You might not believe this, but this shot is completely unstaged. In fact, I like to call it the accidental picture, or life as we really know it but seldom show it. At least seldom on the internet. It’s pretty hard to disguise in real life. Everyone who comes over here knows it.

Yes, we put the tree up yesterday and started working on the mantle. But December 5 is still early in the month and we still have two full weeks of school ahead, so on the table right here you see a scattering of books, papers, and assignment sheets. What’s that? A broom that never got put away? Yep. And pictures that got wonky on the wall, but nobody has straightened yet? Yep. Oh, and those pictures in the frames? In theory I change them every month so that they showcase the current year. According to that wall it’s still 2008.

If you look closely you can see Boomer, the big dog, just inches away from a bone we bought him but he’s not allowed to get any closer to because of Peaches the attack dog. Just to the right of that bone you might be able to make out fragments of crayon that Peaches the attack dog has scattered across the living room floor. To the left of the shot is a blue box filled with more Christmas stuff I still haven’t had time to get out yet and just beyond that is the vacuum cleaner I had the girls haul downstairs today but still haven’t manged to use down here yet.

Just behind the wall-o-2008 is four baskets of unfolded laundry waiting patiently for me to sort or else throw frantically all over in search of four specific t-shirts the girls needed to wear tonight for a choir performance.