Business owners are so busy pushing ahead we rarely take time to sit back and reflect on our accomplishments.  We definitely don't do this as mothers but each year I think we should take a moment and reflect on what we have accomplished and how we have grown over the previous year.

Lately my stress levels have been out of control. I'm pretty much miserable these days. Between {what seems like} living out of bags and sharing a small house with five other people, life is really hectic. While the end of our construction is in sight, we're not quite to the finish line yet and I'm beyond ready to have my own home again!

If you’re a working mother, you are producing one of the most hilarious and heartwarming shows out there.  And you are doing it for a very selective audience – you, your family, colleagues and friends.

As you well know, it takes a talented Producer to keep a show on the air for many years and that is YOU.

Let's be clear that I am writing this post at 9:30 on a Sunday morning and I am totally blowing off church. Yes I am a sinner. A sinner raised by an atheist mother and a father who believes life after death is one long dirt nap.

Interestingly enough it was my non-believer father who inspired toady's post. Last night we had some family over (including folks from out-of-town) to celebrate my youngest son's birthday which was, as you moms all know, a circus.

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Can we just work this out, please?

Does your body talk to you in this way?  Most of us have an entire community of internal physical advocates urging us to strengthen, tone, elongate, stretch and lift.

Every so often the Cheerleader will flip her ponytail around and chirp; “Hey there cutie, wouldn’t it be awesome to do a push up or two?  Look at me do the splits!  Remember when you used to be able to do that?”

Returning to work after an extensive time away feels daunting.  Life changed from suits and business meetings to diapers and family discussions.  Rather than existing in just one world, you now exist in both.

Simultaneously.

When I work with women returning to the workforce, I reframe the thought process.  Instead of focusing on how long you have been out of the workforce, think of the job search process as a career transition.  Daunting, maybe but impossible?  Heavens, no.

I give a presentation entitled, The Three Rules to Break to Breakthrough to Your Success.  When I begin speaking, I can tell that most of the women in the audience have no idea they even have rules, let alone how to break them.  

I love this topic because all the working moms that I support have two core rules in common: work hard and be a good mom.  When these two rules meet and marry it results in lots of baby rules that begin to control our thoughts, our time and eventually the direction of our careers.  

By now you have heard about Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s new book Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.  Love or hate the book, it is wonderful we have a national dialogue about working women!  Rather than focusing on leaning in for the duration of my 700 or so words here, I’d like to stress the importance of leaning on.

Returning to work - or even never leaving - requires balance, focus and choices.  The choices are the most difficult part - when to work, when to play, when to answer emails and when to leave work early to see a school play.