Annette John-Hall: Kindred the Family Soul mother earned her brunch

Any mother struggling under the weight of car seats and sippy cups must wonder how in the name of sanity Aja Graydon Dantzler juggles it all.

She has more than earned her Mother's Day brunch.

Not only does she handle the everyday stresses of motherhood, but she's also doing it pretty much in the public eye, along with husband Fatin Dantzler. Together, they're the popular R&B duo Kindred the Family Soul.

In 2003, Kindred's debut single, "Far Away," introduced them as the newest neo-soul act to come out of Philly, in the vein of Musiq and Jill Scott.

The couple had just celebrated the birth of a daughter. Seven years later, they're up to six.

And Aja and Fatin Plus Six is definitely it, says Fatin, who already has a date with the snip doctor.

Their life has settled into a calm chaos that Fatin has captured from the beginning with his video camera, and has turned into a Web reality series, Six Is It! (www.Kindredthefamilysoul.com), a kind of West Philly version of Run's House - minus the mansion and product placement.

Theirs is real reality in 18-minute installments as the working-class parents mesh their private lives with their public lives as entertainers.

One episode follows Aja and Fatin as they travel to Georgia for a weekend gig - with all of the kids in tow. Then there's Aja home-birthing her youngest, Deen, complete with midwives and backaches. And we see a day in the life of Aquil, 10, playing football, attending a Sixers game, and philosophizing about being the oldest.

You can't help but feel the power of love and family, which is what their music is all about.

"I never thought I'd have this many children, but I always kind of wanted a chunky family," says Aja. "I definitely saw three, but now I wouldn't change anything for the world. It's awesome."

It's clear that their kids complement them like a soulful groove.

"Tag team," Fatin, 36, says of the couple's parenting rhythm. "Slap hands, go back in the ring."

At 31, an age when most women would pick a spa date over a play date, Aja is as comfortable raising six children as 2-month-old Deen is snoozing in the crook of his mother's arm.

Of course, it does get overwhelming at times. After all, they're only human.

She still laughs remembering how shocked she and Fatin were the afternoon the obstetrician told them, three weeks before her due date, that she was having twin daughters - resulting in Ain and Lanaa, now 2.

"We drove home in silence," Aja says. "We got home, and Fatin got right in the bed and didn't wake up until the next day."

But it all worked out, with the help of the older kids: Aquil ("the old soul," says Aja); Diya ("mini me"), 7; and Nina ("the drama queen"), 5.

Like everybody else, the family is part of the fabric of the community.

"Just like you have the neighborhood baker and candlestick maker, we're the neighborhood R&B group," says Fatin, his words tumbling out like lyrics to a song.

"We rub shoulders with the rich, but we live among the poor," he says of their slowly gentrifying Cedar Park 'hood.

"That doesn't stop people from breaking into our car," Aja retorts. "This is the fifth time. . . . They must think we have money."

"Money? I just wish I had a garage," Fatin says with a sigh.

A big chunk of Fatin's day is spent updating Kindred's Web site and tweeting and Facebooking with fans, which frees up Aja to concentrate on the household.

Performing these days is usually limited to weekend dates, when the kids are out of school, or when family members can babysit.

"We try to make it a 9-to-5 job with a different timetable," Fatin says. "We have to have a schedule for our kids because they didn't sign on to be Kindred the Family Soul."

It's all about sharing responsibilities, Aja says.

Sort of like singing harmony.

"Just know it's going to take two hours to get dressed and somebody's always going to have to pee. You try not to let any one thing upset you because it's all part of the journey."