From three to seven

December 12, 2012

Remember how last week I was in charge of four extra children? Well here's how it went.

List version:
Sunday - take parents to airport
Go to church
Make delicious Sunday dinner
Hang out until it's time to go to bed

Monday - Wake up and get ready
Wake kids up if they're not already awake
Make sure L wakes up and hasn't slept past her alarm
Rush L through breakfast and give directions left and right for each child until they're out the door
Hang with N until Kindergarten
Take a breather and have some precious alone time with Chelsea
Kids get home, give them a snack
Check with each to make sure their homework gets done
Try desperately to keep them on task
Eat dinner
Hang out and go to bed

Tuesday - Repeat but get L up earlier for Choir

Wednesday - Repeat Monday

Thursday - Repeat Tuesday

Friday - Repeat morning routine, but N goes to school earlier and kids get home earlier
Figure out who's going to who's house and get phone numbers
Get everyone home in time for dinner
Hang out and play games

Saturday - Play

Sunday - Get ready
Go to church
Get parents
Go home

It was a really interesting experience to go from one child, who is a baby, to having 5. People say that with each new child, a mother loses just a little more of their memory/mind, and now I can understand! You're now in charge of keeping track of five or six schedules instead of two. I think I did a pretty good job, although I definitely can't take all the credit. Rosanne and Clay have really taught their children well. Although easily distracted, they were very respectful and obedient (for the most part). I was very impressed.

Here's the slightly more informative version:
On Sunday when we met the kids for sacrament, I realized that I had forgotten their activity bag. A rookie mistake, I know. Despite this horrible failure on my part, we managed to keep the kids entertained and they behaved well.
For dinner that night, I made biscuits, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and chicken. It was a hit. Andrew took care of the kids the rest of the night while I prepared for the next day.
Monday morning was a shocker! I couldn't believe how many times I had to give the same direction to each child. I felt so bossy and pushy, but eventually got everyone out on time. Andrew was already at work so it was all up to me.
It's funny to spend a day with a 5-year-old. He was very informative about everything from ancient fishing villages to the likes and dislikes of my child. I guess he must have known more about Chelsea than I did.
Getting the kids to do their homework was a chore! Some were really self-motivated. And some really needed help. It wasn't until Wednesday that I figured out the best method to help them finish their homework at a reasonable time (separate them so they don't distract each other)
Friday after school wasn't so bad. None of the kids had homework, or at least, not very much, and all of them wanted to play with friends. The hardest part was getting them to figure out their friend's phone numbers and keeping track of them. I managed to only lose N once!
Saturday was nice because Andrew was home and he took care of the kids most of the day. We were even able to get out for an hour or two.
Chelsea didn't sleep well at all throughout the entire week so it was a huge relief when we re home again, but we had a great time playing house with four extra for the week, despite getting locked out once, and lost while driving back from Salt Lake (thank goodness for my iPhone). All I can say is I'm grateful that I don't have to go at it alone and that family's grow one at a time (most of the time).

Here are a couple of pictures from the week!








Have a good one!

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