Time Constraints

I was thinking how having kids changes your life. I am constantly struggeling to keep all the balls in the air, having to keep up with the household, having the kids orderly dressed and teeth brushed and behaving well, entertaining them, feeding them a balanced diet, exercising (or feeling guilty about not doing it), taking time for myself (or not), having a good relationship with my husband, oh yeah, and running a little ceramic business on the side.

We all know this struggle. It makes me no different from anyone else. I can't even imagine how people fare who have full-time jobs to run and need to squeeze the long list of things to do into evening and weekend hours.

It has been a rollercoaster the last 5 years and for most of it I have been driving myself crazy trying to be super mom and perfect. Well, I'm certainly not and fall short on a long list of things. I regularly freak out when I have friends come over who I think do a better job at keeping their house clean and go into a frenzy of last minute cleanup before they show up.
But nevertheless I am proud of keeping a so-so balance of things, spending enough time with my kids and being able to do what I love and even have people interested in it: pottery.

I realize how having very limited time to do that can make you more efficient in getting things done. It's like a strict schedule and I don't think I would fare as well as I do if I didn't have one.
I think having a somewhat OCD personality and playing beat the clock on a regular basis helps.
I have to strictly regulate everything in my plus minus 8 hours of work time per week, so I can accomplish most efficiently what I have to do. Writing lists is a pleasure to me. I always try to plan ahead of what I need to do. One of my big routines that I am unwilling to give up is putting the kids to bed while lying next to them. I know, most people will disagree and tell me it is a bad thing, I am unwilling to cut the cord, yaddy yaddy yackedy, yack.
Well, I love being physically close to them and having the quiet time to thing and map out my future. To make a long story short, it is so easy to complain about never having enough time to do this or that, but it is good to consider that it can be a good thing to have time constraints to make you more efficient.