I love Design Mom’s Living with Kids series, which focuses on unique, beautiful, ultra-organized, inspiring spaces that have kids living in their midst. Sometimes I find them inspiring, but on a bad day I find them a bit depressing, so that’s why I decided to remodel the spaces, with these home remodeling contractors that help a lot with this. I try to remind myself that these Mamas are also changing diapers and in a constant state of near chaos and there are messes following them around as soon as one gets cleaned up in front of them. Right?! Please say so… Anyway, I thought since I usually just show snippets of beauty and smiles I should balance it by my own little “Living with Kids” tour on a normal day. At some moment every day, it looks somewhat like this so this is really Living with Kids. Maybe you’ll agree? Please say your house looks like a tornado went through at least at some point during the day? Or maybe it will make you feel better because your domestic skills are so superior to mine and your kids pick up all the toys right after playing with them? Take it, Mama, take it! More power to you, just don’t tell me about your nanny or your cleaning lady… or that you have a better organizational method than the Pile Method?
This is the usual state of my “croffice,” with kid stuff mixed with work stuff mixed with, well, life.
And here’s our beautifully-organized craft and game closet. Are you taking notes on the Pile Method? Thought so.
Trip over anything today while you were cooking?
Train of books, anyone? Choo choo!
Nothing escapes being cooked in the kitchen we made for Wren. It does get a lot of use, but is almost always a complete wreck. Note the missing faucet… It seems that Wren is picking up on my Pile Method of organization. Oops!
And sometimes it’s just too much to take and a birdie might be found passed out in her well-designed library. Aah, what a day.
Love this series! Yes, yes, and yes! My house looks like a small/medium/large tornado went past at least once a day. Usually more. The kitchen right now, for example. (I’m avoiding it.)
I love your office space. Your setup is my dream: one long surface for working, a wall/board for tacking things up, and nice big shelves above. Did you design that yourself and have someone make it for you? I’m curious because my husband has made a drawing for my little room. . . but we’re still in the very early brainstorming stages!
ha! I almost don’t believe you because your house was so well-organized and beautiful when I saw it, haaaa!
As far as the croffice goes, the desk is actually just a door we picked up at the Habitat ReStore. Chris put it together for me. So thankful!
Most definitely! I am currently wondering why I even bothered to put dressers in the girls’ rooms. Clara’s dresser literally has not one piece of clothing IN it. Ani found three baby dolls in the bathroom sink earlier and my kitchen always ends up looking just like yours by the end of the day. But… your girls look happy!
yes, the clothes are out of control. I DO need to get a handle on it and just pack up half of them and send them away. That will help a little, right?!
Every single day, times 3!
Yes! The tornado does not end with wee ones. I am here to tell you it continues when you have teens and you work full time outside the home…also add in one blind husband…..the piles oh the piles. However as much as you would enjoy a neat, magazine worthy home…I was told once the toddler tornado was a sign of happy healthy and well loved children. I also was told the kids won’t remember the piles…they will remember the time you spent with them instead. Remember, dull women have immaculate homes…or so I’ve read.
never a dull moment to be had, that is for sure!
This might be possibly the most brilliant post ever from you, Ash! all i have to say is — YOU ARE NOT ALONE! the pile method is in force here in pittsboro, for sure. we are definitely working on learning to pick up toys after playing, but in the infant stages of that. there is especially one thing I wish I could have from your scenes — the one of passed out birdie is awesome. I can only hope Sonia will just do that one day instead of winding up and up and up… love to you all. don’t worry about the state of affairs of your house. you are one awesome mama!
ha, thanks Doreen! Thank you for letting me know I am not alone in this uphill battle. Wren rarely passes out like that. I think I can count on my hand (and not even a whole hand!) how many times it’s happened…
Great post Sweet Heart! All the skeletons are out of the closet now.
…and as I write this it looks like all my cupboards & the fridge threw up all over the kitchen…and the pile of papers, letters, pictures, Lord-only-knows-what-else (…accumulating since June? May?) are staring at me. Ah, your blog was so refreshing today (and relieving). For this very reason, I stopped paging through “Real Simple” magazine. All the organization methods only depressed, and the title even more, since it was all supposed to be so “simple” and I couldn’t seem to master any of their suggestions.
Yeah, I quit picking up those magazines too. They just serve to make me feel like crap!
Thank you so much for posting this! I could have taken very similar pictures today (or any day). No matter what nifty organization system you have, you still have to keep in organized. Once in a very great while, I sort the cars into the car basket, the Duplos into their basket, put the doll stuff in its place, and bask in it for about 5 minutes, until the first basket gets dumped. Sparkling, organized rooms only exist in magazines (or right before company come over).
I did that same thing the other day – basked in an area of neatness for a few minutes. Then I walked into the kitchen, started on dinner prep and the tornado swept through again. Ha!
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