And so it begins!  The day that I tried to avoid as long as possible.    We are at the point where all three of my oldest boys are now involved in various activities.  Running two kids around seemed manageable, but three might just be the death of me.  I’ve always thought I was good at multi-tasking but just the thought of running in 3 different directions every night of the week has me feeling very anxious and overwhelmed.  And then I realize that I did this to myself.  I sacrificed my sanity so my kids can have different opportunities to have fun, be active and also to develop their talents.  Do all moms do that?  I think for the most part we do.  It’s in our nature to want our kids to be involved in the things that they are excited about and that teach them new skills.  I also feel like I have too much to do during the day so that my early evenings can be spent running kids around.  So how do I handle this time of my life without ending up in the loony bin?

I’ve done a lot of reading on this topic and have come up with 10 ways to balance out the juggling act of motherhood.

 1- Learn to say no! 

I’ll be the first to say that I have a hard time with this one.  I want my boys to be involved in everything that they like but there comes a time where we have to make them choose which activities they like best.  It’s not only important for our sanity but theirs as well.  I know my kids have a heavier school load than I did at their age and getting them involved in too much extracurricular activities at such a young age could really stress them out.  Also,  I feel like I have a responsibility to help and serve not just my family, but people in my church and community as well.  And saying no gets me feeling really guilty.  We have to be able to be honest with ourselves and others and just say, “look, I really would love to be able to do that but I just can’t right now.”  And that answer is okay.  Our lives come in seasons and if you are a young mother with busy kids, your main service will be done in your home.  (And I’m not saying don’t serve others but know your limits and if things start affecting your health and sanity, it’s time to re-evaluate your commitments.) [Read more...]