Balancing Work & Home Life

A few weeks ago, a few bloggers that I follow, had a link up for Balancing Work & Home Life.... and because I was busy recapping our Disney Cruise, I wasn't' able to link up, and then it got to me, because while these bloggers have work at home jobs, they don't work outside of the house. So, their tips weren't really for me. They were great tips, but I just couldn't relate as someone who works outside of the home. So, I thought I'd share how I balance Work & Home Life :)

So, I 100% believe that I have the "Best Job Ever". I have a masters degree in communication disorders, and I work full-time at an elementary school providing speech and language therapies to children with articulation & language disabilities. I knew that I would want to work in a school while my children are school age. Staying home wasn't really an option in my family, and I feel that I went to graduate school for a purpose, and I want to use my degree. Anyway, I'm able to work at the elementary school that two of my children attend. I'm able to take them to school every day, and bring them home. I'm able to choose their teachers each year, and see them throughout their school day. I'm home when school is out. We have Fall break, Winter break, and Spring break together, and summers! 

I also manage a work at home business with Young Living. And, I'm still able to earn an extra income for my family, all while holding down a full time job. 

And, did I mention my husband works in college football... which means that August through December, he's rarely home. And then his weekends in January are spent at recruiting events.... in February he wakes up early twice a week to film work outs, and then in mid-March through mid-April, he's working late nights twice a week, and all day Saturdays during Spring Ball? And those two weeks in June when he's gone again for high school camps. 

So yeah, it was really hard for me to connect with work at home moms. 

So, here are a few of my tips for how I balance my full time job, my work at home job, my kids, my marriage, etc. 

1. Stick to a Schedule. 

My kids have a bedtime that we adhere to. No later than 8 pm, are we tucking in our girls and saying good night. Then, it's back down, and watching t.v. with the hubby, or cranking out some work on the blog, and in my Young Living business. We've always had schedules for the girls, so they're use to it. Even in the summer, we have a schedule and routine 

2. Plan ahead.

I use my calendar like it's my life line. Because it is. At the beginning of each school year, I write out our after-school activities, football games... if my husband will be in town or out of town.... and in the Spring, I write down his practice schedule. It helps to know when I'll be solo-parenting, or when I'll have some help! 

3. Develop a Close Relationship with your Boss

I explain to my boss my husband's job. I explain that we do not have family to help. I need them to understand where I'm coming from and that I will work my rear off at work, but that my family will always come first. And, I need a boss that is going to understand that. In the beginning of our marriage, we moved a lot. I would always explain that while I plan on sticking out for the long run, I never know what each year or football season will bring. When I first started working at our school, I refused to buy school-spirit shirts. Because as soon as I did at my last job, we'd move. In the sports world, life is full of ways we don't want to jinx ourselves. (It also took my driver's license almost expiring before I'd get a new one for the same reason.) I've always felt that as soon as I get settled in, we'd move........

Now, we've been in Tulsa for several years, and I've worked at the same school for 3 1/2 years, but in the beginning when someone would ask why my husband couldn't stay home with our sick child, or why I had to leave early for a dentist appointment.... they didn't understand. Thankfully, now they do. And we're open and honest.

I know that I run in the door at least 5 minutes late every day, but thankfully I'm in a work relationship that my boss understands. 

4. Teach Your Children How to Fix their Breakfast

The girls have been taught how to fix their breakfast. Gretchen will help out if her sisters want toast, but most mornings, my girls will happily grab a yogurt, a cereal bar, or cheese. They know how to work the toaster. Where to find the peanut butter, and how to operate the microwave if they want sausage or want to re-heat pancakes. 

This allows me time I need to get ready, while they're taking care of a basic need. 

5. Establish a Routine

My girls know what they need to do each morning to get ready. Once they wake up, we allow them a little time to wake up and get in good moods. This may include a little t.v. time, or cuddle time. Then they get themselves dressed. Once they're dressed, they eat breakfast. Then, it's back upstairs to brush their teeth, get on their shoes, and then they play or will help with a small chore. A little after 8, they'll bring me stuff to fix their hair, and then they're responsible for getting their lunch box, snack, backpack, and coat. 

6. Leave Work at Work

I don't bring work home. When I'm home, I want to be focusing on my children and my husband. In a school SLP position, there is always paperwork to complete. I could stay ahead of the game and bring it home, or I could work over my lunch break.... I choose to work over lunch or in between sessions, so I can leave work at work. I also try to leave on time every day. My girls would love to stay and play with the other teacher's children, but it's important for me to get out the door as soon as our contract time ends so I can be home and with my family. 

7. Do A Little Every Day

Every day, I do a little bit around the house to stay caught up. I make my bed, pick up the dirty clothes, load the dishwasher, turn it on, and start some laundry. It's important that I leave a house that is picked up. I don't want to come home to a mess every day. I also make sure that we pick up and clean up after dinner and before bed! DJ bought me a Roomba for Christmas, and I turn it on when we leave the house. I love coming home to clean floors! 

8. Limit Extra-Curricular Activities

I would absolutely love for my girls to play soccer, basketball, take dance lessons and gymnastics, but I don't want to be busy every night of the week. Each girl is allowed to choose one activity beginning at age 4. If they choose soccer, then they'll be allowed another activity when soccer is over, but not during. And honestly, the girls haven't chosen soccer, so that was probably a bad example! Megan is taking gymnastics one night a week, and Gretchen is taking musical theater. She started speech in January, which was around the same time as basketball (which we did allow her to play last year) But this year, we told her that because of speech, she could not play basketball. And DJ looked in to signing the girls up for soccer for the spring, but that would add 2 more practices, plus book our Saturdays. Since DJ often is at work on a Saturday, I don't want to spend the day rushing the girls around to games by myself. And I make sure that our Saturdays in the fall are devoted to football games. 

9. Ask for Help

While we don't have family that lives super close, my parents are 4 hours away.... we have a great support system with babysitters. We have a fabulous sitter, who will bring our girls home from school if needed, take them to extracurricular activities, fix them dinner, give them a bath, put them to bed. Our sitter is fabulous and I couldn't do a lot of the things I do without her..... like a few weeks ago when I had parent/teacher conferences and DJ had practice... she swept in and saved the day. 

When DJ is home more often, he's amazing about stepping in and helping around the house and with the girls. He picks up the slack when I'm exhausted... does the laundry, and will often cook dinner! 

Our family is also great about stepping in and helping when they can. My mom has come up to watch the girls when we have our wive's trip during the season, and my mother-in-law has attended bowl games to help out...... and since I have two trips to Utah planned this year, they're both helping out while I'm away! 

10. Give Yourself Grace

We cannot do it all. As much as we may try, there is an area that will fall to the back burner. So often, for me, it was committing to work out. This year, I was determined to put myself first (when possible) and that meant that I joined a gym, and I sacrifice in other areas to make time to work out. I might miss an hour in the evenings, when we should be home, but it's important that I fit in some "me time" too. 

There are weeks where our laundry is piled up, and there are days where we have dishes in the sink. On those days, I try to extend myself grace, and realize that I can't do it all. 

And, in the end, my kids are happy and healthy and it's okay! 

I hope these tips will resonate with you if you're working outside of the home. And, if I left something off, let me know! I'd love to know what works for your family! 

What's Up Wednesday

March is almost over, and I cannot even believe how fast the month went! And, since it's the last Wednesday of the month, I'm linking up with a few bloggers for What's Up Wednesday! 

1. What We're Eating This Week

Monday- Shrimp Pasta. I kind of threw this together because I ended up getting home later than I had planned. But it was super easy! I just sauteed shrimp, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and spinach, in a little bit of olive oil and garlic. And tossed it with noodles. The girls ate it up!

Tuesday- Taco Night!

Wednesday- Who Knows! Tonight is our late & busy night, so we'll probably just throw together some leftovers or something easy. 

Thursday- Meatball Sub Sandwiches 

Friday- Our usual Pizza Night! But, Gretchen and I will be out, so I'm not sure if DJ and the girls will order pizza or not. But, they're on their own! 

2. What I'm Reminiscing About

Our Disney Cruise! Despite two girls getting sick and the weather being cool on our last day, we really had a fantastic time! Now, I'd probably still choose a trip to Disney World, but if you're not a ride person, and you're more of a beach person, then a cruise is the way to go! Our travel agent is always a joy to work with, and planned every single detail for us! 

3. What I'm Loving

Our weather is getting warmer, and I love when it's warm enough for the girls to go outside and play in the evenings! Plus, the longer days have been allowing us to go outside and enjoy bike rides, walks, and lots of time playing!

4. What We've Been Up To

Spring Football Practice is in full swing for DJ. He's spending lots of evenings at the office, and most of his Saturday's too! The girls have stayed busy with gymnastics, speech, and musical theater! 

5. What I'm Dreading

State Testing starts next week! And, I'll be administering the test to small groups... I'm dreading the long days. I'm dreading the stress that the kids will be under. This will be Gretchen's 1st year to test, and I am so NOT worried about how she will perform, but she is, and I hate that for her. 

6. What I'm Working On

This month, I've been working on a BIG giveaway in my essential oils group! We're spoiling someone wtih #allthethieves and I can't wait to see who will win! 

7. What I'm Excited About

This weekend, Gretchen and I are heading to......CHURCH CAMP! And, I'm not sure if I'm excited in a yippy kind of way, or if I'm excited in a nervous kind of way! Our church has a 1 night camp for 3-5th graders. She really wanted to go, and since parents have to go as well, I'm going with her! We have to pack sleeping bags, and towels, and oh my, it reminds me of going to church camp when I was younger! 

8. What I'm Watching/Reading

I'm currently working my way through Present Over Perfect. I started reading it on our trip, but since I've been home, I haven't had time to pick it back up. 

And, we're enjoying shows like Parenthood, When Calls the Heart, Criminal Minds, and Grey's. 

9. What I'm Listening To

Kids Bop! So, DJ and I finally put XM radio back in our cars. We know that we will have lots of traveling ahead of us, (#roadtrips) and we want to make sure that we have music! The girls always request Kids Bop, once we are in the car. 

10. What I'm Wearing

I picked up these boots at Target, back in February, and I'm still loving them! I thought they would transition nicely in to Spring. 

And, I've been wearing the heck out of my Shop Tailgate tee! You guys, they have the cutest graphic tees, and oh my, they are so soft! They are so light, so comfy.... and I guess I'd have to say they feel like butter. I mean, if you could wear butter. I wore one of these last Tuesday night to gymnastics, and then decided to just sleep in it. And, when Megan was sick last week and we were home.... I still wore it. #dontjudge 

And, psst... you can use the code ELAINEW to save 10% on anything she has in store! 

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend

Two words..... Church. Camp. 

12. What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month

Easter!!!! I've already decorated the house, and I'm working on picking up fun things for the girls Easter baskets! 

13. What Else Is New

We're working on planning out our summer! The girls are wanting to do a few activities, I'm heading to Utah for about a week, and when I get back, we're leaving for Disney! After that, we'll make the rounds to see our parents and visit family, and then we'll be back in time for football to be in full swing again! It's going to be a busy summer!

Bonus: What's Your Favorite Spring Wardrobe Piece?

Layers! Lots of layers! 

It's been pretty cool here in the mornings, but in the afternoons its in the 70s, so all of us are having to wear layers that we can take off throughout the day!

Go here to see what we were up to in January, and here to see what we were up to in February! 

Show & Tell Tuesday: Portraits Edition

Hey, Hey Tuesday! I'm linking up with Momfessionals for Show & Tell Tuesday, and today, we're sharing our top 5 favorite photos ever. 

And, let me be honest.... there is absolutely NO way that I could narrow 11 years of marriage and 3 children in to 5 pictures. I mean, that's like asking me to choose a favorite child. 

So, I picked my favorites from our family photo sessions. 

Gretchen's 1 year photos were the first time we had ever hired a professional photographer outside of our wedding. And, her cake smash session proved to be my favorite ever. This girl loved her some cake!

And then when she was 2 1/2 we had 4 generation pictures made. And, I am so thankful for these portraits. Especially since they include my grandmother. 

We shot these at the Minnetrista and Ball Brother's Mansions (think Ball canning jars.) And we also used these to announce our pregnancy with Megan. 

Fast forward to these little photos of squishy Gretchen, and newborn Megan.

#heartmelts

And then when Megan was a year old and we headed back to Indiana and the Minnetrista, for her one-year portraits. 

About a year after we moved to Oklahoma, we had photos taken at the university football stadium. Football is our life, and I loved that we were able to incorporate the university, our team colors, and the place where we spend so many days in the fall. 

And then Addy Pearl came along, and our photographer captured her in the most precious and unique ways. (Unfortunately, our Oklahoma photographer isn't working anymore, and boy do I miss her portraits.)

When Gretchen was 5, Megan was 3, and Adalyn was about 9 months, we had pictures taken again. This time, my mother made the girls coordinating dresses. I made them over the top hair accessories, and we rented a purple sofa. 

And, probably, my favorite pictures ever wore captured. 

#breathtaking

And, then Adalyn turned one. I special ordered her dress and made her a huge matching hair bow. And of course, we included her ballet baby, which makes this photo extra special. 

And last summer we had photos taken on my parent's property. I now have a thing for couches in our photos. We lovingly refer to this as the "Mexican couch" because my grandparents bought it in Mexico. I use to spend many an afternoon laying on this couch (it's so uncomfortable because of the wooden arms) and watching t.v. in my grandmother's kitchen. 

We had family photos taken....

and sister-cousin photos. 

So yeah, asking me to choose just 5.... was not going to happen. I hope you've enjoyed this look back and our family photos over the years. 

Life Lately

After our Disney Cruise, we've been working hard at just trying to find our normal again. But, it wasn't easy! As soon as we arrived home, I had a major sinus infection. It kind of knocked me out on Sunday, and then in the middle of Tuesday night, Megan came down with a fever virus. That left Megan and I home on Wednesday and Thursday, and then DJ stayed home with her Friday just to be on the safe side! I kind of need a vacation after being home from vacation! Ha! 

Thankfully, we came home to warmer weather and when we weren't feeling well, we were enjoying the sunshine! 

Messy faces and outside play time after dinner! A combination of a pretty fantastic evening! 

She is always such a little mess! 

Meggie was all smiles Monday night! 

Sunshine and warm weather... yes, please! 

We came home Tuesday afternoon, and found an edible arrangement waiting for us! A big thank you to my mother-in-law for sending this to us! We devoured it in less than a day! 

Thursday night, DJ had football practice, and I had planned on us just eating leftovers, but then I remembered that I had all of the ingredients for a quiche. Addy Pearl was the only one that was interested in helping me cook! While I chopped veggies, she stirred everything together!

Saturday night, we found ourselves out getting a quick bite to eat. The restaurant was crazy busy, so we passed some time by taking selfies. Somehow, Adalyn has learned how to make kissy faces! 

And, we finally headed back to church on Sunday morning after being gone for two weeks. The girls asked me to curl their hair, and afterwards, they wanted their photo taken in this little nook before we left!

We spent Sunday doing some closet reorganizing... DJ forced me back to the gym, we grilled steaks & shrimp, and we're as ready as we can be for Monday! 

The Welte's at Disney: Our Day at Sea

If you've been reading here this week, you've been catching up on our Disney Cruise recaps!  

Day 1

Day 2- Nassau

Day 3- Castaway Cay

And, today, is our last day.... our sea day! 

We went to sleep after our day at Castaway Cay and our Pirate Night with high hopes for our day at sea! I was looking forward to lounging at the pool, and the girls were excited to finally spend some time in the kids club! 

Unfortunately, around 3 am, Megan woke up sick. And she was sick every 30-60 minutes. Which threw a little kink in our plans. 

My mom had booked us a time slot to meet several Disney princesses. So, I got ready, and got Gretchen and Adalyn up and dressed. We had a quick breakfast, and headed to the atrium around 9:30. DJ stayed back in the room with Megan. 

And, I have to brag, because that man was a trooper. He cleaned up messes, jumped out of bed when she got sick, and just rocked it. He handled it way better than I did! Needless to say, he and Megan were both tired, so they slept late. In fact, she didn't even care that she missed the princesses, until she realized it that afternoon. I on the other hand, was heartbroken that she was missing out. 

So, we got in line, and because we were assigned time slots, there wasn't much of a wait, and the girls met Rapunzel first. We had already met her on day 1, but the girls were excited to see her again!

I took a few photographs, but the Disney photographers took some too, and theirs turned out much better. #professionals. 

My mom ended up buying the usb of all of the pictures, so we will have all of them. If you're traveling with a party, I'd recommend having them take photographs and assign them all to one room. Then, split the cost of the usb. (We ended up purchasing prints as well.)

After Rapunzel, the girls met Belle. Addy was smitten. 

And then we were on to Tiana. Adalyn would hand the princesses the autograph book and say "write your name." We also took a frame to have autographed, but we kind of forgot about it the first few days of our trip, so it's not as full as I'd like. But, we're going back to Disney in June, and I plan on taking it and filling it up then! 

 After Tiana, the girls met Cinderella! 

 Again Addy was in love. 

Then, we headed to Animator's Palate because we had tickets to see Anna and Elsa!!! 

 Animators Palate had turned in to a Frozen wonderland, there were songs playing, and animations everywhere. This line was a little bit longer, but they let us in before our time slot, and it still went by pretty quick! Adalyn was pumped to get to see Anna and Elsa! 

And they thought it was pretty cool that they were all sisters! 

A big group hug!

After meeting the princesses, we took the girls to the kids club to hang out for a bit! I didn't want them around Megan, since she was sick, and except for the first day, we hadn't had time to explore the club. While they were playing, they met Peter Pan, made hats, drew pictures, and had tons of fun!

I checked on DJ and Megan and then went to lounge on the deck with my mom. Sadly, our last day was rather cool, and the sun would peek in and out. 

DJ wanted to take Gretchen to see a movie around 12:45, so I picked up the girls from the kids club, and found that Gretchen had settled right in and was singing one of the Peter Pan songs from her Musical Theater class!

While I stayed in the room with Megan and ordered room service, DJ and Gretchen went to see Rogue One, and Adalyn went swimming with my mom.

Megan napped and I packed. 

Around 3, she was feeling better and asked if she could leave the room a little bit. We headed up to Venelope's candy shop. I had promised the girls they could have something from the candy shop- they have huge cupcakes, ice cream, macaroons, and more! But, since they'd been under the weather for some of the trip, we opted out of candy and sweets. 

Megan had her picture taken instead, while we waited on the rest of our family to meet us. 

Since it was cold outside, we headed down to the gift shops to get the girls a little something. 

And found Cinderella's chair on our way! 

Gretchen tried to be all serious, like she was a real queen! 

The girls each picked out a little something, and then Megan asked to go back to the room. An hour out of the room had made her sleepy! I took her back and DJ took the other girls to swim. Eventually, my mom sat with Megan, while I headed up to watch Adalyn so DJ and Gretchen could ride the Aqua Duck again. 

Adalyn loved the Mickey pool! She said it was her absolute favorite!

Our dinner for our last night was in the Enchanted Garden. 

We let Gretchen wear her princess dress, since she was sick when the other girls wore theirs. Megan joined us for dinner, but still wasn't her self... we ordered her crackers and she didn't even eat one. The food on the last night was probably my favorite though! Lobster ravioli.... and I ordered white chocolate bread pudding from the kids desert menu and it was divine! 

We took a few quick photos after dinner. 

And then we went to the final show aboard the ship. DJ stayed back with Megan so he could finish packing. The show was wonderful! It was full of Disney magic- Tinkerbell was there... there was puppetry, and the songs didn't disappoint! We loved the show! 

Afterwards, we headed back to our room to change in to comfy clothes, because Gretchen and I were going to stay up late and watch the premier of Beauty and the Beast!!! 

Ah! We had the best time! They played the movie in both the auditorium and in the movie theater, but didn't start it until 10:45! The movie was fabulous... I wasn't sure if it would be similar to the original, and I didn't even know that it would have several of the same songs. I was thrilled to spend some extra time with my oldest! 

Friday morning we woke up and found ourselves docked at Port Canaveral.... which meant it was time to get off the ship and head back home! 

Our trip was full of ups and downs. The weather wasn't what I would've wanted (bring on the sunshine). But, there were a ton of activities! I would sit at night and plan out what we could do the next day and we would end up not doing any of it. (Mostly because the girls really wanted to swim & explore) I would definitely do a Disney cruise again, but I'd wait until the girls are a little bit older... this way they can do some running around without us having to keep such a close eye on them. We'd try a little harder to take advantage of the kids club, so DJ and I could squeeze in activities we wanted to try. We really had a fabulous time despite the girls (and my brother) getting sick. I think I just wish we had more time to do a little more. 

If you're contemplating a Disney cruise over a trip to Disney.... I would head to Disney World first. I felt like we were really able to squeeze in every single thing we wanted to do. And probably got a little more bang for our buck. But, if you're wanting the beach, and to relax more a Disney cruise is right up your alley! There really is something for everyone on a Disney cruise- if you're not a pool person, there's plenty of activities to fill your time! 

If you have any questions about either of our Disney trips, I'd be more than happy to help answer them! We used a fabulous planner who answered all of our questions and was so helpful in helping us plan all of the details of both of our trips! I'm so thankful for all of her help!