Before The Baby Invasion.
Our living room - the very before.
Our living room - the old after.
Our living room - this morning.
The foyer/hall/dining area/whatever it's supposed to be - the very before.
Same area, different angle - the old after.
Same area - this morning.
Our kitchen - the very before.
Our kitchen - the old after.
Our kitchen - this morning. (Look, I've been so patient the computer is still in one piece. Aren't you so proud?)
And I know the purpose of the basement is for dressing change, but still. EVERY area in our house has thrown up baby stuff. And when you add a whole big helping of medical junk, it's everywhere.
The basement - nice, new, pristine.
The basement this morning - set up and ready to go for Jonah's dressing change.
Please don't mistake this for complaining. I LOVE having Jonah (and all of his tons and tons of crap) around the house. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
But sometimes... sometimes when I'm dodging puke puddles, trying not to step on the poopy diaper I've just thrown on the floor, kicking the cat out of my path, tripping over the bouncy seat, maneuvering around the high chair, yelling at the dog to get off Jonah's blanket or to stay away from Jonah's toys or to shut his face, kicking all Jonah's laundry to the laundry closet because I have no hands to pick it up, all the while saying a few choice cuss words praying for the sick...
Sometimes I just want to snap my fingers and have it all put away. I'd love to hear somebody say something to me like, "a place for everything and everything in its place." Because although I'd want to smack them a little bit for being so daggone hoity toity, it would mean that everything actually did have an appropriate place... that the fault would be mine that I had neglected to put it all away.
Unlike the reality which is - this kid's stuff is everywhere, and I can't, for the life of me, figure out where to put it or how to organize it to where my house doesn't look like it's vomited baby.
So there it is, folks. Puke-stained and all. Our house. Our mess. Our glorious chaos.
And I wouldn't have it any other way...
... except for maybe a few cute storage trunks from Target and some extra shelving, and some extra cabinets in the kitchen, and an actual dining room...
I'm just sayin'.
(Let me apologize for the jumbled upedness of this post and let me also say that Blogger needs to work these spacing bugs out. Because although I'm trying to have patience with my computer, Blogger's need to jumble up all my paragraphs into one, long, hard-to-read monstrosity also makes me want to drop it off the deck. Give a girl a break already. Is a little paragraph breakage too much to ask???)
(Let me apologize for the jumbled upedness of this post and let me also say that Blogger needs to work these spacing bugs out. Because although I'm trying to have patience with my computer, Blogger's need to jumble up all my paragraphs into one, long, hard-to-read monstrosity also makes me want to drop it off the deck. Give a girl a break already. Is a little paragraph breakage too much to ask???)
41 comments:
I completely understand how having a child (or children) can change the whole look of your house. Sometimes I just want to throw things away (all the toys in the living room!) so that people would walk in and only hear the kids (not see that they have invaded)! We pray for sweet Jonah and your family every day.
I am totally with you. Thankfully my son is now almost 2, so most of the big, bulky items have been put away....to be replaced with all new 2 year old junk. Yes, eventually you will be able to put most of those items away - only to wish Jonah was little enough to use them again. Ha!
I hear ya, girl.
I have a girl who's almost 3. And I feel like about 7 months ago, I had organized toys/stuff so that our house looked a little less like it puked baby everywhere. I had the toys almost contained to one room, the high chair up in the attic, etc...
Then, I had another baby 6 months ago and out came all the baby stuff from the attic. Here we go again. Playmat, swing, exersaucer, highchair, bumbo... I trip over toys and baby stuff all day long. But I'm like you, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Makes me smile just thinking about it - even though it drives me crazy at the same time! :)
Oh I so remember them days. I remember thinking, Where does everyone else put the baby stuff..... They do pass. Now my house looks like it threw up paper from school (homework, lunch menus (in triple), field trip forms, PTA announcments, returned papers, art projects.....). I would not trade that for the world either. I know you are thinking "Just use a folder" It ain't nearly so easy! HA HA! LOVE your house (before and after the baby stuff!), Praying for you so much and it is such a pleasure to do so! Jennifer in Southeast, NC
Hmm. Nice. ;)
(Hey, have you tried the "< br >" tag? Only without the spaces between? That's the HTML code for a break. If you put two of 'em in there back to back, "
" it'll give you a lovely paragraph break. ...If blogger cooperates!)
"Our glorious chaos"
Perfect!
I have a 4 year old and 2 year old twins so I completely understand what you are saying. And I wouldn't change it for the world.. so I'm going to steal it " Our glorious chaos" fits perfectly! Thanks!
I'm just impressed with all the decorating you did--it still shows through the baby stuff! We are definitely NOT decorators...
My biggest "baby stuff" challenge has been that N. keeps growing! And since we want to save his clothes for potential little brothers/sisters, we keep storing too-small clothes while bringing in MORE clothes to fit. Yet, our house does not get correspondingly bigger every 3-6 months.
Just look how much color Jonah brought into your house, your heart, and the hearts of your readers. =)
Just so you feel better, my "baby" is 17, my house is still chaos and covered in baby things. (not because of the 17 yr. old) "grands" who knew???
And I wouldn't change it (much) for the world, either. ;)
I'm impressed that you still have THROW PILLOWS. We must have gone through five or six sets over the past seven years. Spit up, Capri Suns, more spit up, Diet Coke, toddler vomit, boogers, saliva, elementary school vomit ... you name it, it hit our throw pillows. Good luck as the stages come and go! :) And I won't EVEN attempt to tell you that one day your "NEW AFTERS" will become your "OLD BEFORES." I don't want to depress you. Love ya!
Have you tried the new Blogger editor?! It fixed all those spacing issues for me (and it is MUCH easier to insert pictures). If you click on Settings, at the very bottom, it will say "Select Post Editor". If you haven't already, try clicking on the "Updated Editor" and see if you like it. The only thing I have found that I don't like about it is that I haven't found a way to upload videos (so I just switch back to the old, upload the video, then switch back). They're still working on all the updates I think, so hopefully that video issue will be fixed later. If you have already tried this, well just ignore me :)
Hi Patrice-
I've had such craziness at work (big 10/15 deadline!) so I haven't had time to stop by, but just quickly got caught up on your posts. That sweet Jonah just makes me feel happy!
And I know exactly what you mean about the invasion of kid-stuff. The worst is when you start stepping on Legos or jacks or action figures- yikes!
Am still praying for you and Matt and sweet Jonah - lots of love from the Lone Star State!
Laura
Your house is so clean even with all the baby stuff! Looks nothing like anything has been puked up and it does look like everything has a place! My entire house looks like a daycare/ junk mail storage unit!
I love the colors you have throughout your house! The color in the kitchen paired with the sage color looks awesome!
But isn't it wonderful having all this stuff around. IT is like reassurance that yes...this is your life....you do have a wonderful little boy!
Whoa, girl. You might want to retract that kicking the cat statement. I'm sure you meant "nudge", but PETA will be at your door in no time. On the upside, you can tell them they can't come in because they won't have anywhere to sit :) Hang in there; you're doing such a great job.
hey! I've totally had the same spacing problems with blogger - switching to using mozilla firefox as my browser instead of explorer helped a little. I type my posts in Word first, then upload my pictures into blogger, THEN copy and paste the text and move the pictures back into place. Doesn't always work, but it works better!
By the way, my kids are now 6 and 4, and the mess only changes shape and tone a little. I miss the baby mess some, though!
lol Loved this! Some days it is true there is not a sweeter reminder of my children then seeing their "stuff" clinging to our home. But other days . . . . lol! I hear you! Sometimes it is hard to find the glorious in the mundane, but it is always there. {grin}
The time will soon enough come when you won't need all the baby stuff around and you can learn to easily disquise all the toys, book, puzzles, etc.
And an AMEN on the paragraph issues. It's deterred me from postin many times!
You crack me up!!! We have ALL been there and trust me, I have an 11 year old son and 6 year old daughter...there stuff still overtakes the house but before you know it...it will be all gone and you'll get your old house back some day....right now we're in the midst of school papers and chaos EVERYWHERE...not baby stuff...but major kid stuff...different stages requires different stuff...ugh!
I have so many friends in the same position! Frustrating, but worth it.
Totally hear you on the blogger thing...drives me crazy!
Cxx
It will get better as he outgrows the huge baby things. Packing up the pack n play was a huge deal for us in making our house look a little less lived in again : ) I love the after Jonah pix : )
its crazy how much stuff comes with a baby. but just think as he gets old his toys get bigger at times. just wait until you step on that first lego! ouch
Love it!!! I have 4 munchkins and my mess just keeps growing!!! I swear the laundry alone just keeps multiplying all by itself!! I believe the "stuff" is just a sign of a happy home and a family who cares. (at least that is what I tell myself when I look at all of our "extra kid-friendly stuff" cluttering my home)As long as Jonah is happy all is right in the world. He looks as though he is too! You are a great mommy!! :)
Dear sweet Patrice:
I know the feeling...and I don't even have a new baby (can you see my bottom lip sticking out?) :(
I try to rearrange things on an almost daily basis to kind of hide the stuff...but it just seems to creep out of the hiding places I find. To tell the truth though I would much rather have traces of the baby kisses and sweet smelling heads AND poopy diapers! And when I trip over the playpens stacked in the corner of our bedroom, after the "rackin frackin" I thank my Father for little babies to take care of and the mommies that trust me to do so:)
Praying for you all today! Looking forward to the 23rd:)
Hugs and kisses to Baby Jonut!
Love, Aimee
We always joke that the only room in our house that is fully in order is Ella's room. That's because anything in there is in its place. Everywhere else there are Ella toys, bowls of animal crackers, hair bows, dirty clothes, and the list goes on. The only room that isn't complete Ella chaos is her room. I keep telling myself that when she gets older it will change, then I visit my friends who have older kids and I see that not only will it not change...it will probably just get worse.
Katie
If you need a run to Target, price match the Walgreens ad and use Target coupons to get peanut butter for .67 this week!
Loved the video of Jonah rolling over!
Have you started using the Blogger editor? It helps (a little, but not nearly enough) with the spacing issues. Go to Settings. Then all the way at the bottom, you can choose to use the new editor. It's WAY nicer for putting in photos also as you get to CHOOSE where to put your photos! And you can choose on each picture whether to have it left/center/right and small/medium/large. But maybe you're already using the new editor and this is a worthless comment!
Patrice,
I have an old comic from the funny pages taped to my fridge - the setting is a kitchen, and it says,
"Our motto - a place for everything, and everything all over the place!" That's so true of my house, and I can't even blame it on the kids anymore!
Jannette
I really understand what you are saying. I have 3kids a 9 and 8 year old and a 6month old and i really didnt know a baby can have way too much stuff everywhere. I dont think i had this much stuff with the first two. Anyway I was at McDonalds on Jonestown Rd this morning and seen a Jonah magnet. Hope you guys have a good week and weekend and we are always praying for you guys
You make me laugh!! Isn't it funny how "busy" our lives seem before kids, but when you look back on those neat tidy pictures of your house you realize how simple and peaceful it was. Yet, just like you, I would not change a minute of the noise or chaos of my life now to go back to the serenity of those days! I say I run a zoo most days.
Just wait til he starts walking! Sometimes I wish Mary Poppins would come sing her clean-up song at our house!
those before and after photos are hilarious and so, so true! Most parents go through this...been there, done that and I totally get it.
fun post, thanks for sharing!
Oh, how I feel your pain. With 4 children, I just can't seem to be able to balance house cleaning/child neglecting and just hanging out with the kids. If it wasn't totally tacky to hire someone to help clean while I sit on my bum and play with the kids--I would do it.
It's a constant struggle for me every day to realize that "this house is not my home", and that it belongs to the kids, too. I would be lying if I told you it got easier as they get older. True, our older children (7 and 6) can keep the majority of their toys in their room, and can be told to pick up after themselves. AS Jonah gets older, and things like bouncy seats and bumbo's get packed away, other clutter will come out, like legos, hot wheels and tonka trucks, and it will be a whole new "different" mess.
I love your blog, and desperately love your family, and little Jonut.
My house too has been baby invaded. Well actually it would be considered Toddler invaded now. Totally 100% understand what you mean.
I totally understand your pain, but it does get better!! The infant stage just requires a lot of "gear." Of course the gear gets replaced w/toys :)
Hang in there, you are doing great and Jonah is thriving.
I feel your pain! It does get better over time, and we always celebrate putting away a piece of baby gear like the swing, bouncy seat, exersaucer, etc. While they are great to use, they take up so much space! Don't even bother trying to organize it. It will only stress you out trying to keep it organized :) Right about the time I felt like my house wasn't quite so cluttered with baby stuff we had another baby and started all over again. Add that to all of the preschooler stuff and our house is kid central!
~Amy
hehe looks like our house too...invasion! :) I think BabiesRus threw up in our livingroom :)
at least as he gets older, you won't need as much stuff (just more toys). As long as I can find what I need and the house isn't "nasty", I'm good. We have 6kids, so having a perfect house, will never happen.
Still praying for your precious baby Jonah!
With all the extra things you have to do with Jonah I'd have to say your house doesn't look bad at all. I've seen much much worse. So pat yourself on the back for that. :)
i'm laughing sooooooooo hard! i was looking at the "today" pictures and said "wow! her house is soooo much cleaner than mine and i only have three dogs"!!!!! your house is beautiful. actually MORE beautiful with all the baby stuff :-)
You can erase my comment about the off centered picture above your fireplace all day long, in the end, everytime you look at it now you will know it looks odd.
Ah the baby mess! You will miss it, really! ;) I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old so I have put away the baby gear (swing, pack'n'play, jumperoo, Bumbo, etc.) just within the past few months and the only baby thing I really still have out is the highchair. And I miss it! I would rather just have baby gear all over my house, laundry baskets overflowing with cloth diapers and onesies, and a counter full of bottles. It's so much... well, CUTER than a living room full of happy meal toys and shredded junk mail and muddy shoeprints all over the carpet and getting profoundly irritated while putting away dishes because my stack of plates keeps falling over due to those annoying compartmented toddler plates and there's no room for drinking glasses because you can't really stack sippy cups efficiently... I miss the baby gear. At least baby gear pretty much stays where you put it. Once Jonah gets mobile you'll be finding 3 week old soured bottles and sippy cups in the couch, under your bed... And when your car keys go missing, check the hamper and the trash can first. Not that I know anything about that...
I've been reading your blog for a couple months now and praying for Jonah (and you). We got a magnet and I read the latest update to hubby before bed. I've been gone for 2 weeks and just now getting caught back up.
Oh the blogger spacing... drives me INSANE! But I have the exact opposite problem as you. I space my paragraphs and then when I hit post some of them have my specified space but some just randomly have like 6 or 12 blank lines between paragraphs so you have to mega scroll down to see what I wrote next. Annoying. VERY ANNOYING. So then I have to edit and fix it and half the time that just makes it worse.
I know how you feel, my home looks the same, but I love it too! These tiny little ones take over everything, your home, your life and your heart and you love every bit of it!!
BTW I love your home, it is so beautiful!
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