azcentral.com:
Patrice Derbas has an “emergency distraction kit,” a Tupperware box filled with new toys, hidden at home to divert her 4-year-old twin girls Hailey and Adison while she can sit at the computer.
Shelley Valdez waits until her 2-year-old daughter Alessandra naps to catch up on her email.
Tisha Marie Pelletier, whose baby son, Caleb, is only 5 months old, text-messaged from the delivery room.
The three mothers aren’t hooked on communication; they are businesswomen – or “mompreneurs, as they call themselves” – who operate businesses from their homes in Gilbert.
Tiptoeing around their little ones’ schedules, they are experiencing the true meaning of juggling motherhood, family life and a career with limited help from busy husbands.
“I’m thankful I have clients who know I have a baby,” said Pelletier, who runs Simply Put, a marketing business, and an event-planning business, is writing a romantic comedy novel, is freelancing to newspapers and holding office in organizations.
“You are trying to find that perfect balance of motherhood and doing work for a client,” Pelletier added. “I think they know that family comes first and you’re still trying to juggle a business. They never come down hard on me and say ‘we’re not going to work with you because you have a kid now.'”
Valdez, who runs a photography business from home, admits, “It’s tough finding that balance and making it work, but I do feel very blessed that I have my office at home and I have flexibility.
“I don’t have to ask for time off to take her to the doctor,” Valdez added.
Logo from Simply Put