How do YOU balance?

amgreenwell

I am a working mother of a 5 month old. I just began working out again and eating right.
I found that if I get up at 5 in the morning and work out I'm up and done before hubby and baby are up. I also find it makes my day much better (mentally).
Hubby is a great partner and helps me with everything but there are still things as the momma and wife I want to do, ie cook dinner, clean the house, laundry, etc.
there aren't enough hours in the day so I just get done what I can when I can.
how do you balance life??

SusanMFindlay

I let people help. The kids go to daycare, but if one of them is too sick to go, my mother can usually look after him (she lives in our subdivision). My husband works from home, so he often cooks dinner while I pick up the kids. We now have cleaners come every second week (*so* worth it!) but when we didn't, my husband and I split the cleaning. We both do laundry.

Getting the kids up and putting them to bed is the hardest time of day; we usually take one kid each (the toddler gets to pick who takes him as the baby isn't talking yet) to minimize distractions. Otherwise, the toddler tends to go overboard hugging baby brother.

My job involves a lot of walking and I take a workout class twice a week at lunch. We also go for walks as a family most evenings (often to a park; around the mall or a big box store if it's yucky out).

am_change

I'm lucky and still on maternity leave from work...and my husband still does his fair share round the house. He enjoys cooking as part of his relaxing when he gets in from work (lucky me!). When my parents come round I do a quick bit of housework while they play with the baby. Be careful you don't burn out. Happy mumma, happy family. xx

am_change

I'm lucky and still on maternity leave from work...and my husband still does his fair share round the house. He enjoys cooking as part of his relaxing when he gets in from work (lucky me!). When my parents come round I do a quick bit of housework while they play with the baby. Be careful you don't burn out. Happy mumma, happy family. xx

robot_potato

I became an octopus. LOL.

Actually, I delegate. My older 2 are much older (11 and 8), so they have chores. My husband and I are lucky to be able to arrange our schedules so one of us is (almost) always home. It sucks because we rarely have days off together, but it means we don't pay for childcare. Mother in law fills in the gaps (i love her, she is always willing to help). Whoever is home for the day sweeps, vacuums and does laundry. Baby has a 1-2 hour nap while the big kids are in school. On my days off I will either take him for a walk in the stroller or pull out my barbell while he naps. Once the animals get home, one parent takes kids to after school activities, the other makes dinner. Then the kids do homework, dishes and take out the garbage & recycling. I have a schedule written out for shower nights and other such things. It's exhausting, but it means we can really relax on the weekends instead of just doing damage control from the weekdays.