February 2010 Expecting Club

I hope with the new baby I will be able to find balance!

I work full time (plus), and have a pretty stressful job.

A few things I did to arrange the balance I do have (we have a 14 year old daughter)

* we located very close to the city we both work in.  I commute just one mile, and DH commutes only about 25 mins.

* I "outsource" some things... some heavy yard work, cleaning, carpools

* I am good at saying no.  Especially now that I am pregnant.

* I periodically work at home -- child "sick" days -- and take calls in the car when I can.

* I try to cook in batches, so leftovers are available, or frozen.

* I forgive myself all the time for not being perfect.

* I ask for help from friends.

Despite all this, it is a struggle.  And with the new baby... I am more than anxious about how this will work.

I don't know if I've ever maintained the balance long (something always sends the house eventually into chaos), but when I have been "balanced" it's all been due to three things:

1.) Being centered in God and my Faith

2.) My partner in life and love, the Husband.

3.) The FLY LADY!  Seriously, this website changed my life and gave me the tools to get things under control: www.flylady.net

Bridget

Vivian born 10/22/08

#2 due 2/25/10

Balance is hard and especially nowadays for me.  I have 3 boys ages 11, 8 and 2 with a 4th on the way.  I'm a stay at home mom with a twist.  I run a family licensed daycare out of my home so Monday-Friday I have 3-4 other toddlers running around for 9 hours with me.  Financially it's hard most of the time and so (fingers crossed) if all goes well I will be working until I give birth and two weeks after I will be taking back one toddler and then the rest 2 weeks after.

The stress is diffifult sometimes but routine does help so days it's out the window.  My husband is very helpful but he has a crazy retail schedule which I have to ask him everyday "what hours are you working tomorrow" and they can range from 7am-4pm, 12-9pm, 3pm-12am, etc etc. and I never know in advance when his days off are.  I try to stay focused and organized because I would totally lose it.  I'm blessed but it's hard sometimes.

Balance is very important. I am a stay at home mom w/ one toddler and another on the way. As to how I find balance there are a number of things. First off I am very lucky to have an amazing husband, who is a great help and support system when he is home. However, he is military so there are times when I play the single mommy role.

The biggest and most key thing to finding balance and running a non-chaotic home (and sometimes even with these things it gets chaotic, for example right after DH leaves for an extended period of time or changes work shifts.) is to simplify life as much as possible.

This is something I wanted to achieve early on due to the fact that DH and I hope to have a large family and will be homeschool.

Some of the ways we have simplified our life are:

-All our bills are on auto pay.
-Every night before going to bed we do a 10 to 15 minute clean up of the living areas.
-I start a load of laundry every night before I go to bed and switch it to the dryer when I get up.
-While, the toddler is eating breakfast I unload the dishwasher so it can be loaded throughout the day.
-I am a huge and I mean HUGE user of the crockpot.
- DH and I make use of GOOGLE CALENDAR!!!
- I have certain times of the day that are phone free.
- If I need a break during the day I have no issue putting the toddler in his highchair with a snack and a veggie tales movie and taking a 30 minute me break to refresh myself.
- I try to spend 30 minutes to an hour every night after the toddler goes to bed doing something I enjoy.
-DH and I make sure to have date nights at least every other week when he is home.