I am a business owner. I am a mom. I am a wife. I am an individual. Balanced? I am not!

We all know that there’s a mountain of information, discussions, blog posts and magazine articles out there in the quest of finding a work/life balance. So, I thought I would throw my two cents into wishing fountain and talk about how I think it’s an impossible quest.

I’ve done my best to put some basic structure into my life to ensure that one day doesn’t blur into another. I go to the office 5 days a week. I spend quality time with my son after work. I do my best to put work aside on the weekend and spend time with my family.

Note, nowhere in the above list do I mention where I maintain our house, have a hobby, hang out with friends (or my husband for that matter) or attend business functions.

Oh, did I mention that my husband is a tradesmen and, typically works 18+ hour days in the summer?

Please, don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining. I quite enjoy the fast paced, craziness that is my life. I chose all of the roles that I find myself juggling each day.  Of course, there are days that I wish I walked into a clean, un-cluttered house. There are days at work that I wish I was at home. There are days at home that I wish I was at work.  Life isn’t perfect. But, let’s face it – if we lived with a perfectly scheduled and balanced day, well, we’d all be pretty bored!

Disagree? Believe you’ve found the secret recipe for balance between your work and life? Let me know! Until then, I’ll continue on – content with the idea that maybe having toys scattered over the living room floor while I work on my laptop and chit-chat with my husband about his day is okay.

-jenn

The holiday season is just around the corner. Have you started your shopping yet? Jenn was telling me today, on the way to a client meeting in TO, that she is almost done all her shopping for her little guy Jack. I haven’t even started to think about it yet. Maybe I better.

What about you? Have you started your Holiday shopping yet? We’ll I have a few links for you to help find just the right thing for that little person in your life. And they are all my clients!

Hit the read more button to get-a-shoppin’!

It was actually soon after the birth of my son, Jack, when I started down the path of opening my own design firm. I felt that if I was going to make the leap, now was the time. One of the most desirable aspects of being an entrepreneur was the flexibility to have the time my son that I wanted while still maintaining a rewarding career.

I’ve almost been back to work for a year now and, I must admit, it’s taken a lot of trial and error to get this new ‘family machine’ working smoothly. It seems as though I’m on a constant quest for balance between work and family. Throw in a week of work travel for my husband, business functions after work or a sick little boy and everything can quickly turn upside down. Luckily, I have great people behind me that bring support and sanity, when I need it most.

It’s certainly a challenge but, in the end, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

- jenn

Check out the following article on how mompreneurs are making an impact on the business community:

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/409934