Yeah, I hear you -- it's tough to get started. I'm not a parent myself, but I understand from friends that it's an extra dimension of challenge to carve out time for yourself. However, if you can find the time, and it ends up making you less reactive, that's good for the kids, too :)

Your question is great, actually! Ideally, there is no difference between meditation and mindfulness, meaning that living and acting mindfully in the world is essentially staying in a state of meditation during daily life. This is the goal! But practically, if we say mindfulness is "acting with awareness" and meditation is "perceiving with awareness", for me they are sort of like two muscles that need to be developed and balanced between each other. So I guess I need to sit in order to remind my system to stay more present during the day, and the more I'm doing life with awareness, the deeper and more insightful the sitting meditation is.

In terms of getting started, downloading an app is a good place and finding a guided meditation that walks through concentrating on the breath. The retreat that I've been referencing is Northern Vipassana and they have a list of branches here, unfortunately none in the USA. Another very good Vipassana tradition is from S.N. Goenka and they have many locations all over the world. There is a mini introduction and guided practice here. The practices are slightly different, but both retreats are very approachable while delivering an authentic technique that sets solid foundations. All Vipassana retreats and courses are given for free, too.

Again, though, don't feel like you need to start with a 10-day retreat. Try the guided meditation or one you vibe with online, watch your breath and catch your mind running around for a few minutes every day :)

Hope this helps somewhat! Good luck to you!