Attached Mamas Working Outside the HomeDo you face the unique challenges of balancing your career with your children? Come on in and talk with other moms who find ways to make their situation work for the whole family.
I started with asking about strategy.... thinking about my day today I can't say I had a 'strategy' but rather 'moves' or 'reactions'. My first day at home all day in 7 days with a huge, crushing amount of work-related stuff that HAD to be completed today... not my favorite kind of day or schedule.
Anyway, my best move or strategy is to give up control of things that aren't critical to me. For me, that's home cleanliness or neatness. We have a cleaner come once a week to do surface stuff, I pick up more or less on a daily basis, but deep cleaning just doesn't happen often and I'm okay with it. I'm also okay on a day like today with just leaving the dishes and going out in the backyard to paint on the sidewalks with water with my 2 kids. Laundry is always done, we have home cooked meals that we all sit down together to eat 97% of the time, and the house comes last.
How about you? Where do you 'finagle' to find balance?
House is way last. Have a cleaning service in every other week and run around like crazy the night before to pick up all the clutter so they can clean.
My friend said she makes a whole loaf of PB&J sand on Sunday and freezes them for the week. They thaw by lunchtime in the lunchbox. That helped me this week.
I only cook every other day b/c DH misses dinner a lot and the kids only like junky kids food. So we alternate between real and junky food.
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Natalie
mom to
DD #1: tiny terror (6/01) who's becoming a nice little girl
DD #2: peanut 3/04 who's becoming a toddler terror
Wife to Mick -13 yrs
The crockpot is my best friend right now. I make double batches of soups or stews and feed the family one batch and freeze the other to save me a cooking night a week or so down the line.
I am LOVING the frozen pb and j sandwhiches and am considering adding an extra loaf of bread to my grocery list for this. I am going to make pancakes this morning - huge batch, and do the same thing -- my family can do breakfast for dinner tonight - eggs, pancakes, turkey bacon, toast etc and then I'll freeze the rest for the daycare kids and Roman for breakfast next week
I really have no big issues since my day job is at home and my night job is only a few hours a night, but my biggest thing to 'finagle' seems to be dinner hour since that is when I'm gone.
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~Barb
Mama to 18yo Chelsey, 8yo Zoey & 5yo Roman
Zoeys 8th birthday!
Our children and my dh have had to do a lot more work to help keep the house clean since I started teaching again. I do usually have Fridays off (no school on Fridays at the school I teach at) so I do a lot of house related things on that day.
The house is not as clean as it was when I was home full-time and I've had to come to terms with that change. It has been an adjustment for all of us.
My job requires travel out of town and that has been the most difficult thing for our family.
I try to leave "shop talk" at work. When I'm home....I'm home. That is a challenge with both my dh and I in the same general field of work. However, it needs to be this way and I continue to improve upon that.
I still have my personal time as top priority...that is something I can't fudge on.
I guess that is about it.
I love teaching, however if we were 100% out of debt, I'd still be at-home full-time and I'd just sub-teach and volunteer here and there. I may just do that when we get our debt paid off. (that is why I went back to work this year anyway...our children are still young and have special needs, so it is not easy with my working)
Michelle
__________________ "If it (salvation) is based solely on following rules, then it isn't grace via faith in Jesus Christ"
Location: "the stars are matter, we're matter, but it doesn't matter."
Posts: 3,024
The house gets to be kind of a disaster by the end of the week, and at least one of my days off I spend a few hours doing damage control - picking up rooms, doing laundry, etc.
One of the first things I did was look at my activities really critically to see what I could cut out, some friendships that were sort of draining are going by the wayside. Also spending a lot less time on the internet, although I still like to wind down that way. I just don't read drama type threads anymore - those are time-suckers!
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Dawn,
mama to Maxine Day(8/01) and brand new Ivan Wolfgang(6/08), partner to Jason.
I'm in agreement with the pp who said having a housekeeper come in requires you to run around and pick up regularly. Also, I try to do my laundry every single day while the kids are bathing (they are in the bath, I'm right next to them folding). On the days I'm home, I try to just hang with them and not worry about the other stuff.
Limit my computer time is one that has been calling to me lately.
The house gets to be kind of a disaster by the end of the week, and at least one of my days off I spend a few hours doing damage control - picking up rooms, doing laundry, etc.
THis is me too.
Cathleen I'm amazed at the amount of things you get done at home.
I only work part time but I have my little home biz that I'm working on so I can actually suppliment my incomeone day before I die lol. O worked on that 12 hours more or less yesterday. Needless to say my house was a disater by the tie I put the kids to bed. I'm mean mommy and they have to pick up the living room before bed. I hate bed time but they will eventually realize it's just part of the routine right?? lol
My grandma is my babysitter and she does laundry and basic housekeeping when she is here. It helps so much. I still have to do the deep cleaning (and I hear my bathroom calling) and of course the laundry on my days off but it's nice not to have to worry about the disaster piling up when I'm gone.
I work atotally random schedule including every other weekend so I have a hard time staying organized time wise. I wish I had some kind or set schedule. That's where I lack balance. I tend to get distracted and forget what needs to be done when things change so often. I'm too scatterbrained. lol Food is my worst point. I'm a good cook but I don't think about it until it's time to eat. I need preplanning and I suck at that. I need a menu but I never think about sitting down to make one up until I'm at the grocery store or trying to figure out what to feed the kids. lol
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Michelle
Wife to one Mama to four.
I work around thirty hours week teaching. I have one 8 month old, a dog and a few cats, and although I would prefer to be with him I enjoy my job and do have fun when I am there. Iam very thankful for the school holidays and vactions and really use them to recharge...As far as housecleaning that is not one of my strong points So I just do the revolving chores, Diapers as im sleeping, loading the dishwasher in the morn when noah naps. I learn to let go of all the pressure on myself to be perfect on everything and if given the option of cleaning/organizing or going to a party/cookout, the latter wins out.My hubby does dinner because I need to pump for the next day and I do get exhausted..I do go to bed really early though...Like 9:30. I am also lucky that it is my mom taking care of the baby as i work so she will pick him up and drop him off.
Marrying my husband has my best move yet. No, really! LOL!!
We both work full time. I'm massively pregnant, and in graduate school, and I'm sooooo tired all the time. Rod is running things single-handedly right now. Even under more normal circumstances, though, he handles at least half of the child-rearing and house-running duties.
Having an amazing, giving, hard-working partner is my best working mommy secret.
I have to say my nanny is my best move. She is young, and doesn't do things quite to my standard, but she is cheap (although not cheap enough, lol) and the kids are entertained and taken care of while I work. I prefer the nanny route because I work at home quite a bit and just don't see the point of driving the kids somewhere just to come home and work. Plus I really prefer to eat lunch with them, kiss them when they fall, and I can still nurse the baby if I'm home. (He's 20 mos. so if I'm not home, he's fine w/out)
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Mom to 3 little men
Chris 11 , Ash 5, Aeden 3,.
Wife to Adam
Homebirthing, breastfeeding, baby wearing, co-sleeping, natural family!
No longer vaxing or circumsizing.
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, Ash 5,
Aeden 3,.
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