I am going to shout it to the world: I suck at homemaking right now. You heard me. I cook with processed foods. My kids eat Lunchables and McDonald’s chicken nuggets! My floor is mopped maybe twice a month. My laundry sits in baskets, waiting to be put away. Dinner time consists of my kids eating at the table while I *gasp* work on my blog a few feet away.
Yes, right now, today in 2011, I suck as a wife and mom. My husband wears wrinkled shirts to work. Unless he irons them himself, which he sometimes does.
You know what twitter and blogs are good for? Two things: commiserating and finding other imperfect mamas to bond with, and finding lots of “perfect” mamas to compare yourself to and feel like crap.
Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that I am going to sit and wallow in my bad meals and dirty floors. I strive every single to day to improve. At one point I bought a food processor and Sneaky Chef cookbook. I pureed so many veggies and hid them in Lizzie’s food. Then the processor broke, and I never bought another one.
Things didn’t really improve much either, because after that, I was pregnant with Lucy and my entire world shifted.
Dude, 3 kids 4 years old and under is a lot of dependency! Only one of them can (barely) wipe her own butt!
So something has to give, I cannot do it all – play with my kids, educate them, sparkle-clean the house, cook 100 % whole foods and run two blogs.
Can you do it all? Be honest. Is your house spot-free,your husband’s shirts wrinkle free (because you ironed them) your kids eating all organic-whole foods and you are adding to the household income?
If you answered yes to the above questions, share you secrets!
But I am adjusting, constantly tweaking how I do things, so my children and husband benefit the most. I will never be perfect – forget it! My sanity is much more important than unattainable perfection. But I can get pretty stinking close.
Here are the areas I stink at and what I am doing to work at them:
Food: I know absolutely nothing about nutrition and food packaging. I know the basics: cook as close to “fresh grown” as you can. I try, but sometimes a can of cream of chicken soup thrown on chicken and rice is a super yummy meal the kids love! And you can’t beat the ease of a box of mac and cheese. But I am always researching, always trying. I asked on my facebook wall for some suggestions of how to learn more about healthy eating and can’t wait to give those sites a try – my fans are the best!
Time: My old routines were thrown out the window when Lucy was born, and then again now that Lizzie is in preschool. I need to create a loose routine that gives me quality time with the kids – preferably while I help them to help me clean.
Cleaning: There is no way around this. If I am going to work at home and be a good mother/wife, I have no time nor energy left to clean. The house is infinitely more organized with his help and I appreciate it more than I tell him.
Sleep: What? Moms actually sleep? Forget this, I need a Keurig.
As you can see, I’m in a state of change right now. I refuse to get too hard on myself for the lack of super healthy meals and the presence of dirty dishes always in the sink. I keep trying to find ways above all that. My first priority are the meals. Cause healthy eating is more important than folded underwear!
My question to you:
What are you favorite resources for learning more about healthy cooking for your family? Do you have a site you go to? Maybe a cookbook I should buy?
I can’t even imagine how those of you with young children manage to do it. I really can’t. I can barely handle it and I’m an empty nester! I need tips too!
LOL Liz! I am hearing some good advice here in the comments. I have fabulous readers with great tips, maybe they can help you too 😉 (so you are saying it gets easier but not by much?)
Annie, I love this one!! I can relate and could not have said it any better myself! Besides you I dont know anyone with many young kids!! I love coming on here and reading what you wrote!! Having 4 kids 5yrs and under is WORK! Thank you…you are my *gasp*, and smile time while my kids are have McD’s nuggets and boxed mac and cheese!!
YAY Dominique! I am so glad this post made you smile and encouraged you! I have always compared myself to others and felt terrible because of it. NOT ANYMORE! We love our kids and do our best to take care of them. As long as we are always trying to do our best and more, I know that is enough!
I got nothin’ but a whole lot of sympathy/support for you (I have 4, 4 and under) The wiping the butt thing had me laughing out loud. I’ve also written about the food thing a couple times on my site. Here are a couple of things I’ve been trying, with some success…
I found a weekly agenda thingy on Etsy that has a space for a meal planner. Sundays I make a plan, everything from breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. Then I buy said resources. I even plan for chick-fil-a at the park. It’s made me feel more in control of the week instead of the week in control of me.
Second a dear friend suggested having breakfast for dinner one night a week, it can even be cereal. I’ve done that and I’ll never go back.
Good luck!
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words! I love the breakfast for dinner idea and will have to use it. My kids actually ask for cereal for dinner sometimes.
You got one thing right – we need to cut ourselves some slack and just do our best 🙂 Oh and I totally love meal planning. I try to do one week at a time, I just need meal ideas. Thank goodness for food blogs and google!
LOVE this post!
As a mother of 3 children, also close in age (not as close as your 3 but still all less than 2yrs apart) I want to first say, you’re darn right it isn’t easy. I remember sneaking naps on the couch even for 10 minutes and changing 2 sets of diapers while nauseously pregnant w/ Bub. Keep in mind I did NOT run a blog during this time, just played Mommy. I am highly confident I could not have done both.
I also want to say, this SHALL pass. You will get all 3 out of diapers and you will have all 3 sleeping through the night so that you do too. The diaper washing will turn into school clothes washing. Your house will magically become cleaner as they get older. Nature has a way of changing us like that and my ONE piece of advice is savor every moment, because you know how fast it flies
Hugs from one imperfect mom to another 🙂
Thank you marcie!! I know my house will be clean someday and I won’t freak out about it right now.
Thank you for the hugs, totally appreciated!!
Annie! Hugs to you. I only have one and I feel just like you do. My floors are gross! Basically, I had to cut myself some slack mentally. My goal is to get one chore done a day. One! But before, I was trying to do it all and I was miserable. Also, I’m in the middle of making a homemaking binder where I can have a chore chart, keep a calendar, coupons, meal plans, etc. We’re trying to eat healthy, but it’s hard. I don’t have time to wash and dice and saute all day long. I eat frozen dinners for lunch. It’s just a season, I keep telling myself this. Rome wasn’t built in a day and a clean, organized and nutritious household won’t be either. But that’s ok. I’m giving myself grace.
A few websites I use are Keeper of the Home, Passionate Homemaking and Simple Organized Living. Hope those help. You can do it!
Yes, doing it all does make you quite miserable. I just can’t! And just like you I don’t have time to dice and saute either. Frozen veggies are my very best friend – at least they are better than canned right?
I will check out those sites, I really apprecaite you sharing them!
I honestly don’t know how you do it. I’d be certifiably insane. I think your approach is totally right though – try what you want and feel you can take on, and don’t worry about the rest.
This is a great post – you should like up with us for the Be Enough Me 4 Cancer campaign. It helps women with breast cancer and some of those people might have tips for you! http://www.justbeenough.com/be-enough-me-figting-for-cancer/
Thank you Robin! I am going to go check out that link up! Just did and I love that someone is donating money for everyone that joins in, I am going to facebook and tweet it!
I LOL at “Mom’s actually sleep?”
It does get easier…I promise!
LOL Jen!! Yeah, sleep and me don’t know what each other look like at this point….
Thank you so much for this post! I am currently a stay at home mom to 14 month old twin boys and am expecting a little girl in *gulp* 8 weeks. I am scared to death because I can’t do it all. I am too exhausted due to the pregnancy and chasing my little ones to even do anything else.
OMG! I can’t say I know what it feels like to have twin 14 month olds….sounds really super duper exhausting! But I can say that my Lucy was born when Lizzie was 3 and David was 20 months old. When Lucy was born I had no energy and my house was very scary. We ate take out for about 2 months, save for family members that gave me meals.
You will be so much stronger once baby is born though and you will find a new rhythm. It might look different than any you are used to, but it will work. Above all, be easy on yourself 🙂
And Congratulations!! 🙂
I am so with you on so many levels! I have three ages four and under: 4.5, 2.5, and 7 weeks. I am just now feeling like I can breathe again, let alone keep up. I’m letting my blog go a bit- I have for a while, so that’s no biggie for me since it doesn’t earn me any income. But I’m finding myself saying several times a day, “Dang! This is hard work!” Hang in there! And BTW, I think we met at BlogHer? I strolled by with my newborn and we chatted about Ju-Ju-Be bags and lots of other stuff. I think that was you. If it wasn’t then please pardon my sleep-deprived state. 🙂
It took me about 2-3 months to finally get where I felt human again after my youngest was born too! For the first couple months I was in zombie-survival mode!
YES! I think I remember seeing your cute diaper bag and super duper teeny baby. So glad you came back here to remind me. You live near SD right? Traveling back home was rough for me (I’m from KS) and Lucy took about a week to get readjusted. So glad she is feeling better finally.
My two alone, are a handful!
I can only imagine how difficult having 3 under 4 is! I currently have only one (20 mos) and pregnant with #2 (due in Jan) and feel quite tired. House work is usually the first thing I ditch off my to do list if I am tired (which happens often lol). As for meals I am finding that doing cooking on the one day that I feel motivated rather than every day works for me. So I have been googling freezer meals or once a month cooking (aka OAMC). The concept is you buy your food on one day, then put the meals together in the next couple days that can be used over the next month. This means that I usually only have to figure out a fresh veggie which is a lot more simple then a whole meal. This is currently my go to website http://www.momsbudget.com/freezercooking/ but there is a ton of freezer meals on google. Good luck, and when your kids are older they won’t remember that the floor wasn’t washed every day but that they had an awesome childhood with an amazing mom!
Congrats on your new blessing due this winter! I have heard of once a month cooking. I think my mom tried to do it when my siblings and I were little. I had a friend that suggested you get 2 or 3 friends together, you all get sitters, and have a cooking night (with a bottle of wine LOL) I would love to do that!
You know, I do believe that guilt is hard wired once you become a mom. I don’t know why we feel that we have to do everything. I find that the days I feel accomplished for getting the cleaning, cooking and my blogging chores done, then I feel like I’ve neglected my son!
Yes, if it isn’t the choices we make, its the food we feed our kids or the way they act in the dr’s office – all moms deal with guilt in one way or another. The key is to cut yourself some slack and know you are always striving to do better 🙂
Thanks for a great post this morning, Annie! I have been feeling like this lately as well! Moms try and do it all, and it is ok if your kiddos eat Mac & Cheese or your floors need scrubbed! Enjoy your time with your beautiful kiddos!
One question – did secretly adding veggies to Lizzie’s food really work? I am about out of ideas on how to get my picky eater to eat any type of fruit or veggie, or any NEW food for that matter! I need to try something different, and if that means pureeing veggies and throwing them in her spagetti, then so be it!
Michelle, there is no denying this is the most difficult job EVER!
Yes, hiding the veggies in Lizzie’s food really worked well, until my food processor broke. But Sneaky Chef is a fabulous book and has some very yummy recipes. Lizzie loved the pizza and the mac & Cheese – both had tons of fiber and vitamins.
I’m so nervous about having 2 under 4 as soon as this baby is born! I rely heavily on meals that I’ve cooked and frozen. My favorite book is Don’t Panic Dinner’s In the Freezer. I’ve heard they have a second book in that series too, but I haven’t seen it. Cooking ahead saves me and I’m hoping it’ll work with the newborn too!
You are the 2nd commenter to suggest cooking ahead of time and freezing – I will most definitely have to give it a try. Right now I fix casseroles that serve us for 3 meals but I think having a few meals in the freezer will be a huge relief too.
I used to do that, but then we’d never end up eating the leftovers in time or we’d get tired of eating the same meal… And by we, I mean the husband! LOL
I admire women like you…I hope to have it figured out too.
You exhaust me with all you do! You’re doing a great job if your kids are happy and healthy and they definitely look like they are. I have such a picky eater I can’t really offer and advice in that department except to hide everything in muffins and call them cupcakes.
I don’t know if I’d be able to function properly with 3 kids under 4 but I have lots of great food websites you can check out!
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com
http://www.cheeseslave.com/recipes/
http://gnowfglins.com
There’s more but these should keep you busy.. as if you aren’t already! 😉
Annie- I didn’t read most of these comments, so forgive me if I repeat anyone. First off it sounds like you just need to sit back and re-prioritize your life. What is most important to you? Once you have this “mental” list (or a written one) start figuring out what needs to be done to obtain these goals.
Sometimes in life we have to give up things we love for the sake of things more important. What things can you give up? What things should you give up? Pray about it, talk to your husband about it. You know the things I have had to do. I have added contributors to my blog instead of trying to manage it myself, I majorly cut back on my computer time esp. during my children’s waking hours, I quit facebook (my personal page) and we have made a no TV rule during the weekdays. All these things have helped me stay focused and have in return blessed my family.
We only have one shot at raising these little ones, let’s not let things that seem important (like our blogs and social media) rob us of the joys of being a mother and wife. Our families need to be our #1 priority. I would especially encourage you to not be blogging at dinnertime. This is SUCH an important part of the day with your children. A time to connect.
I highly recommend 2 magazines for you that I think will really encourage you. Above Rubies (you can sign up for it online and it’s FREE) and An Encouraging Word (this one is $10 per year, but totally worth it). I know reading these has giving me that extra bit of encouragement I need.
As for cookbooks…I HIGHLY recommend “Whole Foods for the Whole Family”. It is an old LeLeche League cookbook and just about the only cookbook I use anymore. You do not want your kids eating processed foods all the time. I suggest also checking out Weelicious.com for TONS of great, healthy, kid friendly recipes! 🙂
I pray God shows you what you need to do to make the changes that with give you confidence in yourself as a mom and wife. Motherhood is hard at times and draining, but worth the sacrifice!
Its okay I feel like I suck at life too and I only have two kids under five. Between work and the kids I’m shocked I have time to do things like read your blog and write in my own. Probably because the dishwasher isn’t unloaded and Ben had a grilled cheese AGAIN for dinner.
When I lived in my apartment I would freeze meals all the time. I would do most of my cooking on the weekends and then freeze the leftovers in individual portions. This way I would have a healthy lunch/supper to eat when I was in a hurry inbetween classes.
Ok, I only have one child who’s completely dependent (8 months old) and a tween and I am in the same boat. House gets messy. We eat whatever can be thrown together with a baby on my hip. Washed floors? Don’t ask when I did that last..
I can’t imagine with 3 under the age of 4. We can’t be supermoms juggling everything at all times. We drop a lotta balls that way. lol I think you are doing the best that you can with what you can. Keep on keeping on mama! The other dweebs salute you. 🙂
As for recipes…I hear a lotta things about the Pioneer Woman cookbook but I have no idea if it’s healthy or organic or whatnot because I think I was absent when God handed out the Betty Crocker apron.
Shelly, you seriously win the “best comment” award!!! “I think I was absent when God handed out the Betty Crocker apron” hahahahahaha!!! I was too!
Thank you for your kind words! My kids and I have tons of fun together and they are fed and clothed, in private school and ballet. I think we are doing pretty danged good LOL
Annie, I was once in your boat a few months ago about not having the time to do anything or keep up with anything. I felt super guilty about not being able to keep up with kids and the house especially when my husband came home from a hard day work and had to help clean up the house. Something was not right and I knew, like you, that something had to give. I prayed about it, but I knew where all the blame pointed to- my computer. I had been sucked into the blogging world. I became obsessed with trying to do as many reviews and giveaways as I could or write popular posts to keep my stats up so I could get “bigger items”. Since I don’t work outside the home I justified the countless hours spent online as the way I could get the things I “needed” or the extra money from ad space as helping my family. I also felt it was my “me time” to connect to others. Top all that with feeling the need to keep up with everyone’s tweets and every new facebook status of friends and family galore. I had a timer on my browser and it was nothing to spend more than 4 hours a day online and it didn’t even phase me. My head was spinning and left me physically and emotionally drained. I also felt stressed with trying to keep up the demand that it takes to have a “successful” blog. Day in and day out I keep trudging along. All of this had taken priority over everything in my life and I didn’t want to admit it. A few months ago I was beginning to realize why I didn’t want to admit it and kept making excuses. How could I have let something like this take priority over my family, my health and my relationship with God? I “didn’t have time” to work out daily (something that only takes 30 minutes), read my Bible daily or throw a healthy meal in the crockpot for supper. But by golley I had 4 whole hours to spend on the computer!!! I believe Satan was using the internet as a way to deter me from being the wife and mother I should be. My family was suffering and I was being selfish.
I could no longer ignore the obvious. I cut out the internet cold turkey for 1 week just to experiment. I turned off the notifications on my blackberry so I could only get phone calls (no texting either!) when they came through. Once a day in the evening I would spend a couple minutes deleting the emails that were junk and leaving the ones that were ‘important’ but I did NOT read them. I was just clearing these daily so they wouldn’t pile up on my phone. The first 2 days were so difficult. It was the same feeling I get when I’ve cut out sugar out of my diet. A huge part of my day ‘my life’ was suddenly missing. After the first couple of days I felt stress free. It was the most wonderful feeling. My kids didn’t annoy me and I didn’t snap at them. My house stayed clean everyday, all day long AND I played with the kids more than ever. I even had spare time every day to working on projects that were more fulfilling than blogging (sewing, baking, etc). I wasn’t tired when my husband came home at night and I cooked supper every night. The week away from the computer was a huge eye opener for me. I couldn’t believe how much of life I was missing out on. Most of all, I started feeling so much guilt about how I had lived the past 2 years and how much I have missed out on with my family. I don’t know about you, but when I’m 80 years old and looking back I don’t want any regrets about my life. When I look back and see that I spent half my day on the computer (and the other half thinking about what I should be blogging about instead of spending it with my family!) and not playing with my kids I would NOT be happy. Will I be happy that I always kept up with everyone’s status updates on Facebook?? Nope! Because I will realize what time I have wasted. My main goal in this life is to be a great wife and mother. I realized that what I was doing was no better than a mom working full time outside of the home. Heck, forget that it’s worse! At least if I was working full time when I was home at least I didn’t bring work home with me and not spend time with my kids. Keeping up with the blogging world I was constantly ‘ignoring’ my children while they were at home with me! It’s embarrassing to admit that, but it’s the real truth. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom and I was not fulfilling that role. Also being the woman God has called me to be was not being fulfilled either. How can I think of others and have spare time to help others when I’m so focused on my selfish desires? As much as I try to justify it, I can’t minister through my blog or facebook status!
Since then I have hardly written any posts. I still have to keep myself in check with how much time I spend on the computer in general (30 minutes a day) but I use that time to look up ideas and printables for pre-k for my son and read a couple of blogs that help me as a homemaker. My life has drastically changed and I am so much happier and fulfilled because I am living my life the way God has meant. I do have a handful of reviews that still need posting on my blog that I had committed to before this change and I will be doing that soon. I may also commit to a review from time to time, but I am not actively searching for these opportunities. I now have the time to take kids to library reading times, get involved with other mom groups and play groups and have more meaningful relationships than any blog could give me.
Sorry for writing such a long comment, but I felt called to share my experience with you. Reading your post reminded me of how I felt before I changed and knew God was telling me I needed to refocus. To me it sounds as though God is asking you to refocus. As Christians we need to look at our lives from time to time and make sure we are walking in the Right Path. When we go about our day to day lives we can so easily get caught up in our routines that we don’t realize we are headed down the Path of Destruction.
I didn’t say this in “Real Life Sarah’s” reply but I will say it here: being a “working” mom is not a bad thing. Annie is contributing to her household income by keeping up with her blog. God did not create Eve from Adam’s foot to be under him or his back to be behind him but from his side to be BESIDE him, to be his helper. A man and a wife are partners and this is Annie’s way of helping her partner. Since her DH is an EQUAL part of this partnership there is nothing wrong with him helping out around the house. Where in the Bible does it say that the woman has to do all the cooking, cleaning, and raise the kids? Times they are a-changin’ and now usually parents don’t have the luxury of only getting by on one income.
C, it sounds like God dealt with your obsessive and compulsive attitude toward blogging and being online. I appreciate your story, and that it is YOUR story, but I don’t think you can project that onto Annie. Maybe you should have written that blog post on your own blog, instead of projecting it here.
When you get to heaven, I don’t believe God is going to ask you whether your house stayed clean all day every day (and by the way, I don’t believe C. And if it is true, I feel sorry for you), or whether your husband ever wore wrinkled shirts. While we need to focus on getting better in all areas of life, Annie, I believe you need to get with your husband and have a heart to heart. Ask him what HE cares about. What would his priorities be in the home and with your work? In my case, my financial contribution was important enough to my husband that he didn’t mind helping with the laundry and dishes. But that’s how he is anyway. He realized that we both “work” whether just talking care of our children, or something else. If it’s important to your husband that you iron his shirts, but he doesn’t mind what you cook for dinner, concentrate there. It seems like’s C’s husband may not have been OK with this, and that’s fine. Everyone is different.
I get steamed when Christian women push their convictions on other women as Godliness, and pretend to be perfect. You are doing the right thing by recognizing that your system isn’t working right now, but please don’t pressure yourself to the vision of perfection that someone else has for you. Seek God, humble yourself, and pray with your husband, God will show you, and you will be accountable to him, not other moms. Ask for advice, but know when to skip the “advice” that’s given.
Thank you so much for replying to C’s comment. I was about to and then I read yours. I am not a mom yet but I do believe every family is different. Annie is doing a great job with my nieces and nephew. They are always so happy whenever I come over to visit and seem really healthy to me. As Annie told me once, they aren’t going to remember the messy house when they were young or the “unhealthy” meals, but they will remember whether or not my sister was stressed all the time and yelling at them. As they get older it will be easier to keep a clean house and if I lived closer I would help out more but for now I would say she is doing a pretty darn good job with those little rugrats. 🙂
you know me–i tell it like it is–those “standards” you are trying to live up to? are obviously not your own. What are YOUR standards? then live up to them. Screw the rest of the free world, who are probably liars anyway. A few chicken nuggets won’t hurt them. Sometimes, my house goes months without being mopped. Organic is too expensive for us. I know the minute I try and live up to anyone else’s standards, I hate myself for it. It makes me unhappy. Live up to what YOU want… and hon, leave a margin of error, you know, for when the fit hits the shan. Seriously. You need to read better blogs.
oh and ask for wrinkle free shirts for the man from your in laws and parents for Christmas. pants, too. I never iron.
I am making one more comment to clarify myself. This is not to argue with anyone else, something I choose to avoid on the internet.
I am a Christian and Annie has declared so on her blog. When I read her post my heart sank because I had the same thoughts many months ago. I prayed for 2 days on how to (or even if I should) make a comment on her post. The Spirit led me to share my testimony. I did so and in a loving way. Annie was asking for help and reading her post I felt as though she was at lost what she needed to do. As a Christian I could not just ignore her plea and I was greatly concerned for her. It would be wrong for me to ignore a Sister’s plea. All I did was share my testimony and I know I am blameless in God’s eyes because I did what He called me to do.
I am so sorry that a couple of you are filled with such anger at my testimony that you feel you also need to attack my character. I prayed for two days about how I should respond to your comments, but God made me realize that the purpose of sharing my testimony was just for Annie and I did what I was called to do.
No one is filled with anger. People are allowed to have differing opinions on matters.
Plus if your testimony was just for Annie, why didn’t you send it to her in a private email?
Grrl my house is perfect! Spotless of course, everything here is made from scratch, and I even iron my underwear!
LOL……. NOT!!
I have 2 under 2. So I know the feeling. Most days I’m lucky if the freshly mop floor dries before new snack are scattered everywhere!
I totally get you! I have 2 under 2 and can’t imagine adding another to the mix right now! We eat cereal, muffins and cheese, and pancakes for a lot of our meals at the moment. Mostly because my 1.5 year old will eat it without a fight and it is easy:) I hope you find your rhythm soon (and me too).
Thank you for your blog!!! As I sit here nursing my 3 month old with sore throat from yelling at my 2 year old and almost 4 year old this morning, I am looking for support and basically trying to convince myself that I’m not going insane. my house is a mess and since the baby has been born I’ve totally just given up on cleaning I’m hoping things will get more manageable in about a year!! Lol
I am so glad you found this post. I wrote it to encourage moms like me – like you!
It DOES get easier. The dependency is the most exhausting part! I wrote this post last August. Lucy was 8 months old, David just turned 2 and Lizzie had barely turned 4. When they cannot wipe their own butts and their attention spans are like 5 minutes long, you run out of energy and patience very quickly.
My house is barely starting to be cleaner now! Lizzie is 5 and David is 3. Lucy is almost 2 years old. They are starting to be able to help out with chores finally!! Sure Lizzie is now old enough to argue with me (and that is soooo stressful) but we are working on it with discipline.
((hugs)) it DOES get better. Till then – my saving grace was getting out of the house. Taking the kids anywhere – library, park, even McDonalds – so that I could have a mental distraction and a few minute’s peace. Oh and ask for a house cleaning for Christmas. Ask your entire family to each chip in like $20 for 6 months of maid service.
I do that all the time, i dont care where we are as long as we are not home! to add to stress we moved about a month before the baby was born and everyone I ask (for referral for housekeeping) is too busy to add another home. I really need to find time to look for someone!
For me the fighting and screaming and whining is the most exhausting part. the older two (girl 31/2, boy 2) are constantly fighting. 🙁 Unfortunately I do hear that this does NOT get any better.
I hope you found websites or recipes for healthy family cooking. For me I’m not a great cook but keep it healthy and simple for snacks. I buy alot of fruit and veggies and cut it up for them. And for meals I buy alot of frozen nuggets, salmon stix, sweet potato fries, and even frozen veggies like broccoli that are easier/faster to cook than fresh.
thanks again!