Welcome to My Home Where it’s a Bit Messy

Welcome to my messy home! I have officially been on summer break for a week now and have enjoyed this week being a stay at home mom. However, I look around my house and it is NOT any cleaner than it was a week ago. It might even be a bit messier as Mia has become more mobile.

It isn’t to the point where it looks like a tornado hit it, but the clean dishes are in the sink not put away, the toys are on the floor, the mail is on the table and the dust is on the TV. Oh, and the cheerios need swept up. So, nothing that will take too long, but what is more important during this nap break? Cleaning? Or taking in some mommy time?

Well, I chose mommy time clearly 🙂 and I was perusing Pinterest when I saw one of those signs. You know, one of those cute signs that a mom either makes at craft day or has her kids make? The ones that say “Please excuse the Mess, the Children are Making Memories.” Like this:

Or this:

At first, I kind of went with the hype and thought, “Oh, that’s cute! That describes us!” But the more I think about it, the more issues I have with it and the more I realize, it does NOT describe us.

First, it might be kind of petty, but we only have one child, not children. The biggest problem with this is that our house really isn’t a whole lot messer since Mia arrived. Yes,
there are a few more toys scattered on the floor, but the laundry situation hasn’t changed. There are just as many clothes on my bedroom floor as before! No more, no less. There is just as much mail on the table, and just as much dust on the TV. There are also just as many dishes on the counter that need washed. Actually, there might even be less some days because I have to do the dishes more often so Mia has clean bottles each day. The point is, my husband and I weren’t neat freaks before the baby arrived, our house was still a little messy! So, you can’t blame the mess completely on the child.

Second, why are we specifying that the children are the one making memories?? Let’s face it. Most of our children won’t remember all these little activities anyways as they grow up. I know my 7 month old won’t! But, what they do remember and carry with them are the feelings. They remember the feeling of comfort and love that us parents give when participating in activities with them.

It is us parents that make the memories! We are the ones that will always remember what it was like looking down and seeing that sweet baby face light up in a toothy grin at the hearing a rattle shake. It is us that will treasure the deep belly laughs that echo in the bathroom when splashing water hits everyone’s faces. Us parents are making the memories that we will take with us to high school and college graduation and the wedding days, wondering where our little babies went.

That was when I noticed this alternative:

This sign was definitely a step in the right direction! We live here and living is messy. No matter how often I clean, the toys, mail, dishes, and laundry are going to pile up again! Mia has to learn and play. The mailman will come. We all have to eat, and I HOPE we change clothes at least once day! If I fixed every one of these little “messes” every time they occur, I would not have time to enjoy my daughter, my husband, or just relax!

However, there is still a part of this that I disagree with. Why should anyone excuse me for the state that MY house is in! They don’t live here! I do. My husband does, and my daughter does. If one of them has an issue with the house, then we will work it out together. As moms, we have to stop apologizing about the way our living room looks. We LIVE in it! Why should we pick up the toys at nap time when the baby is just going to get them all back out in an hour anyways?

I found myself apologizing to my in-laws the other day about all the toys on the floor when they came over. Looking back, this wasn’t necessary for a variety of reasons:

1. They raised my husband. They should know how he lives by now.
2. They gave us a lot of the toys Mia had scattered around.
3. They DON’T LIVE HERE!

Trust me, I love a clean house just as much as the next mom, but is the headache and the hours spent cleaning and worrying about it completely worth it? I am going to pick up and do the dishes and the laundry as necessary because I do want my house to be habitable, but I am not going to stress over the state of the carpet just because somebody might drop by. I am going to invite my parents and in-laws in to spend time and make memories with my daughter, regardless of how much dust is on my TV or how much mail is on my table.

If you are a mom that always has a spotless house, more power to you. I applaud your efforts! You must be extremely organized and run a tight ship. There are days I wish I had your strength. Please pass your hidden secrets my way! For now though, I will sit here and giggle with my daughter as she realizes her bear sings instead of going to my bathroom and scrubbing the sink.

So please, I invite you over. I would love to have lemonade and talk with you, especially on one of these beautiful summer days. You can even check out the new sign I designed that I will one day make for my house (instead of cleaning!) :

However, if you come over to see my sign, I make no guarantees on the state of my house. If you don’t like it, we better go outside.

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