I knew that I always wanted children as in multiple kids ever since I was old enough to imagine getting married and being a mom. The desire only grew stronger as I embarked on my infertility journey at the beginning of my marriage. We were successful in having MaKaela with IVF and almost 7 months later, we had a natural miracle on the way in Makhi.
However, like my experience with Makhi, when I found out I was pregnant with Makael unexpectantly, I was excited but extremely nervous at the same time.
I was afraid that somehow I maxed out on love to give. After all, I was maxed out on lap space and extra arms to hold all my babies at once. For so long, I was convinced that my body was not capable of pregnancy without IVF, so two spontaneous healthy pregnancies still catch me off guard.
I knew adding a third baby would change our life dramatically and it has! I still do not believe I have enough hours in a day to balance everything all in but I know I have to wake up every time and give them my all. Prioritizing my days out to what is most important to what can be handled at a later time is extremely important for my sanity.
However, all three of our kiddos have completely different personalities and I truly can not see my life without any one of them. I believe MaKaela and Makael are both going to be the fiery personalities as they continue to grow- they know what they want and when they want it. Kaela will be extremely feminine because she is already so girly. Makhi on the other hand is my sensitive baby, is very laid back, and has my mellow personality. MaKaela reminds me of Michael for sure because they both have those dominant personalities. Makhi reminds me more of myself and I am still waiting to see who Makael will be like but so far he is our little boss baby in the family. Feel free to reference the movie “Boss Baby” to get a glimpse of that picture and what our house is like :).
Balancing motherhood with my business requires as many tips as possible. To make sure that I get my mommy hacks, I love IG pages @busytoddler and @black_momsclub as well as watching mommy hack YouTube all the time. My favorite trick that I have discovered that makes my life a lot easier is the kids snack drawer or caddy for home. It is pre-packed every day with ideal snacks that I would want them to have throughout the day. This ensures they aren't eating too much of one thing and helps teach them about portions. I also try to ALWAYS have an emergency snack bag in the car during errands or car rides with the kids and that makes it easier being out with the kiddos. The BEST tip I’ve heard so far is to hose off the high chairs outside rather than wiping them down; it really cuts the workload and time down.
With all the children's different personalities mixed together and occasional disagreements, I usually encourage them by making sure I reinforce the do onto others how you want done to you rule. They never like the thought of “what if someone treated me like that” scenario. Reminding them of this always results in them apologizing to each other. Overall I’m blessed that they are all pretty good with each other. Kaela and Khi get in disagreements the most maybe because they are so close in age. They all fight the most over toys and Makael included! Kaela and Khi’s disagreements can get a bit more complicated for example one isn't listening to the other or if one is being “annoying.”
Nonetheless, They all love to play with each other and their favorite game is hide and seek. I love it when the whole house gets involved. For some reason, they also love to wrestle and that is most fun when Daddy gets involved!
When I am wanting a breather, I have two pretty good options to keep them occupied while I have taken some Mommy-time. Having them play on their tablets with ABC Mouse or other learning games is a great way to keep them in one place and relatively quiet. I try to limit their screen time to a couple of hours max but this gadget is perfect for car rides and errand trips. The second favorite is Letter Find and I got the idea from Busy Toddlers Instagram page. All you need is construction paper cut up in squares with an alphabet on each square. I tape them all around the house and let the kids find them! It gets the kids pretty tired too running all over the house.
Despite the lack of energy and time I sometimes have, I totally wouldn't mind having another little girl down the line before I close the child barring chapter of my life. I have always envisioned myself being a mom to two girls and two boys and seeing the kids interact and entertain each other is beautiful. They love to nurture baby Makael a lot and its so cute to see them get concerned for him with every cry he makes and this is one of my top reasons for wanting to give us all another little one into so much love in the future. I truly believe my children are all blessings from my Heavenly Father and I thank Him every day for allowing me to be their mommy. I know this is one of my purposes- motherhood.