Parenting Ain't for Sissies - Part 4

Five kids are a lot to take care of everyday. It’s three meals a day which is 15 plates total plus snacks.  It’s exhausting and I am not “suzy homemaker” like my mom.  I love my kids but I don’t love cooking at all.  We keep meals simple and I can flat dish out the food if everyone stays out of my way! When I make spaghetti, I dump all the noodles in a bowl, dump all the sauce on top, add the parmesan cheese and put it on a platter and with a big knife cut it all up and dish out the 5 plates for the kids!! I get my kids to help pour milk, make the salad and lay out the plates!!

We always use paper plates and plastic cups.  That means we only have to wash silverware and pots.  It’s not classy but it’s quick and easy and saves time.  The kids put their names on their cups and we try to use the same one all day, rinsing them out after meals. For me it’s about all sitting down together and giving each child the spotlight to tell about their day.  Eddie makes up all kinds of stuff and cracks us up.  He has quite the imagination.  The real fun is everyone guarding their plate from the dog.  She is stealth and can grab a cup of milk with her teeth and sit it carefully on the floor and lap it up without spilling a drop.  Pretty freaky!

Here are a few more time saving tips I use throughout the year that helps us with our overwhelming life.  I pre-pack the kids school lunches the night before.  I get all their lunchboxes laid out and put the snacks in the night before.  I lay out all their clothes including hair bows too!  It helps cut down on the chaos in the morning.  We have four, large, storage bin (one for each kid in school) on the shelf in the laundry closet where we keep their school clothes including socks!  Speaking of socks…it’s super fun over here sorting socks. Thank God Hanes makes different color tips on their socks for different sizes!!  That’s a lifesavor!  We also make sure their school work is packed in their backpacks!  The real fun is keeping KC from chewing up all of the above!! The honest truth is we manage because Dan is an extraordinary Dad.  He gets up with the Wogs, makes breakfast and finishes backing their lunches while I sit quietly and drink coffee.  I just fix the girls hair and they are out of the door!  I am grateful that God gave me Dan as my partner because we are a good team and surprisingly we really like each other still!!  #teameffort