Who has the time?! ... and other realities of Working Motherhood

It has clearly been far too long since I've been able to work AND get my kids where they need to go AND take care of said kids AND blog AND go to school. Just like any other mama, I struggle with the day to day responsibilities of family, work, home, activities, and maintaining my own sanity!

I am now the mama of an official preschooler. My little boy is too quickly becoming a little man! But wow, with the age of 4 comes a whole new set of issues; the 'why' finally dwindles, the tantrums get fewer and further between, and the ability to 'wait' increases by about 1 second. Now, I have found, comes the corrections, the specifications, and the absolute inability to focus for more than a half a second! o.m.g!

What I already find myself regretting, is my inability to properly function as a 'working mother' (who ISN'T a working mother, right?). My days off are spent catching up on cleaning, laundry, and attempting to spend time with kids. Baby A, inevitably, takes the majority of my time. My little koala.

My little Spiderman is a bit more self sufficient, but nonetheless wants to constantly barrade me with questions, watch an endless array of movies, play with action figures (which of course requires my presence lol), color, and create various 'projects' that do little except make a mess of my house.

On top of all of this of course, my husband and I share the responsibility of getting our teenager where she needs to go (usually in her original home town, which is about 40 minutes from where we currently live), and make minimal attempts at making sure our dog is still alive at the end of the day lol! And lastly, I am back in school- so there is homework. Ahhh, how I have missed homework (yes, I am a total dork).  Albeit it's certainly not as easy as it used to be- 3 kids, husband working typically 7 days a week, so no sitter, trying to read/write between naps, while trying to clean house, and spend quality time with the kids. Wowww...

So how do YOU make sure the potentially little time you spend with your kids is full of quality? And do you really think quality is better than quantity when it comes to spending time with your kids?

I am not so sure.

I had a little over six months as a SAHM after Baby A was born. Near the end of that, I was SO happy to go back to work. I wanted a life again. I wanted to be ME again, and not just 'baby A's mommy' or 'spidermans mommy'.  So now I've been ME again for about  nine months- and I'm not sure my kids are benefiting.

It's stressful trying to get everyone where they need to be, being on time (which to be honest, I never am), still not benefiting financially, and then feeling like I have NO time to actually spend with my kids- as in, spend WITH them... in the moment.  The quantity of in the moment parenting time can be what kids need most.

What are your thoughts?

Our Crazzzzzy Life...

So, everyones life is crazy, right?? Right?? 

Phew, as long as I am not the only one :) 

Currently, my two little one's are in their room, yelling at each other instead of napping. I have about 10 minutes now that I have cleaned up the after-lunch-kitchen-disaster, and folded the laundry. We all know how this feels...

On the upside, the fam & I went for a nice (albeit breezy) walk today in our little town, which was nice for us and especially the dog, who hasn't been for a walk since the baby was born (and yes folks, she's almost 9 months)!

baby A,  8 months

my toddler, and his friend Lucas

baby A and her BFF Peyton :)

Sigh... yesterday I packed both little one's up and headed up to pick up my teen stepdaughter. All of us, her on crutches, ran around doing some much needed groceries since my hubby had gone to pick up his much needed paycheck earlier that morning. Ahhhhh the beloved paycheck dance....

Today has been a little less hectic- I've spent some time washing cloth diapers, completing a bit of routine house cleaning, and enjoying some MUCH needed family time! So why am I blabbing on and on about this??!

Because as I browse over my Facebook News Feed, and see many of my other mommy-friends having kids birthday parties that trump my wedding, making it to playgroups while still looking stylish, having luxurious date nights since they can afford a babysitter, balancing their corporate career and their multiples, posting about their recent park picnic where their children were angels, etc....   it gets me wondering sometimes why I, with only two children, can't even make it out of the house to run to WalMart.
 And even if I do make it, I'm in my sweats, probably with no make up on, and I can assure you one kid will be covered in drool, and the other will be begging for some toy or book (which he won't get, since I'm sure we can't afford it)

But you know what? After a lot of soul searching- I am fine with it. I have enveloped my world of chaos with open arms.

And while sometimes I struggle with feeling a bit like a sham- who IS this person who occasionally can't even make it to WalMart blogging about parenting??! - I think THAT is the precise reason why I can relate to so many people. Because let's be honest, I believe the same few "super-mommies" that keep blowin up my news feed are NOT the majority of the mommy-population. Would you agree?

We all have our own strengths, and apparently since I've had children, multi tasking has fallen off my list. Oh well.

Welcome Chaos, let me introduce you to my two amazing children. They may be drool-covered, mismatched, and I may look weary & disheveled- but they are loved, warm, snuggled daily, kissed a million times per day, and never left to cry- they are my attached babies :)