Friday

Keeping up with a family of six has its challenges. We are not as involved with activities as others I know, and I still struggle to maintain balance. I believe my husbands weird work schedule has a lot to do with it and can make things more difficult.
There are days where I could use a person to either be here for them when they get off the bus, or stay home with three for an hour so I can take the fourth child to their activity. I used to not have such a hard time because I had a neighbor I could turn to on such occasions. She has since moved and I have not found someone else like her. Its a challenge with no family around. You either have to pay someone or work it out with a friend. I have a great set of friends that I have turned to many times. There are those times when your friends are busy, or you seem to be asking them too frequently, the same people for everything, or you would like your kids to be home because its so close to bedtime. Regardless, it is a challenge I face frequently. Take last night as an example: Seven had a class for her sacrament preparation. N was out of town for work. It was -5 degrees outside. I would have preferred to leave three kids at home for the night instead of hauling all of them out to the church. Granted, I love all the time we spend at the church, but lately we have been lucky to not be in the situation like last night. N has been home and the one on one time with Seven has been great.
Another challenge I face, spending one on one time with a child. Its hard when you get so busy with the weeks events, trying to keep it all together. I forget to make time to spend with each child individually. Sometimes the situations present themselves like the church classes, but other times I need to make it a priority with my children. One week at a time I guess.