A 'Real' Glimpse Inside the Naptime Decorator's House...

If you would like to continue thinking bloggers' homes actually look like they do in the lovely photographs we post, you might not want to stop reading. Ok, maybe there are some bloggers who do live that way, but not those with a 3, 4, and 5 year old. ;)

If you follow my Facebook page, you've probably seen my "keepin' it real" photos. First, I posted my lovely dining room, in all it's messy glory. The response from you awesome followers of mine was overwhelming. You thoroughly enjoyed seeing my imperfect house, and SO many left comments, like "Thank GOD!!" or "this makes me so happy" or "wow, you're normal like the rest of us!" or "you have no idea how good this makes me feel, to know your house isn't perfect." And it felt so good to know that people felt better about themselves, and their homes, by seeing mine in its reality. So I thought I'd devote an entire post to the real ND house. If I can make people feel better by airing my dirty laundry (literally!), then by all means, I will do it!

You see, the truth is, when I take these pretty photographs, like this one here...

I have spent time straightening, aka throwing all the kids' coloring books, lego masterpieces, dressups, etc. into a massive pile in the kitchen. I have dusted and vacuumed, and made sure everything is just so. I spend a lot of time working on these projects, and I want it to come across as pretty as it can be. I want to show my readers some lovely pictures.

But fast forward 5 minutes, after the camera clicking is done, and here's what you would see...

Yep. There she is. Is it pretty? Nope. Clean? No way. (Those are SHOES on the dining room table, in case you missed that). Is it real? 100%. I used to mirror Monica Gellar (any Friends fans out there?) in her freakishly clean ways. Then I had a kid. Then I had another kid. Then I had another. And with each kid, I let go more and more. I realized it was more important to play and let them enjoy being kids than to follow them around the house picking up every crumb that fell, and dusting every finger print that appeared on the coffee table (oh man, that would have been a never-ending battle!). The former me wouldn't have dreamed of leaving the bed un-made, or a load of laundry just sitting there.

But you know what's sitting at the foot of my bed at this very moment?

And better yet, let's take a look at the bed too while we're at it.

And my family room pretty much NEVER looks like this...

But a whole lot more like this...

And the perfectly spotless kitchen island?

Is usually covered with sippy cups, half-eaten bowls of goldfish crackers, playdough, school forms...you name it, it likes to find a comfy little spot on this top.

And yes, that was taken at Easter time, hence the plastic eggs and bunny paper bag. I must have foreseen this post back then;). Although, now that I think about it, it wouldn't seem the least bit odd for this house, to have Easter things sitting out in July...

So now it's out there. What our home really looks like, the other 99% of the time. A home that's lived in, that's real, that's us. I hope that "makes your heart happy" (as one of my readers commented on my messy dining room picture)! Next time you're looking at one of my 'new room reveals,' you can chuckle, knowing darn well behind the camera's view is one massive pile of STUFF thrown into a room full of desperately-needing-to-be-dusted furniture, which sits on a horribly-in-need-of-a-vacuum rug.

All too quickly, the day will come when this house is straight and neat all the time once again. So in the meantime, my inner Monica will have to shut up and deal...because I know that the reasons we have this messy house are my life's greatest blessings. And one look at these monkeys of mine is all it takes to make me so very thankful it's this way. It may not be 'magazine picture perfect,' but it's pretty close to perfect to me.