How do working moms do it?!

[JoyRenee]

I just wanted to take a minute to give an applause to all the working mothers out there. Everyone makes such a big deal about SAHMs and the fact that they do SO much (hey, I'm one! I'm not a hater!). But when I think about moms who work outside the home I am just awed by how much you juggle.

So if you are a working momma I applaud you! Leave me a little note here on what helps keep you on top of it all (shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc.) because even though I work/stay at home I'd love some suggestions on making my life run more smoothly! I feel a little all-over-the-place lately and would love some tips. SAHMs can leave tips, too!

Specify if you stay at home, work at home or work outside your home.

[kylesMom09]

Joy -  I am a trained medical transcriptionist and I am trying to break into the field so that is my plan for the future...Until then we just keep moving along and taking it day by day.  

[JoyRenee]

kylesmom- can you do medically transcribing full time? I know my brother's ex-wife did that all day everyday and they seemed to make decent money.

Will write more to everyone later- I have to get off!

[rdh1981]

First grade teacher here too! I am much better Mommy when school is in session! I love Cruz to pieces but teaching is a huge part of my life too!

Thanks for the pat on the back! It gets crazy but so worth it! I have a great hubby(Civil Eng) so that helps indeed! I believe families need to do what works best for them and the both of us working "works" for us! : )

[julianovak]

I have been working since Jan. of this year. I work 25 hrs a week... Almost full time... It is VERy hard. Ppl seem to think its sooo tough being a SAHM mom, it isnt... I have been a SAHM til this past Jan.. and once i started working (now prego)..... Boy did my opinion change. The grocery shopping i do on my free time... I basically clean the entire house on Saturday....  It hard, but im managing... Sometimes my husband seems to "forget" that i work too, I guess bc he sees me sleeping in the morning when he leaves for work he has this idea i sit home all day and do nothing. Its tuff a lot tuffer then i expected... I still have the energy at the end of the day to cook a wonderful homemade meal every night for dinner.

With this secod baby coming i will not be working anymore... Its way too much or else i wont have the time for ANYTHING.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

As an ex-working mom of then 4 kids I know that this post is MUCH appreciated by those who still work and those who are single parents.  I worked 40 hours a week had 2 kids in school and 2 kids in daycare, plus a new house that needed renovations. I was worn so thin. I worked for 3 years after having been a sahm for 4.  It was a big adjustment and towards the end it got to be too much.  Fortunately we didn't lose hardly any money by me quitting and becoming a sahm again.  I have great respect for those women who are able to juggle kids, job, housework, errands, and the multitude of other things that mothers have on them.

[kylesMom09]

Joy - I really appreciate this post b/c sometimes I feel like people look down upon me b/c I am a working mom.  My dd is 16 months and I have one on the way and I work 40-44 hours at my regular job and then I do transcription on the side at night.  Sometimes I just feel like my house is falling apart around me b/c there just aren't enough hours in the day.  I currently hate my job and am working towards working from home, but right now I just do what I gotta do.  My DH helps out when I ask him to, but mostly I get up around 4:30 am to get house work done before I leave for work.  So for me it's all about not wasting any time, if I have an extra five minutes I spend it picking up, folding laundry or doing dishes.  

[llayton2010]

I am a working mom of 3, trying for #4.  The ONLY way I can do it is my amazing husband.  He keeps the house going during the day and goes to work at night and on the weekends.  We share most of the duties but he truly is amazing for allowing me to focus on work way more than I should!  Plus, it helps that I love my job and am a much better mother because I work.  :)

[tiredbuthappy]

I also get more done when I am working than when home. I teach, so I get lots of time off.  I am forced to be more regimented when I work.

It helps that i LOVE my job. I feel like I make a difference both when I am home and when I'm not. And my hours are great. The girls are still napping when I get home, so I don't feel like I missed the whole day.

It helps that my new nanny agreed to do some light housework too :) So, when I get home, I can focus more on the kids. We did inhome daycare for a while, and it was great, but the extra time for drop-off and pickup took time away from playing. Having someone come to my home is nice because the girls can sleep in or be in their pj's in the AM. She does their laundry and stuff. And I am forced to keep the house presentable, which in turn leaves less cleaning on the weekends. When we sent the kids to someone's home, the house always inevitably got VERY messy because you weren't worried about someone coming. The other morning, as i straightened up before running to work, I realized it's a pain, but I benefit. First off, I spend less time straightening up in the AM than I would dressing, feeding, packing the girls, etc... And, I benefit because it gets done.

And, when it boils down to it, I realize that I am doing what I have to do. It can be frustrating for me and my coworkers, because we do work in an urban area. Most of us are relatively young and live responsibly. We are highly educated (most have BA and at least 30 grad credits) and VERY underpaid. We'd love to have more kids but have a sense of responsibility and want to be financially sound. Many of the families we service have many children that they cannot afford and the parents don't work. We see so many of them taking advantage of the system. At times, it almost seems unfair. While I would love to be home for a few years, I am aware of our financial realities and am doing the best I can to provide my family a sound, stable situation both now and in the future.  

[jenkaye21]

Joy, I had to smile at this, especially this week.  :)  Let me explain.  I am a teacher, but my daycare provider took a week's vacation this past week and I had to take the whole week off with my two little boys, ages 1 and 4.  (My older 2 are in school.)  
Well let me just say, as I have always felt, I get MUCH more done when I am working than when I am home! LOL  I enjoyed my time with the boys, truly i did, but I also was overwhelmed with frustration at my ability to get things--ANY Thing-  done around the house.  I felt like my husband came home each day and looked around and thought ("What in the world did she DO all day?!")  
Bottom-line- I have always felt that some people are meant to SAH with their kids, and some are better parents for working, and I definitely fall into the second category.  THanks for your words, though.  I think what makes it easier for me (and the kids) is having a structure and a schedule.  Those days at home are way too loooong for me! LOL, I found myself looking at the clock around 4:00 in the afternoon going, Is it bedtime yet?!?!
And may I add-- God Bless those of you who SAH! :)

[Ashelen]

I agree to all of the above..bravo to working AND single moms. I was just saying yesterday to the x-ray tech who was looking at my kidneys that I can't even imagine trying to care for my two little ones AND work...I know that there's a different dynamic but wow...I have total respect!

[vacuumprincess]

HUGE applause to all the SINGLE MOMS!!!  way to go!  Teach your children you can do anything if you set your mind to it.

[ammanda]

Thanks!!!  Its not easy, but its gotta be done, some days I wish I was a stay at home mom.  I work 36 hours a week at a bar on night shifts.  I go to work by 5 pm.  bartending and waitressing, on my feet for 9 hours(sometimes 10) get out anywhere from 2 or 3 am.  go home, by the time i get home im wide awake from the drive home, so I usually dont get to bed until like 4, then Coles up at 7 or 8 am.  and Db goes to work at 7am, so I get up feed cole his first morning bottle.  Then I start on the dishes, laundry, bottles, cleaning, vacumming, dusting.  And although we live with my mother, she does NOTHING, all she does is sit in her room, and DB dont do anything either, so its just me. and in between that, cole will only entertain himself for like 20 minutes at a time, and hes screaming. so I have to run to him back and forth.. lol.. and this is an everyday thing. this house is trashed everyday and laundry is never ending.    Its very hard, but so worth it.  

Cole is what keeps me going, hes worth everything I do.  I dont really have any advise to give, other then maybe getting yourself and everyone on a certain schedule and follow that everday, that way you know whats gotta be done and you can balance it out at certain times.. but dont forget to give yourself that lil extra time for yourself.  like for hot baths and stuff lol...  

[Momo1409]

:) thanks. I'm not fully a working mom for 3 weeks but ill still take it. What keeps me going is when Sophia and Phoebe call me mom or mommy. I could be having the worse day of my life but the second I here Sophia say Mommy when I get hope it goes away. I also know I couldn't (besides the fact that the girls aren't mine.) Do it without my DB he helps hold us together!

I just have to share these moments bc they made my day today.

Phoebe told me today that she wants to be a babysitter. I asked who she was gonna babysit and she said babies at home. I asked her what babies? You mean Sophia? She said no you and dadda need to have babies. I said oh and how many babies do we need to have?
4
I said 4!
Ok 3
I said I might be able to handle 3.
So I told here then ud have 7 brothers and sisters and she got all excited and said that they aren't babies! She wants only baby brothers and sisters!
So I told her well maybe she'll have 3
She said no I want 7. U can take one and dad can take one and nana can take one and I can take one. And sophie can. And babu can. And do u want 2?

Lol. She wants me to have SEVEN babies! At once!

My other moment is that tomight is the first night the girls slept over. I expected sophia not to understand. Well 8 hits she climbs into her bed grabs her baby and says night night dadda home.

All this time she knew shed be sleeping her this weekend. :)