Being a Working Mom (Part 5)| Spending Time With Your Kids

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This is Part 5 of our series on Being a Working Mom.  If you missed Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 or Part 4 check them out.

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*Sigh*

This one is the hardest for me. Not because I don’t want to play with my kids or spend time with them! I do!! But as a working stay at home mom, I deal with a lot of mom guilt on this topic. You know, mom guilt? The insane amount of guilt that can flood into your life immediately after giving birth? The guilt that makes you feel like you are doing EVERYTHING wrong in regards to your children and that won’t go away… well, ever?

Gosh I really struggle with mom guilt. If I’m working and not spending time with them- Guilt. If I’m spending time with them and not getting work done- Guilt. If I’m cleaning and not spending time with them OR working- Guilt. It’s really quite ridiculous. And I KNOW this in my brain, but my heart struggles internally with staying focused on why it is that I stayed home with our kids to begin with.

Since I work from home I have to really find a good balance in this area. I work a crazy insane amount of hours each week. Plus, I truly love my job and WANT to do it every day too. But I have to be really, really careful that I’m not just letting a movie or Sesame Street baby sit my kids while I’m getting work done. So every week, I really have to go back to my weekly plan that I talked about in my post about Organizing Your Home Life.

Structuring your week and determining when you are doing to work and when you are going to play is vital. What’s more important, is sticking to it! I detail out a more detailed plan on my personal blog HERE.

I also try to come up with daily and weekly activities that I can do with my kids. Activities that get me out of the house, with other moms and children, and activities that will wear them out! Ha! I am always on Scottsdale Mom’s Blog looking for activity ideas and to stay on top of the latest and greatest things that they are doing. It’s such an easy way to connect with other mom’s in the Phoenix area and it gets all of you out of the house! They are always going to the zoo, doing play dates, and putting together other fabulous outings for local mom’s. Getting involved with the community, other mom’s and friends has

really helped me to be able to stay focused on my job. We come home, I lay them down for an afternoon nap and I can truly focus on my work because I know that I stimulated their brains and bodies by getting out of the house and engaging with other adults and children. The mom guilt disappears on days like this because I know that I spent good quality time with them, work free.

Plus, we all have a lot of fun!

 

I really try to remember that when you work hard, you need to play hard. You deserve a break as a working mom and your kids need to see you as more than a professional who works all day long. Make time to get out and DO LIFE with them on a daily basis, even if it means you need to schedule activities to do it! I have to constantly keep my priorities in check. Yes, work has to be a huge priority for me because it is our livelihood.

But I can’t loose sight of why I’ve always wanted to be home with my kids. I have to remember to put them first when I’m planning out my day, working in times to get my work and house cleaning done.

So, make a plan and get out of the house and into the sun with your kiddos- GUILT FREE. If you have an organized plan, you have no reason to feel guilty about getting work done! And you’ll feel better knowing that you are putting your kids first and making it a priority to play and spend good quality time with them.

 

 

 

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I am Jessica Williams, full time wife, mother, and photographer. My husband Jason and I have two little boys, Cruz (2.5) and Rider (6 months) who have absolutely changed our lives in all the best ways possible. We live locally in Scottsdale, which is where I grew up, but we just moved back as a family almost a year ago. Jason and I are full time photographers with Session Nine Photography, photographing Weddings and Lifestyle Sessions locally as well as nationally. Jason also works at Scottsdale Bible Church as a Worship Pastor for Soma Young Adults and for High School Ministry. Having grown up in Scottsdale from a very young age, I really love living and raising my own children in Scottsdale. I love getting out in the city and I’m always looking for new things to do! I am passionate about being a mom and empowering women to find what they are passionate about and to live it out. I am inspired daily by women who are hard workers, who love their family and who remain true to who they are.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Great post Jessica! When I was little, my mom as had a business that she worked from home like we do. And looking back, I never felt like we missed out on having a stay at home mom. Now that I’m in those shoes, I know it must have been a delicate balance for my mom. That encourages me though. But you are so right…it has to be intentional. And I love your suggestions about setting dates throughout the week where you and the kids are getting out to play and enjoy life together…away from the computer :). SMB IS a great place that. Your boys are beautiful and I have no doubt they feel like they get loads of momma in their lives. xoxo

  2. Thank you Erin! I definitely agree and know that you totally understand! It’s for sure a delicate balance and it’s HARD. My mom was a working mom too and I never felt like she was never there for me or around. So I’m sure my kids don’t really know. Still, it IS a delicate balance and now I respect what my mom did even more! SMB is SUCH a great place to connect, find others, and GET OUT. I so agree! Thanks for commenting! xo

  3. Thanks for this post. I have been struggling with this issue myself. I am a full time working mom and I managed to get my managers to agree to let me work from home one day a week. One of my biggest issues as a new mom is that I never have time to clean and when I take time out of the weekend to spend it cleaning, I feel like I am robbing myself of time with my baby, plus I just get exhausted trying to keep up with it. I seriously wonder how full time working moms do it! Anybody know of a good, affordable cleaning service??

    My other big issue is that it seems like EVERYTHING is done during the week, when I am sitting at my office. I am increasingly frustrated every time I see playdates, playgroups, or MOPS meetings, or Mommy & me classes going on during the week and almost nothing on the weekends. Thankfully, I saw a little glimmer of hope with the other blog post about that Music class today. They actually have a Saturday class!

    Anyway, I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one that struggles with this type of stuff. I was beginning to think I was crazy since I know that there are alot of working moms out there, but it seems like everyone has it all put together and doesn’t get frustrated like I do.

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