Hey BeB readers, I'm Lisa from Yo Momma Runs , where I mostly blog about awkward life moments, being a mom of four kidlets, and running. I'm excited to be filling in today because that means that Hanna has had her baby and is spending some quality time with that new tiny person. Hopefully some of that quality time includes sleeping, the most precious resource when you have a newborn.

That first month after there birth was an excellent training ground for how I needed to approach the rest of our lives together. With managing two households, one at home and one at the hospital, I got a crash course on making things work with an impossibly busy schedule. 

So today I want to share a little nugget of what I learned with you.

Tips for making a crazy hectic life work

 2. Use your network. It would have been absolutely impossible for me to accomplish managing the twins in the NICU and the kids at home if it wasn't for dear friends and family. I still cry (like right now my eyes are watering) thinking about the amazing women who stepped in to help when I most needed it. 

Two major players in that were my sister and my sister-in-law, who traveled far from home to be the mom to my two oldest so that I could be at the hospital nursing all day. Whatever your network is (family, friends, co-workers), accept their help, and be willing to be that network for others when you see them in need. 

My bro and sis-in-law, me, my sister with our kiddos.  

3.Focus on what's important. You can't do it all, and that's OK. With working, cooking, cleaning, helping with homework and driving all over town to run errands, the to-do lists for moms can be overwhelming. Prioritize what has to happen, and let it go if you can't get to the things at the bottom of the list. 

My mother-in-law amazes me with her to-do lists. She makes a list and just slowly works here way down, steady steady. Her patience always inspires me. She is a farmer, so there are certain jobs that have to be completed first each day, but beyond that, she just ticks patiently away at her list. 

This is what clean is going to look like sometimes.

4. Make time for yourself. I've seen my husband struggle the past couple of years with a new job that sucks basically all of his time. Losing his identity in his work is, well, not working for him. We've been making a joint effort to try and carve out some time for him to find himself again. 

I know that if I don't have a break from my mom job, I go slightly batty. That's why I make my marathon training a priority. A lot of runners act like the treadmill is a punishment, but for me it's a privilege that I'm happy to have. It means that I can go to a gym with childcare and complete my training that otherwise wouldn't happen (because I'm not into pushing a quadruple stroller on a run). Would I rather run outside? Yes! But I take what I can get. Endorphins are endorphins, whether you get them by running inside or outside. 

Carving out some race time. 

5. Sleep! I am constantly reminding myself to do this. When it's late, and I can finally get things done quickly without pausing every couple of minutes to wipe toddler bums (not so good at wiping on their own yet), I don't want to stop for sleep, but I always regret it the next day. Sleep affects how we feel and react in our most stressful situations. So do yourself a favor and make sleep one of those top items on the priority list. I'll be trying to convince myself to do the same.