A Day in the Life of a Working Mom of Three (Plus a Puppy!)

Every day this month, I will be featuring an interview with a working mom just like you. It’s called A Day in the Life of a Working Mom.

We’ll learn about what she does for work, her family life, and….her tips/tricks for getting everything done.

Today’s featured Working Mom is Maya!

Tell us about your family (married, significant other, children’s ages, etc.).

So I’m married with 3 children (ages ranging from 8-18): 2 boys, 1 girl, and a pup named Blue.

Where do you live?

I’m currently rocking in the “O” aka Orlando.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a Logistics Manager.

How do you fit blogging into the mix (if it’s not your “day job”)?

I plan ahead as much as I can. When I get a free moment, rather than taking that time to kick back, I use it to generate content for my site. I also use tools like CoSchedule* to manage/schedule and plan my posts in advance (*affiliate link).

What is your typical day like?

So typically, my morning starts around 6 am. I wake up, pack lunches, and take a quick shower.

From there, I brew a cup of joe, check my emails, check my blog… and fix grammatical errors and such, while my daughter showers and dresses. Once we’re dressed, I drop her off at school and head into work for 8 hours.

The kids are also involved in after school programs so I often head straight home after work to pick them up and get them going to their after school commitments. The struggle is real for sure!

What’s the best thing about being a working mom? What’s the hardest thing?

The best thing about being a working mom is that I help carry some of the financial burden, I enjoy contributing to the household both financially physically. It makes me feel independent to some extent…

The hardest thing would be having to put the kids in childcare when they were younger. The initial separation is the worst. I am thankful that I have a pretty flexible career, so I’m able to attend their events and such, so I haven’t really missed out on much.

Do you experience guilt associated with being a working mom?

Not anymore. When they were younger perhaps.

How do you handle day to day responsibilities (meals, laundry, cleaning, chauffeuring kids, Dr. appointments, school meetings, etc.)?

We have a schedule:
Hubs preps meals for the week on Saturday and Sunday
The kids each have laundry days – they are responsible for folding their clothing.
I take them to practice and after school activities (thankfully I have a flexible schedule). The only issue I have is when I have to travel for business. Sometimes I’m not able to travel for business if it conflicts with my husband’s schedule (he works out of town during the week and we don’t have any family in the area).

What are your top 3 – 5 tips for keeping everything together?

1. Have a system. My system is very simple. Assign a specific day to household tasks and stick to the schedule.
2. I also turn to Pinterest a lot for quick cleaning solutions. I have lots of storage baskets to stow away blankets and such to keep the place looking fairly organized. But, depending on the week and how chaotic my schedule is, the place might be a mess. I don’t always have it together but when things fall apart (due to everyone’s busy schedule), I use Saturday as the reset button to regroup and reorganize the place.
3. As for keeping the kids in track with homework and after school programs, I’ve insisted that we all sit at the table for homework hour. While they are working on their assignments, I’ll work on my site.

Guilty pleasures?

I love ice cream, so oftentimes when the kids get a day off from their after school committments, I’ll stop for ice cream prior to going home. Or, I’ll hang out in Starbucks a bit to have a coffee and reflect.

Is there anything else you’d like to add that you think would encourage other working moms?

Yes, I’d like to say no one is perfect. We all have our systems and our To-Do-Lists, but at the end of the day, there will be times where you can’t get it all done, there will be times when your to do list remains unchecked.

There will be times when things aren’t necessarily as orderly as you’d like. But guess what… Life goes on. You have to manage as best you can and understand that perfection is nonexistent for the human race.

Accept and embrace your flaws not only as parents, but as people in general. At the end of the day no matter how good your system is, you’ll always have the burden of the unknown occur.  When it does, just flash that beautiful smile of yours and say…this too shall pass.

Where to find Maya online:
Website: styledelegate.com
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