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I get emails from y'all on a pretty regular basis asking me how in the world? I manage having a career, a baby, a husband, a blog, a house, etc. You guys ask me what advice? I have to help balance everything. How do I manage my time so well? Every time I get one of those emails, I laugh. And then proceed to write back furiously in all caps- UMMM, I PROMISE, I DON'T BALANCE IT ALL VERY WELL. MOST SOME DAYS I FEEL LIKE MY LIFE IS A HOT MESS! Seriously, though, I don't have it all together. But I do have perspective on balancing life, so I can certainly share that. I don't want anyone out there to think I have it all together... to my fellow crazy, hectic life livers- you are not alone!
Warning: this is a very lengthy, verbose post. Grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) and your reading glasses, I've got a lot to say!
It is true, I have a lot on my plate. I am the mom of a nine month old. I'm also an attorney, a job which can be, at times, quite demanding. I'm very blessed that I have been gifted with a flexible schedule where I can sometimes work from home. But I'm still working about thirty to forty hours a week. And a lot of that happens to be night time hearings which means I miss seeing my little man to sleep. Luckily, HDawg has an amazing daycare at David's office. It literally makes my heart sing to drop him off and see him so happy with his teachers, school and classmates. And he's got an awesome daddy. David is a rockstar pops and manages little H at 200% effort when I'm not available. And sometimes not available = sitting on the couch watching Real Housewives. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.
Since my schedule can be flexible for work, I try to turn any free time I have into quality time with my family. My love language is most certainly "quality time," so it's important to me to have really good time with my little man. And with David. So if that means keeping H home with me in the morning and taking him to daycare late since I have a night time hearing, that's what I'll do. Anything to get those extra snuggles in. Unfortunately, that means that I'm oftentimes giving up my free time for house work, exercising or "me" time. See! I don't have it all figured out. It's really not cool that I don't make time for myself to exercise or relax. Those things are important!! So that's something I'm still working on. I need to learn how to get forty hours in the day, is what I really need. ; )
Warning: this is a very lengthy, verbose post. Grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) and your reading glasses, I've got a lot to say!
It is true, I have a lot on my plate. I am the mom of a nine month old. I'm also an attorney, a job which can be, at times, quite demanding. I'm very blessed that I have been gifted with a flexible schedule where I can sometimes work from home. But I'm still working about thirty to forty hours a week. And a lot of that happens to be night time hearings which means I miss seeing my little man to sleep. Luckily, HDawg has an amazing daycare at David's office. It literally makes my heart sing to drop him off and see him so happy with his teachers, school and classmates. And he's got an awesome daddy. David is a rockstar pops and manages little H at 200% effort when I'm not available. And sometimes not available = sitting on the couch watching Real Housewives. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.
Since my schedule can be flexible for work, I try to turn any free time I have into quality time with my family. My love language is most certainly "quality time," so it's important to me to have really good time with my little man. And with David. So if that means keeping H home with me in the morning and taking him to daycare late since I have a night time hearing, that's what I'll do. Anything to get those extra snuggles in. Unfortunately, that means that I'm oftentimes giving up my free time for house work, exercising or "me" time. See! I don't have it all figured out. It's really not cool that I don't make time for myself to exercise or relax. Those things are important!! So that's something I'm still working on. I need to learn how to get forty hours in the day, is what I really need. ; )
And for those of you without kids, it may be something else. I totally recognize that kids aren't the only thing that suck up your free time! I have so many friends who are managing crazy things like a demanding job, graduate school classes, acting as caretaker for sick loved ones... we all have a lot on our plate. Managing life can be hectic, right?!
In case you haven't noticed, I haven't mentioned blogging yet. Because it's my passion, a hobby I adore, I consider it "me" time. And, as I explained, that's been neglected lately. I love blogging. I really do. I miss blogging! I miss having time to read your blogs, to find new blogs, to blog myself... I truly do miss it so much. I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not exactly up to speed on the el-bloggo lately. I've had to swallow a bitter pill and realize that, right now, I'm not able to produce five awesomesauce, original content posts a week. But that's ok. As I mentioned, I'm still learning how to adapt to fit personal time into my days as a new mom. And blogging is a huge part of that.
It also doesn't help that I've had to cool my jets on projects since we're in a rental house now. Don't worry, I have a few fun things in the works. But it's nothing like the major bathroom renovations and other big-time projects we did at our old house. Speaking of... I owe y'all an update on the old house, don't I? Soon, I promise.
So anyways, this is kind of a random post to let y'all know that a) I wish I could give you life balance advice, but I most certainly do not have the baby-business-blogging balance thing worked out. I'm certainly no super-hero! One of those things oftentimes has to suffer and since HDawg is the cutest thing that ever lived and I have to work to help put food on my family's table, it's usually my personal time (ie. blogging, projects, etc.) that oftentime suffers. Also, b) I hate that I've been so absent on the blog lately, but just bear with me. I am still here, still drooling over all things interior design, still clutching my list of DIY projects a mile wide... I'm just tackling them at a much slower pace.
To sum up this super long post, life is crazy hectic. But you know what the best part is? That life is crazy hectic. Seriously. How blessed are we to have all of these things going on in our life? The good and the bad. It's life! Every day, I try to remember to stop and thank God for all of the blessings he's given me. I'm thankful for my life, even if it's in the moment of a blow-out diaper while I'm on a conference call with a big client as Tucker is barking at the UPS guy ringing the door bell. I love it all. So maybe that's my advice... just take a little moment to yourself throughout your crazy day to remember to love all of your moments, even the crazy ones.
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Such a good post that I enjoyed over my cup of coffee this morning before I run off to a 4 hour makeup job away from my 3 kids this weekend. It's a juggling act for sure but I enjoy my little time away to be an adult and "painting faces" (can't believe I can actually make $$ doing it!), where I can then come back and enjoy my kiddos!
ReplyDeleteI beat myself up over the same thing when it comes to blog posts, bc I actually love blogging too, but sometimes it HAS to take a back seat to the kids, husband, dog, and freelance biz! You're doing a fab job and don't worry about the lack of blog posts, your readers that love visiting your site will hang in there and always come back!
Hugs, Jennifer
Great post...and perfect perspective! Family always come first for us...and with both of us having full time jobs and our 3 kids being much faster than us..it means sometimes the house looks like a natural disaster and we can be found somewhere in the middle of it eating popcorn and watching a movie!
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute pic of you all!
ReplyDeleteCount me amongst the peeps who's been marveling at how you've kept up w/ the frenetic pace of balancing motherhood, working FT in a demanding profession, & blogging consistently. I work PT from home & can barely manage to muster ONE blog post a week! My life is a chaotic mess sometimes, but it's a beautiful mess. Like you said, I love it all. Sure there's days when I want to cry & will myself to just make it to that magical 8pm "finish line" but the good makes the crazy worth it. And when all else fails, there is always wine.
All that to say that I think you're AMAZING. Whatever y'all have been doing to raise HDawg--keep doing it, doll!!! That kid has my heart!
xoxo
Such a great post {and pic!}! So many truths here about balancing it all. You're doing an amazing job and H is so lucky to have you! Life is definitely good. XO
ReplyDeleteAdorable picture! Michelle, you are doing an amazing job juggling everything! I am a stay at home mom and I still don't pump out five posts a week! I am always in awe of people who do! But you are right, we all do fill our time with so many different things. It is pretty great to have such busy lives. I wouldn't want it any other way! Thanks for the update on your life! You are amazing!
ReplyDeleteCheers! - Shelley
props to you for doing what is best for you! and your family is adorable! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're awesome :) I love watching you be a mama! This picture is WAY too cute. I want to see more!
ReplyDeleteLOVE THE PHOTO. This is all so true. . . life is busy and hectic. period. It's all about finding time to enjoy it as we go through the craziness. You are very impressive my dear.
ReplyDeleteAmen, sister. I totally relate to this post. You are an amazing momma (and wife, and professional, and DIYer). And I think we all just have to find our own ways to balance (or not) time with our families, work, projects and even blogging.
ReplyDeleteThis might be one of my favorite posts, ever. It's all about embracing the madness of our lives - even when there is dog hair everywhere, and my toddler just threw his cars all over the living room 5 minutes before company stops by... it's hard to remember, but it's a beautiful life. I too, am a full-time working momma and agree that it's hard to find time to balance it all. It means really late nights and early mornings, but I'm so blessed to have so many great things in my life. Thanks for this wonderful post! And PS - super cute picture! Hope there are more from that photoshoot we'll get to see!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, you're doing an awesome job and have all your priorities straight -- THAT's the biggest challenge of parenthood/working life. Keep up the good work! I'd love to tell you that it gets easier as the kids get older, but it doesn't... it's a wild ride but the best you'll ever take. :)
ReplyDeletexo Heidi
Amen. Agree. Yes.
ReplyDelete::nodding head::
But for real, you know how I feel on this topic. Always a balancing act, always a messy house and always a neglected blog. But I couldn't love a little person anymore than I do, and that makes it all okay with me.
I believe that you have put me to shame, ha. Being able to care for a baby and hold a position as an attorney is extremely impressive. It is an absolute fact that most people have very hectic lives and have to learn how to juggle their responsibilities all the time.
ReplyDeletePlease visit My Webblog
Well said! I am right there with you! I work full time doing finance for a large church. Some people hear that I work for a church and figure I must just be part time or volunteer, etc. Nope. It might not be demanding like being an attorney but I log 40 hours in my office working each week. With one kid, I wanted to be home more but this is life so oh well. Then I got pregnant when my daughter turned one. Oops! I now have a 10 month old son and a 2.5 yr old daughter and some weeks I feel like I have life balanced. Other weeks, not so much. My hubby has a great job and great hours where I can expect him home by 5:30 every night so he helps me tremendously. And just in the last couple months I've decided to give up some kid time in order to run 30 minutes 3 times a week. Just that amount of time I've given to working on myself has been HUGE! I feel so much better, am so much happier. It's amazing. But it was really hard to get home from work and lace up my running shoes instead of fixing dinner and playing with the kids. There are many seasons in life and this one is my hectic one. Especially since I've been to 3 dr/dentist appointments for my 2 kids just this week. It's amazing how many "mom" things there are to do and it's just so hard with a job, but we all get er done! Time away from the office = cramming my work into less hours. But somehow I always get caught up. I also felt guilty about not blogging daily but I finally gave myself permission to be present with my family and blog when I feel like it/have the time which sometimes doesn't happen weekly and sometimes is multiple times a week. I miss blogging daily but I just had to make that change. Thanks for this post. I can so identify with you! And it's fun to keep up with HDawg since Cayden is only 1 month older:)
ReplyDeleteHonestly? I didn't mean to write an entire paragraph. Maybe I've ingested too much coffee this morning:)
ReplyDeleteHa, your post title instantly made me think, "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." As a blogging, working mom to a 3 month old it's nice to know there are others in the boat with me!
ReplyDelete