Attendees at the Working Mother Work Life Congress found something new this year. The first-ever Moms in Balance Workshops, aimed at the mom employees of the 100 Best Companies, offered strategies to support the “life” side of the work life equation.

To kick it off, our Working Mother Media president Carol Evans and SC Johnson SVP Kelly Semrau hosted MOMFEST, where they spoke with female execs of the Top 10 Companies on balancing demanding careers with family life. A common theme: returning to their jobs after maternity leave and trying to tackle everything at once.

Priya Misra, head of US Rates Strategy for Bank of America, found herself trying to be a supermom after the birth of her daughter and felt guilty when she wasn’t able to manage. Eventually she learned, “You don’t have to be crazy about everything going the way you want it to.” Others found that it helped to be very disciplined about setting boundaries. Rema Serafi, managing principal of KPMG LLP’s Transfer Pricing Practice, leaves the office the same time every day to be with her kids. Accepting business calls at home is not an option. “I say I have another commitment; I have an appointment with my family,” she shared candidly.

The panelists also provided tips for women managed by those unable to relate to working moms. For Meredith Friga, senior manager at Ernst & Young, establishing personal relationships with managers was key to gaining their understanding: “Be open about what’s going on in your life, and continue to be a good performer. If you do that, I think they really don’t have a choice but to support you.”

The next day at From Hassles to Harmony: Parenting Solutions for Morning, Noon & Night, moms learned clever tips from four savvy entrepreneurs. Working Mother executive editor Barbara Turvett [pictured center] introduced and moderated the panel. Up first was Amy McCready [pictured right], president of Positive Parenting Solutions, who shared nag-free discipline strategies, like her “When–Then” routine, which rewards kids with things they want to do only after they’ve completely the task they’re supposed to do.

To calm morning chaos, Lorie Marrero [pictured left], creator of the Clutter Diet, suggested creating a destination station—a space where families can stow stuff they need to grab when leaving the house in the morning. Kelly Lester [pictured second from right], owner and creator of the Easy Lunchboxes system, discussed the ease of her popular compartmentalized food containers for hassle-free lunch packing. A great tip: freeze cut-up fruit and drinks to ensure that those parts of a packed meal are the perfect temperature for kids at lunchtime. (Hey, no kid wants to eat hot and soggy strawberries!) And Aviva Goldfarb [pictured second from left], CEO of the Six O’Clock Scramble, offered lots of dinner-dilemma ideas. Most of us know to keep weeknight meals simple and get kids to help prepare dinner. But by really planning dinners ahead for the workweek, perhaps with a meal planning system like hers, you can beat the workmom suppertime blues.

The final Moms in Balance panel, Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids, helped moms of tweens and tweens navigate those tricky parenting waters. Along with the new track, there were, of course, workplace trends and tactics, engagement and retention strategies, health and wellness ideas, 100 Best Companies and their Working Mothers of the Year, awards lunches, a gala dinner, dreams for the future and lots, lots more. Missed the action? Join us next year for more smart thinking and excitement at the annual Work Life Congress in New York City!