all together we have seven - yes that is 7 - My wife has 3 from her 1st marriage (18yo boy, 13yo boy, 11yo girl) I have 2 from my 1st marriage (16yo boy and 13yo girl) then we have two girls (7 and 3).
We used to have them all together a couple of years ago but due to my ex-wife still being an insensitive nasty piece of work my son and daughter believe that i locked them in a cupboard (amongst other things) when they were younger.......... yes divorces with kids can be extremely messy.......
we also lost a daughter when 21 weeks pregnant, diagnosed with border line acrania...... will never forget the words of the Dr.... "unfortunately the baby is not viable with life"......... (3yo is our rainbow baby)
They all vary with their personalities, we can pair them off with their likenesses but we cant tell the 7yo off without having to reason with her as to why she's being told off where as the 11yo you can tell off. The 13yo boy you can tell off and get a gobfull of abuse back (normally under his breath) which the 11yo is cottoning on to too....... always ends up with them crying because their punishment is lengthier
useful tips......
a seasonal one.... if you have an iPhone download Fake Call from Santa. This works a treat when your child is not behaving in the run up to christmas, tell them you are calling Santa, pretend to talk to an elf -"hiya, yeah can you ask Santa to call me back, Thanks" then put your phone down, when they are not looking start the app (make sure your sound is up) and a picture of santa appears with a jingle bell ring tone - works every time regardless of what they are doing
always keep a pack of wet wipes in your glove box
invest in Sky TV (even though they are annoying Peppa Pig, Dora, Ben and Holy etc are a great way of distracting a child)
Take a packet of sweets with you when your child is due an injection, it takes their mind off the pain if you can distract them with sweets lol
if they are coughing at night open the bedroom window slightly and turn the heating off, another thing to try is to steam the bathroom up and take them in their, works a treat
why have a dog and bark yourself, if they want pocket money and you have things needing doing make them work for their pocket money, even our 3yo tidies her toys for sweets lol
thats all I have for now..... if I remember any more useful tips I will share them