I have to admit it: In spite of my crazy-long commute and sometime-hectic schedule, and in spite of my tendency to clutter and my inability to stay on top of the housework, if I had to choose between being all “Go, go, go” and spending a quiet weekend at home, the quiet weekend would win. In general, I mean, not just right now.

I’ve always been a bit of a homebody/bookworm. So when my kids — big and little alike — ask me, “What are we going to do today?” I often catch myself wondering, “Why do we have to *do* anything?”
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My husband was out of town all of last week, and this week my youngest kids are out of preschool, so it seems like a good time to revisit the whole “how on earth do I work when I have to look after my kids at the same time” idea.

Here’s how I’ve been managing. Without adversely affecting a.) my liver or b.) my reputation.
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I’ve written before about when it might make sense to work for free, and now I’m taking a look at the other side of that issue: If you initially took on extra responsibilities at your job without pay, then started getting paid to do them, are you obligated to continue to work for free if the company suddenly doesn’t want to pay you any more?
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My friends think it’s funny that I write about work-life balance when I obviously have so little of it myself. I tell them that I really write about juggling work and life, my full-time career and full-on family, which means that when it comes to balance, I’m the fulcrum on which it rests, not the one who actually achieves it.

A major part of that juggle invovles managing my mind, and finding ways to go from “work mode” to “home mode.”
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One of my favorite I’m-a-new-step-parent stories is from about 10 years ago, when my big kids were about 6, 4, and 2 and my little kids weren’t even a twinkle in their dad’s eye.

I was driving down a twisty, speedy four-lane road outside of Boston, all three kids strapped into carseats in the back of my Saturn, when an obnoxious guy in a black BMW cut me off on a sharp turn. I slammed on the breaks and hissed, “Ohhhhh, you F__KER!”

And, from the back seat, the voice of the eldest, in that I-just-caught-a-grown-up-doing-something-wrong tone that all parents know too well: “Whhhhhhat did you say?”
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I’m getting ready for BlogHer ‘10 this week, and I’m excited, but I’m not sure what to expect. Excited because I’ve wanted to attend in the past but haven’t been able to. I’m not sure what to expect because I blog, of course, but I’m going there as a member of the press, and so I feel like I’ll be walking the line between two worlds when I get to New York on Thursday. Excited because I’m going to be able spend an entire night without someone waking me up because s/he has to “go potty” at 3 a.m. Not sure what to expect because my kids, especially my youngest ones, are not exactly thrilled that I’m going away, even though it’s just for two nights.
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