Messy Monday

If you are at all attentive to the blog-o-sphere, you are probably aware of the explosion that happened over at Momastery after her Carpe Diem post went viral (which is when I, along with a couple hundred thousand other people, discovered her).  I think what resonated with so many people was how transparent she was about the difficulty of parenting.  In the wake of her post, I have noticed several other mommy-blogs sharing a bit more of the non-complementary aspects of their lives (other married couples fight, too?  You also have a mountain of laundry that you don't photograph when you post pictures? etc).

My friend Flo, who is dear to me even though we've never met, posted an awesome and courageous post about her mess, lest anyone who has followed her blog for as many years as I have, thought she was a mama who "had it all together."  Her post was very well-received and she created Messy Mondays to help bring a little more of the ugly-honesty to the blog-o-sphere hoping to encourage other moms who also have a hard time managing it all.  "Marriage, motherhood, housekeeping: you may choose two," as I always say.

I hope that any long time reader of mine will know that we do not, in fact, have it all together nor would I want anyone to think we do.  I have tried to be transparent over the years that I am not always a good mother, I struggle in my marriage, and that my house gets destroyed regularly.  I have written things I wish I hadn't, and believed things that I no longer do.  That is the essence of  "attempting transparency" (my blog address).  I recently read somewhere (at the moment I cannot recall if it was on Momastery or in One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp) that clerical positions are not for those who live their faith perfectly, but rather are for those who live their faith transparently - in front of everyone.  It is a willingness to be seen.  If there has ever been a goal for this blog, that is it.  It is my deepest hope that by sharing my messy process and my flawed story that someone else might be encouraged that their messy process and their flawed story are normal.  In that spirit, here is my first contribution to "Messy Mondays."  I am hoping to bring blogging back into my life and if I do, I hope you'll enjoy the beauty and the mess (in my physical house, marriage, friendships, parenthood, and philosophies).

This is a few days after coming home from traveling with a 2-week old.
Every room was a total disaster.
To be fair, this is not normal, however, none of the pictures, by themselves, would be abnormal.
Make sure to click on the image to study it larger.

The hand-washing often builds up

This is what the hand-washing pile looks like on a good day.
The counter is very rarely bare.

I recently swept this out from under my dining table after we had eaten dinner.

Don't you feel normal?

Installed!

My dear sister came over yesterday for a lazy Saturday and I was finally able to finish my bird mobile. Once Lucy woke up from her nap, my husband hung it, dutifully, and praised it, dutifully. This morning Lucy woke up (in my bed) and turned her head to find it and smiled. Success.

View from my bed

A little closer to Lucy's view

And it makes cool shadows on the wall in the evening

The counter-balance was tricky, especially as most mobiles hang items down, rather than balance them on top.  I made plenty of birds, however, and with two different densities of stuffing.  The key is to work from the bottom up.  The birds were a perfect use of some lovely fabric scraps I've collected.  The pattern I used can be found here and the inspiration, here.  I am so satisfied with this project that I'm thinking of making a matching piece to hang above her changing table.   

When you can't be, do

Whenever I find myself in a crabby, woe-is-me mood that I just can't shake, I find the best thing to do is to be creative (especially if the weather is not cooperating for getting fresh air). Creativity quickly improves my mood AND the kids'. If I get crafty, they get crafty, and we all feel better. I've been storing up ideas on pinterest, and for the last couple weeks I've been tinkering.

Finally putting all those saved corks and a broken mirror's frame to good use. 
I am planning to add some decorative pins and such for hanging my jewelry.

Creating my own stationary out of leftover wedding invites.
(A couple of you will be seeing these in person soon.)

This one has been a lovely challenge.
The inspiration and bird pattern can be found here.
All I have left to do is swap the yarn for fishing line
and secure the birds upright and in place.

Hopefully I'll have updated/final photos for you soon!

Valentine Crafts

We've been getting the house ready to celebrate valentines day.  I used jute, hot glue, staples, and leftover wedding invitations - which have been used in so many projects over the last nearly eight years - and lots of inspiration from pinterest.  It's not red and pink but I figure old wedding invitations are about as romantic as it gets. (In true, long-lasting-marriage fashion after a day of decorating with wedding invitations, we ended our day in a spat)

Soren, Elliot, and Penny put up LOTS of their handmade valentine decorations as well, but somehow those ones weren't as photogenic!  You can spy one of them four photos up.