My two messy and crazy house guests

Today is day 5 of my two house guests 10 day stay. It’s been 5 days of interrupted routines and cleaning up lots and lots of messes (pee, to be exact). 

Who are my two house guests? My two crazy (and fortunately very cute) foster dogs, Khloe and Frankie. My dog, Owen, who normally isn’t very friendly with dogs is currently away at school (hopefully learning to become more friendly), so I thought that this would be the perfect time to foster again. 

Khloe and Frankie are allll puppy energy. All they want to do is play, jump, body slam each other into my walls and couch, and then sneakily go pee in a corner even though they were just outside. I’ve had to move my family room carpet so there’s no more accidents on it, and moved my couch and kitchen table against the walls so my downstairs is basically one big puppy playroom. This isn’t making me super excited for motherhood.

Here’s a sweet picture of them taking a rare power nap and being still. 

So, as I got out the paper towels and cleaning spray to clean up yet another pile of pee, I was so over these little menaces being here. They’re shedding everywhere and getting my floors all dirty and sticky. They’ve got toys everywhere and I’m on my tenth roll of paper towels. They’re driving me crazy and all I want to do is sit on my couch and drink my coffee in peace and quiet without them jumping all over me.

It made me think… “Oh god, I’m turning into my dad.” I love my dad very much, and he’s a great dad, but there’s some things he does that I’d prefer not to replicate. 

Growing up my mom’s family would always get together the Saturday after a holiday. My mom’s one of ten kids, so between my aunts, uncles, and cousins, our parties always had a minimum of 50 people, and they would usually last from early afternoon to 11 pm or later at night. It was always absolute chaos when me and my cousins were all younger.

We would often host these parties at my house, especially during the summer because we had a pool. The only problem was having these parties stressed my dad out so much and he made no effort to hide it. He was always so concerned and focused on keeping the house clean. So much so, that it took away from him enjoying the parties. I always used to get so mad at him for being a literal party pooper, and honestly embarrassing me with his behavior. I know my dad worked so hard to provide for his family, and loved my mom’s family and seeing them, so why couldn’t he just enjoy himself and not worry about every crumb on the floor? And it wasn’t just the big parties that annoyed him if you’re thinking “well 50 people is a lot…”, my dad wasn’t super thrilled when my brothers and I would have friends sleepover because the house would get a little extra messy. 

The thing is though, now that everyone’s older and my brothers and I have moved out, and the family parties that we have are calmer and not everyone can make it all of the time, I know he misses the chaos. I know deep down he actually really enjoyed having those parties at our house. I know he enjoyed everyone being together and having a good time.

It’s a lesson I learned from watching him — don’t sweat the small stuff so much that it costs you the big stuff. Don’t be so focused on keeping the house so clean and tidy, that you miss the making of memories with your loved ones in it. 

Have you ever been so stressed out, miserable, and distracted while hosting a party for your loved ones because you were so concerned about how messy the house was getting (or making sure it’s going perfectly)?

Have you ever said no to your kids when they asked for friends to sleepover simply because you didn’t want the house to get messy? 

Have you ever hesitated to invite someone over, even though you’d love the company, because you were embarrassed the house was a little messy? 

I don’t want my fear of my house getting a little messy to interfere with me and my family doing things we love, like fostering dogs. I don’t want my desire for the house to be spotless when someone comes over to interfere with me inviting them over if it’s not. I don’t want my need for perfection to outweigh my love for seeing my kids playing, or for my family to feel like I’m some kind of dictator. I don’t want to be so focused on a clean, organized, maintained home that I forget that homes are meant to be lived in. 

I don’t love having my whole downstairs a puppy playroom and having to clean up pee while we work on potty training, but I love having Khloe and Frankie here. I love that I’ve played a small role in getting them to their forever home. 

You can have a beautiful, organized home and have it be messy at the same time. It’s okay if it doesn’t look professionally designed and spotless all of the time. Honestly, I like a little chaos. A little bit of chaos feels like home to me, and that’s what matters. 

If you’re finding that you keep sweating the small stuff in your home and life, then let me help you! I promise you it’s not worth it in the end.