Does anyone else just feel overwhelmed sometimes? I have been struggling to find my "place" I am 24 years old, a mother to 3 children (my 9 year odl step daughter,who isnot allowed to see her birth mom dueto drug abuse), my 5 year old daughter and my 3 year old son. I have been a stay at home mom since I had my first child. and been married for 5.5 years. My husband does not make much money and we struggle to make it. I love staying home with my kids but lately I just need to have somethign of my own to make me feel accomplished. I used to own my own haribow and embroidery business, which I still have a running website for but do not actively persue anymore. I now work at night at home on mycomputer often my shift ends at 1am, then I have to get up in the morning with the kids, take the oldest to school, shuttle the youngest around and take care of them during the day. I own a local moms group so I have website upkeep and event planning for that to do as well. and now I am doing my cakes, the cakes are my passion.
At this point I am feeling very overwhelmed, my marriage has almost fallen to pieces because of mental abuse by my husband ... which is solved now but my feelings for him have gone completely and are not coming back so I struggle with how to make him happy, make my kidshappy and take care of house, nighttime work and tryign to becomoe self sufficient with my own business. And to add to the mix I have severe hormone defeciencies which I am taking estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, which makes it very hard to deal with my emotions and the situations in life and have also caused intestinal problems making me in pain about ever day.
Ok sorry for the book, thank you for listening if you have made it this far, I have plenty of friends I can talk to about this but I feel like a big whiner talking to them all the time about the same problems, nobody likes to be around someone who is unhappy all the time ... it is just a struggle to balance everything and adding hormone problems to the mix makes it worse andi don't think anyone really understands that.
How do you all mothers handle the kids, the house the cakes and for me a night time job, I find it so incredibly stressful .... what kind of a release do you have from just life in general?
Wow. You do have a lot of stress. I'm not a mom so I can't empathize with you there but sometimes I'll just lay down and take deep breaths for a while. It makes me feel better. Feel free to whine and vent here. I also feel like my family gets tired of my whining sometimes so it's nice to do it here. 
Sounds like you are having a rough time. Although you have friends to talk to, you might benefit from some 'professional' help. If you don't have health insurance, your local community college may have a life skills coach that could help.
In addition to the hormones, have you considered an anit-depressant? talk to your doctor. The feelings of being 'overwhelmed' can sometimes be relieved.
good luck
I undestand your feeling of being overwhelmed. It sounds like you might be taking on too much. You are very young and you have three kids albeit two biologically but it is stressful for me with just two kids and I'm 35!!!!!
I admire you for still pursuing a career. I have been a SAHM for 5 years now, since I had my first son and it's tough. I take two different medications for my GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) the drugs are supposed to "bring me down" but I tell you, for the last year, it feels like they don't work any more. I can relate to you in that respect to medication but as far as hormonal imbalance I can not put myself in your shoes but I do know that talking about it with others whether in person or online helps. I have found two very very supportive friends here on CC that are pretty much just like me. There is someone on here that can help you more or just be there to listen or read 
!!!
You and (I) just have to take it one day at a time. I set small goals for myself. Somethings I just have to let go of because it's a losing battle. If I haven't been able to "overcome" whatever it may be in the last year or years, then it's time to let go.
Never give up on your dreams though. Maybe reorganizing your priorities might help. Maybe postponing or putting somethings on the back burner for a while to relieve some of the stress. When it comes down to it, if you don't take care of yourself first then you can not take care of your kids. That seems kind of "yeah right" but I through personal experience have found that to be so true. I have to take care of myself in order to be there for my kids. Sometimes removing yourself from a situation, what ever that may be, can be the best therapy.
I will not presume to know what you are going through with your husband. That I do wish you the strength and courage to explore the answers to that situation. Just remember, YOU are what matters first in order to do well for your kids.
Amy
Amanda, my kids are both married and I'm a grandma now.
However, I can relate to the emotional roller coaster that comes with hormonal changes....
As for the kids, when I was a divorced Mom with two little ones what got me through was realizing that they would only be little once.
JMHO, but I feel you have too much on your plate. Even in my younger days, I couldn't have kept up with your schedule.
Hugs,
Jan
thanks for everyones input, I definately think I have too much on my plate, I have considered giving over my moms group to someone else and just being a member instead of the owner. I also have dropped my sewing business for the most part, I only place orders for friends at this point. I am kind of grasping at strings here because the job I work (which I am working right now lol) is a night time job, it is the only way to keep from having to put my kids into daycare, and I am up until the wee hours of the morning working which is preventing me from getting better physically as well .... so I am really wanting to get the cakes off the ground ... it just seems like a catch 22 ... doing the cakes adds extra stress along with managing the house all the bills the kids and my night time job, but in order to quit the night time job I have to have some sort of additional income coming in.
Getting enough sleep is really important - physically & mentally,especially when you're a mum ! Not always easy to get (especially with your schedule )
I am a single mum of 5, I stopped working just before my youngest ( 19 mo ) was born,I have very little support from family or friends, my ex was emotionally & physically abusive to me...so you can imagine i'm pretty much a wreck !! 
I am taking medication for depression - I don't cry at the drop of a hat now ( yay !! ) & feeling,slowly more like my old self....
It's hard enough being a mum w/out all the extra stuff & I really feel for you.....hang in there
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