I recently left a family friendly job for a NOT family friendly job because we needed the money. Although we live pretty frugally (15 year old cars, small house, etc), once we started paying for daycare we began falling a little bit more behind each month.
I am more marketable than my husband, so I found a better job (go, me ) but it includes longer hours and higher stress.

I KNOW that this is the right decision for my family, but now I am having a hard time managing it all. I know there are bees who have intense careers (or multiple jobs) and still manage to maximize their home life- teach me, oh wise ones!

Here are my dilemmas:

- I keep getting asked to do things last minute, and ASAP, of course. Like being asked/told at 5 on Friday to have a report done by 7 am on Monday. I never know when to set a limit or when to suck it up (and it has been very hard on our little family for DH to be solo parenting a full day every weekend while I get caught up).

- I am completely shot at the end of the day, so by the time I put LO down at 7:30 I have a hard time organizing and maximizing my productivity for a couple more hours.

- I feel like I don't see LO enough, so it is hard to ask for more childcare, even when I REALLY need to get work done.

-OMG- how the heck do you schedule Dr.'s appts and whatnot?! I have never had a job that cared if I took off for that kind of stuff but now I better be in the ICU if I am not going to work.

-My health and diet are completely in the crapper. Last night's dinner was chips and salsa. I was so tired I didn't even dip the chips- I just mushed it all together in a bowl and shoveled it in!

Any and all advice would be extremely helpful to this struggling mama.