Finding a Balance- A guest post by From Mrs to Mama

Becky from Mrs to Mama is here with an awesome blog post to share with you. If you don't read Becky's blog you don't know what you are missing. She is amazing. So after you are done reading head on over and check out her blog. Be sure to stay awhile

Finding the balance. Can we just let out a big sigh right
now. For exaggeration purposes. Because just saying the word alone makes
 me dizzy. Nauesous as I begin to think about my to-do list, reminding
me of things in my life that are not balanced. Such as, household chores. Those {household things} get put on the backburner more often than not. "Tomorrow I'll do this.... {tomorrow comes}... okay, no, really, tomorrow I'll get this done...{one week later}... oh those windows that I've been talking about... about that."

I'm glad that Katie asked me to write about this topic as it is one
 that interests me the most. It's something that I enjoy reading on
other blogs and getting tips from. For me though, I'm not one to throw
out advice as much as I am just sharing my story and experiences. I
believe that things work for some people, and they don't for others.
Some things come easier during certain times in your life, and some
things are just not feasible at all. Regardless, balance is definitely
something that is important in my life {our life}, and finding the right
 balance for those crucial elements {marriage, parenting, household
duties, me-time, work, and more}, is what I am seeking on a daily basis.

Overall, I think I've got the balance thing figured out. When I
close my eyes, I see a pie chart. The largest percentage of my time and
attention goes to parenting, the next my work and marriage, and
everything else is kind of dispersed around depending on what I have
time for that week. The best way to describe how we balance the
different categories in our life is to list them out. That's how my
brain works anyway. Throught lists, pie charts, and random ramblings.
I'll list the top 4 things that take up most of my time.

Parenting

This is 100%, all the time. There is no dividing this one up, and
this will always come first. Almost every other cateogry revolves around
 the children and what decisions need to be made. Husband and I want to
go out to dinner? Who's going to watch the kids. Household chores need
to be done? What can I preoccupy them with. Need to run errands and do a
 grocery run? When can I squeeze that around nap time. Deciding anything
 serious obviously always means that the children are at the center of
those decisions. I like to make lists and write down on our big calendar
 things that I want to focus on during the week with the kids. This
includes planned activities as well as "learning lessons {i.e. sight
words, telling time, months of the year, etc]."

Marriage

This is equally as important as our parenting, but yet it is one
that is much harder to make time for. Not marriage in general, but
making time for the quality alone time that is necessary. Date nights.
Cuddles on the couch. Dinners {sans kids}. They are all things that we
love to do, that we need to do, yet, barely have time to do. I know that
 when the children get older, we will be able to do more of the
"couples" activities that we once did so often, but in the meantime, it
means date nights in, lots of snuggles when we can, and frequent visits
to grandma and grandpa's house so we can have a few "drinks." But to be
honest with you? Our favorite dates are when it's us and the family.  

Household Duties

I used to have a list. A list of "must-do" to maintain the
house. Then that list just became overwhelming and so I hid it. Now I
can't find it. And that's okay. I don't want to know where the list is,
and I certainly don't want to be reminded of all the things I have not
done. To be honest with you, we do the bare minimum most of the time.
Laundry gets done. Dishes get done. Floors get swept and vacuumed. Bath
tubs and toilets get cleaned {not as often as we'd like}, and everything
 else just gets done when attention is drawn to them.  For me, I try to
do the laundry throughout the day, dishes first thing in the morning
{used to be at night, but with two kids and an extended bed time
routine, they just have to wait for the AM}, and pick up as we go. If I
am able to maintain that, then I'm happy. And when I need a little
reminder, I turn to google: Google... please tell me how often I should
clean out my gutters. "Andrew....."

Personal Time

This category encompasses everything that I do that is either for
pleasure or work. This includes blogging, photography, reading, and
exercising. Okay, who am I kidding here... reading and exercising...
please laugh. I have not been able to read {finsih, I mean} a book
since... 50 Shades of Grey. I've started, yes. But finished? Not many.
And exercise? It's always on my mind... but in the past 3 years I've
either been pregnant or breastfeeding {which my supply does not like it
when I work out}. So until I'm done having babies, that part in my life
is just going to have to wait. Me-time is important to me, especially
writing. Therefore, nap time is usually devoted to this me-time. No
chores, no nothing. Just the quiet and some of the things that I love to
 do the most.

There are so many more "micro" categories that I could get into.
However, I think that you get the gist of it all from the first caetgory
 alone. Parenting. It will always take up the majority of my time and it
 will always have the biggest influence on every other aspect in my
life. It's the core and foundation. Our children and the decisions that
we make will always be at the center of everything else. I won't make
any apologies for that. It's a life that we have chosen, and I've
learned that finding the balance in life will just figure itself out as
you go.

At least, I hope so.

Thanks Becky!