Today I got an email from a fellow mom of 3… and she was just writing to chat a bit ;-) but was also asking “How I did it…”

How I managed my home with 3 young boys..
How I managed to run a successful photography business…
How I stay sane I suppose?
How I kept up with my blog…

How I seemed to “have it together” and still seem halfway normal doing it.

It was a sweet e-mail and I am flattered any time I get emails like it.

Today while enjoying some quiet time (while the boys napped) I decided to write a blog post about my life with 3 boys under 5… and if I am in fact really a “Super Mom.”

I want to be totally real here and express to anyone who reads this, who thinks I have it all together, that truthfully, im just as “normal” as anyone else :-)

I fail so often…

In fact yesterday I was going to blog about how frustrated I was with my children. (I have tried NOT to blog those things… because people assume I hate my kids if I do… but to me its just being real! We all have those moments.)

Lets just say the morning started out really rough… with my boys up at 6am… telling me they had to PEE?
… why do kids feel the need to announce to you every single time they have to poop or pee. I get it if they arent able to go by themselves… but my boys are fully capable of pulling their OWN pants down, and going potty.

So here I am in bed at 6am with two kids hovering over me saying they had to pee… then when I tell them to go away, they come back telling me again *1 minute later* – “mama… I have to pee!”

I wish I could say my response was calm and collective… and sweet… saying “just go pee sweetie…”

Instead mine was more like…

“WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU HAVE TO PEE AT 6 IN THE MORNING!!! JUST GO PEE!”

Yup… not so SUPER there.

The mood for my entire day went down hill from there… It really was not a great day… and in fact got so bad, because I wasn’t right myself… but also because my kids were so tired (from getting up way to early), that they whined….. and faught… and whined some more… and were just down right frustrating… Around 3pm I actually called Travis up and asked him if it was possible for him to come home early from work… and Praise the Lord he said YES!! I think he could agree though that the boys were definitely testing us yesterday… and just needed to get to bed early that night.

Those days I am thankful arent often…
But no one is immune from having one sadly and if you are, please share with me how LOL

For the majority I do feel like I have a good routine going.

Although my house is not perfect…

I can’t remember the last time I mopped… and last week I did no laundry, except for washing cloth diapers.
I dont have a calendar schedule of “laundry days” or “bathroom cleaning days“… I honestly just do it when I can. I think if I had those calendar days Id stress myself out trying to “meet the deadlines” and keep things perfect.

Chaos is going to happen. :-)
But… you know… just because my floors may not be freshly mopped, and my laundry room have a mound of laundry as tall as the kids… things still manage to function!

My kids are happy…
My husband is fed (for the most part)
I manage to get a shower most days.
I keep up with business… despite getting behind every now and then.

Its not easy… thats a given :-)

Forget long showers… or relaxing baths and tranquil reading time. Forget being able to go pee without a little one strolling in asking for a drink or his toy back. Expect to spend day after day unkept without any make up on or your toes freshly painted. Go ahead and turn off your cable… cause sitting down to watch a good movie or TLC does not happen during the day :-) and most times at night you are to tired to watch a movie or to busy with other things you couldn’t get done earlier that day.

I get very little ME time.
but you know… its worth it.

To see a house hold full of happy little boys… and to have a wonderful supportive husband… Id do this day after day after day, for the rest of my life if I had to. Children really are a blessing!!!

Maybe this will encourage some of those moms who read other blogs… like mine, and think to themselves “I wish I had it together like so and so…” – you aren’t alone in your struggles… or your frustrations as a mom. None of us are “the perfect SUPER MOMS.” It all takes balance… and work!

The one bit of advice I can give is…

NAPS :-)

My boys ALL NAP at the same time.
1pm-4pm most days! Do they always sleep?
NOT ALWAYS. But for me, I MAKE THEM stay in their room for at least two hours. They are not allowed up unless they have to go bathroom. I put Caleb in my room, the baby in the nursery and Taite in his room. I have found that putting them together at naps, does not work.

Also bed time.. never any later than 9pm. In fact most days we start our bed time routine at 7:30pm… so by the time we get a bath in, jammies on and a story, its 8:15 or 8:30. My boys get up bright and early no matter what time they go to bed… so for me it just makes more sense to put them down EARLY… and have some “Travis & Drea” time… than to put them down late… Even if they don’t “seem tired” trust me… kids can be made to STAY IN A BED :-) – we do allow some “calm quiet talking” up to a certain time… and if its super early they can lay in bed with a toy… as long as it has no buttons or batteries :-)

Now I am off to upload some photos I had to take for todays local library time… fold a few loads of laundry… and maybe if im lucky, ill get to lay down on the sofa for 5 minutes before one of my kids is up asking for a snack :-)