BUSY MOM TIP: Find something that your kids enjoy and will keep them contained, so you can FOCUS. Whether its for 10 minutes, 20 minutes or gasp – a half hour! Happy, quiet kiddos results in a very produtive mama!!!

Ok so I know I’m busy, you’re busy, what mama out there isn’t “busy”?!?! The to-do list is never ending and we are always looking for a way to maximize our time and knock those items off our to-do list in the most effective way! One thing I’ve realized is it all comes down to balance. Balancing your priorities, your time, and where you need to be at each moment each day.

I had a fabulous weekend away cheering on my mom as she rocked out her first ever marathon in Baltimore but now its time to get back to the grind! The weekend away was fun, but there’s a giant pile of laundry to catch up on, things to get ready for the week ahead, grocery shopping that desperately needs taken care of and a workout that cannot be skipped…as with any fun family weekend this one as well resulted in a few extra calories ❤ All well worth it!!!

I admit, I did snooze…well I snoozed twice, but then I got up, downed my E&E and got my sweat one with a little P90! Starting my day with a workout is the best way to get up, wake up, and get on with my day!!!!

Regardless of how early I get up, I almost never get done what I need to do. Ok well, let me rephrase that. I always get done what I NEED to do but rarely everything I WANT to do! We basically came home last night and just left everything as is. So as a means to catch up around the house this morning I wanted to have something fun for the kiddos to do after breakfast that would keep them enterntained and allow me to get a few things done! Soooo…after my workout I prepped a little painting craft for the kids.

My daughter never turns down painting and let’s be honest, her little bro just wants to do whatever his big sis is doing! While I’m not quite ready to turn him lose with a paint brush and blank canvas I remembered seeing this idea on Pinterest where you put the paint in a ziplock bag and tape it down. Seemed easy enough yet I had never tried it! So while the little ones continued sleeping I got the paint brushes and paper out for Aubrie and and poured the paint into the bag. I had to prep this one before they got up because if I hadn’t I would have had two little monkeys climbing on my legs as I tried to get everything together and by the time I finished one of them would have certainly lost interest!!!

With a busy morning of gymnastics and a trip to the grocery store I knew I was limited to my freezer stock for tonight’s dinner! I pulled out one of my favorite crockpot meals – Black Bean and Corn Chicken Salsa. This is so easy…freezer to crockpot to dinner table – easy peezy!

We went on with our usual morning routine and when I offered out the paint brushes both kids were beyond excited!!! Aubrie was perfectly content for a solid 45 minutes only needing more brushes, a birdhouse and more paper to keep her satisfied! I’m not going to say it lasted quite as long as I had hoped for Colt but I got a good 15 minutes and well…15 mintutes of both kiddos content and contained meant I was able to unload the diswasher, switch over the laundry and even grab a quick call with one of my coaches – Pinterest craft = success!

I was even able to squeeze in a few more minutes of work while Colt worked hard to take every single item out of all the art table bins and Aubrie continued working on her masterpiece!

Things may have gotten a bit messy, but well, our house is usually messy! There are always toys on the floor, crumbs under the table and our toy bin is typically empty with the books spread across the floor. But secretly – I love it!!!! When Daddy walks in the door with the response” Wow, looks like you guys had fun today” you know it was a successful day! We had playtime, art time, story time, a successful trip to the grocery store (thank you Giant Eagle for inventing the Eagles Nest) and we all got done what NEEDed to get done! Finding that balance is an ongoing task but one I will continue to work towards perfection!