A Lovely, Well Organized Home

The excerpt below is a funny one from the Starry Sky Ranch blog. She changed that lovely mountain-view blog heading for a picture of a horse - probably their horse, maybe? Anyway, I used to love clicking on her blog just to see that view of the mountains. Still mourning the loss of it.

Daddy just took over with the baby, and I already blogged twice today and I'm supposed to be out there doing dishes, continuing the laundry, bagging the spring clothes I haven't been able to wash yet, and finishing the packing away of the winter clothes. This house has never looked more disheveled. What with the clothes everywhere, and the mud and grass tracked in from a hot, waterplay-filled weekend, and the clutter all over the kitchen counter....well, it's a sight. I dare not list everything, for fear you will try to get my home on a talk show about unbelievably messy homes. Didn't I read in a parenting magazine that Oprah did a show like that? Their crew went in and cleaned up the house for the very overwhelmed mother, who was in tears about it of course.

Well, that said, I just had to laugh at this post. Jess - will you, at least, laugh with me?

The blog author used this quote: "The more organized and lovely you make your home, the more you will enjoy your work and rest in it."

Yeah. I agree wholeheartedly. Now who is going to hold the baby while I make it so very lovely and organized? I have to nurse the baby to sleep and then hold her for about forty minutes before she is in a deep enough sleep to be transferred to Daddy's lap. When she wakes up and there is no soft human nipple right there, ready for her, she starts screaming, and then we start all over again with me prepping her to give to Daddy. Meanwhile, nothing gets done, and she overeats and spits up even more than usual.

I tried very hard all day to get things done (okay, maybe that's a stretch, since I did blog twice already), and I only succeeded at three loads of laundry. Incredible - and sad, since my mom will be here on Tuesday. But, I do work well under pressure. I've been known to beautify a house before guests arrive in record time. It blows my husband away, how I can hyper focus for a good twenty-four hours - sans sleep if necessary - to get it done in time for the door bell to ring. I'm exhausted when my guests arrive, but at least they have a cleared-off couch to sit on, and they aren't tripping over toys or sneezing over our dust. Just don't open or look into my closets, okay? That's where I stash all the STUFF that I never had time to properly put away.

The rest of her post follows:

our domain

"Ladies, our homes are our domain to tame. And this isn't a one time project. Just like child training requires constant upkeep, so do our homes. Never stop thinking about what you might try next. Rearrange furniture and try out new colors in your mind. Enjoy the challenge of organizing and making lovely on a budget. Rise with a smile to the job of daily tasks mixed with long term projects. Be the queen of your home who oversees all, as well as the sweet servant who washes the floors.

...the environment that you surround yourself with and the attitude that you wear each and every day can have either a negative or positive effect on your own, as well as each person in your family. Your mindsets, moods, energy levels, and productivity will be impacted by your surroundings. The more organized and lovely you make your home, the more you will enjoy your work and rest in it.

and another thought-

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest." Prov 14:4

God is saying, "Chin up, Honey. If you didn't have any children you wouldn't have any mess."

He is reminding us that without oxen there is no manure and I guess you could say the same about children and dirty diapers. We don't want to complain about our blessings. The messes are a result and a part of the blessing!"