THREE!

It still feels a little weird to say that I have three kids. Three. 

When E and I first talked about someday having kids many years ago, I envisioned having two kids (E was in favor of more). By the time Miss A arrived, I was pretty quickly knew that I would want to have more than two kids. Now, here we are with three sweet girls. The past (almost) 6 months have FLOWN by. The early months with Miss A seemed to last so much longer than these months with Baby C. I ask her to stay little every day, but so far it doesn't seem to be working. 

When we go out I get a lot of comments from people at Target about having my hands full. There are certainly times during the day when I feel like life is crazy. Many, many times in fact. But there are other parts of the day that go so well, and I think, I'm totally rocking this mom of three thing. (But then, just as I finish cleaning up the kitchen at the end of a long solo day, after hosting friends for dinner I spill a glass of red wine all over everything in my kitchen (including white counter tops) and get put back in my place. Ha!)  

I was really excited when I found out we were expecting Baby C, but I was also a little worried about making the transition to three kids (seeing this article circulate was not helpful). To help myself get ready, and get better at taking care of three kids I've talked to my mom friends and read lots of blogs to find out how other moms are making it work. I'm not too far in, but knowing how much I loved reading what works for other families, I thought I would share what's working for me (for now!).

1. Be a Morning Person. I am absolutely not a morning person. At. All. I would much rather stay up late to work. But that doesn't work for my family at this point. So I get up early. Miss A and Little J love to sleep in. Most days they sleep past 8, which is amazing, but the trade off is that they don't take a nap. So if I want some quiet time to get things done during the day, it needs to happen before they wake up. Our days go so much more smoothly if I get an early start. So I'm trying to become a morning person. How I wish I liked coffee!
2. Meal Plan. If I don't plan our meals for the week, every night is chaotic. The hours between rest time and when E gets home from work are always a little crazy, so having a plan is super helpful. It also helps me when I'm grocery shopping to plan ahead, and have a list ready. Going to the grocery store with three kids is an adventure, so once a week is more than enough for me. I try to use freezer and crock pot meals on Mondays because even as a SAHM, Mondays are hard.
3. Plan for the Week. In addition to meal planning, I like to make a general plan for our week. I look at what fun adventures we have planned, then think about what days work best for the gym, grocery shopping and other things we need to get done. I keep our plans for the week and a running to do list in my planner to help keep myself organized. 
4. Get Out of the House! My neighbor once told me that her key to keeping the peace was to get out of the house by 10am. I couldn't agree more! For some reason, if we get out of the house for a little while in the morning, even if it's just a trip to the grocery store, the girls get along so much better all day. I can't explain the magic of  10am, but it's so true. 

What helps your days run smoothly? Please share!