Multi-Tasking X: How to Exercise and take care of the kids!

Ok, so the only time of day that I can exercise is between 3 and 6 pm on most days.  Some might ask, why don't you get up before the kids get up?  Answer:  I can not get up at 5 am to exercise, it is not an excuse, it is just the way it is.  By the time the kids go to sleep by 8pm, is not a time for me either so I am left with the afternoon when everyone is usually home and awake.

Well, today is like any other day except the kids are home for Memorial Day.  Right now I am doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid from Beachbody.   Most routines take between 45 min to an hour.  Today was a day when I was doing P90X.  It started off good, my little boys (Michael, Matthew and Christopher) were napping still and my older 2 were playing quietly (which doesn't happen often) and Mark was hanging around.  I had just finished the warm up and I hear the screams of children from their rooms, "Let me out"!  So, it is time to go into multi-task mode.  I told the big kids to let the little ones out of their rooms and to try and keep them playing in their rooms.  That last for about 5 minutes when the littlest, Christopher comes out with a sleeve of crackers trying to open them.  Inbetween push-ups and pull-ups I worked on opening it for him and taking some out for him before he grabbed them all and proceeded to drop/crush them everywhere.

Once I got him settled the older two, Abigail and Daniel come out with crackers and proceed to sit and watch me.  Usually it doesn't bother me to have an "audience" but when I am doing weights, resistance work, etc, I don't want people not only sitting behind me on the couch but eating on top of that.  I kindly told them to take themselves somewhere else!  Once they all left, I did have a good 15 - 20 minutes to myself for the carvan of kids came out of their rooms into the living room.  Luckly, I was almost done.

Today actually was a quieter day then most. Some days I have all 5 of them "exercising" with me.  Most days it can be fun to have them exercising with me.  It is especially cute to see the little ones try to do the different moves.  It is also cool for them to see me exercise in hopes that they will see exercise as a good thing ( I never so exercise as a "good" thing until the last year or so). 

As I write this I am refering battles between ninjas...

LIife with 4 boys...