Well, our kitchen is close to done. And that means more time to work outside. But it’s snowing. This combination of events has resulted in a much-needed break for me. I think I’m getting to the point where I would rather be working than sitting though.

Peter keeps playing basketball. He finished a season, started another league, and just signed up for club ball. I asked him if he wanted to keep playing in another league, and he said something like, “You don’t need to ask me. If it’s basketball, the answer is always yes.”

Curtis had a birthday, and they went to the space center with his cousins for a party. They enjoyed themselves, although next time positions need to be changed.

The yard is dirt, but never discount the play value of dirt. And a bonus picture of Evie clapping with all her new teeth.

Life is kicking my butt sometimes. Although reflecting back on life, there hasn’t been a time when life wasn’t hard. The few times when life was boring I remember…well I would pick hard over boring any day.

Five kids: mostly happy. Peter got first and second in shot put and high jump at his track meet. Curtis participated in knowledge bowl and probably scored the most points on his team. Evie is recovering from an ear infection and starting to happily sleep better.

Me: Rediscovering the emotional roller coaster of female emotions as they are returning to normal after childbirth and nursing. Sometimes I feel really sheepish when I discover that the reason I yelled at my kids for little reason and then cried for an hour was basically just PMS. Sigh.

I did actually get some income from my business. It’s the first time this year, but it’s a start. Right now, though, I have far more ambition than time for work.

Spring is nice. Although I love to get outside more, I also always feel a little frantic keeping up with everything I want to do in the garden.

This video took me probably a year from when I thought about making it to actually finish it. Video production is quite an undertaking, and I’m not any good at it, but I’m still glad I did it.

Creative work is often a process: you have to make stuff that isn’t that great to eventually make stuff that is a lot better. I think it’s worth sharing the not great stuff, because even if it’s not polished, there are still things worth sharing that others can benefit from. And the feedback helps you become better.

It’s snowing outside, and I don’t want snow. I want warm weather, crocus, and pruning.

For what I thought was our last hoorah for winter, we went sledding up at Tibble Fork. I broke out the snowshoes and went on a little walk with Zack too.

We later went up to Battle Creek and weren’t quite prepared for all the icy snow. I did tell my children to wear good shoes with traction, but that doesn’t mean they actually listened well.

We are also working hard on the kitchen. This is what my husband has been doing with all his free time. We’ve got the cupboards in and are now working on countertops. It’s been pretty satisfying to do all the work ourselves, but a bit overwhelming too.

As a mother of five children, including a baby girl and four boys, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to juggle the needs of multiple kids. But I’ve found that there are several strategies that can help make the job a little easier.

First, I’ve learned to ask for help when I need it. Whether it’s from my partner, family, or friends, having a support network can make all the difference when things get tough.

Second, establishing a routine has been a lifesaver. Having a set schedule for me and my children helps us stay organized and manage the various demands of the day.

Third, taking care of my own physical and emotional health is critical. Whether it’s finding time to exercise, eating healthy, or taking a few minutes to meditate, prioritizing my own well-being helps me be a better mother to my children.

Finally, staying positive and focusing on the joys of motherhood is essential. It’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day challenges of parenting, but remembering the good times and celebrating my children’s accomplishments keeps me motivated and energized.

In conclusion, being an overwhelmed mother with a baby girl and four boys is no easy task, but with the right strategies and mindset, it’s possible to manage the stress and find moments of joy in the chaos of motherhood.

That was AI-generated. AI is very weird. I don’t think it’s replacing humans yet, and if what you do can be replaced with AI, maybe it will push us all to be a little creative.

Pictures will be forthcoming. I’ve tried four methods to get the images from my camera to the computer and they all failed. So I’m giving up.

I was watching a video and a person similar in age to me mentioned that she thought she would be on her fourth kid by now. Not single with a career. And then she went on to reminisce how maybe there was someone with a fourth kid who felt like they wanted to be where she was. There I was, feeding my fifth child, and thinking about how I wished I had more time to work on my career.

I’ve been guilty of not appreciating my life. I feel like maybe the life I have didn’t match the life I would need to have to truly excel. I’ve wanted to have more success in my career, more financial stability, and more opportunities for adventure.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be successful. I think it’s easy to get caught up in a narrative that to be successful is to have more: more money, money followers, more influence, and more opportunity. But maybe success is more about having enough: enough money, enough love, and enough opportunity.

I looked at the decisions I’ve made in life and seriously looked at other paths I could have taken. None were perfect, and all had both good things and hard things. The path I did take has led me to a life with lots of love, opportunities for creative work, and the ability to grow into a better person. It has suited me, not that I was already suited for my life, but in a way that my life has pushed me in ways where I needed to grow.

I’m glad that I’m a busy mom with five children, a role that takes up almost the entirety of my time and energy. It’s far better to live and appreciate the life I have, than to pine for a life I think I want, but perhaps is a fantasy that will never be as glamorous as it seems.

So babies are fun. They are very cute, and loveable. And then sometimes they scream at you for twenty minutes for no good reason. In the middle of the night. During those times, I feel like my life is awful. But it’s good to remember that it doesn’t last very long, and eventually, they go back to sleep. Most things that are awful in life don’t last very long. And the good things are always there to make life worth it.

I have lots of kids, but Evie is the only one who I consistently take pictures of.

We started to upgrade the house. We just finished a big addition to the house, but now we have to take the old part and upgrade it. The floor has holes, the cabinets also have holes, and everything looks about the same as it did thirty years ago. We started with the laundry room. I wish I had before pictures, but I don’t. Here’s after. And I’m a real-life person who does things to live in not look pretty in pictures. The laundry room is a bit cluttery with stuff from the pantry we tore down, and because of life. The kitchen was also not even remotely staged, but here are the before pictures for later.

And here’s a couple of the kids. Who are doing great, but also complain a lot. I would love to go a day without hearing annoying, complaining sounds. We went to the local Hutchings museum over the long weekend. Kids enjoyed it, and I suddenly realized that it was the basis of a recurring location in my literal dreams. I had been there as a kid, but mostly just remembered it in dreams. Zack’s been loving the local toddler sports, and also got sick and that was awful. He isn’t a happy sick kid. No one is, but some kids decided to just sleep a lot, and other kids cry at me all day.

Henry was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was very ready for this: he has the desire to be like Jesus and has a sweet spirit. It was a beautiful day with a simple service, and his dad baptized and confirmed him.

We all enjoyed a winter break with lots of snow and fun things to do. I tried to keep the kids busy because I like them better when they aren’t bored and fighting each other. We visited family, went sledding, hiked to a waterfall, swam and visited a museum. But some of the best moments were simply being home together and playing games.