As a working mom, I (we) have the hardest job on this planet! Balancing work life, mommy life, and personal life. Finding balance can be extremely hard and at times we tend to lose ourselves in everything around us causing our personal lives to become a little nonexistent. From late night feedings and lack of sleep to sports and homework as they grow. Our lives revolve around being the best moms we can be to our little ones.
With summer time coming to an end it is important to find that balance to assist in providing a less stressful week. Don’t get me wrong, the busyness won’t stop but these steps will help balance your day to day life.
- Prepare the night before. Getting work clothes and school clothes ironed and laid out the night before (or even the day before a new week) will save time in the mornings when you are rushing out of the house with the kids. I allow my son to pick out his school clothes (most of the time) he often bring them to me before going off to bed.
- Regular bedtime. Every night have the kids prepare for bed at the same time and have a set bedtime so they get their 8+ hours every night. This routine has helped me tremendously because my son know when to begin getting ready for bed and knows his bedtime without me having to remind him.
- Meal plan. I don’t always plan my meals for the week but I usually do at least days before. I make a mental note of what I’ll be cooking for the week so when grocery shopping I know what ti pick up. My meals for the week is usually simple with quick prep times.
- Clean up as you go. I tend to clean up multiple times during the week so during the weekend I won’t have much to do. For example; I clean the kitchen while I am in there cooking, washing and wiping down so after dinner I won’t have to worry about it.
- Homework time. Upon getting home from work once we get settled, my son automatically comes over to the kitchen table with his homework while I am in the kitchen cooking.
- Make time for one on ones and stop feeling guilty! I sometime feel guilty because our day to day life tends to get very busy that I feel like I don’t get to spend as much time with him as I would like. But I try to make time for our one on one talks and laughs. We have movie night on Friday nights which we always look forward to. Kids love the movie nights and game nights.
- Assigning daily chores. Assigning daily chores to your kids will help you but also help them. My son has a list on our fridge of daily chores he completes, nothing complicated but I feel that giving him responsibility as he gets older will be beneficial. For example; sweeping, mopping, cleaning his room, vacuuming, etc.
- Relax. After the little one goes to bed that is my time to relax. I sometime pour myself a glass of wine and catch up on some tv, continue reading a book, or work on a blog post. Most of the time I pass out as soon as my head hits my pillow. Making “me time” is vital, me time can be that mani and pedi time, working out, or just laying in bed doing absolutely nothing.
I hope these few tips are proven to be successful for you to lead a less stressful week, it helps me tremendously. I know things don’t always go as planned but as mommies we seem to always anticipate the unexpected and make it through. Our stress has the tendency to trickle down to the little ones so in all we have to make the best of what we have to do on a daily basis and remember that it will all pay off in the long run. I know that being away from our children while working is one of the hardest things but we can make up for it. Having the day to day structure makes it all possible.
