Who has the time?

Wow..if you could see my house right now...okay, forget right now..ever since I've had kids...my house has looked like a tornado! I don't know how everyone does it?! I even used to have a cleaning lady and I'd have to pick up before the cleaning lady came to clean!! I figured once I had kids that I needed to do it myself since that was extra money that we could save...please tell me...WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

Maybe if I got off work at 3 or 4 I could do it, but when I get off work at 5, go get the kids and get home it's 5:30. Now I have to feed a 6 month old one thing, feed a 3 1/2 year old another thing, and THEN Seth and I might get to eat around 7:30-8...IF I have planned something to eat! After we scarf down our meal, now it's time for playing and baths and oh wait, feeding Aubrey again. Then she goes to bed around 8:30 and now we fight with Caleb to go to bed until about 10! I still have my work clothes on at 10 pm, haven't picked up ONE thing in the house..unless it's to move it so I could put something else there. I need some helpful hints ladies! And please don't say "pick up as you go"....I do that but I feel like all I do is maintain the mess...it's like it magically comes back the next day when I get home...but wait...I cleaned it up before I went to bed at midnight and we worked all day...how did it come back?!

So, I have a couple of options here:

1) Hire a cleaning lady-for the 4th time
2) Hire an in house cleaning lady-not likely in my lifetime
3) Talk with Seth about picking up more-he's an only child-not likely in my lifetime again- thanks Nicki for spoiling him
4) Get my kids to pitch in-they're old enough right?!
5) Stay up until 3 AM to clean-I can work on 3 hours of sleep!
6) Live with it and quit sweating the small stuff...

I guess I'll pick #3 and then move to #4 until the child labor enforcement gets called, then I'll do #1 and hire a cleaning lady again and then decide I don't want to spend the money and I can do it, and then eventually move to #6 and forget it because #2 and #5 are NOT happening!

It's my mess and I don't love it, but it's not worth losing sleep or spending time with the kids or my husband over!