So far

Kevin and I have been married for six months. And they said it wouldn't last...

For the most part, this blended family has come together much smoother than I expected. That doesn't mean we haven't had our share of challenges. There just haven't been as many as I anticipated.

We did get one additional bedroom finished. For all of you who gnashed your teeth and ripped your garments over the fact that we had five little girls sharing one bedroom, please rest easy. The horror has now ended and each child has their own bed. They do, of course, still cry and beg to sleep together on a daily basis so...bite me. I am sure that within a few years, they will be sick of this "endless slumber party" and will be desperate for their own private spaces. We're gonna do what we can, but for right now, communal living doesn't seem to bother them in the least.

I'm about 8 percent complete on getting the house in shape. I have accepted that I will never be done but I wake up every day determined to accomplish...something. I have completed a few of my major house-related objectives. I cleared 90% of the clutter from the main living area and coaxed Kevin into putting in some sweet ass bookshelves on either side of the fireplace. It looks awesome. I often just sit and look at them. It keeps me from thinking about the mayhem and foolishness in every other area of the house.

I also got the master bathroom floor cleaned. By cleaned, I mean 'scrubbed on my hands and knees for the better part of a friggin day'. Let's just say it was dirty. Kevin's former housekeepers had a bad habit of 'surface' cleaning everything. By that I mean if you came in after they were done, everything would look fairly clean as long as you didn't look too closely. Two years of that kind of half-assed cleaning ain't easy to recover from. Also, I should admit that no one cares how clean that bathroom floor is but me. It's a sickness really.

The bedrooms upstairs still need a lot of TLC. I'll get there eventually. Maybe after the kids grow up. Whatever.

The laundry. Holy hell it just never ends. I've accepted that it will never be done. It's best if you accept it too.

On non-housekeeping related issues, the thrill still has not worn off that I don't have to drive back and forth between Hendersonville and Mount Juliet all the time. Kevin and I spent much of our dating years apart due to kids, jobs, etc. We are together most of the time now and I'm hardly sick of him at all :) I keep waiting for us to run out of stuff to talk about. Hasn't happened yet.

The only negative thing I can say about the last six months is that I really have kind of lost myself. This is temporary. I just keep meaning to reconnect with my old friends, relax, and focus on myself from time to time. But most days from morning until bedtime, just seems like a blur of chores, kids and 'stuff'. At six months in, I've made myself take a deep breath and re-access. I know there are enough hours in the day to be a wife, mom, taxi driver, housekeeper and chef and still get my butt to the gym. I may have to give up that 'chef' part. It wasn't working out so good anyway :)