The Balancing Act

Today is my Friday! Wahoo! And tomorrow is the older kids' last day of school (what?? How did that happen?!?). I'm glad to be back at work, but at the same time, not at all.

You see, I took an involuntary hiatus from work because of some really careless and forgetful stuff involving our taxes, which affected my professional license. Really careless. So I was not allowed to work until that was all taken care of and the proper documentation on file. (The moral of that preface is to never let things slide! At least not the really important things). But this time off led to, well, time off. Time to actually be here at home with my children. To be here when the older ones got home from school. To be able to bake bread, or a more involved dinner, or a dessert. (I believe that God allowed me that time too so I could take care of Dexter and be a little more attentive to him in what turned out to be his last days). Of course, we had a couple pay periods with no pay, and that hurt (and still hurts)...badly...but God provides in one way or another, as He always does.

photo credit

Now that I'm back to work, however, it's like I'm having to relearn how to perform the juggling act of the working-outside-the-home mom. And truly, I never had that juggling act mastered in the first place! Thanks to Money Saving Mom, I have discovered the Motivated Moms app.

First I thought "Ugh...just another list to make me feel like I'm behind in everything!". But this isn't the case! It's a very streamlined format and it lists different things for you to do every day. If there's a task you don't need to do, it can be hidden so you don't have to deal with it. (It was so very hard for me to hide the "feed pets" task. Tear.) You can also add a task, no matter if it's a one-time thing or something you want to repeat daily, weekly, etc. It also has a daily Bible reading option, and includes quiet time and exercise on the daily tasks (moms need those reminders sometimes - at least this mom does!). And if you're not into apps, they have a paper version as well! (Yes, both the paper version and the mobile app cost a few bucks. However, sometimes it's worth a few bucks to have someone make that list for you...you get your home sparkly and your mental clutter is reduced too!)

So far it's working out great. And as long as the Lord would have me work outside the home, I'll be diligent in both my jobs. It is His Will.

Today I'm linking up with:

****I was in no way compensated for this impromptu review of The Motivated Mom app. I'm fairly certain they don't even know who I am, let alone that I am reviewing their app :)****