Housework!?!?!

I have spent most of the day cleaning our house (and I am still not done, but it looks better). I used to think when Kevin and I were just Kevin and I, that the house couldn't possibly get any worse. There was no way that we could ever have more laundry or more dishes to do. That this would be the worst of it.....Then came twins!

When the boys were born it was survival mode. I did what I had to do, and nothing else matter. If the dishes were dirty, they were just dirty. If the floor had toys scattered about, it just did. If the toilets went more than a week without being cleaned, it just happened. You get the idea. We did that out of necessity. Kevin was working on the farm and building his spraying business. I was fully devoted to the boys and had to be. I didn't always like the way the house looked or felt, but it was part of it.

Then we moved and doubled our square footage. We moved into a almost 2000 square foot home with an extra bathroom (we now have 3) and two extra bedrooms, as well as a massive living area, dining room, kitchen w/nook, and a nice sized Master bedroom. I loved it. And it was so new, that I kept it clean. We had gotten rid of so much before we moved, and didn't have furniture to fill it. It was simple, but happy living.

Fast Forward five years...We have added our family's jewel, Kinsley, and a lot, lot, lot of other things. We have a dining room set, a breakfast table, furniture in our room, nice living room furniture, the boys bedroom stuff, Kinsley's stuff, and TOYS, TOYS, TOYS and TOYS! Did I mention TOYS?

The simplistic nature of those first couple of months in this house are long past. And while I love the way our house looks when it is cleaned, I hate the way it looks when it is not. There is nothing inviting, warm, cozy, or nice about a messy house. Toys rule the roost, along with Kinsley, in our house. She even got mad this weekend as the four of us worked to clean house. She threw a constant fit, and finally had to go to bed. I know from experience it is just part of having a toddler. They move onto the next thing quicker than they can think about what they left behind.

My question is how do other Moms do it? This question is mainly geared at those that have children at home still. Before you have kids or after they are gone, it is not the same. It isn't like a woman with no children is going to find a poop pile where her daughter went after her bath last night on her new carpet (that was this morning's discovery in the dining room), unless she has a dog:). Do other moms just live with the mess? Do you obsess over cleaning? How do you do it? Do you do FlyLady.net? How does it all get done? I am curious and if you are brave enough to be honest, post a comment or email me:) I appreciate it!!!