I have similar age gaps but my DS1 turned 4 a week after I had DD so he is a little older. My house is rather chaotic at times, mainly first thing in the morning when we are trying to get washing done, children fed and dressed, DH out the door and DS1 to pre-kindy or us to playgroup, daycare etc....

I am quite an organised person which I think helps a lot in making the house less chaotic. I try to have washing put in the machine the night before so that the next morning all I have to do is to press the button and off it goes. I set out DS1 and DS2's clothing the night before so that DS1 can dress himself and DS2 can be helped by DH when I am having a shower or feeding DD. I also try to have easy snacks on hand, fruit, muffins, sultanas etc in containers so if I am busy then I can quickly grab a snack for the boys or pop it in the nappy bag to go.

When DS2 was born and DS1 was only 19months I put the door knob locks on a lot of our doors to rooms I didn't want him in (laundry, sewing room, nursery, bathrooms) so that I knew he was safe and out of mischief if I was feeding, settling etc.

Mine do wake early as well and thankfully DH deals with them for a bit in the morning so I can have a bit more rest. He gets them their breakfast so that at least that is done and I don't have to worry about it.

Also I give the boys tasks to do to "help" me if they are starting to play up. So they pass me things for DD, entertain her if she is getting grizzly, they take their folded clothing to their rooms and put them away if they can reach. I try to make them feel important when dealing with DD, so thanking them for helping and letting them know it made it a lot easier for mummy etc. I also get them to help with things like taking dishes over, setting the table etc.

Another things is we still have the same expectations of their behaviour. Even if I am busy or feeding etc if they misbehave, they go to time out. If they know that when you are busy with baby that they can get up to mischief then they keep doing it, but if you stick to your rules and expectations it should reduce the amount of mischief they get up to.

Hope that made sense... I am a tad sleep deprived so sometimes I prattle and it makes no sense...

Tilly sounds like Ruby...

i second the door knob locks!! i had to get them for my doors becaue tilly was escaping out the front, you can get a 3 pack for $10 at bunnings. they only work on door knobs though, not handles..

If i know i have a busy morning, the night before i put tillys cereal in a bowl with a lid, so she can get it herself, means i can shower and shes feeling important and behaves while im gone! If i shower at any other time, she gets into anything and everything. her latest naughty thing is sneaking off to brush her teeth, i can find her brushing her teeth up to 15 times a day!! its not the worst thing, its just all the toothpaste shes eating that worries and annoys me!!

goodluck, sometimes i wonder why i want more too!! And i only have 1!!
i think you are all wonderful mums, especially the ones with small age gaps!!

This sounds like the perfect topic for me!

At present I have a nearly 8 week old, 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old...and another 4 kids, a nearly adult DD and my sweet little grandson who is 11 weeks living here.

I agree with a lot of what Tarli said...organisation is key. Even though I have a lot of kids living here, my house is normally fairly tidy and clean. Everything has a home and everyone contributes to the running of the house, right down to my 3 year old that I make clean up after himself.

Riley (my 3 yo) used to love getting into things so I can sympathise...know you are not alone there, some kids just like making mess! His 'best' mess was when he got into a 2 kg bag flour...I found him laughing and throwing handfuls in the air, while stomping to make clouds of it fly up in the air!! How I wish I had taken a piccy of that!

I agree with Tarli about getting them involved when you are doing the household chores...they love helping! It keeps them out of mischief and it's nice spending the time with them.

ATM with such a young baby my house is running around her routine so any meal preparation that needs doing is done in the morning while she has her long nap. I also do the majority of the washing then too, and clean up after the kids have gone to school. The kids have a routine, and it works well, the boys both have their naps at the same time and they all have a bedtime. (except Sierra)

I also don't expect that every day is going to run smoothly...we all have bad days as do the children...I had a few recently when Sierra (my baby) was sick and very cranky all day. I felt like crying too, but we got through and things are a lot better now.

And finally, I also agree with Tarli that being consistent is very important...they know that even if I am sitting down b/f Sierra that if they do something wrong I will deal with it straight away. I find that definite boundaries and consequences when they are breached really helps.