I have gotten several questions about church and how I manage or how I will manage with three kids, so I figured that I'd give a brief description about how Sunday mornings look to us.
The kids get up pretty early, and I get Allyssa dressed first thing. I try to get myself mostly dressed while she uses the restroom and dresses herself. Then we're off to breakfast. By this time David has gotten David up and has most of the breakfast ready. Allyssa chooses between cold and hot cereal, and we eat. After that, David goes to get ready while I give Allyssa a nebulizer treatment and David, Jr. plays. If David is done soon enough, he'll dress David, Jr. before leaving for church. If not, I'll dress him after I'm done getting myself ready. Then, the kids play while I get their church bag ready (they like the special crayons I bring and the stickers, so even though our church has church bags, we bring our own now) and pack a snack for during the sermon. Hey, whatever gets you through, right?! After that, I try to get the house vacuumed before getting all of our shoes on and heading out the door.
At church, the kids eat a doughnut before Sunday school. They go off to Sunday school with their awesome teachers while I either teach a class or go to the adult class.
After class, I get the kids and make sure that everyone has gone to the restroom or had a diaper change. Then we're off to church.
The kids start off with coloring or stickers and then usually switch to the other. They get a snack during the sermon. It is usually dry cereal. I encourage them to pray during prayers if they are being held or if they are not engrossed in their coloring. Both of them are asked to say the Lord's Prayer with everyone. Allyssa is expected to verbalize it. David is expected to not sing Old McDonald. (He knows the prayer, but won't say it in church yet. He will, however, belt out Old McDonald.) There is lots of helping with coloring or stickers, encouraging them to be careful with hymnals and Bibles, shhh-ing, etc.... If we make it through church without excessive whining, they each get a lollipop from Daddy's office after church, and if Daddy is coming home right after the service one of them can ride with him (they take turns).
So that is how we do it. Sounds pretty simple. Some days are better than others. Adding one will be interesting. Hopefully she'll nap during church for a while until I get used to it. The thing is that I really don't know any other way. I've always been the only parent in the pew. Since I don't have anything to compare it to, I really have no basis to do so. I have no idea what parents do in the pew when both parents are there. I also have no idea what it is like to not have a supporting spouse. While David is up at the front of church, he does ask me in front of the children how they did in church. I tell him, and he either praises them or tells them that he expects more from them. Thankfully, he usually gets to praise them. I don't require perfection in the pew, so most days are good days right now. We've gone through spells where most days were bad, but as parents do with everything, you tweak your method until you find a way that works with your kid(s).
That's how we do it! How do you do church?
There are two of us in church so that makes it easier. We sit in the middle and there is a kid on each side of us or the 18m old is sitting on a lap. My 4 1/2 year old is expected to stand during the gospel and say the Lord's Prayer. He is allowed a coloring bag and books and sometimes gets a snack although I am trying to phase that out in favor of the treat that's next to the coffee after church. We try to go to early service so that they go to church first and then Sunday School. The 18m old is held during most of church and is working on not speaking out loud. She gets to snack her way through church and look at books. She does love to sing and will hum "sing" along with us. We have our good days and not so good days as well. I too enjoy a very supportive husband and lucky for me he gets to sit with me as well.
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