Balancing Parenthood Recipe : Life, Marriage, Kids, Career… !
By: Deana Elwood, Head Bee
Tags: Parenthood, Parenting Advice, Balance, Parents, Parenting

So no, I am not whipping up a recipe of how to mastermind it all with smiles and zero struggles, but I am whipping up a recipe of minimal destruction and stress while doing it. Not saying I’m the expert, but as a first time mama, working 10 months and off 2 with a husband in the restaurant world, I think I’ve figured out a few things while doing my teaching career, podcast, blog, wife life, mama life and other life things.

Set The Correct Temperature

Just like baking a cake, if the temp is too hot, you BURN it. In a life full of kids or just one, balancing out the career and marriage/relationship can get interesting. The minute you get easily frustrated, the more heated you get and well, burned cake. Allow yourself to find a way to cool off, wind down or destress. I know the hardest thing for me is after work I come straight home and take care of my little man. I love every second, but it’s hard sometimes not getting an hour to myself to shower or just unwind. I personally have found taking a stroll with him and getting a little cardio in is my cool off time, but unwinding is important so that irritability isn’t present. Find ways to take a breather so that you can sit, eat, or do something calming.

Don’t Skip An Ingredient

One mistake beginning bakers make sometimes are skipping an ingredient or not getting in a correct measurement. In cooking you have a little more leeway, but baking ingredients are crucial for flavor and cake texture aka garbage or heaven. I have 2 major ingredients in my life that I not only tell me husband, but also my students I teach. Communication and respect are the ingredients that you can’t leave out if you want a successful relationship with anyone. With parenting, sometimes there is so much going on with career and kid(s) that we forget to communicate with our significant other and have a regular conversation or just communicate and talk to one another to express feelings or emotions. There is never not a good time, so say how you feel. Don’t bottle things up and expect people to realize. Communication is the only way people can truly understand you, without it things can fall apart. Same goes with respect. I can’t tell you how many times I read in mom groups how relationships are falling apart because of infidelity, arguing and all the lack of respect. As parents we want to teach our children to respect not only others, but themselves. If we portray something else, what kind of model are we to them then?

Let It Bake…Don’t Rush It

I know raw cookie dough and cake batter is yummy, but doesn’t mean it’s by any means good for you or a good idea. Parenting is hard. Parenting is intense. So don’t expect parenting to just happen over night. Learn from each other, learn from the kids, and figure out things together. Don’t expect that each parent will do everything correct or how you would do it. Appreciate all that comes with parenting and although many ups and downs, it all leads to the greatest job in the world. I’ll forever say over and over again that being a mama is and will always be my favorite job.