How Do I Do It?

This is my Life: How Do I Do It?

I am often told " I don't know how you do it", "where do you find the time", "where do you find the energy". Well here is how and I hope it provides clarity and perhaps benefit your days as well!

My days are structured by routine.  Children are proven to thrive with routine, and honestly, so do I.  Anthony leaves for work at 6am, so once he kisses me good-bye, I am "up".  I lay in bed until the boys grace me with their presence. The boys wake up and start their day between 6:30-7am.   After they come into my bed for a few minutes, we read our books.  "Jesus Calling".  It a small reading, but a great way to start the day.  They then go play in their room and I hop in the shower.  (Yes, Nathan is still sleeping, he LOVES to sleep, can't complain over here!).  

I hop out of the shower, get into one of my many pairs of yoga pants and head down stairs to start my coffee.  In the meantime, Connor gets dressed for school and Jamison is usually by my side begging me for breakfast at this point.  I prepare their breakfasts and get Connor's snack and bag ready for school.  At this point, Nathan is usually awake and the three cherubs I watch in the morning get dropped off at 7:30.  We bundle up and hop in the van for 8:15.  The school is only 10 minutes up the road and they need to be dropped off at 8:40, but I have to bundle Nathan and help Jamison and Leah (the little girl I care for) get their stuff on.  We walk out and I buckle Nathan first as the other two follow me.  The older boys come out shortly after as they can bundle themselves.  

Awww, the amazing drive to school.  Only 10 minutes, but let me tell you, I could NEVER be a bus driver.  I have an incredible amount of patience, but one thing that can send me over the edge in a matter of seconds, is a bunch of noise from all directions with no substance. lol. If that makes sense.  So, thank God for technology.  Our van has the built in DVD player, so we watch a little flick every morning on the way to school as I sip my coffee and control my sanity.  It's better for everyone :)

Not every morning is smooth, not every drop off is easy.  All kids have moods just like adults.  One morning all the kids could be in great moods and everything goes great, other days, one kid may not have slept well and drama is created throughout the morning.  But, that comes with the territory of children right?  They are just like us, they have bad days too. 

I love this picture.  My pictures that I post everyday (like to keep the families updated as well as mine) make it seem like everything is perfect and pictures can definitely display that.  But, this picture above is real life.  I'm so happy my friend got this.  Jamison was doing great through this whole photo shoot, then, just like that, he was moody and wouldn't cooperate.  My days go the same way.  But, you have to go with the flow and try to stay structured.  Kids love having a sense of what comes next.  So, after we drop the kids off, we have some free time. 

We are so structured by our routine that maybe a month into watching Leah, when we would walk in the door from picking Connor up from school, she would starting crying because she knew at this point we ate lunch and then comes NAPS!!!! Halleluiah !  She doesn't do that anymore, but she's still not a huge fan, but she lays down and nap.  As do Jamison, Nathan and the other children I may watch.  Connor does "relaxing time".  This nap period is on average 2 hours, give or take.  During this time, I work for my billing job.  I work 20 hours for this job.  I work 2 hours at naps and 2 hours when the kids go to bed.  I used to work in the office, but had to give my notice because this was during that brief time we had Connor in daycare and he kept getting sick and getting Jamison sick. It just became too much and honestly, it felt like all the money I was making was going to medical bills from being there everyday (literally).  When I gave my notice, they asked me to work from home and I was and still am grateful.  I did not watch other children my first two years home and it is a great way to contribute to our family.  But, I enjoy children much more and the ups and downs they bring so I started this journey. 

This is the walk Jamison stuck his finger in poop :) See it's not all butterflies and rainbows!  But, I can be honest, I love it.  When your in high school preparing for school, everyone always talks about what they want to go to college for, etc.  I always said Nursing (and went to school for this), because who says they want to be a stay at home mom and raise lots of babies???  That's not a career you can chose.  It's a career you have to pray for and I did just that.  God knows the desires of our hearts.  He knew my desire to find an amazing man, get married, and make babies.  I have been blessed with just that.  And now, I get to have more adorable children in my home so I can raise mine at the same time.  

Where do I get the energy?? I can't say where I get the energy.  I guess just consider it to have a passion for something.  Some people love their jobs and love going to work and doing what they feel they have been called to do.  Gives them energy doing what they love.  This is what I love to do, this is what I feel I have been called to do.   There are days that I fly through a day with such grace and looks back and it was an awesome day. Other days, I will sit on the bathroom floor and just cry because I feel like a failure.  Children bring out these lovely emotions in us. haha.  But, jobs/careers do that too.  I'm sure you have cried over your job, whether it be something that happened to you or someone you encountered.  My days are the same, my job is just in my home and I wouldn't have it any other way.

After naps, roughly around 3pm, I will clean the kitchen and start to prepare dinner.  The children will usually have free play, do a craft or watch a movie accompanied with a snack :) 
The children I watch usually leave around 5 and then it's just our Richard clan. 

Even when I am not watching other children, my home is still on routine.  Our activities may be different day to day, but the kids know after lunch, we take naps, after showers/baths, it's bed time.  I'm a huge advocate for this type of routine because I believe it builds a sense of trust in our kids and provides them to feel safe and sound.  They all sleep through the night and bedtimes are easy, they are not a battle. I mean even Nathan, who is 12 months old, knows when I lay him on he floor , I rub him with baby gel after his bath and he started rubbing his hands once I laid him down because he knew it was coming!!!Also, this picture below, was random. Connor and Jamison take showers now but they wanted to join Nathan and I saw a cute photo op. :)

One of the hardest things I struggle with is finding me time.  Finding time to read, finding time to just watch a show, finding time to journal, finding time to crochet.  I stay up a little later to get my reading in and I'm blessed with good sleepers and I still get a good nights rest.  :) Also, date nights with my man are very few now. But, we'll be vacationing together when we're 40, that's what we tell each other!

I encourage a routine if your days seem chaotic.  Try it, it can help your mood as a parent and behaviors for your children.  You will feel "safer"/"calmer" because you know what you need to do next and they will feel "safer" because your children know what is coming.  You will get so used to your days and knowing when your moment to sit down finally, it will provide you with the energy you need to care for yourself and your family!  Hope this helps!