Good morning everyone! I am Jennifer from The Maynard Moment. I have a little girl who is 5 and a little boy who is 16 months old and like the others I am a working mommy. It was always (and still is) in our dreams for me to be a stay at home mom. There is nothing I like more than to be in my home with my kiddos. Many people think that working moms are selfish and they look down on us, but this is what my family needs right now to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. This is in God’s plan for me right now and I am just going with it, realizing that I have been blessed with a job when so many others are out of work. I know that when He wants me home full-time then He will allow the way, and until then I am going to do the best that I can in the work He has given me.
1. How do you fit quality time in with husband and kids?
My priority when I am home is spending time with my family. We have a lot of outside playtime eating popsicles and blowing bubbles in the evenings. I try and make those times really, really fun since we don’t get to do a lot together. Also, the weekends we usually try and do stuff together just so that we are making memories.
After the kids are in bed, then that is when my husband and I get to spend time together. I try and have everything done around the house when I put the kids to bed. We also are blessed that my parents pick up the kids from daycare one evening a week and we get to have a date night. We are very, very lucky that we get to do that, plus it gives my kids some much needed time with Mimi and Pop!
2. How do you get quality time with God?
This is something that I struggle with all the time. I try and get up earlier than the kids to take a shower and get ready for the day. Usually I will take my shower and then do my quiet time before I do anything else. I have found that if I start getting ready more than just the shower for the day, then I get distracted and never go back and sit with my Bible. There are some mornings when the kids wake up early and everything gets thrown off, but for the most part it works.
3. How do you get quality time with friends?
Again, this is something that just stinks about being a working mom. We don’t get to go on play dates and go to have lunch with friends. Sure I have those few ladies in the office, but we get a set amount of time for lunch, so we can’t just sit and talk. It is really, really hard to get to do things with other mommies when most everything is planned for during the day at churches and MOPS. I try to get together with several girls every couple of months for a girl’s night out, so I get my fix there. So anyone want to have a girl’s night out in the Houston area?
4. How do you get all of the things done in the house?
![]()
![]()
A lot of what happens in the house is because of organization. If my mom had not instilled that in me, I don’t know how my household would function. For mealtimes, I make a menu every week and do the grocery shopping each Saturday morning. Usually I try and make things that are quick and easy, or I do crock pot meals so it is ready when we get home. This usually works, though sometimes we just eat frozen pizza if it has been a bad day! HA!
Also, I try really hard to do all the laundry and cleaning on the weekends. We have “stay home” days some Saturdays and I just catch up on the cleaning, though laundry is done every week. Kind of makes me think of Full House where the dad always did laundry on Mondays, but it is what works for our house right now so I try and get it all completed from Friday evening-Sunday.
My motto right now in life is from the poem by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton and I actually have it at the top of my blog. It says “The cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow. But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs, Dust go to sleep! I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.”
So, that’s my life as a working mommy. It is not glamorous and there are days that I just want to sit and cry because I want to be at home soooo badly. But this is the plan that God has given me right now and I need to rejoice in that.
Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble and prayerful always. Romans 12:12
Thanks Jennifer for taking the time to share a little piece of your life with us. I LOVE LOVE the quote on your blog header! It is adorable!
