Brit Chambers is a stay-at-home mom of three boys and wife to Heath, an insurance adjuster. After struggling with infertility, the couple foster-adopted Stone, 3. To their surprise, Brit became pregnant later that year with Cash, 18 months. Just one month before Cash’s birth, the couple agreed to foster-to-adopt Stone’s biological brother, Holden, 12 months.
6AM Hit snooze. Honestly, the sun’s not even out yet!
6:15AM Get out of bed and into the shower. Get dressed, throw a load of laundry in the washer and make the bed.
6:45AM Wake the boys and help them make their beds. I take them directly to the breakfast table. Heath’s schedule recently changed at work, so he’s at home in the mornings now … this is a HUGE help with three little ones!
6:50AM Hand out breakfast to the boys and head to my computer to check e-mails and my calendar for the day. Heath helps the boys eat and makes coffee and tea.
7:15AM With tea in hand (thanks, honey!) I’m much more coherent. I help the boys brush their teeth, wash faces and hands and get dressed.
7:40AM I let the children watch 10 minutes of Sid the Science Kid because they were dressed on time today. While they watch, I clean the breakfast table and throw Stone’s snack in his bag for school.
7:50AM Heath helps me load all of the boys into the wagon for our walk to school. He grabs all of his stuff and loads into his car and we all leave the house together. I’m still praising God for him being home in the mornings. How would I ever get to school on time otherwise?
8:05AM Arrive at school after singing “Wheels on the Bus” and waving to every bus that drives by. I hand Stone off to his teachers, chat with a few other parents and circle back to the house.
8:30AM Arrive back at the house with the little boys. Make myself another cup (a HUGE mug) of tea (some people might call it a caffeine addiction, but those people don’t have kids) and play with the little guys. They love singing songs right now, and block stacking and ball throwing ….
9:30AM Head to the mall for Cash and Holden to play with friends. On our way, I drop off library books and run by the bank. Give kids a stashed “snack” from my purse while they play.
10:30AM Head home, remove kids from the car and put them into the wagon to walk to get Stone from school. I am not a fan of the carpool line, so it is worth this extra step.
11AM Arrive at school and speak with the principal, who is waiting outside … another bonus to walking!
11:20AM Home … lunch commences.
12PM Nap time! The little guys go down without a fight, but Stone needs a few reminders to lay down—plus three trips to the potty. I bribe him with a special snack when he wakes up and he settles quickly.
12:15PM With all kids asleep, I check e-mail and work on PTA stuff. I’m doing the yearbook this year. I also pay bills and update my blog with photos, all while completing craft organization for my Teen MOPS group. Remove laundry and sort and fold, tidy house—realize I haven’t eaten all day! Grab leftovers from the kids’ lunch plates and an apple, along with some water.
2:30PM And they’re up! Time for a snack (the kids) and more tea (for me!). I let the boys watch another 20 minutes of the Sid episode from this morning.
3:30PM Playdate with a friend at our house. This entertains my kids tons, so I sneak into the kitchen to make a salad for dinner tonight.
4:30PM A friend’s mom joins us and the kids keep playing while we talk and play with them. Would she like a cup of tea? Yes? Then I’ll have one too! A Thomas train gets thrown, someone cries and we realize it’s getting late.
5:30PM Daddy’s home! The boys build a tunnel with the pillows from the couch and play until dinnertime.
6PM Neighbor dinner time! This little tradition was started in our neighborhood before any of us had kids. There are now six families and 12 kids that participate. It’s crazy, but a ton of fun. We rotate houses each week, the kids eat and play together and the parents eat a slightly uninterrupted meal. This is as close to bliss as we’re going to get for the next few years!
7:15PM We head home. I let the kids skip baths for tonight, but I brush their teeth, give them their vitamins and wash faces and hands. We read books and cuddle.
7:40PM The kids are in bed. I spend time with the hubby watching some TV and having a glass of wine.
9:30PM Check e-mail one last time, make snack bag for school tomorrow and arrange some yearbook photos to stay organized.
10PM Lights out!
