Leave it to Dominique MacPherson and Melinda Marinack, founders of www.theminisocial.com and working mothers, to come up with some basic guidelines for balancing children and careers. 1. Toddlers dawdle. Give yourself extra time to be on time with your kids. 2. Color your clutter. Organization is essential. Keep a color-coded calendar for each family member. 3. Top chef. Plan your meals a week in advance to speed up prep time and lessen stress. 4. Me time. Save some time for yourself to read, do a spa treatment or just take a nice long shower! 5. Office space. Turn off the blackberry when you get home and spend quality time with your family. And here's a few that work for me personally: 1. Involve the kids in what you do. I review lots of beauty products and let the kids help me open jars and feel the textures, then tell me what they think. It's fun to hear the adjectives they come up with! 2. Ask for their advice. Whenever I have a work meeting I have to get to in NY, I ask my son to tell me the best way to get there by subway. He loves trains and takes pride in helping me find my way. 3. Tell them when work is done. My daughter's eyes light up when I say, "I finished my work now; what should we play?" By the way, when you do have some free time, check out www.theminisocial.com, one of my favorite sites for moms and kids.
