As I looked around the house last night, I saw a living room somewhat straightened up, my kitchen sink had a few dishes in it that didn’t fit in the dishwasher, my dining room had a few placemats askew but other than that it looked decent.
Then I went upstairs.
Crap.
Our guest room has slowly become the dumping ground for clean clothes that haven’t been folded. Now the piles of clothes are so big, we basically use the room as a huge walk-in closet. My kids’ rooms aren’t too bad, considering they’re kids. A few books astray, a single diaper here or there.
Our bedroom looks a mess. I’m a voracious reader, with piles of books and magazines covering every inch of my side table. I even made it a point to buy a side table with a door covering the shelves inside so I could stuff my reading material in there and it wouldn’t look bad. Apparently I should have bought a bigger one.
My husband has a serious sweet tooth so he brings his evening treat upstairs before he goes to sleep. Wrappers are covering the top of his side table. (So gross.)
We still don’t have curtains, even though we moved in March. So the walls just look bare.
I don’t quite have it all together, but that’s okay. I’ve already come to terms with the fact that I will never be “that mom.”
The mom with piles and piles of clean, pressed spare sheets in the linen closet. The mom with a set laundry schedule, who sticks to it and never ever deviates. The mom who vacuums her kids’ bedrooms regularly. The mom who dusts. Whose kitchen floors are so clean you could eat off them.
Do I suck as a housekeeper? Yeah, probably definitely. But that’s why I had kids. Wait until these little buggers turn 5. I’ve already got their little chores chart…. 
Are you “that Mom”? The one who has it all together? Yes? Then please click that little X in the upper right hand side of the screen tell me how you do it.
Are you like me, content to be a “Good Enough Mom“? (Shout out to Rene Syler, whose book had me ROLLING on the floor laughing. Please pick up a copy if you are having trouble slipping into your role as a Good Enough Mother.)
Updated 10/24/09: Y’all shamed me so much that I had to go clean my house and go through everything that didn’t belong. Now I’m heading out of town for two days and I GUARANTEE YOU that the house will be a mess when I return. I’m placing bets.
Let’s see…I actually do think I’m “that” mom. And it’s not really because I consciously set out to be that either. I have a lot going on in my life and I am just real particular. It is to my advantage to stay ahead instead of falling behind. Now don’t get me wrong..on occasions, I do fall behind a little, but that’s very rare. Where laundry is concerned. I absolutely hate doing it, but every Thursday I get to it, and usually have everything ironed by Sunday (or before the next Thursday lol) But that’s just how I am. I cannot be productive if my house is a mess…I just can’t.
@Mrs. White – *sigh* Damn. “You” exist. So I do suck. That is just fabulous news….lol. But I do know what you mean. When my house is a mess, I’m less productive. But when I spend all my energy on trying to maintain a certain level of cleanliness, I find myself too pooped to enjoy the things I really love….like my kids. LOL. So you keep doing you and I will try to be on your level…one day.
I am not a mommy yet and I KNOW I won’t be that mommy…I am not that wife now and there are only 2 of us! lol I do my best, but I’ve learned to accept that my house will always be “lived in” I look at it is comfortable:) I have been to those really neat houses and I am scared to touch things…not me, when people come by they make themselves feel at home…and I like that:)
LOL!!! I am so not “that mom.” I’m way too lazy (and comfortable in that laziness) to even pretend to be a Stepford Wife/Mom. I pour any excess energy/passion I have into the baby and so I’m therefore too drained to be that meticulous about the home (haha, like my excuse?) Honestly, I don’t know when I’d have time to clean/organize like that anyway… I work full-time and any time left goes to caring for the babe, cooking and doing (very) basic household stuff, then the blog…. in that order.
But we do like a nice, neat home, so we have a cleaning person that comes in… cuz DH darn sure isn’t “that dad” either.
@Tara LOL A Mess! You know it’s really hard to balance this thing called life. It’s funny that I’d comment on your blog today and for the 1st time in forever, I’ve been home all day and haven’t done a thing around the house..been facebooking all day lol! So I do have my days. Being a FT student, I don’t spend much time @ home at all, so I get done everything I can before I get the kids b/c evenings & weekends are strictly for family
@Mrs. White – I feel you. I want to be like you. I really do. I’m going to work on it and report back….LOL.
Mrs. White is right! I totally agree with her first comment. It was easier when I wasn’t working, but it’s become a struggle now. My evenings with my son are so short so I usually wait until he is asleep to take care of things around the house. I have an OCD/neat freak problem though. I was outside, cleaning the inside of my car with a lint roller last night!!!
I can’t function if there is mess around me though. It does make things harder trying to be “that mom” because by time I’ve taken care of everything else, I’m usually up later than I plan to be or dont spend enough time on ME! I have days were I slack off…just not very many 😉
I am “that mom” on a good day. When the house is clean, dishes washed and laundry done, I feel like I am that mom. But now that my daughter is not going to school (because of the move), I am nowhere near that mom. Right now, I have 3 rooms that are in total chaos and my children don’t want to play in their rooms so there are toys in the hallway and in my bedroom. Just do what I do: praise yourself on the good days and look away on the bad days.
well, i too am “that” mom. but a lot of it began before i even was married. my floors were spotless (all shoes removed at door), i had a very set schedule & and my house always smelled of lemon basil. then i married HIM. he tried to throw me off with his random clothes piles, wads and piles of useless papers and picky eating…but i made him an ultimatum…GET DOWN OR LAY DOWN, LOLOLOL!! j/k, but he much rather preferred me when he stuck to the agenda. plus it just made for a more comfortable existence.
on the few occasions that things were a mess, its the HARDEST to find things…which in turn, wasted time and made us late…MAJOR PEEVE. insert baby # 1, she was easy. never destroyed anything, no tantrums, listened well. insert twins….so far, they are just as easy. but they’re not mobile yet. i feel like when those buggers start crawling/walking, my world will be a distant memory. but until then, i MUST have a clean kitchen before bed, laundry done on tuesday and friday and all of my food items neatly packed away with labels facing out in descending order. some may call it obsessive, i call it normalcy. whatever it is, its just my way
@Mrs. W – From reading everyone’s comments, I’m realizing, maybe I AM that mom. Not entirely, but I do like when my house is clean and I can find things easily. But when other things in my life get hectic, I will put housecleaning on the back burner until my life makes sense again. That’s just how I cope.
LOL You sound like me. I beat myself up, though. My house is constantly a mess even though I’m i’m constantly picking up after everyone. My bedroom sounds like yours, too. I read alot, and sure enough, I often have magazines, mystery novels and biographies all over my side; and my husband, just like yours will have Jolly Rancher paper under his pillow, under his side of the matress, and in his junk drawer. And I cleaned it up a few days ago, but it’ll be back in a week or so…right after the novelty of a clean room wears off. I’m very hard on myself. I am a perfectionist with myself, and when my house isn’t perfect (which is too often), it brings my whole well being down a notch. It makes me crazy!
@Cee Cee – Yeah, I am hard on myself. It’s tough to keep a clean house and my sanity, so I chose to live in a “I’m not mortified if guests drop by unexpectedly” house. That’s my limit. I need to be able to do a 5-minute clean-up – anything more than that and I start panicking!
@Mrs.W I’m pretty much the same way,most of my habits are from my upbringing and they’ve just kind of stuck. Since being married HE has tried to switch things up, but I’m not having that either! I find that cleanliness just makes sense and life a whole lot easier. I don’t have time to waste looking for stuff and what not. But…we’re moving soon and I know my life is going to be chaotic and I’m NOT looking forward to it
I’m definately not “that mom” but I’m not the type of person that can live in dysfunction. And the way I grew up disorganization and sloppyness is dysfunctional. Which just made me realize something: I’m not “that mom”….I’m MY mom!! Ohsnap!! NOOOOOOOO!!
I am definitely not “that mom” but I used to spend a lot of time trying to be-lol. I have stopped beating myself up about it though and just decided that as long as my house is overall decent, it doesn’t have to be perfect. I’m just more likely to be outside playing with the kids than dusting, and I’m ok with that!
@ Mrs. White….moving stinks! we just did 3 months ago and i thought i was going to die!!! but alas, life has gotten back to normal, so be strong…but be prepared for at least 4-6 weeks of “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” LOL 😉
Thank you. I so needed to know I’m not alone in this, tonight. try as I might, I’m no where near being “that mom”. But that doesn’t stop me from trying (and failing) on a daily