3|365: so this is a day in my life

I spent 3 weeks off from work and only a few more days left before I return. It was one of the most exhausting weeks of my life, but I wanted this life with a bunch of little munchkins so I’m not going to complain. Although, I’ll be honest and get utterly excited when the clock rolls around and papa is home to give this mama a break. It’s heaven for maybe a good 30 minutes.

People always wonder how I do it. Well, first off, I don’t get to enjoy any good reads like I used to or do I get to hang out with my friends whenever I feel like it. I also don’t watch much TV and movie nowadays. I don’t get to enjoy any of my hobbies and gave them up a long time ago. I do keep current on the news and read it daily only because I feel that it’s vital to know what’s going on around the country, city, and world. When and if I can, I’ll also read several parenting magazines before I knock out. I don’t get enough rest on some nights, but other days I do. It depends on the amount of housework that needs to be down and I typically stay home after the wee-hours to get everything organized because I’m that OCD mama.

A typical day in my household with four boys would start at 7 to 730 AM when lan lan gets up. I’ll stretch, play, and will feed him his baby food then he’ll down a bottle of milk. He usually knocks out at 9 AM. My other 3 boys usually wakes up around 730 AM – 8 AM and are busy playing amongst himself or catching an episode of cartoon that is played on PBS until I call or scream for them to come downstairs to eat breakfast. While I feed lan lan, I normally get all three a bowl of cereal and they would sit and devour it. I make my way upstairs to put lan lan down and now it’s time for me to hang out with our 3 boys for a good hour.  My eyes are still kept on the other three boys from my phone.

We’ll play and in between, I’ll make their beds. I’ll time it right and maybe 15 minutes before Lan Lan wakes up, I’ll bathe each boy one at a time. Then, as soon as Lan Lan gets up, it’s his turn to take a bath. We’ll go back downstairs and I’ll put lan lan in the saucer while I cook a quick lunch. It normally takes me a good 15 minutes. We’ll eat together, then play outside, go back inside the house and maybe read a book or color. Some days, we’ll venture out to the park or make a quick stop at my parent’s house for an hour, but for the most part, we’re typically home by 1 PM and all four boys are ready for their nap. Then, it’s my turn to take a break and by this time, all I want to do is SLEEP, which I do.

For the past six years, I’ve come to a point in my “parenting” life to know who I am as a person and what I believe I’m capable of doing. Any mom is capable of raising as many kids as myself as long as you give your heart and develop a sense of patience and love.

Love my boys. XOXO.