i want you to know...

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. 

Comments

[Mindy W]

This is just plain really good.

[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.

[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.

[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 :)

[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!

[Kate @ Songs Kate Sang]

Seriously.

You are loved. and amazing. and loved!

[Tanya H]

And this, Meg, is why we love you. :)

[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

[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!

[Kirsten]

I love this. My house looks the SAME! Thanks for being real. :)

[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!

[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! :))

[Jessica]

Love this post! Thanks for keeping it real...

[Jill]

Oh thank Heaven! :)

[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'.....

[Jane Mc]

You rock Meg!

[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!!

[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!

[Shauna]

i really heart you.
you are loving and brave.
i am smiling at you, right now.

[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!

[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....

[Denise]

I liked you before this post, but now I love you. :)

[Kim McCoy]

The BEST post I've seen in blog land in a while. Makes me feel normal. Thanks for sharing and being honest.

[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

[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!!

[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!!

[MGF]

breathe taking to know that everyone is not perfect.

[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!!!

[Becky @ Farmgirl Paints]

great keepin' it real post Meg!

[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.

[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. :)

[Ellen Patton]

Great 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??)

[Dar]

Love you even more after this post:)

[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

[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. :-)

[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.

[Jodi]

Cleaning can always be put off to tomorrow. :o)

[Jeannine]

I think you're amazing!

[melissa*320 sycamore]

*love* it. things in blogworld look a little too perfect sometimes..thank you for being real! :)

[taniawillis]

oh meg.......how i love you.

[marci]

OH MY GOSH THANK YOU!!
you just made my dang day!

[Mary Craig]

This just made me love you EVEN MORE!

[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

[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!! :)

[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

[Janelle]

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are so many times that I just ask myself "WHY CAN'T I KEEP THIS HOUSE CLEAN??

[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!

[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.

[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"!

[Karen]

Posts like this are why you are so loved!

[Ellen]

Thank you.

[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...

[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.

[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.

[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

[midwestmom]

this is why your blog is my favorite. my first click of my day. everyday. thank you so much for this post day!

[Els]

Ha ha ha! love it!

[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.

[Lucylu ~]

wowza!

[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:)

[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:)

[Jen]

This made me want to cry. Not kidding. 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.

[Kellie]

Oh, I love you! Your are real. You make every mom out there feel ok. Thank you!!!!!

[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

[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

[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:)

[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!

[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.

[Suzette]

You ROCK! And so do I!

[Michelle]

From the bottom of my heart....THANK YOU!

[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

[Darcy]

I love you for showing us your real house. We're all in the same boat!

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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...)

[Belinda]

Relief floods the blogosphere. Mothers cheer aloud infront of their computers. We are not alone! xx

[dawn]

Thank you. And you can come over to my house any day -- you'll feel right at home. :)

[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!!!!!

[carolyn]

love this post. but, somehow, even your messy is cute...

[barb c]

you rock!

[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! :)

[jodi]

And this is why you are my favorite blogger. We are all in this together- You are always "keepin it real"!

[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.

[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!

[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.

[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!

[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

[Sandy]

Thanks for being so real Meg!!

[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!

[Kimmie]

Thank you! :)

[karen]

tears...thanks meg!

[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...

[mbt]

Thanks so much for being so real and for sharing.

[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!!

[Kathy]

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing- your blog is fabulous!

[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.

[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.