11.14.2009

If You Came By My House Today.......

Sweet precious crafty Kellie over at La Vida Dulce is hosting a bloggy carnival, and I love a good party. 

I'm also intrigued by the fried butter that is supposedly the new rage at state fairs these days, but I don't know that Kellie's carnival is sportin' fried lard.  And it isn't that I want to try fried butter...I am just wondering about the person that decided one day that it was a good idea to dip a tablespoon of Country Crock in batter and plop it in the fry daddy.  Next it will be fried jelly.  Or fried syrup.  Or fried mustard.  You know...as long as we are going for condiments.  But I digress...

Kellie provided us with a writing prompt.  And as a former English teacher, this concept excites me to no end.  So I'm gladly playing along......which meant that we were to complete this sentence starter.....

If you came to my house today......

Now, first of all, this terrifies me.  Because I am NOT a fan of the drop-in guest.  Uninvited and unexpected visitors literally make me shake and usually lead to me hurrying the children to the back of the house, shushing them, and playing the very fun childhood game "Duck and Hide From the People Ringing the Doorbell."  You think I'm kidding. 

But because I like you, I'll let you in....today.

And what you would find would be a VERY lived in house.  Excuse me.  A very lived in HOME.

The slipcover is off the couch and is draped over four dining room chairs.  It has been a fort.  And a castle.  A jungle.  And, most recently, a veterinarian clinic.

The couch cushions are off of that same couch and are piled up in Mt. Everest fashion. 

There is a strange aroma wafting from the shoe shelf.....it smells of boy. 

There are cereal bowls in my sink.  From two days ago.

There is a carpet of laundry in my laundry room.  I counted them up the other day, and to be completely caught up on every stitch of clothing/laundry that needs to be washed would mean doing 17 loads.  17!  Guess what??  It's not happening.  So the carpet of laundry will stay.

There are piles of toys in Sawyer and Tate's room that are a hodgepodge of army men, action figures, and HotWheels.  The piles are stuffed under the bed and in the corners....as if they are invisible to mother's eyes on the last "Clean Your Room" tirade. 

There are stacks of folded laundry piled in the floor of my room.  I can fold.  But I can't seem to put it away.  It truly is sad when the children come first to my floor to look for clean undies instead of their drawers. 

The vacuum cleaner is sitting in the hallway.  Waiting to be used.  Or put away.  Or to be invited into the living room to help hold up a part of the fort. 

School books are sitting on the table.  Because we didn't put them away.

The boys' bathroom smells of stank.  And looks as though the children have missed every attempt of actually hitting their target which is the toilet.  It is gross.  And unsanitary.  And I continue to just resolve to not.go.in.there.

And I could go on. And on. And on.

Because our house is rarely clean. 

It is full of forts, and roads made of DVD cases, and strewn legos, and pillow towers, and soccer played in the hallway, and fishstick crumbs under the table.

Because it is lived in. 

But maybe more importantly....our home is LOVED in.


****Thanks, Kellie, for hosting!  Head over to her place to find out what is going on in everyone's cribs today!!**

15 comments:

Jim said...

Amb my girl,
I totally understand the concept of inventiveness disarraying when it comes down to rascal eng.in.new.ity in their constructs. Our den has been transformed in a matter of micro.mil.la.bites of a second into an actual DEN habitation for WILDLIFE - more than once. And consider this, your spic.and.span madre finds it easier to allow the mold to grow there until the rascals have moved out of hibernation. You are totally not doing so bad at all. Take it from one GAMEKEEPER to ANOTHER, just keeping the beasts fed and their cages with at least a path to manuver is a feat of extraordinary strength.

I hope your weekend is absolutely the most awesomeness one ever, to quote one of my favorite bloggeresses.

Your Jim-Dad

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

I love that phrase: Our home is LOVED in.

Do you know how much it's killin' me that John is in your town and I'm not???

Mich said...

So understand...all of it. In fact, I am fixing to grab my mop, box of trash bags, and fire up the washing machine.

Enjoy your weekend!

Love you.

really.truly said...

Yep, it sounds like a love filled, fun filled HOME!

What is it about boys and bathrooms? We are always having to replace toilet seats and the smell...boy spray ;)

Also, my boys have to look in our bedroom for clean undies too! They are usually in the clean clothes pile in my bedroom....not in their drawer. It would make far too much sense for them to be in their underwear drawer.....and we are usually not about sense on most days.

Carpool Queen said...

I forced myself to put five loads of laundry away this morning...Only because I'm about to wash eighteen more piles....

The Bowden's said...

And your kiddos will so appreciate this as they are growing up! :)

lisa@littlesliceoflife said...

I love your home. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Tiffani said...

I can't WAIT to come hang out in that loved in house....


I love you being real about your home and I LOVE YOU!!!

Elizabeth said...

I know I'd feel right at home in your house! It sounds perfect.

Jessica said...

Your house matches mine! Only my carpet of dirty laundry is mixed in with the piles of folded laundry in my bedroom. It gets confusing sometimes. I TRIED to do the flylady thing, I really did! But she forgot to make one of my missions to get over my internet addiction! ;)

Unknown said...

Thank you for opening that door today! I would have been so sad to not had the chance to visit.

Growing up with two brothers, and having a boy myself, I completely understand the bathroom issues.

All the other stuff? Well as Gretchen of JIMCS encouraged me once, "You all DO live there!"

Some of my best childhood memories are the ones that were the messiest: the forts under dining room tables, the mud pits in the back yard, the food concoctions made in the kitchen....

Your loved in home feels wonderful, and those who visit feel it too!

Thanks for playing!

Unknown said...

Oh, and also, your dad is precious.

Gretchen said...

Can I come over. Those piles would be comfy pillows. I could take a nap. Because I'm pretty sure you're the kind of friend who wouldn't be offended if I curled up and took a nap...after we watched Glee together. :)

Sami said...

I love that Kellie did this carnival. It was lovely visiting your comfy cozy home!

Becca~CapturingSimpleJoys said...

Your house likes one I'd be perfectly comfortable in! :)