• a broom and some laundryMommy Time Management. I know, it sounds like an oxymoron. Moms do so many things. I hurt my head whenever categorize them. I have yet to meet a mother (especially one with more than one child) who feels completely on top of things, organized, and completely effective on all of her duties. This tells me that we are far too hard on ourselves. Looking back to my own childhood I don’t recall if my mom kept the house clean, or the laundry folded. I remember how she and my dad took time to play with me, how they helped me with my homework, how they went out of their way to talk to me and make me feel like my opinions mattered. These are the things I hope my children remember about me too. However, the laundry still needs to be done, the floor mopped, the dishwasher emptied, my work completed….

    This ensures that I am never over burdened, my goals are realistic, and that I have time to spend with the kids.

    Here are my tips for how I keep things working in our home. For every 15 minutes that I spend on a chore, I spend 15 doing something special with the kids. For example, if I take 15 minutes to load the dishwasher, then make sure the kids get to choose something they want to do and we do this together for 15 minutes. Each night I look around the house and decide what needs to be done the following day. I only allow myself three things on this to-do list. This ensures that I am never over burdened, my goals are realistic, and that I have time to spend with the kids. Big Daddy works 10 hours a day and puts one thing on his list. It keeps him helping around the house, and still allows him to spend most of his non working hours with the kids.