Life with three kids is proving to keep me on my toes. Tomorrow we are finishing our two week vacation with family and going back to New York City. It will be the first time that I am alone in my motherly duties with all three kids. For the past six weeks I’ve had help from my incredible family and tomorrow that ends.
To say that I am terrified is an understatement. Three is a game changer and is much tougher than I ever imagined it to be. Although I was officially outnumbered by myself with both girls, at least I had two hands to deal with them at once. I now need one more hand to deal with all three at the same time.
Although my life with three kids is messy, it probably would be even more of a mess if I weren’t crazy about organization. You should have seen me during my pregnancy when the nesting kicked in, if one thing was out of place for even five seconds, I noticed it and had to fix it.
Thankfully my husband is a fan of organization too. There are little things that we do both daily and weekly to keep our family of five in order and somewhat organized. If I didn’t do these things, our family wouldn’t have any structure in our day to day life, which would drive me insane.
I’m no expert, but I wanted to share with you some of the things that works for us to help keep the chaos just a little bit less chaotic:
- Calendar on the Refrigerator– Trying to manage three kids and my job, my mind is sometimes a little bit scattered. MacKay and I both have a horrible habit of telling each other important things regarding our schedules and then once the event comes up we don’t remember it. To help solve this issue each week MacKay emails me a list of his plans for the week. Whether it’s a dinner he has to attend or a work event, he let’s me know. I then email him back my agenda (including the kids) for the week so that he knows what I have going on. While we both put them on our personal calendars, I also take both of our schedules and put them on a calendar we have on our refrigerator, our family calendar. It helps us by keeping it there because it’s a place we frequent and it helps me always remember.
- Menu for the Week– Although I love to cook, I really don’t like to have to think about what I’m cooking for dinner each night. The evening is probably one of my most stressful times because it’s the witching hour for all three kids and I am trying to get dinner ready so we can eat and then get ready for bed. To help alleviate some of this stress, I always plan a menu for the week, which also includes my grocery list. I write out each day of the week and then put down a meal and it’s ingredients for each night. The meals and days don’t have to be set in stone, but at least I have all of the meals planned out with the ingredients in my refrigerator so that when the time comes I can take a look at my menu and then fix it for our family.
- Everything has a Place– Our apartment is small and it’s feeling even smaller with all of the baby stuff that Macks’ requires. Although I wouldn’t call myself a neat freak, I absolutely loathe piles. It could be a pile of mail on the table or a pile of MacKay’s dirty clothes on the floor, it drives me insane. Too many piles can create clutter which just takes up more space in our little apartment. I’ve tried to cut down on the piles around the apartment by giving everything a place. The girls have bins that go under their bed that are specific for their toys. One holds their crayons, another holds their figurines. They know what goes in each, so it makes it easier for them to clean up when I ask and reduce piles.
- Create a Schedule-When we first brought Macks home from the hospital, MacKay had two weeks of paternity leave. He took over help with the girls while I really focused most of my time with Macks. While I spent most of my time in bed recovering and resting, MacKay created a schedule for the girls for their day. I thought that I had
- Prioritize Each Day-As moms, we always have a lot on our plate. Probably too much. It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed with it all. Rather than thinking about all that you have to get done that day, prioritize your tasks. Make sure the most important get done, and the little things that aren’t as important can wait. And if they don’t get finished that day, it’s okay. I promise. 🙂
- Make a List-I’m very much a list person. It is the only way I can remember half the things that I have to get done.
- Ask for Help-This is probably the most important thing that I can tell you. A lot of us have pride and want to try to be “super mom,” but the reality is no matter how much we try, we can’t do it all. Believe me, I’ve tried and it’s just left me unhappy and stressed, which isn’t the mom I want to be. If you are offered help, whether it’s with the kids, the cooking, or the house, take it. And then take that time that they are helping you to get the other things done.
These tips won’t help put everything into place (is it ever really with kids?) but it will help keep things just a little bit less messy. And let’s be honest, as moms don’t we all live for the chaos that the kids bring into our lives everyday?
Chaos.
Organized chaos.
Beautiful chaos.
{Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Playtex Baby. As always, thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that help support my family.}
