It was brought to my attention in recent conversations with friends that this blog portrays our life inaccurately. It’s kindof inevitable that the pictures I choose to post or the stories I tell are generally the things I want to remember (and not the disasters I want to forget!). Anybody can seem to have it together with selective blogging. So in the interest of raising the self esteem of all my readers at my own expense, here’s a little tour of the utter chaos that is our home…
This first picture is supposed to be the dining room. We’re still eating on the couch (and sending the kids outside to the kiddie table).
Hurray! I took this one of the kids using the manual settings on my camera like Bethany showed me, because Auto made everything dark. You can actually see the kids…and some of the disaster they’ve wreaked on the family room…
We have enough packing paper for a year’s worth of art projects…normally the type of thing I’d store in the basement. Alternate storage ideas, anyone? I don’t know, I might keep that stack right there and call it modern art.
If I keep the boxes of books stacked up indefinitely, I might forget that one whole wall of our living room is a mirror.
I made my bed before taking this picture. Not that it really contributed to a sense of peace.
And this one is not for the faint of stomach…I believe this was taken after a bunch of scrubbing. This is my shower door. I realize that my life has been very sheltered. I had never before been in a truly filthy house. My horizons are being expanded as my Simple Green is being depleted.
And there you have it. Instead of dealing with all of this while the kids were all down, I ate two bowls of ice cream and uploaded pictures. Just bein’ honest. Don’t you feel better about the state of your home now?
Hi Emily! Actually, once the house is in order, it looks pretty nice from your pics! Also, Tilex Mold and Mildew Remover works really well on mold. Just open the windows and take the kids outside and let it soak in for 15-20 minutes and then rinse and/or scrub (whatever is necessary!). We’re praying for you!!! 🙂
oh your poor shower – I hope the rest of the house is not that bad!!? I am SO HAPPY that you and Bethany had time to sit down and do a manual tutorial. I felt AWFUL we didn’t have enough time to do that here, esp after we talked about how much I enjoyed shooting manual. YAY!! I think you’ll really be excited and feel like a whole new world has been given to you in your camera! Which will something else fun to focus on amidst the chaos the new house. 🙂 (which looks like it has some really nice light, btw. I really like the plantation shutters, especially.)
Give yourself a break, you just moved cross-country with 3 kids!
That shower looks like a job for bleach, not Simple Green! Sometimes you have to pull out the big guns. Or, would it be possible to uninstall the entire door and just have a shower curtain? Those sliding doors never feel entirely clean to me anyway – too many nooks and crannies for stuff to grow.
Also, you want gross, you should see our scary basement shower – peeling paint, no ventilation so it gets moldy in about 5 seconds, and constant giant bugs since after all we do live in a basement.
Mariel, you’re right about them never getting clean–we are asking the landlords to replace the door, as part of it is broken, anyway.
And yes, I have now made it to the store to buy additional cleaners. I didn’t want to take a chemical cocktail across the country in the car with us, so I gave all but my all-purpose cleaner to a friend in PA. Watch out, mildew!
I feel much better. Thanks! 🙂 Wish I could help clean and unpack.
It won’t always be like this. It will get better. Hang in there, Emily!
(And, yes, I took the picture of the shower door after “cleaning” with Simple Green and a brand new scrub brush. I regret that it didn’t make much difference.)
I have been thinking about you all! You are a very brave Mama…that is a lot to deal with! I will be praying that the rest of the unpacking and settle in will be peaceful and smooth. 🙂
Oh, Emily… I love your honesty 🙂 Hang in there, dear girl. You can only do one thing at a time, and those darling little ones of yours need your loving far more than those boxes need unpacking! Just take your time, keep taking ice cream breaks every so often, and know that you’re in my prayers! *hugs*