Leave It to a Working Mom of 7 (!) to Have the Best Parenting Hacks

You know how you were totally on top of that baby book with your first child and then maybe printed a few photos of your second? If you had a third, you were lucky if you even remembered to take his picture. So imagine how hard it would be to keep track of all the memories with seven — yes, seven! — kids! Which is exactly why Vanessa Quigley founded Chatbooks, the supereasy photo albums you can have printed straight from your Instagram account.

Her youngest was 6 when she realized she'd never printed one photo of him, and within a week she and her husband, Nate, had created the first version of the Chatbooks app. Since she's already made the time-consuming task of cataloging family memories insanely easy for busy moms, she's now expanding her expertise into hacks you can apply to every aspect of parenting, from bedtime to grocery shopping, in her new book, Real Moms, Real Hacks ($10). What mama doesn't need a few hacks to get through the day?!

Real Moms, Real Hacks

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$10

$10 at Amazon

We picked up a few solid pointers from the petite pages, but what we really wanted to know was how Vanessa herself makes it work. Seven kids, a startup, and a new book?! We can barely empty the dishwasher before the sink overflows again . . .

Read on for Vanessa's seasoned advice on that elusive "balance" and her brilliant philosophy for getting things done.

POPSUGAR: Every mom knows there are not enough hours in the day — how did you find time to launch Chatbooks and now to write this book?

Vanessa Quigley: In general I like to say "Yes," but when it comes to how I choose to spend my time, I've had to learn to say "No." In this season of my life as a startup founder, saying "No" has let to making sure I'm doing the most important things for the company and also for my family. I've learned to ask for or hire the help I need . . . and we've been eating a lot more take out!

PS: What's your work/life "balance" philosophy?

VQ: Ha! I've given up trying to find work/life balance. "Balance" suggests there is a magical point where everything works in perfect equilibrium. It's a myth! Instead of chasing that imaginary point I embrace the idea of my "life's work." And I'm always working — whether it's at work, at home, at the kids' schools, at church, at the gym, or in my community. My life's work is to work hard on the things that I love while helping the people I love.

PS: What's the motherhood hack you use most?

VQ: My life feels like a continuous string of hacks, but one thing that I constantly remind myself of is "done is better than perfect." That's my mantra for making photo books and other parts of my mom life, like meals and birthday parties. Things don't have to be Pinterest perfect for your kids to feel loved and cared for. A little effort really can go a long way!

PS: Is there an aspect of motherhood that you think can't or shouldn't be hacked?

VQ: You can't hack true connection with your kids. But you can hack time for it into a busy schedule. I rely on alerts and alarms I set on my phone to help make sure I don't forget things like picking up carpool or bringing treats to the soccer game. But I've also set alerts that serve as a gentle reminder to stop in the craziness of the afternoon and "hug a kid" for some quick one-on-one time. It's amazing how those little moments can diffuse the stress of the day.

PS: How do you make time for yourself and your relationship with seven children?

VQ: When mama is happy, everyone's happy, so this mama has gotten creative in carving out precious me time. I've forced myself to become a morning person by hitting the gym at 6 a.m. before anyone needs me and I schedule my monthly facials for after dinner and homework and all the kids' stuff. As for my relationship, my husband is also my business partner, so we actually get to spend lots of time together, especially when we travel for work. I've become very good at mixing business with pleasure!

PS: How does your whole family manage to spend time together with seven children and (I'm assuming) so many activities and different ages?

VQ: The Quigley family calendar is quite full, but we have set aside every Sunday as well as Monday nights as carefully guarded family time. We try very hard not to schedule extracurricular activities during those times and instead spend time with each other. During the busy week, we gather when we can around the dinner table and/or later in my room before bed. And now that everyone has a phone, our family group text also helps us feel connected.

PS: What's your most memorable "mom fail" moment (or the one you'd like to forget!)?

VQ: Just one?! Well, we love to travel, and as you can imagine, it can be very stressful to travel as a family of nine, but we've gotten a pretty good system down. Before a trip I make lots of lists: packing lists for the kids so they can pack themselves, to-do lists for making arrangements for the pets and home while we're away, and a "don't forget" list of everything else. However, I learned a hard lesson one day about not forgetting a very important detail . . . WHAT DAY YOUR FLIGHT LEAVES! On our way to the airport from FL to NY, and in good time I might add, I casually glanced down at my itinerary that I had so carefully printed out and realized that OUR FLIGHT WAS THE DAY BEFORE! Figuring out how to get us another flight and to Grandma's house in time for our reunion was a nightmare and costly, but we survived and I vowed NEVER to make that mistake again.