How I did it: It definitely wasn't easy, but it was easier than going to a regular school. My main priority is to have my babies, but I don't want to sacrifice my education on top of it. I wanted to be able to do both without taking away from my children's lives or impede on my main priority--baby making!

At first, it was easy enough. My son continued to nap at least once a day for about 3-5 hours. That worked out very well. About a month ago, however, he grew out of his naps, leaving me with no day time to do my work. OMG! What was I to do!? I had to work out a plan with my husband. Every other day, when he came home from work, he had to take over the toddler-raising while I spent a couple of hours doing school work. There came some time, however, when this just wasn't enough time. On the rare occassion that I was swamped, I was blessed to have my mother-in-law as a resource to watch him while I caught up. So, I get to finish my work and he gets quality grandma time. It turns out to be a pretty good situation.

Another obstacle has been pregnancy, but even then, I've been managing. I got pregnant about seven months ago and soon enough it took over my life. Headaches, nausea, mood swings, and the pregnancy stupids have all been daily battles in which I need to either fight against or sometimes succumb to.

The hardest part of all has been teaching myself that it's okay to not get perfect grades anymore. With limited time and limited brains, I just can't dish out those 100%'s like I used to. I cannot be a perfectionist when it comes to my education. My main goal with school is to pass... with dignity... but ultimately, PASS. I'm a year away from my degree, and in the end, my employer isn't going to be looking at my transcripts and asking why I got a B or C in something. So far, no C's, but I can't guarantee that I will be able to maintain that streak. Actually, I don't even think I've gotten a B.... A- might be my lowest. BUT! with a newborn just a few months away, a toddler, and a husband with an unpredictable work schedule, I might have to further sacrifice some school time. And I need to be okay with that.

I will allow my perfectionism to remain in my zest for parenting. I am dedicating this time for my children. As I finish having babies and they all start to venture into school, then I'll start reclaiming my own path once again. I'm just really grateful that I can work on my degree while it not hinder my parenting career.

online school is about as flexible as one is going to find, and I need flexibility considering my life seems to drastically change every 6 months or so. I might have to ask my husband to hold off on moving up in his career until I get my BA, but I think he'll be okay with waiting another year.

Again, it's not easy. I still have experienced plenty of long nights writing papers and doing assignments. I've submitted plenty of work just in the nick of time, and I've even turned in some things late. I took a month off when we bought our house. that was just madness. And I will probably take another month off when my daughter is born. i'm sure that will be madness as well. but it's worth it. tons of people pick school or children first. I got to pick both. That friggin rocks.

Lessons & tips:

• be flexible
• don't ever procrastinate- just work when you can
• if you choose online school because you've got kids and a job, don't stress too much about getting A+'s on everything. Sometimes you have to accept a lower grade. sometimes you just have to turn something in late. If you can tell you are going to turn something in late, notify your instructor. while, they still might take points off, they might be a little lenient if you've got a legitimate excuse. Some might even let one slide. You never know. It pays to take the extra couple of minutes to communicate.
• if there is ever a problem, online school generally has a network of people set aside just for you. they provide oversight on just about everything. most people who have trouble with online school are people who refuse to call their advisors, or wait till the last minute. call ASAP. i absolutely adore my advisors. I've even befriended a couple. I am grateful for all of the support, guidance, and ease they have given me.

Resources: I am enrolled with Ashford University. They have a great selection of online BA's and MA's and I reccommend them to anyone who wishes to pursue education, but can't find the time or money to invest in on-campus universities. Online school is also a fraction of the cost of regular school. It's really amazing!

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Jan 17, 2011, 11:02PM PST | 1 comment | 16 cheers