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Fer Real Friday: It’s Friday already? And working from home while raising children is hard work.

So here we are. Friday. Where did this week go anyway? Fer real?  I had great ambitions this weekend to put my nose to the grindstone and knock my to-do list in half.  Welp. That didn’t happen.

Monday my mother-in-love (sounds so much nicer than in-law) decided to come spend the day with us.  Tuesday was my daughter’s first birthday–so I had previously planned to spend extra time with her, and only work on things for her photo session.  Wednesday, my daughter decided not to take a nap, and to be quite a bit clingy so I used the day to clean my house and nurture her.  Thursday my husband took and unexpected day off and the day flew by–I took advantage of having daddy home and went and got my hair cut FINALLY–I did a couple things that needed to be done for work but not as much as I should have.  Then here we are.  Today. Friday.  And I’m scratching my head saying, “it’s Friday? Fer Real?!?”

I know some of you probably assume this is what being a stay-at-home, work-from-home mom is like.  So I thought I’d share with you what my normal work-week/weekends look like.  Because it’s not all fun and games.  And it is a LOT harder than I’d have ever expected.

Let me be clear.  I am extremely grateful for the opportunities I have in both my work life and personal life. I wouldn’t change anything about it right now.  However, I don’t take it for granted, and it IS work.  My hat is off to successful stay-at-home, work-from-home moms.  The ultimate multi-taskers, in my opinion.  Not only do you have to balance your work and requirements to keep that aspect of your life moving, and income coming in.  But you are also responsible for meeting EVERY need of your little one–not just feeding them, changing them, and entertaining them–but teaching them and introducing them to new things, keeping on track with their peers that are in daycare or preschool.  To me, THAT is the most stressful part.  Keeping your child home with you mean you are responsible for their entertainment, and learning.  That is a job in itself.

And if I’m being honest, sometimes I think so myself, “ugh, it’d be so much easier just to have her in daycare.” Fer real.

tessglasses

Things are changing a lot right now with our routine and schedule as my daughter is getting older, and working toward one nap a day instead of two (wahhhhh!!!) but in general, it stays the same. So, here is a rough glimpse into my normal week.

During the week: 

  • Wake up around 7am, feed the baby
  • 7:30-8:30 read some books/play with baby
  • 8:30-9:30 Do household chores (laundry, dishes, figure out dinner, run errands, search for props)
  • 9:30 until the baby takes a nap–Answer emails, explore social media, get inspired, make to-do lists, make any phone calls.  Also, one-two days a week we have a play date in here so Tess can interact with other children and get out of the house and hum-drum routine–we both benefit from it.
  • NAPTIME (I am usually guaranteed an hour, but sometimes I get 2-3): Run down to the office and do as much of whatever I need to do on my computer while she’s asleep.  I usually edit, blog, or take courses.
  • Whenever naptime ends-Whenever daddy gets home: Get baby, feed baby, go outside/run errands. Sometimes I’m lucky and I get another nap to work with, sometimes I don’t.
  • Around 4-5pm-Daddy comes home.  If I’m in the middle of something, I will head back down to the office to work. Otherwise I give him a little bit to unwind, I make dinner and then after dinner I will head back down to the office to work.  If I feel like my load is manageable, etc. we might spend time all together and go for a walk or bike ride before Tess goes to bed.
  • At least three days a week once the baby goes to bed, I am in my office working until about 10pm.
  • I try to spend at least three days a week with a really heavy focus on work.  That allows me to give myself a break the other two days if I spend more time with my family.

Weekends: 

  • If I have a lot of editing to do and no prior obligations, I take advantage of having daddy home as much as possible and spend a lot of time editing.
  • I tend to have photo sessions on the weekends.  When I do, I often spend a lot of time editing after them (while daddy is home)
  • If I have a wedding–I work all weekend, no negotiation.

 

 

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