Why That Title?

A client referred to her house of many animals as "happily chaotic". I loved it and felt like it described our house pretty well too. With 2 full time working parents, 3 young children (all 5 and under), 3 rambunctious dogs (between 30-75 pounds!) 4 attention seeking cats and some fish- we are certainly chaotic. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Although the clutter gets to my OCD at times I love that our house is "lived" in and not one of those sterile environments where you're not sure where to sit for fear of dirtying or wrinkling something. No formal living areas here, even our dining room is more of a laid back room- more of an eat in kitchen feel, with a bench and some small stools for the kids. When we got married we didn't register for (and still do not have) a fancy china pattern. We use some pottery pieces from LL Bean and almost unbreakable Corelle dinnerware. I do let my children jump on the couch and make forts (caves as Owen calls them) with the cushions. We will have picnic lunches and dinners on the rug in front of the TV. We have lived here for 5 1/2 years and still do not have all the painting done or all the window treatments up. And while I would love to live in the Pottery Barn catalog someday- for now this is my life and it is a perfect Happy Chaos.