Often I am asked...

Often, when I am out and about with the 3 kiddos with my big 'ol (obviously expecting) belly, people say, "Man, I don't see how you do it!?"  

"What in the world are you going to do with FOUR?"

Normally, I just smile and say, "yeah, it's tough sometimes, but I love it!"

I do a lot of "compromising" to stay sane with 3 babies, pregnant, and working part time from home :)  

For example:

Rarely, do I wear make up during the week, nor do I do my hair most days (thankfully, I prefer the natural look and so does my hubby)

Also, as you can see in the above pic, my house is anything but picture perfect clean, lol

Honestly, I cannot really blame that one on the kiddos though, haha, I have always been a slob :)

Some other "compromises" that I have done to make my life easier is that we don't really cook on the weekdays, Seth doesn't get home until 6 and our kids go to bed at 7 or 7:30,,,we don't want that precious hour and a half to be spent eating a full course meal and then cleaning up the whole mess of dinner after,,,often we eat soup, sandwiches, ramen, salads, baked potatoes, or cereal,,,quick, cheap, easy!  On the weekends, when we have more time together we enjoy cooking meals yummy "real" meals together as a family :)  And sometimes when we are really "smart" we will cook a whole bunch of that meal so that we can eat off the leftovers for the next couple of days (you learn to like leftovers, ha!)

At the moment, our backyard is so perfect for us!  I can sit in a chair with my feet propped up and sip coffee while the kids play :)  And this helps keep the house clean(er)!

 

Another thing I do to stay "sane" is routine/schedule,,,my kids are on a routine/schedule basically since birth :)  It really helps me to know what to expect next in the day.  I am not super hardcore about it, but it is nice to have a routine to follow, and this way I get a free period to myself in the afternoon (they all nap from 1:00-3:30ish).  That time is spent either: cleaning up a little, paperwork for my job, facebooking, ha!, laying out, quiet time with the Lord, exercising (not so much when I am pregnant though), and/or g-chatting with Sethie :)

We do have a wonderful support system too, which makes it so much easier!  Seth's mom comes and keeps the kids at my house on Friday mornings so that I can go to work,,so awesome that she can come here b/c it helps to keep the cost of a "daycare" down (hello, the cost of 3 in daycare would be my salary!).  And Seth's Aunt Suzy comes to the house on Thursday afternoons during the kids' naps to help out while I work.  She is so sweet, often she will clean and cook for us too (we eat off her food for a while too, I appreciate it sooo much)!

Sense of humor is a big thing in our home too!  Sometimes you just gotta laugh at what life throws at you :)

Like when Neela decided to go "swimming" in the potty, hahaha!

Seth and I both have the same primary love language which is quality time,,,so really as long as we get that QT in with God, each other, and the kiddos (together and one-on-one) we are pretty good to go!  We are pretty easy going people, which makes life a lot easier :)  

Seth has a few more to add:

*the cats, which annoy us, keep the kids entertained at the house

*he rubs my feet nearly EVERY night,,this really helps me to unwind

*Hulu/Netflix instead of cable

*having things to look forward to

*fun, awesome, spirit-filled church

*furthering our walk with the Lord

*doing "where babies come from" good and often ;)

We are both very much looking forward to life being a family of SIX!!!  and still plan to adopt in the future to add to our little family :)

Any other "compromises" "tips" I can think of along the way I will share :)