I'm WAHM and lately it has been pretty stressful around here.
One of the problems is that I feel like most of the time that I don't spend taking care of my family or household stuff is spent in front of the computer working which it hasn't left a lot of time to do extra stuff with my family and it's becoming stressful & not so happy... after all that's why I work from home so I can have flexible hours and be able to plan around my family's activities... but lately it just doesn't seem like I can get it all together!!

Oh, I guess I should add that I don't have childcare for my children b/c it would be pointless since most of my money then it would go to that... Eliot goes to school once a week and when I work either Blair has to take care of them or I have to do my work keeping one eye/ear on work & the other one on the kiddos... okay sometimes but sometimes not fun at all.

What do you do to not feel stressed out WAH? Any suggestions??

Hi Mary, I didn't see this until today. Hmmm, that's a good question! I thought WAHM and stress were hand in hand. :lol:

I really tried to set things up in my house so that Aiden and I can work together. He has an art table in my sewing room (and I meticulously vacuum every day to check for pins), and I have a laptop in the room where 98% of his toys are. I also looked at my work and figured out the most efficient way for me to work. I had to look at what took the most amount of time and figure out how to minimize it.
I also work WEIRD hours. Like 2AM weird. But, I'm more of a morning person, so that means I get up at that time. I go to bed EARLY.
I am organized. Not as much as I used to be, but everything is planned out, and I multitask. If I can do dishes while I'm waiting for something to cook, that's what I do.
Aiden helps me with cleaning. :lol: Well, not technically, but I don't have any problems with putting away laundry with him around, or him seeing me scrubbing the tub or anything. I don't use harsh chemicals, so I seriously don't see the harm. I believe that it's important that he learns to take care of the house, and that his clothes just don't magically appear clean in the closet.
I schedule the time to be with my family. That's the main thing. If that means I have to get up early so that I can spend Saturday morning doing errands and going out to eat with my husband and son, that's what I do.
Granted, Aiden was sent off to daycare at one time (for other reasons), but I did WAHM with him running around. I just figured out a way that I could work and have him running around at the same time. I gave myself ample time for project deadlines. If I had to stay up late or push myself harder, I just drank more coffee. But, it was mostly about priorities and organization. Being at home was priority number one, I just had to figure out how in the world to make everything else work. So, housework fell to the bottom of the list. Sure, my DH wasn't happy about that, but well, he knows where the mop is.... :lol:

Good luck!!! :hug99:

Thanks Mandy!
I took a weekly planner sheet & mapped out all of my family's activities and then decided what times would be better for me to work... then I sent it to my boss! So now she knows when I'm "on" and when I'm not, she's been doing really good at not bugging me when I'm off taking care of my family :aok: I've made myself stick to the schedule and not think about work unless is "work time" then I can totally concentrate on my kiddos needs and get them taken cared of like that when it's work time I don't feel guilty and they're not so clingy b/c they're feeling good.
It has worked pretty good and hopefully it will continue working b/c I need some relief from the work stress! :nod:
When I had only one kid (and even when I was preggy with #2) I used to work at night, it was nice & peaceful and I got a lot done but since I had little Ian I'm so exhausted at night that even if I try to work after they go to bed most of the time I can't make it... if I do, it's a nice bonus but I just don't count on it... KWIM?
Housework? I won't even go into that subject! :blush: Though my hubby doesn't mind it, it's me that goes batty when the house gets out of hand :tearhair:

Mary, I also employ some of flylady's things... www.flaylady.net (http://www.flaylady.net) like I will many times clean out the shower while I'm in it, etc. I also use convenience items, like the shower spray so I'm not cleaning it AS often.

I can't imagine how hard it must be keeping your eyes on two kids. One is enough for me. :lol:

FlyLady didn't work for me, but I use a tool called the Motivated Moms planner:
http://www.cafewed.com/WAH/balance.htm

I also try to batch cook. That is instead of making just one meal I double or triple it and freeze it. This is SO HELPFUL on those extra busy days when you need to just heat something up and that's it. I also love my crockpot. And I'm someone who cooks most things from scratch and I follow a philosophy of cooking that requires a lot of prep time sometimes.

I agree that if the kids are in need of extra attention, I gotta just give it to them. Usually that, in the long run, buys me more productive time! I am at the point where I pay for babysitting. It's worth it for me, but it wasn't at first. At first I traded babysitting. Another mom needed one day a week to work so I watched her son and my dd. Then she would watch dd in exchange. It was a great setup!

Now that summer is approaching, consider looking for a young girl to be a Mommy's Helper. You are still in the house, but she can entertain the kids while you work.

Sounds like your hubby is pretty supportive. Can he pick up the one chore that drives you most nuts?

HTH some!