This IS the way we live.

That was my aaahhhh hhhhaaaa moment this morning. We're refinancing the house. Stuff needs to get done around here so to the home equity we go. This of course requires an appraiser to come to the house and make sure it's worth what you told the bank it's worth. Not a problem, I need things fixed and if that means some stranger coming in and taking pictures of my house, so be it.
I've been out of the house since Friday. Today is the day the appraiser was coming. I got the children off to school and stopped to look around and see what needed a quick tidy before the woman got here. And then, I almost passed out. When did my house turn into such a wreck? We're doing the transition from Summer to Fall clothes. There are 7 people in this house. It takes a month to complete the task. I have piles of clothes everywhere! Cloths just out of the attic, clothes to go back in the attic, clothes to be donated and clothes to be trashed. Clothes to be folded, clothes to be washed and clothes to be ironed.
No one made their bed this morning, I have a sink full of pots and pans from three days of me not being here at dinner time. The breakfast dishes are in the sink, cases of empty beer bottles I just washed out last night from my latest donation. (My friends love me, I accept beer bottles as a donation for the breast cancer walk) and when was the last time I washed the kitchen floor properly? There's so much stuff we've thrown into the screen room until I get to it later you can't see the 8 person hot tub under the stuff. I never did get that load of garbage to the dump that's in the garage. The litter box needs cleaning. And the kicker, the creme da la creme, the top of the heap, my husband's back is out and I can't get him out of the bed. Not strong enough.
All of this went through my brain in 4.7 seconds. Now if you were smart enough to set up a nanny-cam in my house so you could watch the sheer panic and squirrel like behavior, your welcome for the entertainment. If not, let me describe it for you. I started down the stairs to tidy the garage, then thought I should put the dishes in water so ran back up the stairs. Then I decided to throw the clothes on the couch in one of the bedrooms, but then I decided I needed to do the litter box first. That's downstairs. Got to the bottom the steps, and remembered the water was running in the kitchen sink. I looked like a squirrel in in the middle of the road trying to decide where I was going to run to avoid the 3 ton vehicle headed at me.
There was a little man in my head screaming on a bullhorn holding a flashing neon sign saying you've got to clean it all NOW you don't want people to know you live like this. But wait, hold up a minute, we DO live like this. My house constantly looks like a hurricane went through it. I have 5 children who never clean their room the way I want it cleaned without a battle. I've got school papers, and clothes and fundraising things all over.
I've got happy, healthy, well fed, well adjusted, well mannered kids who like being home, and still like their parents. I'll get the clothes organized eventually. The breakfast dishes will be done before dinner,and the beer bottles will be going to the recycle center soon. She's appraising my house not my life.
So, I grabbed a cup of coffee, and waited. The woman came to appraise the house. I showed her around, literally threw a blanket over my husbands face and told her to ignore the guy in the bed. I'm pretty sure he was asleep under there and will never know. She was very gracious about the guy in the bed. She took pictures, asked questions and went on her merry way.
Just don't tell my mom I let someone see how we really live. I'm fairly certain she can reach 1,400 miles and pop me upside the head.
I need more coffee.......