Wednesday 25 April 2012

How and when do you find the time to...MEME


Image source: Dolly Daydream



I've been tagged in a meme!  I should have written this post a while ago, but (quite ironically really, given the subject of the meme) I've been too darn busy to give it the proper attention it deserves.

I've been tagged by my lovely blogging buddy Karis from Those 24 Little Hours  and the meme originated from Dolly Daydream who's fab blog is Sex Drugs Rocker... and Stroller (is that not one of the best blog names EVER?! Love it!).  First and foremost I'll get the rules out of the way:

Please post the rules.
When answering the questions, please give as much detail as possible!
Leave a comment on Sex, Drugs, Rocker and...Stroller, baby. so we can keep track of the meme and I can totally steal your routine tips to make my world a happier place. 

Also if you want (and I'd really like you to!) add a little paragraph at the bottom to give a general summing up about your weekly routine!
Tag 3 or more people and link to them on your blog.

Tweet tweet tweet #howdoyoufindthetimetomeme

Here we go!

How and when do you find the time to...

..do your laundry?

I've blogged before about my housework, how and when I do things.  With laundry, I try to keep control of it by only doing it on set days.  Of course there is the odd occasion when this doesn't happen (sick bugs causing more laundry, holidays messing things up etc..) but generally speaking I do my washing on Tuesdays and Fridays.  On Tuesday morning I put a load of washing on in the morning and it's ready to be unloaded when we get back from playgroup.  I generally hang it up in the airing cupboard.  It's much easier than putting it on the line and then having to grab it if it rains. If I can guarantee it's going to be sunny all day I'll hang it outside, but it's more convenient for it to be hung up inside.  My hubby put a rail in the airing cupboard so we can hang shirts etc. on hangers in there to dry.  The rest of it goes on a clothes horse thingy which I shove in there!!  On Friday evenings I do my next loads of washing.  There is uasually more to wash on Friday's because hubby's cycling clothes go in the wash!  Bed linen and towels I tend to do on Tuesdays.


...write a blog post?


Generally speaking my blogging "times" are Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings with the odd extra bits thrown in here and there.  I tend to blog on Sunday evenings because we have more time then - most Sundays we eat with Pete's (hubby) family so we don't have any cooking and cleaning up to do.  This gives me time to bang out 2-3 blog posts which I normally schedule for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Wednesday evening Pete has his friend over so whilst they're chatting and playing xbox I make a few more blog posts, usually for Thursday and Friday.  Friday evening (or sometimes Thursday daytime if my folks are looking after Ethan for a bit) I tend to put together my satcap and silent sunday posts.  I'm often thinking about my blog though and keep a notepad to hand so I can jot down ideas when they occur to me.


..look after yourself..i.e. wash your hair, paint your nails, take a bubble bath etc.


I probably dedicate a lot less time to this than anything else! I do like to have my nails painted, but tend to go through phases of being really good and keeping them looking nice and fresh and then getting fed up and not bothering with them for a few weeks.  At the moment I don't have any nail varnish on..  I picked off the last of it in the bath last night! Gross eh?!  


You may have guessed by now that I am somewhat anal and like routine, so it will come as no surprise to you, I'm sure, that I only wash my hair on certain days of the week.  Wednesday mornings and Saturday mornings.  Why?  Because those are the days I have a shower!! Other days I just take a bath with Ethan in the evening.  I have a shower on Wednesday mornings because Pete takes the car to work that day and as a result leaves for work later than usual.  That gives me more time, hence time for a shower and to wash and dry my hair.  Luckily my hair is very short so it only takes a couple of mins with the hair dryer.  Easy.  I'm lucky, I can go 3-4 days between washes.


As for a bubble bath.. well, I mentioned I take a bath with Ethan, but that's not what I class as a relaxing bubble bath.  Those are few and far between.  Every few months maybe?


I consider exercise as "looking after" myself.  Most Monday evenings I go to an aqua aerobics class with my friend and on Wednesdays I go to an exercise class for an hour whilst Ethan goes into the crèche.  Those hours are very precious and balancing!


...spend time with your other half?


This is something that tends to go by the wayside a bit at times.  I know that is very much the norm for parents though.  One of the reasons I try to restrict my blogging times to only 2-3 evenings a week is so that I can hang out with Pete a bit as well.  Even if it is only on the sofa whilst watching Dexter.  


We don't organise as much couple time as we should.. perhaps once every 1-2 months we have an evening out, or an afternoon off from parental duties.  The thing is we value our family time, so fitting everything in is very very hard.  Pete is tired from working all day and cycling 12 miles and I'm tired from running around after Ethan all day.  Most often we just flop down on the sofa next to each other!


...do fun stuff with your LO?


I think we do a fair bit of fun stuff with Ethan.  Most weekends we have a day out.  We're National Trust members, will be joining the local Zoo again soon and have membership for Puxton Park (a farm/activity place near us).  We go to the park quite a bit as well.  Simple inexpensive things are just as good though.  Ethan loves going out on his balance bike, or blowing bubbles.  Most of all he loves exploring in the woods and going for picnics.  I think he has fun every single day.  I don't do as many crafts with his as other parents might do with their children perhaps, but he's a very sociable little man with an excellent sense of humour.  


...spend time with family?


We're lucky, our immediate family are close by.  Both sets of grandparents are a 10 minute drive away in the next town along from here.  Ethan spends most Thursdays with my parents.  Usually they pick him up in the morning so I can get on with a few chores at home (or pop out for a coffee) and then I go and join him at their house in the afternoon.  We quite often go over to their house on Fridays as well.  At weekends we try to see my brother and his girlfriend who live half an hour away and on Sundays we always visit Pete's family and have a meal with them.  So.. we see a lot of family!


...socialise with friends?


Along with most parents, the answer is not often enough! We do make quite an effort though.  Just recently I started going to aqua aerobics on Mondays with my friend which is lovely.  I really enjoy having the chance to hang out with someone who isn't a Mummy friend (much as I appreciate my lovely Mummy friends, it's good to talk to someone who's known me since we were both 7- 23 years ago eeeek!!).  On Wednesday evenings Pete has his best friend Chris round.. of course, that's more socialisation for Pete, but it adds an extra dynamic to the house to have someone visiting!  On Thursdays we have "Movie Night".  Back in the day, before many of our friends moved away, Movie Night was a big deal with sometimes up to 8 people coming over to watch a film.  These days it's our friend Kriss and his fiancée Carly.  It's still a fun event though and something different to our usual quiet evenings in.  On Saturday evenings we sometimes stay at my brother's flat, or he and his girlfriend come over here.  


Girly nights out are few and far between though... but I'm turning 30 in a couple of weeks so have a big night of drinking and karaoke planned! 


...prepare an evening meal juggling a baby/toddler bedtime routine?


We tend to do most cooking once Ethan is in the bath/in bed.  It's just the way things have evolved.  We take it in turns to bath and do the bedtime routine, so if you're not on "Ethan duty" you're on "cooking duty". Sometimes if it's my night to cook I might put a slow cooker meal on earlier in the day, but in all honestly, we're very busy and often out of  the house so I find it easier to cook when he's in bed.  We do end up eating late though.  Often not til 8pm.. quite often 8:30pm.  Two weeks ago I served up a meal at 10pm... bad!!!!  We always save a portion of what we've cooked for Ethan to have the next day and quite often batch cook so there's some for the freezer as well.


...deep clean your house?


I'm quite good at keeping on top of the housework.  If I have something big to work on, like a big spring clean, or like the other week when I wanted to clean out the fridge and freezer, I tend to do it on a Thursday when Ethan is with my folks. Other than that I keep things ticking over.  The bathroom is cleaned on Wednesdays.  I usually vac on a Wednesday or Thursday.. sometimes Friday.  I'm less regimented with that.  I dust every two weeks.  Sometimes I nip round with a baby wipe in the dustiest areas.  I have a hand held vac so usually pop round the house with that once a day (hot spots being the kitchen, hall and living room).


...do the food shopping?


I do the food shop on Monday mornings, at the moment, before we go to Tearless & Fearless class at the local leisure centre.  Usually about 9:30am.  Tesco is nice and quiet then!  I take a freezer bag out with me so if there isn't time to nip back home and unpack the bags before Tearless & Fearless, anything cold will keep for a little while.  I always run out of bread and milk during the week so often have to pop in again, but it's only for those things!


...bulk ironing?


On Sundays.  Usually the evenings.  It's only ever Pete's shirts and work trousers.  I try to do it once a week but luckily Pete has enough shirts to last two weeks if need be.


Our routine is vaguely like this... 7am wake up, Ethan has his milk in bed with me, get dressed/washed etc. Have breakfast.  Pete leaves for work around 8:30am.  I wash up the breakfast things, tidy bedrooms and nip round with the handheld vac.  We usually leave the house for some activity or other by 9:30-10am.  We have lunch between 12-1pm.  After lunch I take Ethan out in the buggy so he can have a nap.  Ethan  has his tea around 5:30pm.  Bath time is 6-6:30pm and bedtime around 7pm with milk and two stories.


Exciting!


OK.. I tag:


AKA Muma
Tammy's Two
Sarah Miles






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