Workin' It Wednesdays: Balancing Work & Home Life

Happy first day of spring!!!

Today is Workin' It Wednesdays... on a Monday!  This link up was postponed and today's the day.  I'm joining Shay and Erika to talk about balancing work and home life.

First of all, I definitely think each family has different circumstances and needs to do what is right for them.  I can only speak to what is working for us currently.

I'm a Registered Nurse and as much as I loved working as a nurse, I'm not doing so right now.  Having three little loves ages six, four and 11 months, my heart is at home with them right now.  I'm not sure exactly what the future holds for me with nursing, but I'm sure I'll be back at it at some point.

I still consider myself a work from home mama though as I am a Norwex Independent Sales Consultant.  I absolutely love Norwex products and I love the flexibility being a consultant offers!  I am able to work mostly from home as much or as little as my schedule allows.

I am also homeschooling our daughter Clara who is in kindergarten.  We are using the My Father's World and Logic of English curriculums and it has been such a special time together.  Davey pops in to join us sometimes, usually for an activity, craft or game.

Clara and Davey are also involved in a few activities.  Clara is currently in dance and Girl Scouts.  They are both taking swimming lessons this spring.  This summer they both want to play T-ball.  Just Davey played last year and Michael coached his team.  He will probably coach both of their teams this summer.  (Sidenote: Is there anything more attractive than an involved daddy?  I don't think so...)  And both Clara and Davey want to try soccer in the fall.  They had actually wanted to play this spring, but we're waiting for the fall so we don't get involved in too much at once.

Michael is going to play in our church softball league himself this summer.  We're involved in a weekly small group (that we call life group) and help out with the preschool class at church.  We also try to get together with family and friends as much as possible.  We like to host friends or family for supper regularly.

So, how do I balance all of this?  Well, I'm not perfect at it, that's for sure.  And it looks different in different seasons of life.  This is how our days run the smoothest...  We try to at least have the kitchen and dining room/living room picked up and clean before bed.  This makes a huge difference in our mornings!  My best days are when I spend intentional quiet time with God reading the Bible and praying first thing in the morning.  It's also such an energy boost to exercise in the morning.  We've found it works best to do Clara's kindergarten lessons before lunch as well.  That way we have the rest of the day and don't have it hanging over our heads.  Meal planning for the week alleviates the nightly what's-for-supper question and helps us stay on budget.  And I schedule my Norwex parties (in home or on Facebook) on evenings Michael can be home with our kids and we don't have other activities going on.  My amazing Erin Condren planner helps me keep all of our work commitments and activities straight.  I love my planner so much!!

That all being said, there are obviously things we can do to help our days go more smoothly, but I think it's even more important to remember that no one is amazing at everything and can wear all the hats all the time.  We all have our strengths.  When we look at Pinterest, Instagram, etc., we see one person who is an amazing photographer, another who has an organic garden, someone else who comes up with super creative learning activities for her kiddos, another who is a successful business owner, someone else who (fill in the blank)...  And somehow we see these various skills, talents and successes in several others and think we should somehow be amazing at all of it.  Or at least I'm sometimes guilty of that.  The fact is that I need God's grace to get through each day and I am so thankful His mercies are new every morning.

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