"You should start a Blog!"
- aubreykmclaughlin
- Mar 31, 2019
- 3 min read
I've never done this before. It's never crossed my mind to start writing about my life, and it never occurred to me that someone might be interested in what I have to say, and then something happened. I was standing around in my kitchen, making lunches for 9 kids on the last day of Spring break, thinking about my Orange Theory class that was coming up, and the craft I had to organize after nap time, when a classmate from high school (whom I haven't seen since graduation), messaged me. I, like most, am on various social media outlets. I Insta and Facebook my life, and I had caught the eye of some fellow mommies who think I have it all figured out! Me! Figured out!
Then it happened again a few days later! Another friend, who I've been disconnected from for a while, contacting me and asking for tips. I needed to evaluate what I was putting out there, because I don't feel like I have it all figured out, but I am now realizing that I am doing better than I thought I was (but not nearly as good as my social media would have you believe.)
So, I'll give you a glimpse into the whirlwind that is my life, right now. At this moment, 3/4 of my children are surrounding me, shoving Goldfish crackers in my face and avoiding doing their homework. My kitchen counters are a disaster, there are 3 dogs sleeping on my feet, and I am completely tuckered out from my morning Kangoo class. I have meal prep to do for the week, crafts to organize, laundry to do, and at least one more workout to get in before the clock runs out on today and I drag myself out of bed tomorrow.
At 6AM, I will stumble down the stairs, to grab my morning trendy drink of choice (right now, bone broth or Matcha seem to be having their 5 minutes of fame, so I'm totally on board), greet my first Dayhome child (anyone unfamiliar with dayhomes, it basically an individual with the patience of a God and absolutely no remaining sanity welcoming several children into their home for 8-12 hours a day) and start preparing breakfast for 8. I'll finish off the lunches for my 3 school aged kids and send them on their way, and then settle in with the 4-5 under 4's that remain. We'll sing songs, dance, create, and spend an enormous amount of time outside (now that the polar vortex we were in for months has finally ebbed.) I'll feed them all lunch, and then frantically clean as fast as I can so I can get downstairs into my gym. This is where I let out the frustrations of the day. Little A exploded through her diaper onto the couch? Lift heavier. E spent most of the morning repeating my name 5 billion times until I wanted to pull out my hair? Better up the box jumps!
After work, Brian (my adoring, wonderful, patient husband) and I will alternate who goes to the gym first. Dinners are made,homework is done, bath time is largely ignored (how dirty do they really get, anyway?) bed time happens, and then we start again with the getting ready for the next day.
Together, Brian and I wrangle 4 children, up to 6 dayhome kiddos, 3 dogs, 4 cats, a rabbit, a guinea pig and a gerbil. Brian volunteers with the Boy Scouts on Monday nights, we both go to Orange Theory, I am training to be a Kangoo instructor, and then we do the normal life stuff. Our life swirls around us, and we just go along to wherever it takes us. Right now, our life is telling us we need to have 40 eggs in the fridge and a full box of frozen chicken breast thawing for the week.
So this is post one. It seems I have portrayed an ability to organize my life and still keep fit, eat healthy and be relatively fun. I guess we'll find out together if I really have it together, or if I'm just a fabulous liar on social media!
Comments