M is for Mess.
Our house is a mess. A lot of the time. Because I could be cleaning every time we take something out, but usually I'm also trying to get dinner made or make sure Zoe isn't falling down the stairs or checking to see that Max isn't playing Lucha Libre with Zoe (yes, that has happened twice this week). So if you come to our house, you may see a few messes and even hear Max say "Mommy, who made such a big mess?" and throw his hands into the air as if it wasn't him and Zoe who just took out every toy and unfolded all the clean laundry.
📷
Growing up, I remember the mad rush around the house trying to clean the house before anybody stepped foot inside. It was so important that our house always looked clean to outsiders. I admire my mom, not sure how she pulled it off to raise 4 kids and keep up the impeccable appearance of perfection within our home. (Does everyone have a closet or a room in which you throw things at the last-minute when you're trying to do the last-minute dash to clean your house?)
I also remember growing up that my older brother's best friend Mike would come over all the time to hang out. Mike was like family and as such, he didn't get the special treatment of the last-minute dash to show off a perfect house. Even so, I'll always remember the apologetic conversation between my mom and Mike.
"Ah Mike, I'm so sorry our house is such a mess!"
And he replied, "That's why I love coming to your house. Your house is actually lived in."
I love that. Because, let's be real. Our houses are all lived in.
And from what I've experienced in life, life is pretty messy. And a lot of times making memories with my kiddos makes more of a mess than I ask for, but it's worth it.
It's why when Max asks me to cook something with him, I usually say yes. I say yes knowing that the kitchen and the kitchen floor are going to be a mess. It's why we build big train tracks and roads so he can pile on as many cars as he wants and then tells me "Mommy, look there's so many traffic - it's just like Guadalajara" (that was a direct quote). It's why we always have a 9x13 pan full of sand and bulldozers on our dining room table.
The mess is worth the memories.
So for all my other mamacita's (mommy friends) out there, take a deep breath (and a glass of wine if you'd like), and enjoy these messy moments.
As my mom always says "We're making memories."
M is for mess Memories.
(M is also the letter for "Max" and he's calls it "his letter" - we had fun making an M pancake this week - watch the fun video below.)