How do I survive being a working mom?

I have 2 kids. 2 small kids. 2 small and busy kids. I also have a husband. This counts as a 3rd kid. I have a full time job of 40 hours per week. I have no family here to help with babysitting. My husband works weekends and evenings. I have a household to run with no cleaner. I like to stay up to date with Grey's Anatomy and The Walking Dead. And I like to drag my ass to the gym 6 times per week. Oh yes and we also have a pet rabbit that occasionally needs to be fed and given water.

How do I do it? I have no idea, and sometimes I do get overwhelmed with everything, but here are a few of my tips on how to survive being a working mom and fitting exercise into your life:

1. Caffeine! Lots of it. I know this is not the healthiest of things, but I would struggle to function without it. Weekends especially.

2. Be organized and plan ahead! ''Fail to prepare and prepare to fail'' is so true in this case. Keep a calendar and make a meal plan. Mondays are the worst for me, this is also the busiest of days. Usually on a Sunday evening I already prepare dinner for Monday. This way when we get home from school and work all I have to do it is heat it up and serve. Making breakfast the night before is also a lifesaver!

3.Stay calm! I find that more organized I am the calmer I am (see point 2 ). Kids also get stressed when you get stressed. There used to be a point when I would constantly be cleaning, after 5 minutes it would be messy again (welcome to life with kids!). So instead of getting up and starting cleaning again, go and sit and play with your kids. I can guarantee you that the house will stay as messy as if when you went to clean. Life is too short to worry about a constantly clean house with no sticky fingerprints everywhere.

4. Quality family time. This is so important. You need to create and build on your bond with your kids. As I have limited time with them, I try to make the times we have together count. Give them your(calm, see point 3)  attention.

5. Embrace the chaos! And see it as a challenge!

6. Stop making excuses. If you want it bad enough you will find and make the time for it. And there might even be some time left for Grey's Anatomy - bonus!

xxx