Written by Tonia as a part of the We’re Moms Too series
We’re more than a month into a new school year and fall sports are in full swing. I get asked at least 5 times a week, “How do you do it?” When you work full-time job and have an 11-year-old and six-year-old twins in a multitude of activities, you figure out how to make it work. Does it take a village? Sometimes. Does it take organization and patience? Absolutely. A bottle of Excedrin doesn’t hurt either.
Two Christmases ago my husband bought me a wipe board calendar. I bet you’re thinking I must have been on Santa’s good list to receive this amazingly romantic gift, right? Oddly enough, this wipe board has turned into our lifeline. It keeps track of vet appointments, birthday parties, after school activities, and much more. It even came with 5 markers so we can color coordinate for each member of our family. After updates are made, I snap a pic of it with my phone for reference on the go.
I’ll let all of you in on a secret, some nights aren’t pretty at our house. When it’s time to leave work, I sprint to pick up kids and get them prepared for the first activity of the night. After getting them home, what’s for dinner? Typically, I make a few meals on Sunday that can be quickly reheated later in the week. One thing I have learned is that there is no joy greater than wrestling with soccer socks and cleats for our twins while they are eating dinner and working on homework (don’t spill pasta sauce on your homework, please!). And thanks to double booking, some nights we have to sacrifice one activity for another. It happens, and that’s okay. We explain it to the kids and they have accepted it. They have also accept that sometimes they have to do homework in the car or while waiting for their sibling’s practice to be over. They are also becoming accustomed to multiple activities in one night with locations spread throughout the area. We are fortunate enough to be surrounded by wonderful friends who are crazy adventurous enough to sign up for a lot of the same activities we do. This network is armed with extra car seats and will gladly transport a child to any activity. We wouldn’t be able to do it without the wipe board, the network, the mini-van and the aforementioned Excedrin.
Is all the running around worth it? Absolutely! There is no greater joy when you see the smile on our little cheerleader’s face during a routine, when “Beckham” and “Hamm” score a goal or when our oldest hits a perfectly pitched note on her saxophone.
Is all the running around worth it? Absolutely! There is no greater joy when you see the smile on our little cheerleader’s face during a routine, when “Beckham” and “Hamm” score a goal, or when our oldest hits a perfectly pitched note on her saxophone.
About Tonia:
Tonia is a wife, mom of three energetic kiddos and two four legged friends who enjoys quiet walks in the aisles of Target. Born and raised in the Cleveland area, she is a sports fanatic who loves all things Nashville. Tonia is the Digital Analyst at Step2.
