Favorite Blog Posts

• Discovering I'm Single at Heart
• Balancing Context
• It's Not Your Fault

Between raising your children, working, and managing your home, how do you carve out time for yourself?

One of the reasons I live in Los Angeles is because my parents are here, and they are more than happy to watch the kids for me when I want to have adult time with my friends. I also stay up later than I probably should to enjoy a little time to myself each and every day, even if it's just 15 minutes. The girls sometimes go on vacation with my parents, and I'll take a few vacations days just to catch up on household chores and enjoy the quiet!

What's your favorite thing to do with your children on the weekends or other free time?

We savor any unscheduled time together! The girls and I share a love of Broadway musicals, and I take them to plays and musicals as much as possible. We also enjoy bowling or roller skating with friends or just hanging out at home together.

What responsibilities or chores do your children have to help you around the house? 

My 14-year-old daughter is responsible for emptying all the trash, setting the table for dinner, and she helps me with side dishes, too. My 11-year-old daughter gets the mail every day, feeds the cat, and does small chores like sweeping and dusting. They both know how to do laundry now, but I have to monetarily reward them to get them to do it. I admit, I suffer from a little of the "it's easier to do it myself" syndrome when it comes to household duties, but as a friend just reminded me, their time will come when they have to do these things for their own households. We leave at 7 a.m. every morning and don't get home until after 7 p.m. and usually still have homework to complete. Their education matters more than chores, so as long they stay focused on that, the rest will work itself out in due time.