No Makeup Selfie… For the Home!

So, you’ve heard of the “selfie,” right?  🙂

Then I’m sure you’ve also heard all about the “No Makeup Selfie.”

If you have no idea what either of these terms are, then I commend you!  Somehow, you have remained completely unplugged, because I’ve heard about these on the radio, on my local news, and of course, ALL over the Internet!  I’m actually surprised you are even reading this blog because I would think you’d have to avoid the Internet COMPLETELY in order to have missed out on the term “selfie.”  🙂

Anyway, back to the “No Makeup Selfie.”  Celebrities seem to be all about posting these on their Twitter and Instagram accounts.  I have absolutely no idea where the trend started.  Because while I do happen to occasionally hear about all of the celebrity gossip and pop culture “stuff,”  I don’t exactly go out of my way to follow it.  I just don’t have the time or the interest at this point in my life.

So if it’s not said on the radio on my 20 minute drive to work, or if it doesn’t pop up on Pinterest or the first few posts of my Facebook feed (I’ll have to write a post later to explain why I’m “cutting back” on Facebook soon!), then I probably won’t ever know about it!

Well, after I put the kids down for a nap the other day, I walked downstairs, just looked around, and gave a great big sigh…

Our house was a complete disaster .  And that is actually it’s typically condition nowadays.

I can’t help but feel ashamed and embarrassed by how messy it is.  If someone tells me they are going to be dropping by later, I start running around and picking up like crazy!

Stuff gets thrown into closets and drawers.  
Kids are crying and following me around needing attention.  
I explain to them that we are cleaning up.  
So I move on to their toys.  
Together we throw them into bins, or at least moved to the edge of the room.  
But someone gets distracted and starts playing, or someone gets upset because the toy was put in the wrong bin.  
So then I have to mediate the situation.  
Hopefully I’ll manage to load some dishes in the dishwasher and give a quick wipe to the counters and tables, while the kids are hanging on to my legs…

It’s pretty much CHAOS!  The kids seem to shed a lot of tears when I have to rush, rush, rush like that.  By the time I’m done, I just sit in the middle of the living room, with all 3 kids in my lap, so that they can get the attention they wanted during the “crazy clean up time.”

And we go through all of that because I don’t want anyone to know.  I don’t want them to know what it’s really like.  That I’m overwhelmed by the simplest of tasks.  That I can’t find any motivation.  And that I just can’t seem to balance the kid’s needs with the upkeep of our home.

It’s just another mask I put on in our new life.

For some reason, I still want to seem “perfect.”  Ok, maybe not perfect, but at least like I have it all together.

But I don’t.  Not at all.  Not. Even. Close.

So I was staring at the mess, thinking about starting to pick it all up, when I had an idea.  I decided I was going to post a “No Makeup Selfie… For the Home.”

Does that make sense?

Basically, as I talked about in my post regarding the truth about young widowhood, I said this blog was going to be about taking the mask off.  It was going to show the truth about what it’s like to be a young widow.

So, here I go!  I’m taking the mask off, and I’m going to show you the ACTUAL condition of our house.  And this is what it is like probably 98% of the time.  Because no matter how often I pick up during the day, by the time the kids are in bed, it is back to looking like this!

Now, I feel like I need to post a disclaimer or something.  I feel like these pictures might freak some people out.  I know that there are people out there who are just incredibly neat and clean and organized.  It comes natural to them.  But I am not like that. So, if you don’t like messes, you should probably stop reading now…

Well, (deep breath) here goes…

This is the state of our living room, which in our house, is also the playroom… Somehow, it turned into this in just the first few hours of the day.

And for some reason, I feel like including a view from a different angle… 🙂

I had forgotten to take a picture of the kitchen table on the first day I decided to take a “No Makeup Selfie… For the Home,” so this is actually the next day, after I put the kids down to nap.  It’s hard to see, but of course there is food on the floor… And we were working on our Teacher Appreciation gifts that morning, so that craft is drying on the table.

Also, notice the living room is pretty much in the same condition as the day before, maybe even worse because of the laundry waiting to be folded and put away…

Well, I guess that’s it.  The kitchen and living room are where we spend a huge majority of our time, so that’s all I decided to include.  I guess I could have included pictures of the bathroom, but just picture the counters looking similar to the kitchen: clutter, clutter, clutter. 😛

And don’t get me wrong, it’s not like the house isn’t “safe.”  While it is cluttered and gigantic mess, it’s not exactly dirty…  We don’t have bugs and rodents running around…  At least, not yet!  Basically, it’s clean enough…

So, there you have it!  That’s what THIS young widow’s house really looks like on the inside.  No mask.  No smoke and mirrors.  No crazy cleaning before a guest arrives.  It’s the real deal.  The truth.

Or like I said before, a “No Makeup Selfie… For the Home!”

Are you neat and organized?  Or does your home tend to look more like mine?  Would you be willing to take a No Makeup Selfie of your home?  Leave a comment, I’d love to know!

And that is just a little bit about Me TODAY!

You might also enjoy reading:

Mommy Reality Challenge:  Moment of Trouble

6 Reasons Why I WON’T Give Parenting Advice

3-Month Blog Reflection and Goals