A mother of ten who spends at least $1,000 a week on groceries has wowed TikTok with her incredible meal-prepping skills after sharing footage of herself preparing food at 5 a.m.
Alicia Dougherty, 40, from Pittsford, New York, has six adopted and four biological children with her husband, Josh. More than 1.1 million people follow her on TikTok, where she posts about her family of 12 — dubbed the ‘Dougherty Dozen.’
The busy mom, whose children range in age from two to 15, is seen separating vitamins, packing lunches, and making breakfast before dawn in a viral video that has been viewed a whopping 18 million times.
Dedicated mom: Alicia Dougherty, 40, from Pittsford, New York, has gone viral on TikTok after sharing a video of herself meal prepping for her 10 children at 5 a.m.
Busy: The busy mom, whose children range in age from two to 15, is seen separating vitamins, packing lunches, and making breakfast at 5 a.m. in her viral video
Set to Dolly Parton’s hit ‘9 to 5,’ the fast motion footage shows her whipping up sandwiches — a mix of peanut butter and jelly and ham — and putting them in lunch boxes with snacks.
Next, she slices up apples, doles out muffins, and scrambles eggs that she places on 10 plastic plates for when her children wake up.
More than 41,000 TikTok users have commented on the incredible clip, and many had nothing but praise for the devoted mom.
‘I know this isn’t a serious or sentimental post, but I spent every day wishing my mom made my lunch as a kid and she never did. You are a good mom,’ one person wrote.
Another agreed: ‘You’re a superhero!! They’re lucky to have a mother like you.’
Still going: Next, she slices up apples, doles out muffins, and scrambles eggs that she places on 10 plastic plates for when her children wake up
Family of 12: Alicia has six adopted and four biological children with her husband, Josh
Typical meals: More than 1.1 million people follow her on TikTok, where she posts about her family of 12, dubbed the ‘Dougherty Dozen
Lots of food: The Dougherty’s love ‘Taco Tuesday,’ which requires Alicia to make at least three pounds of ground beef to feed everyone
More to prepare: Alicia also has to make snacks for her kids throughout the day. She will cut up fruit or make cheese and cracker boards
‘Ma’m I have two kids and don’t have it together like this,’ someone else shared. ‘I salute you mama.’
A number of people cracked jokes about birth control and asked why she has so many children, unaware of her previous fertility struggles and the fact that more than half of her kids are adopted.
Alicia told Good Morning America that she and her husband, Josh, spent nine years trying to have a baby. After 11 miscarriages, they decided to adopt their son Alex from foster care in 2011.
Just six days later, she found out she was pregnant with their daughter Zoey. Over the years, they continued to adopt from the agency Children Awaiting Parents while also having more biological children.
The parents now have 10 children — Harlee, Bodhi, Jason, Jordan, Dash, Zoey, Bree, Patrick, James, and Alex — and they have plans to adopt more, specifically teenagers because ‘they’re the least likely to get adopted.’
Miracle: Alicia and Josh spent nine years trying to have a baby and suffered 11 miscarriages before they adopted their son Alex n 2011. Six later, the mom learned she was pregnant
Filled with love: Over the years, they continued to adopt while having more biological children. They plan to adopt more kids in the future
Devoted: All six of their adopted kids suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and have behavioral issues that they have helped manage
Alicia and Josh told People in a 2018 interview that all six of their adopted kids suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and have behavioral issues.
‘We became known as the parents who could handle the difficult behaviors,’ Alicia explained, while Josh, an elementary school special education teacher, added: ‘We figured, if we’re already doing this for one kid, what difference will another one make?’
Many of Alicia’s TikToks show her planning meals, grocery shopping, and doing laundry. She also opens up about how they go on vacation, get ice cream, and attend baseball games as a family, which can be incredibly expensive.
In her recent interview with GMA, the mom said she got on TikTok during the pandemic as an outlet and ended up having fun with it.
‘I think there’s just this part of our story that inspires others,’ she said, adding: ‘You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to be a picture-perfect, cookie-cutter family. You can be amazing and just show up.’