shower…I know there’s one somewhere.
Chantel - Thank you!! I’m a SAHM, my husband works from home, my daughter is homeschooled, my son is in public school, we run a home-based animal rescue and it seems like I can never keep up! Dishes and laundry multiply like Tribbles, Legos and dolls and crayons and paper are everywhere and I’ve finally decided that clutter is just part of our lives. My home is a happy one and that’s all that matters to me.
I love your home and your style and your family and how absolutely real you are. You’re so normal and approachable and I think that’s why we all love you so much. You’re all of us!
lena - AMEN!
i know this season will soon pass and i will one day long for it to return. i pray to find the JOY in it all.
pax Christi – lena
Sophie - This looks a lot like my house on a day to day basis!
Though we don’t have little kids in our house anymore so we don’t have toys lying around. (:
se7en - I am speaking from vast tombs of personal experience here: If I were you I would head straight out the door and get some fresh air!!! There is nothing else more important to be done!!!
Peggyrice@gmail.com - I may love you even more now.
Meredith - Snap. Just like my house! Thanks for this Meg…I was starting to think it was just me. I’ll consider this post an early Christmas present from Blogland:) Meredy xo
amanda - My favorite post I’ve read in a long time! Especially this time of year when you see so much pretty and perfect decorating around blog land. This is reality – and a good one! 🙂
Kirsten J - Godluvya for being real – my house looks much the same 🙂
Lacey - you are such an amazing woman, almost everytime i am having a bad day, your blog posts seem to be just for me! i love it. you are truely a very lovely person! I hope to read your blog for years! thanks for being an inspiration to me, and letting all of us know that it is ok to be real!
Staisha - Thanks you for being so honest.
Christy C - Great post!! This looks alot like my house…I thought I was the only one. Thank goodness I am not!! But when you look beyond the mess you see something beautiful…a house that looks lived in and loved in and that’s all that matters!!
Ingrid - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for posting this! it is nice to know i’m not the only mum that isn’t on top of the cleaning every minute of the day!
Niki - Meg you crack me up.
I am on a full on Spring Cleaning mission after our house looked similar to yours ALL winter here in Oz.
Truly. ALL Winter. Can you imagine.
I have 4 boys, 2 dogs, 1 cat & chickens & life is full, messy, fun & straight out hard work.
But I love it & try so very hard to manage it all successfully.
Mess can wait, loving on the love of my life 4 year old can NOT.
He needs a big cuddle NOW. Because before I know it, he will be like my nearly 15 year old & cringe when I cuddle him. Sigh.
Christina - I feel like writing posts like this…just to show what’s real. 🙂 I don’t have the following you do, and no one thinks I have it all together! haha Your transparency is great. And I feel your laundry pain. I might have to show my husband this post! teehee
I actually just wrote about something similar…the chaos that is life, that roars so loud that anything beautiful gets lost. But, then God brings beauty to light.
Love your blog. 🙂
mel - Great post! Your home is still beautiful even if it is a a little messy…you have 5 kids, cut yourself some slack 🙂 Can’t wait to see your Christmas decorations!
beth eacott - Oh wow, that is awesome! I have been following your blog for months, and love, love, love it! The color, creativity, warmth, care, and down-to-earthness (is that even a word? – somehow don’t think so) of it continue to inspire and delight me! It’s my favorite way to start the day, a good cup of coffee and some whatever (while refereeing my 2 kids grade one and two while they take way……..too long to finish their breakfasts, we’re going to miss the bus again!…..blah, blah, blah) Have never posted a comment on a blog before, not once, not ever, but I just HAD to applaud your home, BLESS THIS MESS!!! From Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, warmest wishes, beth
Amnah - So I’m not the only one that ALWAYS has a pile of clothes stacked on my daughters’ dresser. My goodness they have a never ending pile of clothes that need to be washed/folded/put away.
Glad to know you’re just as normal as the rest of us.
Trish - Aww how sweet of you to show your house to all of us! You are such a sweetie and I just adore your take on life and how you write about it!
karen - Thanks. I just left a party at a perfect house with labels on everything and all the Christmas decorations up…..came home to dirty dishes on the stove and in the sink. My little dachshund got lost yesterday in my 13yo daughter’s closet. I could not find her for 30 minutes…too many clothes on the floor 🙂
thanks for the reality check but I still think you are awesome
Dana@Bungalow'56 - I think the one room that drives me the most insane is “my” little girl’s room. They have drawers in their beds and they are always open and overflowing. We can barely keep them shut. I saw your girls room with the overflowing drawers and just sat here and smiled. We never do see anyone else’s mess… in blogland or in real life. We think we are the only ones.
Thank you.
I can go to sleep tonight knowing Megan has a messy house too. And for some strange reason, that makes me happy.
: )
Dana
Cat - LOVE this post…and thank you for sharing. I have four kids. I find that the house can’t stay cleaned for more than a couple hours tops! It can drive me insane at times, but I’m really trying to let it roll. Life….it’s messy.
michelle - love this!
you’re even more awesome after seeing this! 🙂