Balance working and your kid's extracurricular activities

[buttercup]

Yesterday, DH and I took dd to the park. It was the first day of T ball practice and we watched the parents and children. It was cool. Dh and I had a discussion about how the coaches have the energy to do this and how the parents of their future pro-baseball players balance their time b/w work, home chores, time w/ kids and time / significant others. How do you do it?

Thanks

Jenni and Helon 6/29/02

[Lucky Charm]

My son plays soccer, and my husband "helps" coach. dh can only help as his work schedule does not allow him full commitment to the coaching deal. on soccer nights i use the crock pot, and we all go to games...all 5 of us as a family. and we go for ice cream afterwards, as a treat.

i found as my kids got older they needed me more, not less, and i adjusted my work schedule accordingly. and 10 yrs ago, i actually went back to school to become a nurse. my schedule is flexible, i tell THEM when i can work. i now only work weekends. this frees me up during the week for various sports and youth group activites, and also releaving pressure from my husband. because i am home all week, i do a majority of the chores, except laundry. grocery shopping, bill paying, cleaning etc is usally done so there is less stress.

i understand that other moms who work 9-5 m-f will have other different perspectives, but working weekends and the occassional night shift has allowed my kids to to the sports/karate/ballet thing.