Yes we make messes too!

I've recently come across a lot of blogs and comments on blogs about people being "deceptive" of how they portray themselves on their blogs.  I hope I'm not one of those people.  That's never been my intention.  Nor was it ever my intention to make anyone feel bad that they don't do crafty things with their kids.  This is just me.  I love to create things and I love to get my kids involved.  My dad was this way and I'm just doing what I know.  I loved doing fun art projects with him and I want my kids to experience  that too.  I post the things that we've done, that were fun for us, thinking that maybe someone else would also enjoy them.  Although it's occasionally nice to know that other people have messes and make mistakes and that their "projects" don't turn out, who would want to read a blog that's all downers and full of projects "not to make." Or who wants to listen to someone complain all the time?  Not me.
First off, I have two little kids.  My house generally has toys everywhere.  Don't get me wrong it gets a good scrub down the beginning of every week.  Bathroom cleaned and floors mopped.  But the toys and the clutter,  and the art projects, and the toys  uggg!  It's enough to drive anyone crazy!  It's hard to balance spending quality time with your children, with keeping them entertained, and grocery shopping and cleaning and paying bills and making meals doing dishes and cleaning up meals.  I'm not perfect, no one is.  If you were to stop in on a surprise visit this is probably what you would see:
Office:  This table is almost NEVER clean.  The floor although vacuumed, has pattern pieces and elastic and  Lysol cleaning wipes on the it.  I am constantly making the children take their toys back downstairs and telling them to not leave them sitting on the table.  As you can see there is a purse and a batman figurine.

 Over in the next corner my fabric stash and watercolor paper stash ( in the box).

Living room:  This mess in this corner is almost always here.  It's become my dumping ground for all my paintings.  Mop, very dusty cubby (I dusted it off after I saw this photo) and put away those fishing game fish on the bottom cubby.

 Kids room:  Not terrible but not clean either.

 Toy room:  Hard to walk through with out stepping on something.

Basement living room:  Pillows and blankets strewn about.  Hand weights still not put away properly after workout because some children were whining that they "had to have a snack or they would die."  Folding chairs still not put away.

So yes we make messes too.  Yes my children get out the art supplies and cut up paper and leave it everywhere and most of the time refuse to clean up after themselves but that's just a given.  That's what happens when you have kids.  I try and balance the "letting them use their creativity" and not letting it get out of hand.
When I take pictures for my blog I  do usually clean the area up first.   It's hard to showcase something when there is too much going on in the background.   But "this" is what is lurking in the "other" corner.  Yes!  We make messes too!