A House That's Lived In

I used to define myself by my neatness & organization, a place for everything & everything in it's place. I'm probably the only babysitter that my aunt ever had that cleaned out the refridgerator and closets. It still remains an amazing asset for me at work. I sometimes wonder if I would be able to survive at the job that I have without those skills; however, I have adapted at home. I don't freak out at clutter, I am not constantly running behind Sebastian, picking up & cleaning.

It's wierd how having a child can change your whole perspective.

I look around the house and can see what really characterizes a family. The things that I would use to describe as clutter or messy, now I just see as home. Pieces of our lives strewn here & there, happy memories, funny stories, just an amazing day.

Sebastian's bedroom is a pile of toys. His car hauler is filled with medical supplies & used as an ambulance. His favorite "Fire Engine" book is still laying in the bedroom floor from naptime. It doesn't matter how messy & destroyed his bedroom is, at the end of the day, he knows where to find his favorite books, movies & toys. His Froggie & his watch are still laying in the bed where he fell asleep with them today.

His favorite remote-controlled "tractor truck", as he calls it, was abandoned half in his bedroom doorway & half in the hallway, after a long day of working in the crops, "spraying the cotton" and "picking beans".

The oven door to his kitchen is still open and pots & pans, lids & spoons, still found throughout the living room. He cooked an amazing snack today of mashed potatoes and BBQ sandwiches, with no spicy sauce.

His soft ball & bat were discarded where he stood after a wonderful practice with Daddy. He has a great left arm and looks like we'll have a lefty batter, too!

One of his favorite blue blankies is laying on the couch, where I snuggled with him as he awoke from his afternoon nap. Also, tucked behind the couch cushions is his microphone he used to sing me Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, a cappella, which was my favorite part of the day ;)

His Fisher-Price Learning Chair {which doubles as his time-out chair}, was sitting in the middle of the floor where Sebastian decided he wanted to watch NickJr. in the kitchen. He has been singing along to the ABC Song, phenomenally.

His jacket & socks are tossed here & there from bundling up until Daddy could get the furnace lit this very chilly Fall morning.

There are cupcake wrappers from Mommy's birthday cupcakes we made today, pillows tossed from courageous adventures, trucks left from a long day of exploring, peas scattered all over the kitchen table from a huge 3 helpings of his favorite vegetable that will make strong as Daddy.

I love seeing that our house is "lived in", that our house is a home. I love seeing that Sebastian gets enjoyment out of his toys & has an awesome imagination. I love knowing that I can tell you a story with every piece of "clutter" that is found in our home. It is so gratifying to know that Sebastian is having a childhood filled with adventures and fun and so much love.

**And just for the record, we don't let Sebastian destroy the house. He doesn't eat & drink all over the house, makes spills or messes. He doesn't get to run crazy through the house & break or damage things. He goes wild with his toys and loves to play with the pillows & cushions from the couch. But, at the end of the day, he gets to pick up all the messes, the toys and the details that went undone all day, get put back where we found them so that we can start all over again tomorrow. Although we want Sebastian to have fun & play to his heart's content, we also want him to have respect for his home, his toys & have some responsibilities to those things. He is an amazing little helper around here and I am so proud of him. That is another post for another day, but I just thought I would throw that in. ;)