Seriously, my children never stop talking. Even my two-year-old is babbling a lot. My five-year-old takes it to a whole new level most days because she is also loud. Combined with her never ending talking, I often find it very difficult to get a word in with them. While I don’t want to squash their creativity and their outlet to express their feelings, sometimes I also just want five minutes of no talking. My mom swears this is payback because I apparently was also a very chatty child.
Free meme from meme creator.
I often get frustrated that I can’t speak and when I do, neither of them listen. I found a very helpful blog that gives me seven steps to try to get my children to listen without nagging or yelling. I am looking forward to trying these steps to see if it improves the communication with them. Have you been through this same situation? If so, feel free to leave a comment on how I can improve.
This past fall was rough in our house. We were all getting sick. Everything from sinus infections to strep throat, my household was taken over by illness. Of course, this makes it very difficult as a working parent. Who takes off from work each day when you have a sick child? The struggle is real, especially since I am also in graduate school at the moment. I have argued about this with my husband more times than I care to admit but it is a serious issue.
We have found that taking turns seems to be the best resolution. On the days we are both busy, we try to split the day evenly so that we can both get work done. On days where extra help is available, I have even paid a babysitter to help me at home so that I can get work done during the day.
Last time he was sick this fall he took a nap while eating lunch!
While I have taken the opposite advice than this Working Mother blog, I am trying to find the balance in at all.
How do you handle your children’s illnesses when you are working?
I am actively planning our next vacation to Disney World. I didn’t know how much planning was involved until our vacation to see Mickey last year. This year, I started even earlier with the help of a travel agent. One would think that planning a vacation to Disney shouldn’t be so hard but there are so many decisions to be made from dining reservations, hotel reservations to fast pass selections and of course the matching outfits. It can really be overwhelming.
Disney World napping last year.
One source that I found this year to help me out is a blog that Disney created for parents called the Disney Parks mom panel. These ladies know Disney inside and out and have a suggestion for everything! Not only does this save Disney a lot of time on the phone, email, and social media from answering questions, but it allows this group of moms an outlet to share what they love.
Have you used the Disney Parks mom panel before for questions to your Disney questions? If not, you are missing out.
Along with feeling like a failure as a parent, sometimes I feel like a hot mess mom. You know, that mom that can’t get it together. I am guilty of that on occasion. I try my best to be as organized as possible, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Balancing the kids, work, and school is challenging at best, and I end up being a hot mess mom for a day or two.
Me having a hot mess mom day. Look at my son’s poor hair!
I love watching parenting videos from Cat & Nat on YouTube. No matter how bad of a parenting day I am having, these two always seem to pull me out of it. Cat & Nat’s video on hot mess mom’s is a favorite of mine. Maybe some of my hot mess moments are teaching my children to be more independent. After all, I can’t do everything for them all the time. Watch the video and let me know your favorite hot mess mom moment!
When I first heard authorRandi Zuckerberg speak on her concept of picking three and being lopsided rather than balanced, it finally clicked with me that you can’t possibly be the best at being a mom, wife, employee, student, and more each and every day. Watching her interview on the Today Show this past May really changed my perspective on balance, which I had been trying to achieve for so long.
In her book Pick Three, she describes how each day you must pick three – sleep, family, fitness, work, or friends. Your priorities change each day, so your top three choices can change. I relate so well to this method because each day my top three priorities change based on the situation. As I have painfully learned over the years, I just can’t do it all. For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I sacrifice sleep to work out at 5 am so that I can still be to work by 7:30 am. Seven Saturdays in the fall, I put work before family because I do a special tailgate for alumni donors every home game. On Wednesdays, I work through lunch so that I can see my little girl practice gymnastics before dinner.
Asher and Paislee joined me for the Little Vol Walk during Homecoming.
Each day, picking my top three means I can focus on being good at just a few rather than spreading myself too thin. What I have taken away from this method has truly helped me let go of some of the mom guilt and be a better parent. I encourage you today to pick your daily top three and see how it changes your parenting life.
The debate rages on about which is best for mothers, staying home to raise children or working outside of the home. For me, while I love my children more than anything, working outside the home was the best choice. Really, staying at home was never an option for me because my spouse is a teacher, and we just could not live on his salary alone. Many of my friends are stay-at-home moms, and I do not envy the hard work that they do every day. Raising kids certainly is not an easy task, but neither is the endless chores that come with watching children in your home: dishes, laundry, toys, cleaning, and more.
I recently read an article in the New York Post about how stay-at-home moms should earn $162K a year according to a Salary.com survey. While I do not disagree about the value that these mothers bring to their families, I can’t help but think about working parents. Shouldn’t they also be valued the same as stay-at-home parents? In my case, I work full time and am also getting my master’s degree. I literally never stop, whether it be doing activities with my kids, working on projects for school, working in my office, or doing the daily life tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I often feel defeated at the end of my 16-18-hour day. Equality for all parents, those staying home and those working, is what I am saying. What do you think? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments.
When I had my first daughter five years ago, I knew nothing about putting a baby on a schedule. I thought, why in the world would I need to do that? Growing up with a sister who was nearly 12 years younger than I and doing a fair amount of babysitting, I knew I just needed to feed our newborn at least every three hours. Fast forward from my daughter’s birth to 11 months later, and she still was not sleeping through the night. I was an unpleasant walking zombie. Finally, my pediatrician said 1) you need to put her on a schedule and 2) let her cry it out in her crib. Knowing nothing about a schedule, I turned to her daycare teachers to help me create a solid daily schedule. In addition, after about 5 nights of letting her cry it out, she was finally sleeping in her crib all night long. A year after her birth, I felt like a well-rested mom, which was long overdue.
Flash forward a few years, and my sister-in-law began following a sleep method called Moms on Call. This magical schedule and sleep training method had her daughter sleeping through the night at 3 months old. Right about that time, I found out we were expecting our second child. I did my research on the method, read the book, joined the Moms on Call Facebook support group, and purchased the app with the daily schedule. Once our son arrived, I was ready to implement. There was no way I could spend another 12 months not sleeping. After starting the method at two weeks, I knew it would be hard work. I was thankful to be a part of the Moms on Call Facebook group. When something was not going right, I would request help from the mom’s group, and within seconds I would have the answers I needed. Mom’s on Call truly changed my parenting life for the better because when my son was only 4 months old, I struck gold when he slept through the night.
I love being a member of the Moms on Call Facebook Group!
My son sleeps from 6:30 pm to 6:30 am every day. Yes, you read that right. I still cannot believe it either. So, for all of you exhausted moms out there, hop on the Moms on Call train. You will not be sorry!
Asher showing how a well-rested baby is the best baby!
One cannot start a new blog without first paying homage to those who have paved the way. These blogs are not only entertaining but also educational and relatable to my current life status. For anyone looking for parenting advice, I recommend you take some time for yourself (gasp, is that even possible with kids?) to review my go-to suggested blogs.
While Scary Mommy started out as a blog, it has now grown into a brand of its own. Scary Mommy is a place exploring situations that all moms can relate to. With stories on pregnancy, kids, living, news, beauty, and more, there is something for every mom.
This blog might be my all-time favorite because I relate to it so well. Author Nicole is a workaholic mom who tries to find balance while confessing she can’t choose one over the other.
“Laughter is the best medicine” is the theme of this mommy blog from part-time dentist and mom Melissa. I love her funny stories and how I can relate to much of her content.
Less stuff and more time is the motto of the Mom Trends blog. Beauty, travel, and style are just a few of the topics this blog covers to help moms find inspiration.
Hi, I am Mallorie Mendence, APR, a working public relations and special events professional at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I live in Maryville, TN, with my husband, two young children, and three cats. If life were not already chaotic enough between working full time and raising two children under the age of five, I decided to throw getting my master’s degree into the mix. Why be boring, right? Amid diapers, papers, work, endless amounts of laundry, and daily stresses, life is a chaotic mess and certainly never calm. In Mom Before the Storm, I will cover the daily parenting struggles that all parents experience but might be reluctant to share. I hope my chaotic life experiences inspire others to see that being present over perfect really is attainable even with you see no light at the end of the tunnel. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy but fun ride!
The Mom Before the Storm 