Family, friends help Obamas juggle kids, campaign

[Drunken Irishman]

Family, friends help Obamas juggle kids, campaign

When class lets out for Michelle and Barack Obama's two daughters, their grandmother is there to pick them up.

When 10-year-old Malia needs her hair done in the two-strand twist style she likes, a family friend brings a beautician to the Obama house.

And when Michelle Obama and her husband both recently campaigned out of town, their girls stayed with another friend who regularly shuttles 7-year-old Sasha to ballet class.

Like countless other working parents, the Obamas rely on a close group of friends and family - especially Michelle's 71-year-old mother - to help juggle home life and work.

The Obamas' jobs may be more high-profile than most, but those close to them say many of the everyday challenges are the same as when she worked as an administrator at a Chicago hospital and he was just another U.S. senator: shuffling the girls to play dates, piano lessons, drama, ballet and soccer games.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008261626_apobamaskids.html?syndication=rss