How We're Doing

We seem to have a  lot of people very curious about how we're handling 3 kids under 24 months.  At church the other day we had a lot of people comment "Wow, you have your hands full!" and I'm sure it seems that way to most people.

But honestly, I don't know if it is just that we had prepared for the worst, or that this is just my calling in life, but it really has not been that hard at all.  We have our moments, as every family does, where all the kids are screaming at me and things get a bit tense but I truly love my life these days.  I spend my day continuously thanking God for these three babies that he chose to bless me with!

So how do we survive?  Routine, routine, routine!  When Peter is at work, it is pretty much impossible for me to get out of the house so we spend almost every weekday in a real basic routine. The boys have a pretty good idea of what their day is going to look like and I honestly think that in general, kids behave better when they live in routine.

Every thing we do, has a well thought out plan. Every Sunday I sit down and plan out what we are going to eat every night that week.  This has really helped reduce stress as I am not trying to come up with a plan for dinner at 2 in the afternoon.  It gives me the opportunity to do prep work for dinner at night once the kids go to bed, or toss something in the crockpot (which we use at least twice a week) first thing in the morning.  We are also eating better meals because I am planning ahead!

Cleaning is a constant battle, but I also know I have to keep on top of it or we will be buried alive.  The basics that I take care of every morning are throwing in a load of laundry, and emptying the dishwasher so we can fill it throughout the day.  I HAVE to stay on top of these!  We need to do about 1 load of laundry per day right now, so it works out really well to just throw a load in every morning.  I used to have a really good cleaning schedule set up, but there isn't time for perfection these days so I do what I like to call "survival cleaning".  That means, that when I see something that needs to be clean - whether that is a bath tub getting grimy, a floor that needs mopped, or dust on the desk  - I add it to the bottom of my cleaning log.  When the kids go down for a nap and I have a free moment, I look at the top of the log and go and clean whatever it is on there.  It isn't a perfect plan but it definitely seems to be working well for us right now!

Another thing I am big on right now, is baby wearing!  Sabrina usually does well in the morning not needing to be held, but sometime in the afternoon she reaches a point that she insists that she cannot be put down.  This is when my Moby Wrap or Ergo come in handy!  She loves to be worn, so she spends a lot of time with me while I am cooking or cleaning during the boys nap time.

                                                                Wearing her to clean:

                                                               Wearing her to cook:

I shower at night! I require a lot of sleep and so in order to utilize every available second of sleep I can, I sleep until the kids wake me up.  Also, it feels so good to get cleaned up in the evening after the kids have spit up on me or gotten sticky PB and J all over me.  I also like this because it is a little bit of piece and quiet time for me at the end of a day with the kids!

I also still make sure to take time for myself everyday!  Amazingly there is still me time everyday!  The first thing I do when I have a second is do my devotions and take care of my Spiritual needs!  Also, 3 days a week, as soon as I can get all 3 babies sleeping for a nap I focus on my physical well being and am getting back into the routine of working out.  I want to be physically fit too!  Another way I unwind is by reading books on my Kindle.  I'm not sure how many people know about it, but libraries are really starting to offer downloadable books.  Our local library does that, so I am able to check out a lot of books this way and I love it!  And sometimes, if all the kids are sleeping and I am feeling particularly tired - I love to cuddle up with my little miss Sabrina and get a little bit of rest too!

So, with the 24 hours in a day, I mostly feel like I have more than enough time to accomplish everything I need to do get done in a day.  My life is busy and I do have to keep moving throughout the day, but I love this life!  I truly do!  I feel completely content and like I am doing exactly what God made me to do!