Supermommies

Mommyhood turns you into a master organizer. From conception onwards, life becomes a daily juggle of managing schedules.

I work at a full-time job where schedules, meetings and deadlines dictate my 9 to 5. I also run a blog and a gift basket company after that. I have a husband with a schedule that shifts every few days which means I take on the bulk of the housework.

If my life seems hectic, you’re right, it is. I’ll happily admit that it’s not easy, and sometimes it becomes a hair-pulling and teeth-grinding exercise of restraint, but it’s not impossible. Here’s why:

 I live by calendars

My year is divided into several squares that hang on my kitchen wall. Each box might carry a set of errands, to-do items, dinner ideas and garbage pick-up schedules. It’s not all grey and dull on my calendar though. I have boxes with date-nights, brunch outings, girl-nights, and the like. But keeping a good overview of how busy some weeks are is a good way for me to stay on top of things. It also lets my husband in on my work and he often lends a hand whenever he can.

 I keep a dry erase board in my kitchen with shopping notes

This reduces guess work when the time comes to pack the baby and head down to the grocery store.

 I design meal plans that work for my family

This works especially well for me given my husband’s varied work week, and allows for us to have an occasional night off in between my “cooking” nights.

 Dedicated “cleaning” days

My cleaning days are usually on the weekends when my son is sleeping as I get more accomplished by dividing the cleaning into segments instead of doing it all over a prolonged period of time. It also doesn’t really feel like heavy work.

 As for zen? My date nights really help me stay relaxed and feel appreciated and loved by my significant other.

But truthfully, my balance comes from knowing that I’ve done all I can in a day to make our little family happy. And when life gets a crazy, I tell myself to breathe and just let it all go. Falling off the wagon once in a while is quite alright, because tomorrow is another day.