Tired - Beverly Hills,CA

I have 4 kids (youngest is 4 months) under the age of 9, I work (and take the baby with me),homeschool my kids and am the homeschool coordinator for 2 homeschool groups. I don't drink coffee, never have, eve in grad school. I take an Adrenal Support that I get from my holistic doc which allows my adrenal glands deal with stress and also gently balances out my hormones. I also add Standard Processes Drenamin when I need to relax at night. BOTH help the adrenal glands, but one gives me energy and the other one relaxes me.

Girlie, I am a lot like you. I have a big family, and I have a hard time keeping it together. For me, what makes it hard is that I am not super organized and the larger my family has gotten the more of a problem that is for me. This is what has helped me.

Do you sleep at night on a regular basis? I'm not being sarcastic, really. With a 2 year old it's still a toss up. Our 5 year old still has trouble sleeping through the night.

I am for doing whatever it takes to get what you need. I know a lot of people will disagree with that, but you have to do what's best for your kids, and an alert, together mommy is what is the absolute best thing for your kids. If you have to have them sleep together, sleep with you, sleep in the floor on a pallet like a pile of puppies, whatever. Just so long as they sleep and you sleep.

Do make ahead and easy meals so that you aren't spending all your time cooking. Cook three or four meals on the weekend or your day off that you can put in the freezer and use during the week on crazy days. For instance, cook three pounds of hamburger meat and split it into thirds. Turn one into spaghetti sauce, one into chilli, and one into taco meat and put up in the freezer for later in the week.

Put a large desk calendar on the wall and when you have an appointment, a bill is due, there is a school activity or event you can write it down. Put it where you always see it, like by the fridge.

Get into the habit of looking at the papers in your kid's bags, and having them doing any work they have when they get right in. Then, they do it, I sign it, we put it all right back in the bags and sit by the door. Also laying stuff out the night before.

A big dose of forgiving yourself helps. Do what you can to bring peace to yourself and your home and don't sweat the small stuff. A happy mom is way more important than a perfect one.

Oh my goodness 4 children under the age of 6...Honey you DESERVE to be tired....lol.
You need to get yourself organized...not organized to the point that you take the fun out of life...but to the point that you give yourself a "map" to follow everyday and then you will have time to have even MORE fun in your already packed life!!!
Get yourself a blackboard or one of those erase boards that you use the special markers on ( my brain is frozen...can't think of the name...someone help me here!!!)....put it up on your kitchen wall...where you will see it everyday....divide it into 7 sections...one for each day of the week...and just write down what you need to accomplish for that day.
Maybe find a clear pouch/envelope type thing that could hang off the bottom of this "calendar"....for things that need to go back to school after you sign them...papers to take to appts...etc...clean it out once a week so that things don't get "lost" in the shuffle.
Start thinking ahead...get the kids clothes for tomorrow out and ready tonight when you are doing baths and getting them to bed. Have a special spot for your school age child to put his/her backpack...shoes...jacket...whatever is needed as he/she goes out the door to school.
You could also consider a "suspense file"...my husband used them in the Army for 30 years and he has one on his desk here at home...I call it his "Brain". He has 31 sections in the box...one for each day of the month...if he has a bill that needs to be mailed on the 15th...he puts the paperwork in that day so that it is right there waiting for him when he does his paperwork in the morning. If I have an appt. on the 27th...he puts it in the 26th so he can remind me and give me the time for me to plug into my schedule for the next day. It really does help keep us ALL really organized and keeps MY poor braIn from forgetting things...which would happen if I was in charge!!
Most of all...RELAX!!! You are not supermom...you are Mom...and no one expects you to do it all by yourself. Get hubby involved...make it a family project.

i take a supplement called Reservatrol...google it..i can tell a difference ...it doesn't amp you up or anything ..just feel better..yesterday i ran 3 miles and i ran it better now that i'm back on it..i first heard about it through Fitness Mag...people were saying they spin better when taking it..also make sure you get to bed at the same time every night and try to get 7 to 8 hours..also try Ginko....that's for memory..good luck!

dd

My 3 year old has been waking me up almost every night and then I can't fall back to sleep so I am tired almost every day (and forgetful). I use TWO calendars to try to remember everything. I have one on the computer in my gmail account that is shared with my husband. That way we can both see whats going on. Gmail and the google calendar are free and easy to use, and you can color code your calendar for each member of the family. I also keep a calendar on the fridge so I can see it in the morning when I make breakfast. I need a reminder of when it's hot lunch day, show and tell, P.E. library, etc. I also use a large magnet clip on the fridge to hold permission slips and other things that need to be returned to school and I try to get then sent back asap. You can try a bulletin board for papers or large clips on the fridge. I also have a box for each child's school papers so I can quickly empty their folder each day, then go back thru them later and choose a few special ones to save. The only other thing I can suggest and this is always one of my goals, is to try to put the kids to bed earlier so I can have some down time and get to bed earlier myself. GOOD LUCK!

Well I am 32 wks prego with #3 and a bit tired. Some days are more crazy than others. One thing I have done as far as appts etc go is to have a calendar on my fridge where I immediately write things down as soon as they are scheduled. That way, I just look at it daily to see what is going on and what is coming up. My mom does it on her phone, so it's just whatever works for you, but something that you create a habit of jotting everything down on. This leaves room in my brain for other things, of course you can do this for work as well and it is so helpful. Sometimes I still flake, but it helps a lot. I think that raising small kids and working is a heavy load so I agree with cutting yourself some slack and also saying no sometimes, it's ok :D The thing I try to do when I get approached about things these days is say I have to check my calendar or with my husband. Of course for dr's appts or in your case school things, I just do the write it down the sec I am at my calendar when I get home. Hang in there!! And of course, if you think this is more than frazzled mommy life, you can get checked for anemia, and also thyroid levels. If these things are off, it can totally jack with you. Good luck!

Ive got 3 under 4 as well, and this is my philosophy. I will sleep when I die. I get it when I can, and I forget it real quick if people are ticked by my lack of remembering things. If my fam, friends, and school cant be understanding on a few oopsies, then they are not worth my time. No one is perfect. I do a BIG dry erase board and i cut it into 4 sections with different colors, each kid and dad gets a section and I put everything I remember that needs to be done or did or what not in each section with a date. It helps but i still forget a lot of things.

Have you tried taking a vitamin b complex or had your iron checked?

It's key to optimize time. Example from my own real life: my son (5yo) needs to do some kind of sport - I am going to sign him up in the same gym where i intend to go, so while he does his 1 hr of karate, I do my 1 hr of exercise and I don't have to waste a hour of free time just waiting for him to be done. His school is 10' away from my work site and the grocery store is on the way home and has a good parking space in the garage by the elevator (love that place).My goal is to never waste time, so I plan strategically pretty much the whole week. Try. Good luck.

Get at least 8 hours of sleep at night, make sure you are drinking plently of water (dehydration will make you tired) and get some exercise each day (even if it is just as simple as a workout DVD, walking the dog, etc).

I was tired a lot - especially in the second half of the day - and found that eliminating wheat from my diet helped me a great deal. Coffee won't help with exhaustion - you'd probably do better with one cup in the morning or eliminating it entirely.

Get a calendar for writing all of those important appointments and such. Then remember to write them down ;) I am so forgetful about these things (Mom Brain!), and would be lost without my calendar.

You need a master calendar that you can carry with you and update each day.

The first day of school I sit down and put down all important dates and I updated that calendar as new things come up.

Are the younger kids in preschool? If they are in school or daycare a couple of days a week that will give you some time to catch up. Or get a sitter for a couple of hours each week to give you time to keep track of things.