How we "do it"...

Ava has it all figured out for us. She said to me a couple of days ago (after I must have asked her to clean something or help me with something around the house), "Mom, we should get some servants so you don't have to do so much work around here". I don't know that we need full-time servants, but I do wish we lived closer to our families so we could 'employ' their help a bit more! =)

Teague has been so easy and content so far. I can't complain about him as a newborn one bit. I don't know if he's such an easy baby- or if Chip and I simply have babies all figured out after having so many. Either way, I've been feeling good (other than occasional bouts of itching arms) although some days I am more worn out by the time bedtime arrives, and I've also sometimes wished that Chip had a 9 to 5 job. It would be nice to have two parents around at dinnertime and bedtime!

Crew has still been the handful around here. He fights his naps almost everyday and goodness knows he needs one... and I need him to take one yet! He has hardly noticed that he has a new baby brother, but does love to take turns holding him when the other kids show interest in Teague. It won't be until Teague starts rolling over and looking for trouble himself that I think Crew will finally realize what is going on- there's a new guy in town! =)

So, I get asked a lot, "How do you do it?!" or "You must be Superwoman!". The truth is I'm a lot more like Roseanne Barr in her tv sitcom than I am Superwoman on any given day. I do have semi-high standards though when it comes to certain home-keeping chores- like getting beds made each day and staying on top of the laundry. I definitely find myself 'begging' the kids to help out and do their part more. They just don't have the sense of obligation or urgency about keeping things picked up that I do. But they are learning.

When it comes to doing extra activities like baking or scrapping, well, those things become the "activity" for everyone to do- even Crew was coloring and playing with paper scraps while the girls and I scrapped last week. We had the dining room table covered with stuff and everyone was having fun being creative together. The hard part was getting the table cleared off everytime we needed to eat a meal. =)

I'm trying to not be so hard on myself if things don't get done- like the dishwasher being emptied every night, and I also rely on Chip for certain things- like bringing home gallons of milk and bread and bananas from the grocery store every few days. We also sacrifice a lot of things that some people consider normal or routine in their weekly schedule, such as going to movies or out with friends or each other. I think one of the things that keeps us going too, is to remember that this is a season in life. It will actually be gone before we know it, and so I try to just take it in and recognize that these are the days I will wish back sometime down the road. Babyhood and toddlerhood don't last forever.

That helps me get through the days... and makes me want to hang onto certain moments all at the same time. That's {in a nutshell} how we do it around here. =)