Ever since we decided to have 3 kids (and sometimes even when we had only 2), we are often asked by other parents in a sarcastic tone… “How do you do it?” – especially if we meet at a public venue like a theme park, the beach, etc.
I know most times this question is founded on the common frustrations us parents experience when things get “a little out of hand” and the thought of it coming from more than 2 kids is baffling and overwhelming 🙂 .. Trust me, we get those moments too (some days more than we’d like), and yes, some days dealing with 3 kids (or even one at times) could be overwhelming, frustrating, helpless and just like every other parent we feel like locking ourselves in a room, removing ourselves from the situation (adult “time out”), counting to 10 or 10,000 and come back when everything is back to “normal”.
Regardless of the tough times, the moments of joy, indescribable love and happiness our kids bring into our lives, by far upset those frustrating moments and make it ALL worth it. When people asked me if we were crazy when we decided to have Santi, I responded: “If I am able to replicate the joy each one of my kids brings to our lives, why wouldn’t I do it?”
A great example is the amazing time we had at Busch Gardens a couple of weeks back – two weekends in a row. Becca was able to land some free tickets that expired at the end of October so we had to use them. With Becca not being able to ride rollercoasters, our main focus for the park visit was the kids having fun. So we headed straight to Elmo’s World on Day 1 and on Day 2 we explored other sides of the park and I even got to ride Falcon’s Fury (amazing).
As with season passes, we approached our day with a laid back attitude, not rushing anything, not trying to ride all the rides or see all the shows… if we had the chance, great – if not, oh well, there’s always next time ;). The kids had an awesome time. They loved riding little rides, going over rope bridges, playing “carnival” games, watching the animals, playing in the splash park and even watching their dad drop from 300 feet on Falcon’s Fury. A total success.
Being a family of 5 – soon to be 7 – has never stopped us from enjoying any activities, au contraire, we enjoy them even more. We kind of have a “system” and an attitude that works for us and we have amazing times together.
Keep bringing on the adventures. Will they be challenging at times? No doubt. Will it be worth it at the end? You are darn right!
