Working Mom.How do I do it all.

I think I live in a constant state of being overwhelmed. You’re not alone. The traditional advise of ‘take some time for yourself’ I found to be unhelpful when my children were small. Between work, my ADD and my children there simply was no time for myself.

My husband pitched in when he could and that helped. I learned a different standard for housekeeping (which was no standard at all). I also learned that small easily fixed dinners were just fine.

A cleaning lady when I finally found one helped immensely and was worth every penny. I have mine come in on Thursday so the house feels good to be in when the weekend finally comes.

As the kids got older, it certainly got easier and I’m sure it will for you too. Try to find a place on weekends that makes the children happy enough that you can just sit and watch. We used to go to a ‘ball court’ at a local store. The kids would play in the ‘ball court’ and we’d sit exhausted watching them but having the moment to just sit. We also rented a lot of videos for children to watch.

Good luck.

Is it just you and the children? Do you have any help at all?

I think the only way to avoid being overwhelmed (it does feel like being under a tidal wave all the time doesn’t it?) is to be hyper organized. The problem with that is that most of us adult ADHD people also have children with ADD and ADHD, so it’s really a double and sometimes triple load.

Have you tried flylady.com? Nothing really mind-blowing, just a method of getting your household organized in small steps without being overwhelmed or feeling like it all has to be done THIS weekend!

Hi,

i am a single mom who has been one for an adhd child for the past 12 years. i too have the gifts that come with lots of energy and the ability to pay attention to everything.

to make matters worse, my son’s bladder didn’t start working all the time until after he was nine.

i did find some relief in joining a babysitting coop. that way i really could have a couple of hours or a night to myself on a regular basis. you can often fulfill administrative duties to gain hours if the thought of babysitting in return doesn’t seem feasable.

i created a child care coop so that i could do the admin work and not face more kids and still get the breaks.

barbara sher has a website that talks about idea groups. i’ve been wanting to put one together. everyone takes a turn having all the others in the group help them achieve a goal. mine would be getting organized or moving.

keep asking people for ideas; ya just never know what you will come up with.

one last idea, i was a nail tech for 12 years and i found someone i could barter with for child care. so, is there a service you like that you could provide for trade?

warmly
deb gram