Quality time

How do you ensure quality time with your family?

I have been keeping myself busy lately, which makes me feel like I am accomplishing something, but I noticed my son getting clingy.  I realized I have not been giving him as much attention.  I would bring him with me on errands, but not give my focus to him and things he wants to do.

It does not help that if my baby girl is hungry, feeding her takes priority over my son. 

So I decided I need to try to schedule in one on one time with each of my children, as well as my husband. I schedule the rest of my day at work, why not at home?  Plus, I figure there should be an added bonus of consistency and routine, which kids need. 

One of the challenges is to not get fanatical and let the guilt take over. It is easy to try to squeeze in as many meaningful  activities as possible in the few hours when your kids are awake in the evening. 

In reality, I have heard that only 15-30 min of dedicated/focused time between child and parent is sufficient (I will have to double check my source).  That seems like a very manageable amount of time to unplug from technology and multitasking. 

My problem is not so much the technology distractions (I wait until I am in bed to check my email), but the multitasking. I am constantly trying to pick up or reorganize or get a load of laundry in. I tend to try to do one more task before I turn my full attention on my kids. I also try to bring one child with me on errands, so that my husband is not overwhelmed with both for too long. 

I noticed when I brought my son on errands, it took him out of his comfort zone and routine. It was harder to put him to bed. But, if I spent some time reading with him (without the baby on my lap) he was calmer and more compliant at bed time. So, I have learned that bringing the kids on errands is ok, but does not count as quality time. 

It does not work out every day, but I am trying to give each of my kids one on one time each evening. I think it is helpful for all of us. 

Now to figure how to get the dishes, laundry and cleanup done every day. More to come on time management. 

Day off priorities

I recently took a day off to attend a school brunch and try to get some things done around the house in the afternoon.

The morning was nice and relaxing, as I networked with other moms. For the afternoon, I had a long list of what I wanted to accomplish, so I set right out to shop for groceries. After hitting both the Club store and the grocery store, I came home to prep freezer meals. I packed 4 freezer meals, plus got dinner ready, but that is about when my husband came home. 

Overall, I guess it was a successful day. I got a weeks worth of meals prepped, but I did not make much of a dent in the rest of my list. 

It also made me wonder, is my time best served by meal prep?  Or should I pay for a service and use my time more productively?

I have tried pre-made meals, like Super Suppers or Dream Dinners before, but they still take time to cook. Plus they are not always as healthy as the food I would cook from scratch. 

For now, I plan to follow a mix of approaches. I will but some pre-made meals and take time every month to do my own frozen meal prep.

5/5/14  A month later, I tried taking a day off again.
This time, I got the house vacuumed, 4 loads of laundry and the dishes done.  At first thought, it seems like a waste to use a day off to clean the house, but since I want to spend time with my family on the weekends, it might be a good way to balance the house work.

What would you do with a day off?