Sticky counters, kids, and dads...

It was brought to my attention by a friend yesterday that I appear to be so "put together". Naturally, I nearly spit out my Cherry 7up when she told me this as I stood in the middle of my kitchen still in my sweats,attempting to make dinner on counter tops that were so cluttered I could barely work, dodging rouge Nerf gun darts, with a puppy barking incessantly, and 2 toddlers making various demands and complaints, while simultaneously communicating with her, my husband and another friend. No, I'm not THAT put together! 

Ever heard that saying "Act like a duck"?

Apparently, I do. I certainly don't make an effort to, but obviously my feathers seem neatly arranged while I paddle frantically to stay above water. I hope this is a validating post for many of you, because the truth is June Cleaver does not exist in real life. Kids are messy, men are messy, dogs and cats are messy, cooking is messy, *I* am messy. Real life is messy. If my house looks clean in pictures, that's because I took a picture of the only clean part, if my daughter's hair looks perfect, that's because I took a picture of it before I let her move a muscle, if my makeup looks great....hahaha....no. I can't even pretend I have time for that. 

I have recently come to the conclusion that even the people whom I think are excellent house keepers, neat freaks, or organizational prodigies are real people too. I have a lovely Aunt who I think keeps a perfect house, who's children seem to have nothing (and I mean NOTHING) out of place in their rooms. This woman keeps a date book (it's really a binder) on PAPER that is as chic as it is functional, and I'm pretty sure that my uncle is the epitome of perfectionist heaven. If he ever left his dirty socks on the floor in his life (or owned dirty socks for that matter) I would be shocked. Sounds too good to be true right? I bet it is. Am I certain that my aunt is 10 times the woman that I could ever hope to be? Absolutely. BUT...she has dirty dishes, and laundry, and kids, and animals, and maybe (although I still doubt it) a dirty husband too. I bet she goes to bed some nights without the crumbs wiped off her pristine counter tops. And why? Because she, like us all, is a human, wife, and mother, and also wears about 100 other hats during her busy work day. Nothing, no one, is perfect 100% of the time. Most of us aren't perfect 95% of the time. I don't think it's something to feel guilty or overwhelmed about either. We all have different priorities, but be REAL. Embrace the mess, know that these days are long but the years are short. The crumbs will wait until tomorrow...but that little person  learning to take those first few steps won't. Above you can see what leaving my toilets 'til tomorrow got me, and I'll leave you with some scary pictures of our current not-so-put-together (very real)  state. 'Til next time