Motherhood

My days are usually very identical.  I wake up teetering at the edge of my bed while my two small kids are sprawled across our king-sized bed.  You would think we would all fit just fine, but no.  And my poor husband?  He’s been exiled to the living room couch sometime around 4 am.  My alarm breaks the silence as I jump out of bed in the hopes of silencing the noise before either kid wakes up.

Some days I’m successful, but mostly I’m not.

I quickly try to nurse baby back to sleep.  I slowly place her back on the bed.  I try to get ready for work in near darkness to not wake the sleeping beauties and then I head downstairs.  No time for breakfast most days, but sometimes an English muffin is all I have to time to cook and then I’m out the door.

 

My 8-hour work day isn’t as dreadful as I used to envision before kids.  This time is spent with adults, mainly, and getting grown-folk tasks done.  I feel accomplished.  Then at about 5pm I’m racing back home to my girls.  My husband gets in about 5:30 and we are off to the gym at 6.  My gym time is my me time.  Time for me to unwind, get my blood pumping and work on shedding the baby weight — among other fitness goals.  Time for me to lift some weight and let out whatever frustration I may have that day.  Lately, I’ve been using this time to catch up on some reading.  OK, not reading but listening to someone read me a book.  I’m not a fast reader and when I do start a book, its only a few pages in before I am passed out in bed.  This way, I am able to multitask and also get in some words of wisdom.  My newest book is Daymond Johns’ Rise and Grind.  Super inspiring and really motivates me to make some changes.  I also like listening to some of Tony Robbins’ podcasts on I heart radio.  If anybody has any suggestion on some motivational speakers, I’d love to hear about it.

After gym is dinner, bath and off to bed.  I often ask myself, “Where does the time go?”  There’s always a sense of guilt.  Especially because we go to the gym quite often — 5 to 6 days a week.  I’m always feeling like I need to spend more time with my kids.  They enjoy the kids gym just as much as we do and after being cooped in the house all day, they crave some playtime with other kids.  But there’s always that guilt.

How do some of you balance work and family life?