Wroking at home & taking care of the kids

[sp33dr4ge]

[avrr]

[WAHumor]

[stephfoster]

[Lynn Terry]

[WAHumor]

[kellyb]

Hey Tim,

I could never live without my schedule! I have certain times that I work and then that's it! My kids know when to expect me to be with them. I also try to do my most tedious work (emails and such) after they go to bed. Evening is the best to work but it takes a lot of sacrifice - no TV!!!
I will tell you, the summer has been difficult. I have some quilt going on looking back and feel I need to make up the time! So I haven't worked much this summer. Come Sept 7th...it's back to my strict schedule!

So...set some work hours just as if you were leaving for work...give your kids plenty of projects to do on their own. It's forced my kids to become very independent and play great together! (they are 6 and almost 4 now)
I hope this helped...
Kel

[angelaaa]

[karadawn]

We just recently had an article in our newsletter about distractions, and kids were of course one of these points. Here's that small part of that newsletter:

"- Separate Business & Family
Let your children know you have work to do during certain hours, and DO NOT feel guilty about it. You work at HOME and being in the same house with them at all times is a huge deal. Should an emergency arise, you are right there for them. Summer can be difficult to work around, but once school starts it becomes easier to work in the day with the older children in school. "

I realize that may not be much help, but the bottom line is you shouldn't feel guilty about saying "I have to work right now, but I can play in an hour". I believe it's better to know you are there and WILL be ready to play in just a short amount of time instead of being stuck at work for an undetermined amount of time.

[WAHumor]

Kara! How the heck are you doing??

You LOOK great...

One more LIT-tle thing: If you can give your kids a fixed time - say, 2 o'clock - that they can expect your attention, both your anxiety and theirs take a nosedive and everyone's much happier!

If you still get the "Whenyagonnabedonemommy???" question, you can inquire calmly, "Is it 2 o'clock yet?" and reassert that 2 o'clock, and NOT sooner, is the magic time.

But you better be available at 2 o'clock...

[sugarrae]

[Bina Omar]

I just gave birth to my fifth child. My kids are 8 years, 6 years, 3 years, 1 yr
8 month and my newborn.

If anyone understands how hard it is to work from home, I believe it would
be me. It's definitely difficult especially when they nap at different times and
it's hard to explain to the younger ones what work means. To top it all off,
I'm also homeschooling. And in the past 6 years, I've had to move to several
different cities in different countries because I insisted on following my
husband no matter where he is posted.

But in the past month, I made a decision that helped me gain more control
over things - I encouraged my husband to quit his work and signup with
another company that's closer to "home".

I have found that having family close by makes all the difference. My kids
now will have outings to their grandparents or aunts and uncles and I take
that time to do some work. I also don't feel guilty about it since I know
they'll be getting special attention during that time.

But I found it to be important to write a list of what you're going to do
the next day so that you don't waste that time and get side tracked into
doing something else.

[Danielle713]

Boy can I relate! I am tired all the time! My husband works 6 days a week and goes to school full-time! I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 year old. They love playing with one another but...they love to get into things together! We are trying to find a balance but with life forever changing it will always be a struggle!

[womaninbiz]

[Hopedoer]