Over the weekend I felt like I needed to organize something. It didn’t really matter what, I just needed to sort, organize, color code…something! So I went for my recipes. They had been stashed in this accordion looking folder. Everything was just stuffed in & I never ended up using any recipes that were further back than the first fold.
So at our last Target run I picked up a pretty binder, (school supplies are on clearance now…bonus!) some clear pocket thingies with 3 holes on the side & dividers. Then I organized all my recipes according to the main ingredient. Chicken, pork, beef, pasta, veggies…
This made me feel sooo much better. (exhale…whewwwww..)
I’m a geek, I’m know.
But before you go thinking, “Oh my, how does she do it? Two kids & time to organize recipes?? I can barely get my teeth brushed!” Take a gander at the rest of my life…unedited…
Well surely with downstairs being such a mess upstairs must have been cleaned, let’s take a look…
Although she’s a mess at least her room is clean…
Hmm, well maybe the bed is made?
Maybe not.Perhaps the laundry is done…
Oh dear, well surely all the time has gone to that sweet new baby. She must be neatly swaddled in her own bed…
Orrrr she’s napping in the bathroom because the hairdryer on full blast is the only way she’ll let mommy put her down.
You see, really, I’m dying from the chaos & organizing my recipes is just a tiny way to get control. A little corner of the house that’s sorted, divided, cleaned out & color-coded. Do what you need to do to survive, that’s my new motto.
Hope that’s not too deep for Monday morning. Just go ahead and cancel your therapist appt for the week, you got your dose from Samster Mommy.
You’re welcome.
I have the same binder for my recipes! You can wipe it off after spilling! 🙂
hahaha you are so funny! and yes having more than one child is challenging! it happened to me, the first few weeks I was fine cause hubby was home, but when he went back to work, I was all by myself, I didn't know what to do, I would cry and cry (yeah I got pp blues, thank God is was just for the first month) for every little thing, I ended up being OCD after my first child so everything needed to be spotless, clean, and in its place, and that just wasn't possible, besides the new baby ate, ate,ate, and yes ate! (I don't need to tell you what comes after eating cause you know hehe) so I was sore from feeding, had to cook, clean, and just run my home (Oh I forgot to mention that I had a c-section) phewwww! I completely understand you! (I should have written an email, this comment was waaaay to long, and I just made it longer by adding that hahaha)…Have a great week!
Thank you for this post! It is nice to know that others are experiencing the same thing that you are experiencing. I recently gave birth to my third child in April, and your pictures are a very familiar sight in my own home. By the way, your girls are beautiful and your home is gorgeous as well. I love that fabulous bathroom. I dream of white subway tiled walls in my master bath. It is on my husband's to do list. I love your blog.
Your house looks normal, really! Who doesn't have their house look like that when you have a toddler and an infant. I totally understand about the organizer, even though I don't have little ones around here, sometimes just doing one little thing like that brings me some sanity. Your babies are so cute! Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to give us a post, it is always a pleasure to read.
lol. My definition of "clean house" completely changed after I had my second baby! 🙂
I don't have a newborn and my house looks like this. and my kids dress like Samster daily. Great post.
Thank you for being so honest! It's such a relief to know that it ISN'T easy keeping everything in order when you have kids. I think I had unrealistic expectations before my daughter (now 15 months) was born about how everything had to be clean and dinner had to be made for my husband night. Here I am crazily thinking about #2…lol!
Great post!!! You have rised my spirits today :))) Thanks 😀
i find so much comfort in remembering that i am not the only one!! thank you
Great post. I always feel bad when the house is a mess, the laundry isn't done, etc, etc, but you're right. Sometimes, you just have to do what you can and know that's ok.
Love the binder and the feeling of being organized. I disagree with your "random piles"- there's only one item in each pile so I don't think it counts. 🙂 Love the color scheme in your bedroom and your sweet sleeping baby. I should've tried the hair dryer trick with mine.
Ok, so I totally took a picture of my living room last week so I could post what it really looked like with a 2 month old and a 22 month old. I thought surely it embarass me so I would actually start cleaning. Ummm…the living room is about 10 times worse today! Glad to know I am not the only one with a disaster of a house. But hey- orgainzing (and me crafting at night!) is a priority! 🙂
I hope this makes you feel better when you read this, but I have six kids and if my house looked like yours right now, I would consider it clean. I've just folded three loads of laundry and my bed is now under seige. And there's more to go. 😉
Thanks for the post about this. Seriously half the time I read my blogs it's like we all live in a perfect little bubble! We surely do not. It's good to see that others have other things that are more important than laundry. Although at least your house is adorable underneath the disarray… mine is not! lol.
I <3 you so much for sharing this.
Made my Monday.
🙂
I am so glad I stumbled across your blog….you are so funny. Listen, for having a new baby, your house still isn't that bad! I was the same way when I had my second son. Funny thing is, it still looks like that..LOL! You know as they get bigger, they are able to make more of a mess. Great idea for your receipes….I might have to try it.
I don't know if this will help or not, but my two boys are now 6 and 7 and nothing has changed. The only time our house is clean is when people are coming over, and that means, living room, bathroom and kitchen. All the excess stuff is put in our bedroom!
Amen to your motto!
Heehee… love that last photo. You'll probably look back at that picture in a few years and laugh. We got pretty creative with our first, who would never sleep. The vacuum was his specialty, while swaddled tight and swinging full speed in his swing. I wish I had filmed it. I must say, I now understand the appeal of the minimalist movement. Not that I'll ever be considered a member 🙂
So real! My daughter would only sleep with the vacuum on when she was little. Now she is scared of it! 🙂
YAY my house is not the only one. My kids are 1 and 3 and I can still barely keep up with the mess. You are doing great. Glad you got to organize something. Doing something for yourself is more important than cleaning up 🙂
PS I can't believe you grew up in Tampa. I am on Bayshore everyday. We have lived here 3 months now. I am started to like it now that the weather has cooled down… a bit!!
Hmmmmmm, looks a lot like this house. Glad to see we can all keep it real. And yes, sleeping bathrooms is perfectly fine. My first son only stopped crying for the vacuum, the second's sleep secret has yet to be discovered (He's 20 months old)and well, the third is a virtual miracle. He actually sleeps in a bed. by himself. at night. He may be a changeling.
http://boyohboyohboycrafts.blogspot.com
Yay! You're normal! lol I love you girly. You are doing a fabulous job with your girls. Isn't being a mom of two girls the best? If my house is a mess, I always think to myself…my girls are happy though and that's what matters! I'm stealing the recipe idea. Mine are just piled up places.
I choked on my lunch when I got to the pic of Sophie – Now I have spicy beef if my nasal passages! That is hilarious. If it makes you feel any better, I just rocked my 15-month-old for AN HOUR in hopes of reclaiming today's ruined nap. Now she's sitting in her crib chanting 'Mama, Mama, Mama?' in the saddest voice ever. I wish that she hadn't outgrown the bouncy seat… *sigh*
Let me just say thank you for this post. There are many mommies, including myself, who can relate to the craziness that ensues with the addition of a new family member. You are not alone! BTW, our home is full of those random piles too:) Hang in there and thanks for sharing.
I can so relate to the craziness! Thanks for the post; makes me feel a little better about my own disastrous house!!
LOVE IT! Your house still looks better than mine! But then again I lost control of it 4 years ago when my second was born and the first was only 19 months. I too adopted the do whatchagotta do to survive….. My house is a wreck but my children are happy, healthy, and thriving. You're doing great! Hang in there and thanks for sharing your unedited home……
Hey, if organizing your recipes is what keeps you from ending up curled in the fetal position on the bathroom floor, good on you! My house is kind of a disaster this morning too, it tends to fall apart most sundays for some reason. (you'd think having my hubby around would encourage me to get something done, but no… he's very pro-relaxing on sunday and so I tend to wind up curled up watching a movie and leaving the dishes on the table…) but I'm just *letting it go* for a bit. Trying to stay on top of everything left me irritable and ready to snap, so I'm forcing myself to let one or two things go every day… sometimes there's laundry on the bedroom floor, sometimes there's dishes on the table.
and I haven't even HAD the baby yet! I cringe to imagine what will happen. bahaha.
I think I would invest in a white noise machine!!
I have 4 kids 13,15.5, 17.5 and 19
when I complain that the house is a mess ( sooo busy with, work , sports and life..)my kids say–"well, I have seen worse Mom!"
this too shall pass..
Boy did you just make me nervous!! We're expecting #2 and our house just went on the market. I'm praying it sells before the baby comes, b/c it will never be clean enough for showings with 2 kids. :-/
I have a 2 year old and a seven week old and I love you for this post!!!
I love this post! Thanking so much for sharing your honest, unedited life – it makes me feel so much better as I sit amongst the aftermath of another day of raising a one year old!
This post makes me feel so much better about my own messy/imperfect house…..like I'm not the only one 🙂
I saw another comment mention white noise. They sell a white noise machine at Walmart for $20 called the Homedics SoundSpa. It has 6 sounds, but the rain is the best and you can't hear a thing w/ it on full volume. I've used them w/ both my kids and even take them "to go" when we nap other places. If you look for one they are in the candle isle….go figure.
Hang in there and thanks for the weekly therapy!
I'm right there with you. Sometimes when my husband comes home from work, he looks around and says, "so this is what it feels like to live in an episode of Hoarders" (in the most understanding & supportive way, of course).
At least you have your binder! I seriously doubt there is a corner of our apartment that resembles order at this point. 🙂
btw – thanks for the stretch lace referral! I just got my batch and am itching to use it in a few projects.
get to http://www.flylady.net, asap. it will help if you blindly follow their routines and zones, but if you do only the 15 minute thingy, it will tremendously improve your mess. promise. i have three kids now, and that was the way i kept it together whaen life was absolutely sleep-deprived and crazy.
p.s. i think that quote above"my concept of clean changed after i had my second kid" should be painted in gold and framed in the living room 🙂
Thanks for the post! My baby is 3 months old now and I'm living in utter chaos. Small little bouts of organizing keep me sane. If some little part of the house is cleaned up then I can breathe easier.
lol! I'm so glad to know that I'm not alone in the world of cahotic homes! All the luck, but take it easy! Don't be too hard on yourself!
I feel so much better now. I thought I was the only one!! Thank goodness.
LOVE this post!
I absolutely enjoyed that… thanks for sharing!
I LOVE you for this post. You made me feel so much more normal…I imagine everyone has it together aside from me. Thanks again!
You could also make a recording of the hair dryer – that is what a friend of mine did!
bloggin is cheaper than therapy, luv it! keep up the good work.
Ok, looking at the first photo, I was going to say that your living room is just not that bad. lol I am sorry, the rest of the house looks a little bad. But my house cannot get any worse either. I have (sigh) returned to work and even though I onl work 4 hrs in the evening it feels like I cannot juggle it all. I totally get you on the do what you need to survive. BTW–this is my first day online this week. Yes, it is that bad. Hope you get into a good routine soon. I have found that baby wearing is a good way to keep my little one happy and still get some things done. A good baby wrap is my very best ally now. 🙂
Here is a link to a wrap that a frien of mine is loaning me. It is amazing!!!! My daughter just loves it and sleeps so well. One of the best things is that I can "wear" her while I do some housework. Everybody wins. 🙂
http://www.wearyourbaby.com/Default.aspx?tabid=121
The wrap is the front wrap cross seen here.
http://www.wearyourbaby.com/Default.aspx?tabid=180
Good luck!
I love that Samster is running ahead of you in almost every one of your pictures. You have real talent in writing about your pictures. Very amusing! Things will be less hectic later on; it's so hard with a newborn and toddler. Getting used to it is the hardest part! 🙂 Lovely family; cherish them all.
A girl after my own heart! I just love organizing! I hate the act of cleaning, but will organize stuff any day!
And don't worry about the mess! This is what my house looks like on nearly a daily basis. Having two kids under the age of 4 is tough. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 month old. Some days are better than others. It has gotten much easier now that Baby Chase (5 month old) can roll around…he'd much rather be on the floor than be held these days. You will have your life back soon!
~Lisa
http://www.starflydesigns.com
P.S. my daughter used to only fall asleep to the hair dryer too!!!
I have a couple of binders for recipes I collect and collect and collect. Im obsessed with new recipes. Once they are in the sleeves the recipes dont get all gunked up (technical term) from cooking. Check out my blog http://mindy-thislittlelightofmine.blogspot.com/
What a relief to know that there is another kindred soul out there! My seven-week-old "Samster" (AKA Samuel) has left my house and my life topsy-turvy!
OH.. thank you. love your blog.
I am so glad I am not the only one whose house looks like a disaster. My house is ALWAYS a mess. I clean up one mess only to find 3 more my kids have created while I was cleaning. Somedays I feel like quitting! Thanks for keeping it real! Having a new born and a toddler is definitely a lot of hard work!
Ahhh, I'm not alone! Wonderful post, and I love your blog!
oh my goodness…I am SO glad I came across your blog. First thing that dragged me in was your glitter projects…I freaking LOVE glitter…not only do I have the 24 pack (waiting patiently to be used) but I have 4 of the bigger bottles too…when I go into michaels I just cant help myself! Then onto this post…this is totally my life. I have 15 month old triplets so my house looks just like these pictures…yet other parts of my life are impeccably organized! You have been marked as one of my favs!