HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT????????? - Page 2

Okay, I will add my response to the list, even though it looks like there are many of us out there that have the same thing to deal with. I have two kids, ages 8 months and 2 years. The baby has just started crawling really well in the past two weeks, so it has been a little harder than it was when I could just sit her somewhere and know she would be there. Plus, my son is having some sharing issues that I have been having to deal with. There are some of his toys that he doesn't want his sister to play with because "she's gonna break them". So, I have to deal with the screaming and crying a lot. I do not work outside of the home, but I do attend college online. I am working on my bachelors degree in Accounting, which has required me to work on my time management skills. I, like many of you, do most of my work when the kids are taking a nap, or after everyone has gone to bed. I have learned to do everything in steps. I try to bake my cake one day, then frost and decorate the next. I also am trying to train my husband that if he volunteers me to make a cake, he better let me know in advance or he is going to be taking care of the kids and picking up something for dinner. Right now I am not making many cakes, but more and more people are asking me if I can do a cake for them. I have my first wedding cake to do at the end of June, so I am really nervous about that one. It makes me feel much better that there are others out there that are going through the same things that I am.

Wow! I thought I was busy but luckily my three sons are 18, 22, & 25, so they know what happens if they get their hands in my icing! (now, if only I could teach my husband this!!!) Charlie, the crock pot is a great idea, and I also plan out soup and sandwich night when I know I will be busy decorating. I start baking for a wedding cake at 5:00 am on a Thursday, decorate on Friday into the wee hours of Sat. morning in order to deliver and set up a wedding on Saturday. Of Course, in a pinch....Pizza Hut delivers!! YEAH!!!

I'm responding before I read any of the other replies. I am in your exact situation, every word of it. Except that I have a three year old and a four month old. the part I don't care for is the late late nights and the clean up. I have to do my cake in stages as well. Like this week, I'll make my frosting one day, bake the next, decorate the next and then deliver. I have to have some time for when I finish the cake to fix any goofs and take pictures. Now I'll read everyone's replies.


Amy

charlieinMO, I know exactly how you feel. I have 4 kids (11, 8, 6, and 3yrs). My boys know not to mess with my cake stuff, especially when I'm decorating. My 3yr old little girl comes in sometimes to watch so she is the only one I have to worry about. It's still frustrating when any of them come into the kitchen though...or when they fight! I lock my kitchen door when I take breaks so that helps me a bunch! My husband is my biggest help! He takes care of the kids and the house when I have cakes to do. When he's not home, I usually wait til they go to bed and then work late...sometimes all night if it's a big cake or a lot of decorations. I plan and plan...but things almost never go according to plan! Besides the kitchen, I usually let the rest of the house go on the days I have cakes to do. I worry about that after I finish the cake. Well, that's my story..I say don't let it get to you too much. Things will get done eventually!

Hi Everyone,
My story is different from many of yours as my three kids are a son 33 and married, and b/g twins 31. My daughter is married with two girls 3 and 5, and they live just a 1/4 mile down the road, and her brother lives in the city. I didn't do cakes to this extent when they were at home. Just being the dh and I it still gets hectic. Doing cakes in stages is the way I keep the mess to a minimum. I bake and freeze one day, mix and color icings another and then assemble and decorate the day before I deliver. I am almost always finishing up my cakes late at night. The last one I did was boxed up at 2:30 am, and I had to to take it to work with my the next morning at 8:30. It was a gift cake for my bosses daughter.

Some of you might be offended by this question but do young mothers ever use playpens anymore? I had a big square one for my kids and they were wonderful. It was a great way to coral them while I did things without having them under foot. They didn't spend the day there but if I had to run out to the clothesline or was cooking or vacuming etc they played there and had a ball. I took it outside when I did yard work and onto the screened in porch while they napped and I could sit and read on the glider with them right there. I bought one again when my first grandaughter was born. My daughter got one too and she loved the freedom it gave her and provided that safe place for the girls to nap and play when mom was busy. She didn't like the idea at all until I got mine and used it. Then she went back to the store and got her own. Just thought I'd ask.

I have three cakes coming up in the next few weeks. I can't imagine having three or four orders in a week! I work out of my home part time at two jobs and have my woodshop too so I wouldn't even hope to get those kinds of orders. Yikes! Good luck to you all. I'm sure glad we all have this site to come to.

I know it is difficult when you have little ones, or even young ones at home, I've been there too.
My three are grown adults with families of their own, and I hardly see them, can't even get an email response from one of them...they are just soooo busy! So while you are struggling to get things done, don't forget to store away those precious memories, at some point you will need them!

The voice of experience will now shut up! Janice

My boys are 9 and 11 years now, so they are at a good age for me. And with a great dh whom is letting me do this it will all go around well.
My boys spend a lot of time outside playing, and I have good time to fix things when they are at school. And they come and go to school themselfs.
But the time will sometimes get me on, and I will work untill 1 and 2 at night.
But it is ok, becaurse that is the best time for me to work, when I am all alone and house is sleeping.
In the start I allways set the time wrong and got short of time. Now I have learned.
And thanks for that. It stresses me down to know I have anough time.

Elin, your avatar is really nice, she is a beautiful little fairy! Janice

CarolAnne,

I definitely did not get offended by the playpen question. I have a playpen that I use for my 8 month old, but my two year old is already over three feet tall and weighs almost 40 pounds, so he is way too big for it. I love the playpen though. I can put my baby in it in whatever room I am in and not have to worry about hooking up a baby monitor...or is the monitor working..all those typical questions us mommies ask ourselves when we have babies.

O.K. I don't feel weird anymore for staying up until one or two in the morning finishing some cakes. I am a night owl anyway, I stay up until 3am, but that is usually MY time for meditating, relaxing, etc. without my husband underfoot, so having it taken with decorating sometimes does not make me happy, but I sleep well knowing I did a good job on it. I have learned that it is all give and take, and it all equals out in the end (at least for me). I admit it is easier for me since I do not have children, but my husband acts like he is 13 sometimes, so does he count?

Anyway, as time passes, and you find a system that works for you, it does all get easier. Making to-do lists should be a priority, as well as making any items you can ahead of time (like batches of icing). One more thing, don't forget to cross things off your to-do list as you finish them. I have also learned that just writing things down is not enough.

Best of luck!
Crystal

Ok, I don't have little ones anymore to get under my feet, However......

I do have parrots that seem to think the mixer is some foriegn alien that was put in my kitchen just to torment them. So, whenever I am mixing ANYTHING, cookies, icing, cakes, you name it, if that mixer is on, my birds are too!!

Oh, and I do have the husband scenario that I swear is 5 and of course needs your assistance when you need to be left alone. Or wants to know whats for dinner.

There is one thing you can learn very easily from hubbies.......selective hearing

i have found out the secret to keeping a tidy kitchen while you decorate!!!
clean up as you go!!! that's it! i know some of you are saying to yourself, that's the secret! well i have three kids and two dogs and my kitchen was always a mess, but not no more...AND...i buy t.v dinners or something you can throw in the oven so you don't have to worry about cooking! TA-DAH!!! there you have it!