As many will know, parenting comes with more than its fair share of challenges.
Adelaide mother, Krechelle Carter, 27, not only manages a hectic household of eight, she also does so with a sense of humour.
Sharing her thoughts on her blog, Eight at Home, the mum of six children under the age of six recently revealed life with her large family was a mix of ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’.
‘We love our six kids, we love each and every one of their tiny little faces,’ she wrote on her blog. ‘We try and make it work the best we can but it is a lot.’
Mother-of-six under Krechelle Carter (pictured) with her brood who are all aged under six
The South Australian mum, who takes an honest approach to motherhood, said staying on top of school notices was one thing that constantly left her at her wits end.
‘There is [sic] approximately ten different school, kindy, childcare notes per week.’
She continued: ‘I lose them. I throw them out. I’m always the last one to hand them in.’
The busy mum said she struggled to keep up with an endless stream of school notes and that she was often the last parent to hand them in
Mrs Carter said the notes that did make their way home often did so with stains on them that she couldn’t ‘guarantee weren’t blood’.
Although she does her best to action each one, she said the responses are often in bad shape by the time they make it back to school.
‘Here you go teacher if you unfold it this way it won’t tear into pieces.’
As well as dealing with the day-to-day problems of her kids’ school schedules, the busy mum also shared how she struggled to stay on top of her own.
Mrs Carter said her children’s many pairs of shoes cluttered up the front entrance way to her home and required combination of scented candles and Glen 20 to cover the smell
‘Sometimes you miss meetings because all six kids get gastro or head lice or the plague,’ she wrote.
Mrs Carter said her home also bears the brunt of so many young children on the go at once.
She wrote: ‘My welcome mat is just an obstacle of shoes.’
‘I remove 74 pairs of shoes from my foyer per week but it still ends up like some kind of shoe jumble sale.’
The Adelaide mother-of-six isn’t afraid to lay bare the realities of life with her large family
Ms Carter confessed the smell of so many shoes often gets to the point where she had used scented candles and aerosol spray to cover the smell – usually at the same time.
‘You may be thinking “but Krechelle glen 20 is flammable”,’ she said before adding: ‘You would use both at the same time if you smelt my house too.’
The thrifty mum also touched on how she keeps her family’s finances on track, while making sure there was still some left over for fun.
While the family are thrifty, they do try to enjoy a meal out every now and then, even if it’s a kids eat for free Monday night affair
‘We eat out on Mondays because kids eat free, we do cheap Tuesday movies (ha just kidding movies are too expensive full stop).’
She also shared she not only will she a sharp eye out for discounts, she had also been known to travel ’42 minutes for ‘give away furniture.’
Though she’s run off her feet managing her brood, Mrs Carter said making time for her husband Dave was always a priority.
Making time for romance is a priority for Krechelle Carter (pictured left) and her husband Dave (pictured right)
She said despite the fact having six kids was tough, she and her husband ‘still love the s*** out of each other.’
Mrs Carter said though having a big family was hard she always felt surrounded by love
‘It’s that real kind of grab your bum, make you giggle, “can’t wait to take him Home later” type love,’ she revealed.
‘I’d probably be pregnant again right now if it was possible.’
She wrapped up her touching post stating that despite all the difficulties she felt ‘surrounded by love.’
‘We juggle things and some things fall off and smash on the ground and other things pop up and you dodge them and do a pirouette and a backflip and then some how you land on your two feet again.’
‘Having a big family is hard, it’s crazy,’ she concluded. ‘And It was the best decision I ever made.’