the "dinner party"

We love our friends.  LOVE them.  Not only are they an amazing addition to our lives, they get our house clean too.  Of all the motivators that exist for us, perhaps none is as powerful as the "dinner party".  We joke that our house would never be clean if we never had people over.  Except it's not really a joke.  I know some of you are saying, "It can't be that bad"  and "Give yourself a break, you have a baby!" but consider this: some of these messes have been around since before she joined our family.  Eek!
This realization is not without embarrassment.  I mean, I'm not a teenager so why can't I keep my room clean?  Thankfully I know.  Messes are how I have control.  I keep things as comfort.  Getting rid of these things gives me anxiety (see my FB note about the 100 Things Challenge).  I use things to keep safe from having responsibilities, from being a big girl, from being exposed.  I have a commitment to break free of this cycle.  Having friends over helps.
You have never seen a girl clean up in a hurry like me.  In 30 minutes I create magic.  In 30 minutes I am in a house that I feel proud of!  So let's keep it up, huh?  I can devote 30 minutes a day, right?  I'm pumped, I mean, the results are freeing!  Check it out:

Before

After

(and Ethan brought me home flowers!!)

Voila!!  Now we have a place to sit and eat dinner with our peeps.  A place for everything and everything in it's place...

Before

After

 Great, now there is some space to actually cook and create this dinner.  By the way, we had burritos and rice.  Yum!  Finished with cookies from The Cookie Connection.

Before

After

 Clothes?  Put away.  Baby toys?  Boxed.  BAM!

Before

After

 Nice, huh?  I hope you are as excited about my cleaning as I am.  Please refrain from asking how the bedrooms look.  This is not what we are here to talk about.  

Lastly, here's our baby.  I just can't get enough of that sweetness :)