Here’s my version of how I manage to survive my full time career, that is motherhood. Managing a household of 6 is not easy. Brushing alone takes a lot of time, imagine 4 kids.. then I have to bathe them too! But you know, even it is hard, it’s very fulfilling and just by looking at them at night, I feel refreshed already!
Our day would start with the 2 older boys preparing for school. That would include preparing their breakfast, bathing them, checking their bags, preparing their snacks and of course, assisting them as they put on their uniforms. I am also homeschooling my two younger kids, then tutor my school boys.
My secret in being able to manage it all is scheduling and advance cooking. I have a schedule of how my day should go, though most of the times I don’t follow it, it still serves as a guide and as a reminder of what’s needed to be done. Cooking has been a big part of household management, there’s breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. Just imagine how much time I spend on the kitchen. What I did to solve the dilemma of spending too much time on the kitchen is to cook in advance.
We usually buy food good for two weeks. I devote one whole day for cooking the dishes then freeze it. It saves me a lot of time as on weekdays, I don’t have to prepare meals, I just place the precooked meal in the microwave and voila! If we have a bigger fridge freezer, I can store more food and will be able to save more time.
I am also glad that my hubby’s very supportive with me. There were times that he would wash the dishes for me, specially when he sensed that I am already tired. A dishwasher would e very helpful of course, but as you know, we’re just renting so it would not be possible to install a dishwasher on our kitchen.
Another thing that helped stay sane is my boys, they have been very helpful the past few days, helping me simple household chores. My little girl is very helpful but she’s our little clutter maker.
ria says
July 14, 2012 at 7:37 ami salute stay at home moms 🙂 your job never ends! as a preschool teacher, i always tell my kids to be gratefulfor their mommies or daddies who choose not to work to stay home to run a household 🙂
oh…if you need ideas for projects and activities for your little ones 🙂
Mommy Pehpot says
August 6, 2012 at 7:03 amThanks mare!
Farrah says
July 14, 2012 at 7:43 amYou should consider a portable dishwasher. In our last house, we got one off CL for only $100. 🙂
zoan says
July 14, 2012 at 8:23 amI am a stay at home mom who works f
ull time too;) and i am thankful for all the help i could get from people or machines;)
zoan says
July 14, 2012 at 8:59 amI am a full time mother too, who works part time to cater my children’s needs. And like you I am grateful that there are people (family) who can help us through. I am glad also for the simple machines in our home who makes our work simpler.
Dorothy says
July 14, 2012 at 10:31 amI wish I can do your style in preparing the food for your family too! Just thinking of what would be our food for the next day is already hard, what more if it’s for the entire week. 🙂
Wena says
July 16, 2012 at 8:36 amI love the idea of pre-cooked meals. I might also do that, especially now that my sister yaya/assistant already went home to take care of my mom. she’s been with us for more that 6 yrs. it’s quite a big adjustment. good thing my husband is really supportive, from cooking, washing the dishes to bathing the kids, he’s always there to help. but he’s leaving for another overseas job soon, so solo fight na naman ako pag-alis nya.