That mom...

I'm posting to admit something...I've become that mom, that person. The mom with a million projects in process and not one finished.

(Important side note: Not all moms are like this. Some moms...for the sake of a good cliche, let's call them Supermoms...appear to be able to do it all. No, I have not visited their homes to inspect if they meet the standards to which I am holding myself, but from the outside, they appear to have it all together.)

Instead, you have me...getting over being sick, hair in a very messy bun (not a cute, messy bun, by the way)...tired from the day's activities...trying to plan for homeschool Monday, trying to meal plan the week, trying to finish up laundry (we do at least three loads per day)...

That mom who wants to have it all...do it all...be it all...

That mom that loves to create and do and have a nice home...on a budget...which means DIY. Have I mentioned I love Pinterest, and I love finding the amazing new ideas that are out there just waiting for me to stumble upon them? Have I? Have I told you?

That mom who homeschools which means I don't have time to build the amazing furniture that I have the plans for...I just need the time.

That mom who homeschools and has all these ideas for the lessons I would create for our kids because I  can't find just the right curriculum that covers enough and not too much and meets the unique needs of our kids? You see, I used to do marketing and advertising design in my previous life...and I loved the creative part of, well, creating...something new, something fun, something interesting and appealing to the eye...and I can just see in my mind the cute things I could come up with for our kids that would engage them (eye roll from my oldest).

That mom who wants to be with her kids and play and enjoy and go to the library...and then I come home to the photo collages that aren't hung, the slipcovers that aren't finished, and the spray-painted art easel that needs to be reassembled.


That sub-woofer goes to a computer that I need to get rid of, but I'm not sure where to take it and so it sits there...

That pile of scraps will be gone once my slip cover for the plaid chair is finished. Once...once it's finished. But you see I've hit a spot where I can't quite figure out what to do and now I am paralyzed. Unable to move forward. And not willing to try, oh, say, a store bought slipcover. WHY? Because I have and they simply do not fit. They SUREly do not fit. And I cannot afford to pay someone-anyone $300-600 to make them for me. I can't. And if I could, I'm not sure I would. Because they are chairs after all...and I could go replace them with exactly what I want for that price.

That iron shelf needs to be mounted on a table I have yet to find so that it can be placed behind the couch for display...instead of being a terrible stumbling block in the middle of the day, night or any other moment.

That car seat needs to return to my car...after being borrowed. Yes, all my children are securely buckled into appropriate seats and apparatuses.

I wasn't a procrastinator until I had kids. And then my kids came first. And they still do. And for about 13 more years that will be the case. I wasn't bad at finishing until I became a mom...and then there were so many other things to do. The fun projects just fell to the side, because they were fun and not necessarily important.

I'm tired of living like this, and so I'm not starting any new projects this year. Just cleaning out. Just finishing up. Finalizing things. 

This whole dining room/living room mess is part of that finishing. 

Live more simply. Live with less. Finish. Finish something. Finish anything, for goodness sake.

I don't have the picture perfect house. I would love to be that mom with the picture perfect house, but I'm not. I keep thinking, maybe one day...

And believe me, I realize all of these things are quite unimportant in the grand scheme of things. I'm full of cliches today, aren't I? But you see, I want my kids to enjoy living in their home. What that means to them, I'm not sure. I can tell you that once I spent the night with a friend when I was in fourth grade. Once and never again. There were two things that made me never want to go back. The yelling and the mess. I don't want my sweet kids to live in this home and think, "my house will never be like this..."

I'm not a hoarder. I don't keep stuff...I get rid of it all the time by donating to local resale shops. I'm just not a great finisher...I start and don't finish...or finish months later. 

And it's frustrating to me. And I needed to vent about it...so thank you for reading all this. I feel much better now. Whew...

So which unfinished project to tackle first...