I have found the one..

It feels like my days are getting more and more hectic. Either it's the kids (because the babies are getting more mobile), or the schedule that's being thrown at me. Between school getting ready to start (we haven't decided homeschool or public yet), and my own personal appointments, to the kids' appointments, to home visits, on top of cooking (why do they always need to eat!?) and cleaning. Have I mentioned laundry? Ugh... I got weary just typing that.

I often hear, "I don't know how you do it." To be completely honest, I don't know how I do it either! We take it one day at a time!! My mind works way ahead of the schedule. But to survive, we just focus on today.

Some days flow so effortlessly, and some days, I have no energy at all and the house and the kids (and sometimes mommy) are falling apart before my husband even gets home from work! Every day is not as perfect as it would seem on Facebook. I can clean the entire downstairs in depth, but by the next morning it looks as if I've done nothing. (This is how the house looks right at this moment actually. And I'm still sitting in my robe drinking hot tea. Pathetic, I know!)

If I had to give an answer for "how I do it all"... I would say, it's my husband. I can relax because I know he will understand. He does not fault me for a house that is falling apart.

He doesn't just provide the sole income to our family, he is also a willing participant in our role as parents. He always gets up with the kids at night. No, I'm not exaggerating. He knows I have trouble falling and staying asleep. So he gets up, fixes the bottles, gives the medicine, covers up a cold child, etc.

I help, but I help from the comfort of my bed, especially if I've already been sleeping. Unless it's an emergency, I don't get up. I may wake up to hold a child, but hubby has gotten up and brought the child to me. I don't have to move. How great is that?! He can get up to do x,y, and z, and then jump back in bed and be fast asleep in seconds. Me, on the other hand, if I get up to even go to the bathroom, I'm awake for hours. He knows this, and caters to me so I don't have to get up. What a great guy!

He does more laundry than I do, on a regular basis. He comes straight home and jumps into the chaos of the evening prep for supper, kitchen cleanup, baths and bedtime. He works by my side and often works ahead of me! He does it all, AND a full time job. I couldn't do it without him. When I mention that I want to take in a sixth baby, I KNOW why he hesitates ;) Wouldn't you? Haha... my poor mister.

I also have some pretty amazing big kids. They fetch diapers, fix bottles, clean dishes, do laundry, take out trash. They know how to survive if I'm under the weather. If I had any other kids, there's no way I could do a deployment. They literally become a second, and third pair of hands. Not only do they carry the weight of their own things (cleaning their own rooms, making their own beds) they help with the family areas. Yes, I had to teach them all of these things. But they know that they are APART of our family, not the center of our family. Mom and Dad don't function around them, we work as a team.

I have been so blessed to find such an amazing husband and give birth to such amazing kids. I am more lazy than people know. And I have a spouse and kids that work with me, not make my job harder.