My heart goes out to you. You seemed to be hemmed in by your responsibility to your kids and have little time to work on your business. It can be frustrating. I know it because I am in a similar situation. The only difference is that my kids are older and can take care of their needs with little supervision which allows me time to work on my business.
Let me say it's ok to ventilate in the WA community. When you have a safe place like the WA community to ventilate, it makes you feel better and less inclined to curl up and sob.
There are so many variables about your situation I do not know so I find it difficult to advise you on what to do. But is there a way you and your partner can switch places watching the kids in the evening so you can spend some time on your business? You need time to move your business forward

My heart goes out to you, Duke, and YES, I will be praying for you. Grandmother to three, also familiar with fatigue, depression, despair, and sobbing to sleep, so my prayers for you will run deep.

I also want to applaud the fact that your member rank is currently 23,313. The fact that you are able to achieve that in the midst of your "chaos" is to be celebrated and congratulated!! YOU WORK HARD, AND IT SHOWS!!!

Let the tears flow freely, and a huge high five for venting... you are courageous and strong, and I am grateful that your post passed through my timeline today. It's a pleasure to see you, and begin to get acquainted.

May God bless you and your entire family with unbreakable bonds of love that you are so beautifully cultivating. Godspeed. Connie

You have my thoughts and prayers, Daniel. When I feel like I am at the end of my rope, I try to make a knot so I have something to hang onto. I could spout a whole bunch of fair-weather friend advice like, "Hang in there" "Things will be better" "Things are always darkest before the dawn," and stuff like that, but I know the feeling of despair like there is no hope and I know those platitudes don't help much when I hear them either.

My favorite one is, "Don't do something stupid." When that despair hits, it feels like everything is stupid!

I will tell you this, I do know that things do get better. That those dark days do tend to dissipate when the sun starts to shine. But when we are in the middle of the storm it sure is a lot easier to curl up into a ball and sob. (I know, I have done it!)

I don't have an answer for you except to seriously stick with the fight and you've got my prayers!

Karin

Daniel, I've been there where you are now with 3 young kids and 3 older kids , so I know exactly how you feel
The trick is to try and find small amount of time for you each day ( say 5 mins)
Or else you will be experiencing that negative emotion of depression engulfing your every thoughts and feelings.
It is a tough situation but with the time allotted for you is just the small step that you need to start seeing the light at the end of your tunnel

When you are planning activities for the kids, make sure to make it for something that will keep them occupied so that you will able to 'steal' give minutes for yourself

It is a challenging thing that you are facing but Daniel, between yourself and your wife, you will both power through this.

Please feel free to send me a PM anytime. I will be here for you :)
Don't feel bad or sorry about venting, we all need an outlet to help us in our most difficult time of need

Raising kids, juggling housework, managing a career, and building a successful online business is A LOT to handle and manage. You are feeling stressed and hence possibly even depressed right now.

My son and daughter-in-law just had TRIPLETS about 6 months ago, and they were in a similar situation. All while holding down a job and trying to keep the house in order.

They had to develop a strict routine that balanced out all these suddenly new situations and obligations -- and that not only included time to get all the chores done, but individual "ME/ alone" time for each of them (such as a warm bath, a long walk or time to just watch a soap opera, etc.) and "DATE" nights (even if that meant just taking a ride to the local McDonald's WITHOUT THE KIDS/ Babies for the two of them).

My wife and I flew in to help, her parents flew in to help, and other family members and close friends each took turns to ensure that they were able to have this "separation" time -- it was all in the name and or the sake of their sanity!

The point is...you need help with balancing all of these items -- not an easy task.

Reach out to those you trust, parents, family, or very close trustful friends (also many church groups are there to help) -- anyone who can a few tasks off your plate and allow you and your partner your ME and DATE night times.

You'll be surprised how much better you will feel and how much stronger you will be (both physically and mentally).

Hang-in there!

Wishing you all the very best...

-Mike