6 Kids, So Many Drop-Offs

It's football season and our daily routine starts with a 6:30AM drop-off for my son, Henry. This means, at a very minimum we are waking up at 6, and that is really pushing it.

So 6AM Henry and I get up, he jumps in the shower and I put on my mommy shuttle clothes. Either last night's clothes, or a house dress. We're two weeks in and I've been tempted several times just to go in my gown. I groggly make him breakfast using the toaster and shuttle the broken-legged cat from his small cage to his medium sized cage and give him food and water. About 6:15 I realize that we should've left by now and Henry's still in the shower, so I walk through the dark house to shoo him out to get dressed. He's pretty quick when football is involved.

He grabs his breakfast, his medicine, his backpack and his lunch and we hop in the car. In the car, I hookup to my breast pump and drive him to school.

By 6:45 I'm back home with a bottle of milk and one kid dropped off.

I walk into the house in different states. Generally my husband is just getting out of the shower and the three kids that we need to take next are usually still asleep. I yell up to Emily who is the easiest to wake up and tell her to wake up her brothers. I then go to the kitchen to put away my milk, make Danielle (6mo), William (2y), and Hal's lunches and bags for the day and set out clothes for the two little ones.

Generally, Emily and Alexander get right up and get to getting ready. Timothy hardly ever wakes up with a brief shake. Hal or I have to physically wake him up and then the chaos reigns. Timothy and Alexander are both hyperactive ADHD and the quality of sleep they got the night before makes a huge difference in their mood and motivation for the morning. The thing is, neither are good sleepers.

I lose track of what is happening about this time of the morning. We have a rule that you can't eat breakfast until your clothes are on, shoes and socks are on, lunch is in the backpack and backpack is ready to go. This rule exists because some kids were taking 30-45 minutes to eat in the morning and that is generally about the time that they have to do everything. We're having some trouble getting Alexander used to this as he's just now in Kinder. Hal and I thunder through the house finding kids without shoes and redirecting them, reminding people about lunches and chromebooks and, when we wake William up, getting him breakfast and changed.

The elementary kids leave for school with Hal and Emily for middle school a few minutes later. That's four out of the house leaving me the youngest two to finish getting ready and get into the car for daycare.

The afternoon is easier from a pickup perspective. I take a few minutes off of work to pick up the elementary and middle and then in the evening get the kiddos from daycare.

The afternoon is crazier though when it comes to working at home with four kids. Today, it went like this.

3:00: Timothy, 3rd grade and Alexander, Kinder come home from school.

3:05: Timothy starts his chore. Each of our kids have a small chore when they get home. Timothy had dishes.

3:05: Alexander is told to do his chore, but today I chance going upstairs instead of staying down with him. I had a meeting and it's quiet upstairs, generally.

3:10: Alexander throws a raging fit about not wanting to do his chore that ends in Timothy breaking one of my favorite glasses trying to stop Alexander.

3:15: I attempt to redirect Alexander back to his chore but he really is raging, coming down hard off of his ADHD meds, so I redirect him to nap.

3:20: Alexander rages that he'd rather do a chore, let him do a chore, he doesn't want to nap.

4:00: Emily and Henry get home, they say hello, have a snack, and start their chores.

4:15: Alexander is caught by Henry stacking a huge stack of IKEA crates on his bed, interspersed with laundry hampers, and climbing on them to reach the chain for his fan.

This is real life guys...

4:20: We get him down safely, (amazingly enough), and Henry puts his fan on high for him.

4:30: I catch him throwing things at his fan.

4:31: Henry, the tallest one in the house currently, turns off his fan

4:32-4:58: Alexander screams and rages that he his hot without his fan.

4:59: For whatever reason, it's finally silent, so I recheck the cameras

5:00: He's out of his room, that is why it's quiet

5:01: He's back in here crying because he's hot and wants his fan.

I'd put something here about natural consequences. You throw stuff in your fan, you get your fan turned off and that nonsense, but the reality is, as funny is this is since he didn't get hurt, he could've gotten really, really hurt. I currently have a cat with a broken leg, and a son with stitches in his face and I don't need another hurt kiddo. It feels like Mom is the one getting the natural consequences.

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Kristian is a mom of six, Program Manager by day, active Professional Photographer by trade, and a big believer in finding beauty in the everyday chaos.

Life in our house is loud, messy and full of literally everything. Love, noise, laundry, laughter, and definitely could use a bit more grace. I'm happily married to my best friend, grounded in my Catholic faith, and fueled by five to six hours of sleep per night and adrenaline.

I try to find joy in the everyday — even when it's wild, because without the little bit of joy, this life would be unbearable. This space is for the moms in the middle of it all: the ones juggling family, faith, work, and wonder. The ones that need someone else's messy life to make their own seem better or somewhat normal. You're not alone, and you're doing better than you think.

Welcome to Six Sweet Smiles — where we celebrate the mess, the miracles, and everything in between.