In our house Chaos rules. It seems that no matter what we attempt or how well we try and plan, something always comes up and throws it all out the window.
For example, this weekend was all about chaos.
It started Friday night, around midnight. We had a house full of kids (our 4, plus 2 of Natalies friends) and had finally coaxed them into sleeping and were very ready to crawl into bed ourselves when we discovered that our darling Gala (the almost 12 year old german shepherd) had peed in our bed. And not just a little tinkle, it was like she had saved everything in her for a week and unleashed her bladder right in the middle of the bed. So a couple of hours and some steam cleaning later, Justin and I found ourselves sleeping on the airmattresss. The next morning we were suppposed to leave for Emilys baby shower (which started at 10) no later than 830 so we would have time to make a couple of stops and our guests were going to be picked up about the same time. But now we are working on just a few hours of very uncomfortable, Anna-was-only-willing-to-spend-$20-at-walmart airmattress sleep. Coffee is brewed as fast as possible. The girls seem to shed clothing and belonings in the middle of the floor and you can barely tell that the livingroom is not actually carpetted in clothing. There are cabinet doors still drying around the kitchen, a heaping pile of dishes await placement in the dishwasher and 6 children run around the house playing hide and seek and periodically eating. Alyvia has decided that since there are no cabinet doors between her and food she shall consume everythign in her reach and has a breakfast of cold pizza, animal crackers, pretzels, 2 bananas, and 1/2 a loaf of bread. Somewhere in here one of Natalies friends mom arrives to pick her up. Imagine what the scene must look like to this poor woman who has come to pick up her child. As we stand there, her all ready for her day and me in my pajamas with my hair still halfway up in a ponytail and pillow creases still in my face, Alyvia decides its time to feed the dogs. I help her scoop the food, but she misses the bowls and sends dog foor scattering around the floor and our friends feet. Her daughter comes down stairs, clean, happy, and well fed and they head out the door. A few minutes later the next mother arrives to similar chaos and claims her daughter as well. At this point we are well behind schedule. But somehow in the next 20 minutes we manage to get 4 kids and ourselves dressed and presentable and out the door.
I won't tell you about the trip to walmart. But let me say that it involved myself and 2 tour busses of technologically challenged elderly folks all attempting to use the photo machines.
This is the kind of chaos that can drive many people over the edge. Sometimes I am pretty sure my husband is one of those people. But it works for us. There is usually a fair ammount of chaos involved in everything that we do. We are usually late for things. There is usually a bit of yelling involved in getting us all out the door. And sometimes (ok, 90% of the time) when we finally get where we are going, McKenzie will announce that she doesnt have any underwear on (why do I never rememeber to check before we leave?!). But by the time we all get in the car, buckle up and drive off we are happy, chattering and looking presentable. Our house may never be picture perfect clean, but its generally tidy and somewhat maintained (i.e. no you will not have to sit in a pile of laundry, but there is a pile of laundry sitting in front the washer downstairs waiting its turn to be washed). The fridge is covered in school work, the calendar is covered in a plethora of activities, there are usually a few toys on the floor, the dishwasher is usually running, the washer does a couple of loads of laundry a day, and I am almost always asking someone to pick up their something that they left in the place it doesnt belong. But its all part of what makes our family tick.
I have often found myself feeling embarrassed by the state of my house when parents come to pick up their kids, or people drop by unexectedly. But I have recently decided that that is not ok. My children are happy, healthy, intelligent, well loved, well behaved children. Anyone who spends any time with them can tell you that they are bright, engaging, talkative, and humorous. So if you come to my house ready to take pictures for better homes and gardens, let me save you some time. There is no ammount of editting software that will make those pictures work for your magazine. But if you want to come over and feel relaxed and comfortable and have a nice home cooked meal and some good conversation, please stop by any time. We love guests and I love to feed people! And I wouldnt change a thing.
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