Let's Get Real 2009

August 28, 2009

Yup. That's exactly what you think it is, a picture of my living room. That's Gracie in the foreground of course, and in the background you'll find James's demolished castle, his dirty clothes from Tuesday, and a big old sleeping bag that's been stuffed in the corner since Monday morning.

It's messy, I know. And I guess it's kind of embarrassing, but I have a good reason for sharing it, so read on...

I have a reader named Charlotte, and as far as I know, she's been with me since the very beginning of the blog craziness--when James was barely two, we lived in Texas, and I was a babysitter with a masters degree (is that supposed to have an apostrophe? I never know).

Anyway, when I logged into my Google Reader this morning, I came across a very courageous and honest post by this internet friend of mine. It talked about all the things she 'should' be doing as the mother of two young children who are very close in age. It talked about her feelings of inadequacy and depression. It talked about the fact that she's not as happy as she knows she can be.

I know it was a hard post for her to publish, so I won't link to it without her permission--but I would like to take the freedom to respond to Charlotte's feelings with a little photo tour of my house.

And then, when you get to the end, I've posted a challenge, an 'I freakin' dare ya' kind of thing.

This is Photo #1, my dining room. Cute, isn't it? I'd like everyone to notice the unfolded napkin on the table, the monster trucks on the window sill, the sweater hanging off the chair, the lone slipper, and the super dusty sewing table.

I know what you're thinking--"Oh c'mon Amy, that's nothing."

You're right, so let's move on.

This is photo #2, my kitchen. I know, also very cute. That's a box of dishwasher soap on the counter--it's been there for a week. And next to it? That's a colander. Funny, because I honestly can't remember the last time we had pasta for dinner.

The bar's a real gem. As far as I can see we've got two cereal boxes, some dirty dishes, Jared's credit card, my vitamin box, James's little bag, a monster truck axle, part of a castle, and so on and so forth.

I know, still not bad. I'm easing you into this.

This is James's room. I haven't made his bed since sometime in July I think. And those dang drawers--can't they just learn to close themselves?

This is part of the baby's room. That's a huge bag that needs to go to Goodwill. It's been sitting there since we finished the room a month ago. And those windows? Yeah, still haven't gotten around to scraping the extra paint off the glass. One of these days. Maybe.

This is the stairway. I vowed to have it painted by James's 3rd birthday party. I re-vowed to have it painted by Jame's 4th birthday party. Most recently, I've given up on vows. If you look down to the left, you can see the color we're planning to paint it, Carrington Beige I believe.

Mmm yeah. Someday. That'll look nice.

To the right you can see the pile of James's things that he's supposed to bring upstairs and put away.

Again, mmm yeah. Someday. That'll look nice, too.

This is my laundry room. Believe it or not, all of those clothes are clean. Wrinkled, but clean. They've been sitting down there for approximately two weeks.

We never leave the house naked, so it's fine with me.

And finally, the crowning jewel (since I'm too wimpy to post a picture of my bedroom or my bathroom), the playroom in the basement.

So there ya go, that's my house in all its natural glory--and let's not forget, I only have one non-toddler child running around.

Maybe I'll pick it up today.

Or maybe I won't.

But I probably will.

Unless I don't feel like it.

And now, without further ado, let's get to this challenge. I'm calling it Let's Get Real 2009: Perfect People Lie.

If you have the guts, snap a few pictures of your house in its normal, everyday condition. Sure, go ahead and exclude the stuff that might embarrass the crud out of you, but please don't hide the truth. Don't tidy-up or put-away before you take your photos, just snap a few and let the world know that you're not perfect either.

Post your pictures on your blog, and then send me the link. You can leave it in the comments of this post, or email it to me at LawsonAmyB @ yahoo . com. I'll compile the links, and we'll have a normal people extravaganza on Tuesday.

Seriously, what's the point of cheating? Just don't do it.

Now get to it.