Stay at home moms, how do you manage it all?!?

It gets easier when your baby gets a little older. My son was 15 months old when my daughter was born (a month early!). My husband also worked a lot (11 or 12 hour days) and I didn't have any family close by for two years. Here's what I did that helped: 1. Make your hubby do the bills. It's not like cleaning the toilet or doing dishes. He's capable of working the calculator and it will give you less stress and free up a little time. 2. Have your hubby pick up things you need on his way home from work (like wipes or small grocery lists when you notice you're getting low). It takes me an hour to feed the kids, get them dressed, pack the baby-bag, get myself ready and buckle the kids in the car; then into and out of the shopping cart...It takes your hubby 8-10 min. to run it and get it. 3. My husband is much more helpful when I ask him to do something specifically in the moment vs. a general long-term "help out more" goal that is more vague. Be specific with him ("Honey, can you put the laundry in the dryer?" or "Could you put the rest of those dishes away please?" or "Can you quick vacuum the crumbs for me?"). Try it, it and you'll be surprised! 4. Every time you make a meal, double the amount you make and freeze half of it for later (lasagna, meat, cerole etc.). You're cooking, anyway so you might as well double the ingredients. So much easier to grab and reheat when you're tired. 5. Give the kids a bath every other day (or two days if you're sick or exhausted!). I noticed my kids were getting dry skin from baths every day, anyway. You can always clean their hands and faces in between. 6. Make a rule "no tantrums" for your toddler and put him in time-out when he has one. My kids almost never have tantrums since I made that rule. Also, let your 3 year old pick three toys to take to bed. Tell him every time you have to go into the room or tell him to go to sleep you'll take a toy and he won't get it back until tomorrow night. That's what helped with my son! 7. Remember that sleep really is the priority for you! You have two little kids and a lot of responsibility. Unless you know someone is coming over, let the housework slide a bit for the sake of sleep and less stress. 8. It will get better/easier all on it's own. Next year you'll have a one year old toddler and a 4 year old, time goes very fast! Try to enjoy your kids as much as you can in the middle of the chaos and sleep-deprivation because they don't stay little forever. Soon enough you'll look back and miss those tiny hand-prints on the gl and slobbery little kisses, big hugs and first words. Things will get better! Good luck!