Fly; Awesome Save; Chaos

Yesterday I killed a fly by using a bib to whip it down out of the air. Then I flung open the window sash, leaned out, and yelled, “I killed one with one blow!” No one thought I meant a giant. (Hee. If you don’t read fairy tales, you’re going to think I’ve been dipping into the painkillers from my last c-section.)

Speaking of tripping: earlier this week, I was going down the steps of our house, and a couple of steps up from the bottom I tripped. I am an experienced tripper, and I could tell there was no saving this one by grabbing the railing—and anyway, my arms were full and my reflexes are not good enough to have time to fling away the things in my arms and then grab the railing. So what I did was, I pushed up as hard as I could with my non-tripping foot, and I JUMPED. And it WORKED: instead of falling, I landed solidly if jarringly on two feet. It was not quite the jaw-dropper of JB leaping the fence (last photo on that page), but for me it was astonishing. I don’t do Amazing Saves. I do Amazing Crashes.

Would you like to see a photo I’m titling “Chaos”?

This is me (except I am invisible) making a double batch of brownies with three helpers. Elizabeth is stirring, Edward is whipping his blankie around, and Henry has discovered a toy on a chair. The kitchen is already in chaos because things are moved around for the dining room work, and because the children have managed to rip the doors off TWO of our three freestanding cupboards, and it looks so messy to see all that stuff just hanging out. But the real clincher is the plastic JACKOLANTERN on top of the doorless freestanding cupboards. I mean, WTH? It’s obviously too early for it. It’s not there from….LAST YEAR……is it?

40 thoughts on “Fly; Awesome Save; Chaos

  1. Elizabeth

    You should have just said, “look! Even in the midst of all this chaos, I have already gotten my Halloween decorations up! Go me!”

    I like to remind myself that another benefit of living in the worlds tiniest house is that there are no stairs for me to fall down on a daily basis. I once fell down the stairs in front of a college lecture hall filled with eight hundred people. I don’t know if I’ve ever fully recovered from that one.

    Reply
  2. bananafana

    re the jack-o-lantern: apparently not too early. two neighbors down the street have all their decorations out complete with fake hanging corpses and skeleton hands coming up out of the grass . . .
    and the couple that just moved in in between them is thinking “ooooooh snap”

    Reply
  3. bessie.viola

    LOL! That looks like so much fun. That looks like the very best type of chaos!! Your kids look so sweet and content.

    And if it’s too early for jack o’lanterns… well, I guess I did jump the gun a bit by pulling out fall decorations at Labor Day, but LONG WEEKEND! Time to do it = it’s done. :)

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  4. Alice

    ha! before you commented on the photo, i seriously looked at it and was like “i love how she has all that color on the shelves. it makes the room look so cheery without it being messy.”

    HONEST TO GOD.

    Reply
  5. Carmen

    We’ve been using Jack-o-Lantern buckets to pick berries all summer. And my son carts them around with toys in them. Just know that you’re not alone…

    Reply
  6. Omaha Mama

    I hate to make my comment to you all about me, but I just have to. I’ve been looking around my house, thinking I should take a picture and post it. And ask, does anyone else’s house get like this? The STUFF everywhere, the kids dragging things here and there, the toys strewn about. The chaos.
    So thanks for this. I’m with ya.

    Reply
  7. Lippy

    I fall down the stairs all the time! I am really good at in now. When I was 7 month pregnant I was carrying my 2 year old down the stairs and fell. Totally freaked me out. Luckily, I have practice so I was able to fall forward, set my son on his feet and land on my hands and knees in one move. It was my most coordinated fall ever. And no, I didn’t carry him down the stairs again til after the baby was born.

    Your kids are so cute!

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  8. Kristi

    lol – I have an entire folder on my laptop called “Chaos” that I like to open every now and then to remind myself what my house REALLY looks like before I go all manic in the evenings cleaning up after the kids have gone to bed. I love that photo – I think it should be titled “Real Parenting”!

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  9. shoeaddict

    But, can I ask, when is the right time to put up decorations for a holiday and such? I just bought a house and will start to do fun stuff like that- decorate for holidays. When is the appropriate time?

    Your kids do look so adorable and happy. I love jhow ELizabeth seems so unpreterbed by the boys.

    Reply
  10. Tracey

    I think that picture should be blown up and framed. Holy HELL that’s a mess!! And his face! What a stinker. He looks right pleased with himself, doesn’t he?

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  11. Tammy

    “an experienced tripper” I laughed so hard at that one, because I am the same, and I can tell whether or not there’s any saving myself too. Your chaos is beautiful. Enjoy it. I can handle the thought of pumpkins, but if I hear or see one mention of getting ready for C-H-R… at this time of year I get slightly irate.
    Tammy

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  12. Erin

    HAHA! I love every BIT of this post. The jack-o-lantern part really has me laughing.

    The photo reminds me so much of my own mother’s kitchen growing up. I come from a similarly large family with kids close in age. It was always chaos, and I remember– even really young– loving the chaos.

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  13. Bertino Verse

    That’s a beautiful site…perhaps more so to me because it reminds me of the total chaos of a kitchen I left behind when I was off to work today! I’ll clean it tonight, but it will end up right back where I staretd tomorrow. A vicious, yet wonderful circle.

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  14. Swistle

    Shoeaddict- Ha ha! I have no idea! The jackolantern is actually there because I was going to get rid of it with our yard sale and changed my mind. And for some reason have found the task of carrying it back down to the basement TOO TAXING. With kids around, I generally don’t decorate until I’m ready to start talking MANY TIMES EACH DAY about how many days are left until the holiday.

    Reply
  15. Misty

    You know, I really like the look of the cabinets with the dark back sides and the light doors? It is pretty and speaks of “home” to me.

    We all have moments when the house looks like this. Mine is worse. Swear.

    Reply
  16. LoriD

    Just this morning, I was looking for a good, recent picture of Bart to send to school for some project. Anyway, all the good ones had so much chaos going on in the background that I was too embarrassed to send them (oh no! what will his young, childless teacher think of me?) Looks like Bart will get a photo shoot this weekend in the great outdoors where my housekeeping shortfalls will not be seen! I love the picture and your helpers. They look like they’re having a blast!

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  17. mpotter

    it certainly looks like a lot of fun in there. how’d the brownies turn out?

    hilarious about that j-o-l. way to keep the spirit all year long. ha!

    & way to save your arse. i’d never be so quick-witted there!

    Reply
  18. Helen

    That’s the kind of chaos that I love to wallow in until it suddenly stresses me out… Hopefully by then the brownies are done. Were they your salty brownies? Because those are inspiring.

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  19. Donna

    Ha! I scoff at your idea of chaos. That’s just 3 kids in the kitchen. Come on over to my house sometime if you want to see chaos. If I can kick a path to the door, I’ll let you in.

    Reply
  20. Sara

    Your kids are ADORABLE! And hey, nothing wrong with Jack O. hangin’ out all year. I’m sure you at least take your Christmas lights down, right? ;)

    Reply
  21. Samantha

    At least it appears as Happy Chaos! At least the children aren’t crying or bleeding. The look happy and healthy and that’s the most important.
    But if this was my house, after making and eating all the brownies I’d lock the kids in the closet and clean, clean, clean!

    Reply
  22. Lise

    I love that your kind of chaos ends up with a double batch of brownies. My kind of chaos usually ends up with toys strewn across every surface of the downstairs, one twin screaming, one twin crying, and one baby alternating between the two. And one mama raiding the bag of chocolate chips because there is not enough baking in this house! Love this post.

    Reply
  23. euqort

    I love this photo so much and have looked at it a hundred times. I will come and coordinate all your kids into painting a super cool mural on one of your walls (in shades of white even!) if you will come and bake with mine. I can barely do it with the girls, who are now 12 and 14 and well, that says something about how much it freaks me out. I did make the apple bread finally though, and YUM! Have printed gingersnaps recipe. You are adorable.

    Reply

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