No probs Janeite. I am just waiting for the woodburner to start its magic so I can snuggle down with some marking.
I only have one child and have battled with work life balance for years. A huge step for me was moving school. I am a perfectionist and tried being different but it meant I was no longer doing my job in a way that made me feel successful. I went to a less challenging school so I was less emotionally tired and I spend much less time on discipline. If I am tired and want to have a book lesson or take a back seat I now can do. I have to work less hard in many ways to be successful. My marking load has increased though but being less tired I can whizz through books.
I work long hours in the week but rarely do much at the weekend and my holidays are almost work free. In each holiday dd goes to stay with her father and I will work then so I can give her all my time.
A second huge step for us was realising that both dp and I cannot have full on careers. This is complicated by the fact that I have a long term illness which means I need more support at home. Dp now only works school day hours from home, so he can run the house almost single handed and dd effectively has a parent at home for her all the time.
I use the internet for lessons and resources. My department also has detailed lesson plans for key stage 3 and 4. This means I only ever have to tweak a lesson and not plan it. It also means I rarely have to work at home as my lessons are planned and if the kids have to wait another week for their books to be marked so be it. SO last week I was feeling under the weather so I came home soon after the bell every night and rested at home doing very little work. This week I am feeling better so can pick up the slack.
My dp is just fantastic though, every Friday he will come into work for at least an hour, do all my filing, do displays, tidy my room etc. I could not do my job without him.