Friday, August 23, 2013

Treading Water...

so for a while now i've been contemplating the blog.
do i keep it? why? does anyone read it? and why?
am i inspiring (which was its purpose) and am i inspired?

so many thoughts running thru my mind.

then the other day i ran into a friend and we talked about blogging & pinning.
she shared her thoughts about how she feels it does more harm than good for young wives and young mothers. while i love blogs and pinterest i found what she said to be very true.

it's hard. really hard to try to keep up with other moms. i remember being a realllyyy young mom and feeling the pressure, then something clicked and i didn't feel pressure as much as i felt a desire to want to be a better wife and mother. but with all the posts and pins and facebook statuses it's hard to feel adequate and it's easy to compare ourselves to others.

i think sometimes people think i'm an "other". i've had people ask me questions like how do i get so much done or how do i do it all with shawn gone all the time and the truth is, most of the time i'm treading water just as hard and as much as the next guy but i've been doing it for soooo long it just seems easy to those who are looking in from the outside.

the truth is, i am far from perfect. FAR! i'm doin' my best and trying my hardest to make life all that i think it should be and really, i think i make myself crazier.

i could go on and on but i won't.

i've decided to take the blog on a slightly different path. kinda makes me want to cry and i don't even know why. i hope that it helps the new mom or the "old" mom like me that is tired and needing some reassurance that you are normal. i hope i can let you in to my private craziness and make you feel better about yourself.

really that's all we want, to feel normal. to feel like we are ok and to know that other people are treading water too!

so here goes. my attempt to make you feel good about yourself. if it does, share the post with someone else. and have a laugh on me!

MY WEEK IN REVIEW

laundry. i HATE it! shawn left sunday so saturday (yes 6 days ago) we did laundry.
i threw it all over the couch in the living room.
and there it sat. all. week!
if you came to my house this week and saw the living room doors shut, it's because of the laundry.

now mind you. this is how it currently looks after spending 45 minutes putting away laundry.
you can only imagine...

now, if you follow me on facebook you will already know that on wednesday
jethro tore poor wilson's bed to smitherings!
and yes, this is what it still looks like.
i might get to cleaning it up on sunday after church.
wait. it's suppose to rain sunday. shoot i'm in trouble...

and here's an ecard story.
do you ever NOT want to unload the dishes from the dishwasher so instead you
hand wash the curent dirty dishes and put them in the clean dishwasher to dry
so that you can have a clean kitchen without really having to do all the work.
yeah! that' me...
and on a final note.
this is what my bedroom looks like when shawn is out of town...
you can't see the dog beds in this picture but they are there.

yes all of us, except gavin, sleep in my room.
every night.


and this week we have fallen asleep watching re-runs
of duck dynasty!
LOVE that show!!!



p.s. i will still post my quilts and all the fun stuff. it's who i am.
enjoy!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

so, I read it... and i must say i really love this new mind set you have on the way to write your blog. i completely agree with the picture perfect way that people paint themselves out to be through Pinterest posts and blogs, because truth is no one is that perfect but they make it look like they are. with that being said i totally admire that you are able to show people the truth about life and that its not as easy as everyone makes it out to be. love you even if your house is covered in laundry, and you have a mess in your backyard ;)

p.s. you inspire me <3

Our Little Rock Stars said...

Love It! Thanks for sharing :p My laundry has been sitting on the kitchen table all week.

Unknown said...

I love this post and I love you Julie Isa!

Marie Rayner said...

Wonderful Post Julie. I've been a young mum, with a husband who was away a lot and five children. Looking back now I don't know how I did it then, but I did. Life is not and never will be perfect, but that doesn't mean it can't be beautiful. You have a beautiful life. I may not always comment, but I always read. xxoo

WoolenSails said...

I think it is so funny, it is what we all do and think, lol.
I am bad with the dishwasher too, I usually just use the ones in the dishwasher throughout they day, then I have less to put away, then I put the dirty pile in;)

Debbie

Ginny Worden said...

You go girl! Real life, with it's imperfections is such much more interesting. Thansk!!

Heidi Gardner said...

Julie. I have been keeping up with your blog ever since us girls came to visit for Halloween and I always love looking at your blog especially now that I have gotten to know your cute family. Now that I'm married and being a good wife and one day hopefully a good mom is really all that is on my mind I am totally guilty of getting caught up looking at things on blogs and Pinterest that make me feel like i need to have everything and have it perfectly and comparing myself with other. With the thoughts of starting a family and having my own kids I find myself getting so upset at the thought of not having the nicest of everything and not being good enough to be a mom. When this starts to happen I find myself looking at your blog to cheer me up because I think you are the cutest REAL mom. It cheers me up quicker then anything to see what you do with your kids and how you live your life. I also finding myself thinking about when I have been around you and your family how much I admired you and the mother you are. You make life with hectic kids and all that comes along with that look like it is the most fun thing ever and it truly makes me excited to be a mom! This may be weird that writing this to you because I basically stalk you haha ( but that's what blogs are for ;) but when your wondering if your blog does any good just know that chelsies friend in utah (who does not see her enough) really enjoys your cute blog and admires you a lot! I would be so sad to not keep up with you through the blog! You are fabulous and your family is the cutest!
-love your long lost friend Heidi

Charmaine said...

Julie,

I love that you're a "real" person, just like the rest of us. We don't expect perfection from you or anyone else. We love your blog no matter what you post. Thank you for all your previous posts and I hope you continue :)

Karen said...

The luggage from our vacation three weeks ago is still in the living room. Empty and waiting for the next trip. LOL! I enjoyed your post.

Darlene said...

I enjoyed your post, Julie. I think anyone who reads your blog can and will relate.

Sometimes I think young moms (such as you and my daughter) expect too much of yourselves. Your family is more important than anything else. Enjoy being a great mom.

I always read your blog and have enjoyed watching your children grow up. (Uncle Darlene)

cyndi said...

I love your blog. I missed you this summer while your computer was down. I thought of emailing to see if you were OK even-funny because you don't even know me. You inspire me do be better. When I'm down I look to see something comforting new or old. Sometimes you look like you " have it all together" and other times you are in the trenches with the rest of us. :-) My sister and I often say we wished we lived close so we could come to your classes. So thanks for being willing to share your life, the ups and downs-messes, craziness, and successes. { I do agree with what you and your friend said about blogs and I'll add facebook. Things look good because we see one moment/picture. Cool that you are being thoughtful of that.}. Good luck with the laundry and dog clean up. The great thing is all that stuff is so good at waiting until we are ready to get to it. It is so nice! Now I must make dinner.....diving back into the trench. Yipee!