Pittsburgh Nesties
annetd
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Working moms - advice needed
Hi ladies - I am mostly a long-term lurker, maybe a few of you recognize me! Anyway, after 7 years of being home with my kiddos (7, 4, 1), I am going back to work full time. I have a daycare selected, but other than that - no idea! What are your tips and suggestions for morning and evening routines, keeping my sanity, cooking, or anything else? I am feeling a little overwhelmed - not feeling like I can't do it, more that I can't even think of what I need to think about. Thanks in advance for any tips!!
Re: Working moms - advice needed
I also planned meals on the weekend, and put the plan in a place where DH could see it too. Who ever got home first started dinner.
I am still looking for ways to maintain my sanity...LOL!
Ditto Gwen - Having everything done the night before is HUGE. Lunches, clothes picked out, purse/keys ready to go, etc. Also keeping meals easy, making enough for left overs, etc.
Also, I don't know how you handle cooking/shopping/cleaning/etc. in your house, but you will probably have to shift your duties and delgate some to your husband.
DH leaves a little later in the mornings, so he handles most of the routine. My boys are slow to wake up, so we'll let them watch a show while eating breakfast, then get them dressed. (They are also pretty messy, so if I dressed them before breakfast, we'd have to change them again!)
In the evenings, once I get home from work, the first thing I do is put away lunch boxes and school papers, and start getting things ready for dinner. We'll play a little bit, then eat dinner. After dinner is more play, then one of us will clean up dinner/pack lunches, while the other does bath time/bedtime. In all honestly, it doesn't always work out that way, but that is the routine we try to stick to in the evenings.
Good luck! It will definitely be a transition, but you will settle into your new routine!
Every family has a different routine that works for them. My daughter is like me and wakes up slowly. My husband wakes the kids when I get in the shower and they watch the first half of a morning TV show. It gets paused when I get out, and that is when the kids get dressed (they are 7 and 5). If they take too long to get ready they don’t get to see the rest of the show. Ideally, DH and I are ready to go downstairs as the show ends. The kids eat breakfast while I pack lunches (I eat breakfast at work), and if all goes well we leave the house 1 hour 15 minutes after DH wakes them up.
DH does most of the kid driving. First, because he works closer to school/daycare/camp. And second, because I do all of the cooking and 90% of the dishes.
After work/school/camp, the kids play while I make dinner. Sometimes they help me, but usually they play in the backyard or with toys. We eat around 6:30/7. Head upstairs at 8 and finish books by 8:30. The faster they get ready for bed, the more book time they have.
Then I do chores. Sometimes I do a lot if I know we have a busy weekend coming up, and sometimes I do the bare bones if I really need downtime. I find that keeping the kitchen clean and staying caught up on dishes is the most important way to keep the morning easy. I’ve also found that meal planning for the week helps my mental state. I don’t stick to it strictly, but it is a good guideline so that I’m not scrambling to put something on the table each night.
Oh sister - I've got a 7, 4, and 1-yr old as well! God Bless us!
Anyway, I am in a very fortunate situation where I work remotely, so it makes things a TON easier. I mean, I can prep dinner at any point during the day!
However, I do still pack lunches the night before (even the granola bar gets refrigerated or else I will forget!) and I lay the clothes out the night before. The older two generally get up and get breakfast. Once breakfast is complete, they need to make their beds and get dressed. If they are done with enough time, they get a cartoon. I might switch things up a bit this year, due to a move and a new house layout. I think the rule will be to make beds and bring their clothes down before they come down.
If you can prep meals in the evening, that helps out a lot. If you have leftovers, that's even better! I'll tend to take a package of ground beef and make meatballs for one night, tacos or spaghetti bolognese the next. (Or even meatball subs the next.)
As the others said, go easy on yourself and lower your standards! Let the laundry stay in the dryer on more night if you're tired. You do what you have to do. And yes, get DH involved! I don't have the luxury, with my DH's schedule. He is never home in the morning, and evenings are hit or miss (if he can't help it's bc he is either at work or sleeping).
Good luck!
My three sons!
I have always started work before DH, so when I was taking DD to daycare it was his job to get her ready while I got myself ready. Then after we left he had time to tend to himself. It made mornings less crazy for me. I also got home before him, and so he would do bath most nights so I could have a little break in the evenings after dinner. Now DD is 6, and DH is working out of the house our routine is different once again (and with twins on the way, well I have no idea what is in store for us).
Good luck in your transition!!
good luck!
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
Just ditto what everyone else said. Be gracious with yourself!
Both DH and I have rather unpredictable, but similarly flexible jobs, so we don't really have a routine. Sometimes I have to go back out at night, or am gone on weekends, and sometimes DH does the same. And I am "just" part time (well, they pay me part time...I probably work 2/3 or 3/4 time most weeks....sometimes its more like I'm working double time!)
So, we just do what needs to be done. That means sometimes (like last night) the laundry gets done, the dishes are done, and it does not look like a hurricane went through our house. (Hooray!) Sometimes it's a category 5 and I have to re-wash the clothes because they never got moved to the dryer.
Maybe it would be a good time to up your 7 year old's (and 4 year old's!) responsibility, too. You know what your kids are capable of, so use it to help out! Loading the dishwasher, making beds, getting clothes out for the next day. Even packing lunches! We all live together in a house...we should all share the burden!
Good luck!!!! :-D
One more thing - this is not so much routine related, and maybe you have already thought about this, but you might want to have a back-up child care plan in case your kids are sick and can't go to school/daycare or there is a school closing in winter. I don't know how flexible your employer is, or if you'll be doing work that allows you to leave at a moment's notice, but it definitely helps to have a plan in place when last minute things like that come up.