Stacey Solomon on juggling five kids - and why teen sons 'share parenting' of 3 young siblings

ok.co.uk:

She’s the queen of crafts, a regular presenter on our television screens and juggles five children at home, so it’s a wonder that Stacey Solomon manages to find a work/family balance.

Yet when we sit down for a chat with the 34-year-old at her stunning Essex home, Pickle Cottage, in between school runs and meetings, Stacey appears very much at ease. “I have a very high-traffic household,” jokes the bubbly star as she offers a warm welcome.

Stacey and her husband of two years, Joe Swash, 42, have three children – Rex, five, Rose, two, and one-year-old Belle – and she is also mum to Zachary, 16, and Leighton, 12, from previous relationships. “My life is just so ad hoc, so I have to set myself goals at the time, depending on what’s happening.

And then I ask family and people to help. For example, if my dad’s looking after the kids, I’m like, ‘Dad, please load the dishwasher for me.’ Everyone has to chip in.” When it comes to everyone chipping in, Stacey says her eldest sons, Zach and Leighton, are constantly helping to pick up the slack around the house. “That’s one of the good things about having such an age gap.