That pesky work/life balance

Since I returned to work 5 months ago, I have struggled to achieve a work/life balance. It has been an uphill battle. There is never enough time to do what I need to do. Chaos surrounds me at all times. I heard the Gossling father from J&K+8 say "Sometimes, I wish I could cut my ears off" and unfortunately, I knew exactly what he meant.

A few weeks ago, I made a few adjustments in my life that should help immensely. First of all, I put Sofia on a wait list to add an extra day for preschool. Once there is an opening, she will attend on Thursdays, my day off, in addition to her Wed/Fri. I feel quite guilty doing this as I adore spending time with my little girl, but taking care of all 3 kids alone has become borderline unmanageable at times.

I took the boys to the park the other day, put them in the swing and they just sat there with a blank, confused look on their faces. They had no idea what to make of a swing. I realized how incredibly sad that is. My boys don't know what it is to swing, go down a slide, play in sand, etc. because I never take them to the park. I never take them anywhere. Sofia was in playgroups, Gymboree, etc. long before their age.

I made the decision that I need to devote more time to them one on one and also to myself. I spoke to my boss about reducing my hours and she agreed. I am hoping to now have more time with the boys, more time to clean, more time to workout, get organized, etc. I've had a few weeks with the new arranegment and have to say, it's been wonderful. Typically, Sofia is in preschool until 3 p.m. when her daddy picks her up, allowing me time to take her on a playdate or late afternoon park run. She comes home beaming, talking about who she played with at school. I think the consistency of attending preschool 3 days in a row is going to be extremely beneficial to both of us as.

Overall, it's a great set up. Of course, my smaller paycheck will not be fabulous, but for a few hours, it's probably worth my peace of mind.