However, I knew babysitting was not long term solution, and I ache for independence I read about with internet based business. So I plug away early morning, nap times and evenings after children are in bed. This is how we move towards a simpler life. Eventually, my kids and my husband will have me pretty much to themselves. I know that working will always interfere with living, but this is a solution that I can accept.

My main learning, or coping strategy, is to do things in blocks. Writing an article is one block. Reading and responding to emails is another. Feeding children, taking them for a walk, or planning an afternoon out (which is what I do with mine every day off), all combine to make this work-from-home mother’s work day move forward.

Should my children be classified as part of my work? No, absolutely I do not view it that way. This is fabulousness of working from home. Stressful as it may be at times, I am choosing a life that allows me to step out of my office (so to speak) and cuddle on couch with four little darlings (well, some of time!). I can shake off frustration of figuring out HTML code by having coffee with my neighbor. This is a life worth choosing.

So to all you work-from-home mothers (and fathers too), perhaps balance isn’t always possible, but keeping priorities is. You can decide that children must quietly watch a video while you make a phone call or finish your project, and know that you are not putting them in second place. Why? Because you are there. And as long as you know when to put office ‘away’ and be there for your children, you are giving them a life that, while busy and not always easy, it is a life that you are a bigger part of.

To all of you who take on important task of raising your children, while making a living, my congratulations and encouragement!

These were commonly accepted 'beauty' practices, of women over four hundred years ago, and yet, how 'in moment', it all seems! We may not use mercury for chemical peels, but glycolic acid, salicylic acid, or lactic acid; trichloroacetic acid (TCA), or carbolic acid (phenol) - are used. We don't spread raw egg white on our complexions as a temporary skin firmer, but modern women may be surprised to learn, they could very well have used 'skin firmers' containing formaldehyde. We may gasp in horror over sixteenth century women applying poison to their faces; yet, Botox injections seem perfectly mundane, and safe, to us. What were long-term results of use of their miracle beauty and facial products, for classy Elizabethan lady? Complexions more rapidly aged, gray, shriveled, and mummified.

When I read of young women still in their twenties, opting for ‘beauty treatments’ that require they have their complexions chemically treated, or otherwise ravaged, I am appalled. I can only wonder at long-term effects of such drastic measures. Mature women, obsessed with seeking some elusive anti-aging/age-reversal miracle, become nothing more than willing test-subjects for any new facial product/procedure that hits market. Often, they have no idea as to ingredients in products they are smearing on their faces. Nor, do they take into consideration future effects of certain procedures. Perhaps, we modern women should consider lessons of past, and proceed with caution, and common sense, when choosing our ‘beauty’ regimens.

Author-Jeannine Schenewerk http://www.intouchwithjeannine.com