Bath Time Tip

When you have multiple little ones all trying to get in and out of the tub and ready for bed at the same time, a mom can easily feel overwhelmed. They take their bath and then meander back to their room, usually getting distracted to play with a toy or a book, a movie or a piece of lent on the floor – anything!  Then, if and when, they return to their room it takes another mess and round of play time to find their pajamas all while you’re getting the other kids through the bath and tracked down.

What saved me was to have a cabinet in the bathroom where I had their towels, lotion, pajamas and undies or diapers. I get them all bathed and into their jammies before they leave the bathroom. That way, I keep all the dirty clothes (add a hamper for added help there), towels and mess confined to one area. AND you don’t lose any of them down the hallway. ☺

More Veggies

I’ve mentioned before that there’s no room for a picky eater in a big family. You eat what’s available or – you don’t eat!  Here are a few tips on sneaking in those extra veggies throughout the day. These great ideas come from sparkpeople.com. Try ‘em!

Everything in Moderation

It’s my philosophy when it comes to eating right. Don’t deprive yourself of everything that you love or you’ll inevitably fail. There are certain times that some salty and hot French fries couldn’t taste better or when that chocolate ice cream with a side of peanut butter is the perfect treat. I remind you to be mindful of what you eat. If you’re eating right, watching your portions, consuming a lot of vitamins through fruits and vegetables, it’s ok to have a few fries or enjoy some Cheetos with the kids.
It’s being mindful of what you’re putting into your mouth and when. MODERATION is key. Moderation is what leads to success when it comes to eating healthy.

Mom, please can I do this?

It’s inevitable. Your kids will see something, hear something, have a friend that is joining something and they will want to join too. From sports, music, theater and all other extra-curricular activities, we had to make some choices as parents to help us manage the ten children and their many “mom, can I?” moments.

We limit each of the kids to one sport per season, with a few exceptions if they have a light sport to double up. In which case, I make it clear to the coach what their commitment level is and if they don’t want to deal with them missing a few games and/or practices, then they must choose.

We also have a “Sports in Bulk” philosophy to help us out.  I don’t have just one child in track, for example, I’ll have three. If I’m driving just one kid to one practice or game then it’s not a very efficient use of our time. I get a few of them involved and channel their interests so we can all enjoy more time together while feeding their desire to participate in different groups, teams and activities.

We do have a few exceptions as you can imagine. Take our Sophia, who’s 13, she’s very interested in acting and we definitely want to give her those opportunities as they come up. She will be in The Wind and the Willow in the coming weeks and we couldn’t be more proud of her and excited to give her that chance to try something new.

Little Ones

We had such a wonderful weekend with family as we celebrated Carmen’s First Communion. I wanted to share a photo of Carmen with my youngest, Marco, as we celebrated. You can find more photos on my photo page. Enjoy!