Overwhelmed on a Monday

Today has been one of those days where no matter what I do, the house looks like it exploded. Every other Thursday the common areas get professionally cleaned, which is supposed to help. But even on those days the house still feels like a battlefield. My bedroom is a disaster. The kids’ rooms are disasters. The hallway looks like a storage unit staged by a raccoon. The only room that is even close to clean is the office. And that is a whole story on its own.

We had to move our office three weeks ago. My husband decided to start with the Ikea Billy bookcase. It had one of those toppers on it, and when he moved it, the topper detached and the whole thing crashed down on his knee. It looked like a surgery incision. Bruised, swollen, bleeding. Terrible. He tapped out after that. And I understood. For the first week.

But three weeks later, nothing has been finished. Our things are in boxes in the office, in the hallway, in random corners, and apparently also in the possession of my five year old klepto. He has been sneaking into the piles, stealing things, and hiding them in his room. The chaos has gotten so bad that I finally told my husband this weekend that it has to get done.

Instead, last night he discovered that our fourteen year old had taken some of his Magic cards from his big collection. I do not know how long he spiraled over it, but the result was that the office never got touched. Again.

And here we are. Overwhelmed, out of space, drowning in other people’s stuff, and unable to make progress because no one else seems ready to make decisions about their things. I cannot force decluttering on them, but I also cannot keep living in piles of belongings and half-finished projects.

It is a Monday. And I am wrung out.

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Mama, I know how easy it is to get lost in the swirl of kids, work, and life. That’s why I love creating space for moms to pause, breathe, and be reminded of their beauty. At Kristian Hutchings Portraits, you’ll be cared for from start to finish, and you’ll leave with images that show you the grace and strength your family already sees every day.

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Kristian is a mom of six, Program Manager by day, active Professional Photographer by trade, and a big believer in finding beauty in the everyday chaos.

Life in our house is loud, messy and full of literally everything. Love, noise, laundry, laughter, and definitely could use a bit more grace. I'm happily married to my best friend, grounded in my Catholic faith, and fueled by five to six hours of sleep per night and adrenaline.

I try to find joy in the everyday — even when it's wild, because without the little bit of joy, this life would be unbearable. This space is for the moms in the middle of it all: the ones juggling family, faith, work, and wonder. The ones that need someone else's messy life to make their own seem better or somewhat normal. You're not alone, and you're doing better than you think.

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