Keepin It Real ... Pile O' Trash

There are 8 of us (soon to be 9) in a 1750 sq ft house.  Mess, I feel like I live in constant mess (despite the fact that the older kids help clean A LOT).  I know y'all can relate.  And I go through periods ... like 6mo of being stressed like I can't keep up with everything (which is me right now, being pregnant doesn't help) and then 6mo later it is all good . . . I still feel like I am constantly cleaning but things don't feel out of my control.  It usually corresponds with the developmental stages of the little kids.  Once the baby turns into a toddler and can climb on the counter and decides it is fun to empty drawers, dump food on the floor, pull everything off the shelves, carrying shoes and clothes all over the house . . . that is when it gets crazy, HA!!  Of course once they grow out of it I usually have another little one coming into it!  

Yes, I could make things easier on myself if I dressed everyone in the same clothes, got rid of the pets, kept the toys locked away only pulling out one at a time, outlawed sand, legos, markers, glue, scissors, playdough, rice and spaghetti (those last 2 make SUCH a huge mess at dinner) oh and I made all kids drink out of sippy cups because it is not unusual to have 4 cups of water spill during a meal.

BUT . . . I refuse to limit creative freedom and fun (and family size ;0) in order to keep my all of sanity! (I'd like to keep some of it, but I'll gladly sacrifice some as well).  Well, some things I will compromise on if I really feel it is getting out of control, but I would rather they have more freedom to have a wide range of experiences (like hatching baby chicks out of eggs, owning pets, painting and playing with play dough and building giant cities which mix about 10 different baskets of toys, oh and did I mention playing with sand (I say because Dagyn just came up to me with hands, head and . . .well, his whole body covered with sand).  It may add more stress and work for me but as long as I don't let that impact how I react to or treat them (and I can occasionally let off steam) it is worth it and at the end of the day, it's all good!!

So, with all that said, I am sharing with y'all the trash pile I swept up the other day (believe it or not, this is not unusual).  This is what is left on the floor after I have had the kids pick up the bigger toys.  Notice the legos, bowls, papers, food, random other items etc.

I can either call it . . . "what accumulates on the floor when you have 6 kids at home all day" . . . or . . . "what accumulates on the floor by the end of the day if I don’t stay on top of the sweeping" (because in all honesty, the floors should be swept multiple times a day to prevent the mess from getting this bad).

Either way, I’m just keepin it real!!

And now, since we are heading to the store soon, I have to go hunt for some missing shoes that Dagyn decided to carry off to who knows where