Keeping my sanity....What's left of it!

I am often asked by friends and family how I make having 4 kids under 5 and running a daycare look so easy..Well, that's because I fool you all well.:) Trust me! Just ask my husband, he will let you in on the secret that I am sometimes, well, kind of frazzled! However there are certain things that I do that make our home run WAY smoother than they would if I didn't do them! Right now I will give you 5 of my top favorite suggestions on how to help the busyness and chaos that comes with raising a family! These are my picks for now because most of them are things I work on on Sunday's!

#1The daily dilemma of dressing children....Handle it in one day a week!

This is seriously one of the BEST things I do each week! Some of my friends think I am seriously crazy that I take the hour each Sunday to do this. However, I challenge you to do this ONE day a week for ONE month, then, let me know if it has not helped a ton!

OK..SO here it is. First head to Target (my personal heaven on earth) and pick up two of these!

Yep....This is my messy closet;) As you can see though, I'm ready for the week!

So,once you have 2 of these you are set! Then, all you have to do is take the time to pick 7 outfits and 7 sets of jammies! The biggest arguments I hear are 1.)I don't know the weather that far in advance? Well if you have a tv or the internet, you can get a pretty good idea and then alter if needed. 2.) My kids throw a fit if I don't let them pick their clothes. Well, that's not a problem..I made it clear with my kids when I started doing it that I was fine with them "helping" pick their clothes( to an extent...Yes I am that mean mom that does not let my kids leave in whatever outfit their imagination picked that day. I know I'm awful) anyways, they can help, BUT they have to do it when I am doing it and help pick for the whole week. If they choose not to, well then Peyton's favorite saying comes into play "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit"!:) This little task has saved me SO much stress each morning and night!

#2 Meal Planning

Sounds simple, however even I slack sometimes. I try once a month (yes I said month) to sit down and figure out the whole month of menus. Not just dinner either. I am talking breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. I do this because

 1.)It helps me find the coupons that are most useful to me.

2.)Then I am not spending one day a week on long grocery trips away from my family just grabbing whatever I think we need.

3.) It makes us have all the items we need for meals so we do not waste money on fast food that is bad for us. I DO NOT like fast food! 

4.)My TOP reason for meal planning and once a month shopping...Then if I send my husband to the store, he only has to get filler items like fresh produce or dairy...Lets face it, men sometimes have a tough time handeling the grocery shopping.;)

At the minimum I suggest sitting down once a week and making your meal plan! It is so much better than sitting there each evening thinking "oh no, what's for dinner?" Also, it helps you save money because when you make a million "quick" grocery trips, it is too easy to grab things you don't NEED.

#3. BE ORGANIZED!!!!

Hmmmmm, I am sure I should be more specific, but I mean just what it says! Try to go with the motto, everything has a home or place. I have taught my girls this and it "helps" them clean up more often! Our house is not large and lets face it, with a family of 6 and a daycare, it gets even SMALLER!! We run out of room quickly. So, keeping a super clean house without clutter really helps. I suggest simple starts like using bins to organize things like pictures, small toys or if you have a house like us filled with girls, use bins to organize things like hair accesories so they are not just thrown in a drawer. Also another important organization tip is to buy an accordian folder or a plastic case and gather all important documents and keep them in one central place. Somewhere that you could grab them quick in an emergency like a fire. Put mortgage documents, all insurance certificates (home owners, car, life, medical) passports, social security cards, birth cerificates..You get the idea! That way, they are always there when you need them and you are not searching when you need it right then and there.

#4. STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE!!!!

OK, so I take this step a little further than most, however I am very OCD! From the time Peyton was a baby, we stuck to routines like my kids hands stick to me after peanut butter and Jelly! Don't get me wrong, we have SO much fun around here and have plenty of unstructured time. For instance the girls have had a lazy morning of playing outside and lunch is late and nap time even later. We are also very involved parents that seriously play with our kids and give them every second we can each day! This helps because they are not fighting for attention by misbehaving! We are BIG on bedtime routine though...Typically as soon as dinner ends, it's clean up time, bath time, the kids then get 15 minutes of "toonies" Olivia and Bubble Guppies and Superwhy are this weeks hits!;) Then it's straight to teeth brushing and potty, story reading, prayers and night night kisses. Most nights go smoothly (chaotic but smooth) because the girls know what to expect. There are no surprises and few arguements from them because we give them a little control. They know they pick the cartoon and when it's over it's over and that means time for bed! They get to help brush their teeth and pick their books and tell us what they want to pray about. It's not like we run bootcamp around here, but we do stick to routine because with this many little ones, you would lose ALL sanity if you didn't!

#5. Take time for yourself!!!!

I know, I know...Easier said than done but come on you all know the saying?...

"If momma aint happy, aint nobody happy!"

Thankfully, I have the best husband in the world that knows from expirence, this is SO true!;) He actually sometimes forces me to take time for myself. I know some of you may feel like there is no way you could take time for yourself, but you can do it in many ways. Afterall, as moms, we give our all 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We deserve a little time to ourselves!  Something as simple as telling your children to play nicely well you enjoy a cup of coffee/tea and read for 5-10 minutes. It truly is amazing what just 5 minutes can do.  Just find one thing that puts you in your happy place. For me it's running! Some days the last thing I feel like doing at the end of a long and exhausting day, is getting my shoes on and going for a run. Once I am out there though, even if it's only 20-30 minutes, all is well with the world and I can just focus on ME and MY thoughts! Other things I love are a HOT bath with a good book! I usually pick books on parenting or my Bible Studies. Also a glass of wine once the kids are in bed can do wonders! Just having alone time with God is HUGE for me...Just meditating on who God is and what He wants to say to me. When I am focused on the Lord and serving His purpose, it helps me be a better wife and mother! It's also amazing what a good church service can do for your soul! Last night's did wonders for me and left me feeling humbled and refreshed in my thankfulness to the Lord for my many undeserved blessings!

So, there you have it! My top 5 sanity savers!!! I could make a list of about 10 more off the top of my head! This post is already far too long though, so I will save them for another time! I would love to hear some of your top sanity savers!

                      Yep.....These little ladies can cause quite a bit of chaos!

Big 8 week old "Baby Brudder"....getting used to the chaos still!;)