Time Management

I've always been an amazing time manager. It's pretty much the one talent I possess. In college I balanced a full class schedule, 30 hours of work per week, being the president of two student organizations, and a social life. Granted, I always had rings under my eyes and was super stressed all the time - the point is I did it.

But now, it seems like time gets away from me. You would think that being at home all day I could manage to get things done, but the opposite seems to happen. Whoever knew kids were so time consuming?! Seriously, I spend all day changing, feeding, holding, wiping, playing with kids. I'm not complaining - I love my children and would rather them grow up with memories of a mother who took the time to play with them instead of a mother who ignored them to clean the dishes. But, the dishes need to be done sometime. I look at other mothers and they seem to be able to do it all - and look freakin' fabulous while doing it. How?!

The worst part is that I measure my success by how much I get done. So, at the end of the day when the kids are tucked happily into bed, I look around at my dirty house with dishes in the sink, bills waiting to be paid, clothes needing to be folded, and I feel like a complete failure. I hear the voice in the back of my head saying "but you spent time with your children, and that is what really counts." However, all I can see is failure. How do you get past that? Or am I the only one who feels this way?