Moms who sit around

mrsfirefly · May 2011

When do you do your cleaning, showering, food prep/cooking, etc? I rarely have time to relax. DD naps for 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes total on any given day. But on longer nap days I'm constantly catching up on what I didn't get to on bad nap days.

kcisthebombdotcom · May 2011

My DH works 9-5 Tuesday-Saturday and has a short commute so I take 15-30 minutes in the morning to get stuff done while DH entertains the kids, since the kids are up at 6.

I also get a lot done on the mornings of DH's days off.

Liz342 · May 2011

I shower before DH leaves for work. I do my cleaning in the morning while the LOs eat breakfast and then when they are just playing. Sometimes it's hard and I have to tend to them 1000 times but I get it done in the morning so I can relax and do other stuff during naptime. I usually prep dinner when they are still napping if it's something complicated. Otherwise, I just cook dinner with whiny kids at my feet. It sucks but I have to get stuff done so I just do it.

eaglesfan700 · May 2011

DD sleeps from 1:30 - 4:30 and DS usually from 2-4. Even if he doesn't take a nap I can put him in the playroom for some alone time

I clean (general straightening, laundry, dishes, sweeping up etc) as I go about my day - I never let things pile up. H helps with the heavy duty cleaning on the weekends

When they are both asleep, I eat my lunch, watch tv, go online and relax. If something really needs to be done cleaning wise, I will do it during naps. I also use this time to pay bills, make phone calls etc. But really most days I am just doing stuff for me.

I shower usually during their nap too. I know this is an odd time for most people but we go to the gym in the late morning so showering 1st thing or before bed wouldn't work

I usually do food prep while the kids are eating dinner or when H gets home (he does their bed/bath routines. If it's a more complicated dish, I will start prepping during naps

The_Jen626 · May 2011

I have a housekeeper that comes every 2 weeks, so I don't have to worry about getting in deep cleaning. I vaccum every 3-4 days, and do the dishes nightly after DD is in bed.

I take at least 2 showers every day. DD will play in her playroom, and she'll come holler at me if she needs anything.

Mc_Newlywed · May 2011

When my daughter was 1 I didn't sit around much. She was constantly getting into everything and it was hard to even fold a basket of clothes while she was awake (not impossible but I had to be pretty creative and get her to "help")

Now that she's older she can entertain herself for short periods of time (very short... but that's a story for another day). And I can get some cleaning done. And we've got a good groove. She plays independently after breakfast and I usually do 1 "big" clean for that day (floors, bathrooms, etc). Then I do "little" cleans when I have a few spare minutes.

It definitely gets easier as they get older. And then you have time to sit!

cactus5 · May 2011

Lets see...I clean as I go for the day. My house keeper deep cleans, so I don't have to do that. I only do laundry on Sundays.

I usually work out in the mornings, so I shower either when the kids nap or before I go to bed at night.

I don't cook dinner everyday since it is just me and the kids during the week. When I do, I either use the crockpot and prepare it while the kids are eating breakfast, or my son helps me around 4ish when he gets up from his nap. He loves cooking, and eats much better when he helps. Other days, we do lunchy type dinners or pick up something.

taggiecb · May 2011

Time management, and steady schedules.

WhitePicketFence · May 2011

I just pace myself throughout the day. I start laundry, dishwasher, etc. while DD eats breakfast in the morning. Then, I let her play independantly for awhile so that I can make beds and do whatever cleaning I need to do. Luckily, DD takes long enough naps right now so that I can get caught up on whatever I don't get done in the morning and still have at least an hour or so to myself. I do ocassionally do some cleaning after she goes to bed for the night.

ali-1411 · May 2011

Whenever. I don't actively entertain or pay attention to DD every minute of the day. I never have, not even when she was a baby.

Mrs.Hizzo · May 2011

It's gotten much easier for me as they get older and better at entertaining themselves.

mrsfirefly · May 2011

Mc_Newlywed:
When my daughter was 1 I didn't sit around much. She was constantly getting into everything and it was hard to even fold a basket of clothes while she was awake (not impossible but I had to be pretty creative and get her to "help")
Now that she's older she can entertain herself for short periods of time (very short... but that's a story for another day). And I can get some cleaning done. And we've got a good groove. She plays independently after breakfast and I usually do 1 "big" clean for that day (floors, bathrooms, etc). Then I do "little" cleans when I have a few spare minutes.
It definitely gets easier as they get older. And then you have time to sit!

Thank you! This makes me feel better. I feel like I got a lot more done when she was 6 months old and not yet mobile even though she was an awful sleeper then. Now she is into everything when she is awake!

EveryNameIWantIsTaken · May 2011

It'll get easier when she gets a bit older. I can leave ds alone for short periods of time and know he won't end up killing himself. If I do this, I usually come back to a bigger mess in the playroom, but honestly that room is never all put together. Otherwise, I do it when dh is home.

MamatoJackson · May 2011

Do remember... and this is not to knock anyone, that everyone's perceptions are different.

To you - Showering might mean showering, putting on makeup, blowdrying and styling your hair.

To someone else - Just getting clean.

To you - Cooking dinner might mean a rounded meal, while to someone else it might mean popping a stouffer's lasagna in the oven.

To you - Cleaning could be an entirely different thing than to someone else.

Apparently my house is immaculate, according to some people - To me, it's just picked up. But as far as showering? I don't do a thing with my hair though I do throw on some quick makeup.

Try not to compare yourself to other people, if you are. You never know what the inside of their home looks like.

mabma80 · May 2011

DH wakes up at 6:30am, then I roll out of bed at 7am. Get the kids their breakfast, make me some coffee and sit at the kitchen table checking my email and eating brkfst. The kids are sitting nicely eating their brkfst watching Disney Junior, and DH takes off for work at 7:30am.

9am I give DS1 a shower, DS#2 a bath. 9:30-ish they are having a snack or finish their brkfst up. I go take a shower and dress for the day. Afterwards, Mondays I do ALL the laundry which is usually about 5-6 loads. While the laundry is going, I'm cleaning the downstairs then upstairs. I can have the house cleaned up in about an hour and a half. I get the kids involved to help out.

11am it's lunch then straight to naps which is usually a good two hours. That's when I fold all the laundry that I washed that morning. That takes about 30min. to do, then the rest of the time I sit and watch my shows, go on the computer, and think about dinner.

After naps, it's snacks and wait for DH to get home. Summer time DH grills so I don't have to cook. Just clean up. And that's only on Mondays! The rest of the week it's just keeping the house clean like vacuuming every two days or so.

To me it's all about routine. If you get the house good and clean one day, the rest of the week you really don't have much to do but maybe some loads of laundry, and a little more vacuuming. I take the kids places etc, the rest of the week to keep them entertained.

Next school year, this will change to probably Tuesday, cause DS#1 will have prek on MWF instead of the T/TH he had.

Jermysgirl · May 2011

DD is three now, so she'll play with her kitchen while I cook, or if it's just prep stuff, she stands on her tower and helps. I shower while she's eating...we have the high chair in the kitchen and I turn on the television. I'm in and out in about seven minutes.

I don't clean. We have cleaning people for that. Cleaning sucks.

ETA: When she was little, I would plop her in the corral for showering (or wait till naptime) and for cooking, I had the high chair in the kitchen or the corral.

ETA 2: I also work out almost every day, so lately I've been going dirty to the gym and I shower there while DD is in the childcare area.

pinksweetpea2 · May 2011

Mrs.Hizzo:
It's gotten much easier for me as they get older and better at entertaining themselves.

This for me. Now that she is nearly 3 and used to our routine, she doesn't mind when I have to do some chores. She ether "helps" me or does her own thing.

Before I could let Lily play in her room while I showered, I would bring her in the bathroom with me. She had a basket of toys in there that she could only play with when I showered.

Our laundry is upstairs, so I just baby proofed and let her have run of the upstairs while I worked on laundry, made beds, etc.

I also did some serious baby proofing of the downstairs so I could get stuff done while she was playing. At that age she would mostly play with tupperwere when I was in the kitchen, and just follow me around with her toys when I was doing other stuff. Many times she did spend that time whining, but I figured a little whining would not hurt. I think it is good for them to not always get their way all the time and occasionally have to do boring things. Lily has a great imagination and I feel partly it is because she had to entertain herself on a regular basis.

I also have a housekeeper come in once a week so I don't have to do serious cleaning.

I still do most of my dinner prepping while she is napping, but that usually only takes about 15 minutes...sometimes I do it in the morning if it is a crockpot day.

You need a break Mama. Make it happen.

Dochas · May 2011

MamatoJackson:
Do remember... and this is not to knock anyone, that everyone's perceptions are different.
To you - Showering might mean showering, putting on makeup, blowdrying and styling your hair.
To someone else - Just getting clean.
To you - Cooking dinner might mean a rounded meal, while to someone else it might mean popping a stouffer's lasagna in the oven.
To you - Cleaning could be an entirely different thing than to someone else.
Apparently my house is immaculate, according to some people - To me, it's just picked up. But as far as showering? I don't do a thing with my hair though I do throw on some quick makeup.
Try not to compare yourself to other people, if you are. You never know what the inside of their home looks like.

Great post! I find naps to be crucial. When he naps I can move the world. When he doesn't it is just awful.

snapplegirl · May 2011

I have a cleaning service who comes every other week, which takes care of the serious cleaning. I straighten up and wash the dishes/bottles throughout the day. I usually only do laundry on the weekends. I let the kids play together in the living room while I prep dinner in the kitchen most nights.

My older son goes to preschool 2 days a week (3 starting in the fall), so that gives me more time as well. With the combo of babysitter + preschool, I usually end up having a decent amount of time to myself.

I have to admit, it helps that my husband is a saint by Nest/Bump standards. He lets me hand him the kids as soon as he gets home so I can have a bath before putting the kids to bed.

GingerSB · May 2011

My kids are allowed TV until 9 am, so that give me an hour to have coffee and read the paper in the morning. They do play by themselves too. Mine are older so it's easier. They are 3 & 5.

Luvie13 · May 2011

ummmm...there are SAHms who sit around??????

i must be missing something.....

Boizmom · May 2011

I have 3 boys ages 16 months, 4yo and 6yo. My husband works M through F 8 to 5. I take care of an after school kid and I will have him all day, 5 days a week this summer. Despite all the cooking, cleaning, breaking up fights, reading, homework, park time, etc that I do I still manage to get about 30 minutes to an hour to sit and do absolutely nothing. And I love it. Take right now for instance. We are in the middle of packing our house to move, we move on Saturday. My house is in complete disarray - half of it is in boxes. Dinner is in the oven. The big kids are out back playing basketball and the little is playing quietly on the floor near my feet. I am taking a 30 minute break from the packing, the cleaning, and everything else I do. If I don't, I will loose my cool. The load of laundry that just finished drying can wait 30 minutes.

Dr.Loretta · May 2011

DD usually gets up at 9. I get up around 7 or 8 and take a shower, get on the Internet, start laundry/dishes, whatever strikes my fancy.

I cook while DD is wandering around the house. She plays independently for the most part. She "helps" me with laundry.

AshleyH101310 · May 2011

i shower before bed everynight. as for getting housework done my DD is right there helping me every chance i let her. when im washing dishes she rinses them ( she sits there and plays in the water with the dishes as i wash them) when i do laundry she loves to help me switch loads. usually she takes the wet clothes from me and puts them in the dryer. and then she hands me the dirty clothes to put them in the washer. shes also really good and helping me make our beds every morning. I just try to make everything fun for her as im getting everything i need to get done done. shes even got her own little vacum so when i vacum shes right there next to me.

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