How Do You Do It? I'm Beat and Papertowel-less

I have to force myself to make time. Given a choice I wouldn't leave my home at all when I get home. I spend too much time away as it is.

Oh one thing I do is go on my way to work as long as I am not doing groceries that works. After work you would think it would be J. as simple but nope, I J. want to get home before the crazy people on the road get M.. :(

Cream of Wheat!!! For over a month, every Sunday, I want Cream of Wheat!!!! Every time I am at the store I forget it. I swear if this continues Troy is going to stomp out the door and get it for M. J. to stop the complaining. :)

We all live a grind of O. type or another.

When I am at the store I buy PLENTY of stuff (paper towels, detergent, etc) so I never run out. I hate that, too!

I used to be more of a last-minute shopper but now, if I see it and remotely need it--I grab it.

All you can do is all you can do.

And I would definitely look into having the ex in-laws picking he up instead of you driving there every week.

I had 8 kids and I couldn't dress them when they were 5 for older. It took too much time. My wife and I (Mostly my wife) taught the kids to dress themselves around age 3. My daughters and DIL have done the same.

We don't use paper towels. We use cloth towels and wash them, ;~))

I would take my kids shopping with M.. I'm a real good bargain shopper and used that time in the grocery store to teach them to shop. Of course I also taught them math and to read the labels as they became older. Some of my kids still use those skills I taught them.

I arranged to do most of my shopping going to or from other destinations. It saves a lot of time. I'd always have the store sale ads with M. or have written down the best deals at each so I could take advantage of the bargains and save money on our grocery bill. My wife doesn't like to bargain shop so I have done 90% of the shopping since we've been married. Now I do almost 100%.

Good luck to you and yours.

I do most of it during my lunch break. If I cant get it than, I have to load up both kids and head to sams club on saturday ( the only place that I can be sure I can get a cart that will hold two toddlers at the same time) As for the fun stuff, like the park, If the weathers nice and not hot, I load the kids in the stroller and we walk. The house can wait ( even though it makes M. crazy) I would rather have that extra 30-60 minutes with my kids than have a clean house :)

I have found that the internet is my best friend when it comes to shopping. Rather than dragging three kids to the store, I can purchase pretty much anything with a few clicks and have it shipped right to M.. I use Amazon.com and if you have a Prime membership then you get free 2-day shipping on everything. You can even buy food, paper goods, vitamins etc. Any purchases of $25.00 or more get free shipping as well.
You could check into that and or other online grocery services since the nearest grocery is so far away. Plan out your meals and perhaps J. do grocery shopping every 2 weeks or once a month; it will save you a lot of time.

I wonder if she could also start packing her own lunch and snacks? I have a paper posted in the pantry that lists what my kids can pack in their lunchbags. It has columns (grain, veggie, fruit, protein) and then has a list of items like string cheese, muffin, apple, etc. As long as they choose something from each food group then I figure "great". Or perhaps she can have school lunch?

I expect my kiddos to help M. out a lot, because running the house is a team effort. Having them help M. with chores like taking out the trash, doing dishes, putting away laundry etc. is a lifesaver for M. and in the end I have more time and energy to do fun things with them.

It is hard to fit it all in, especially with a full time job. J. try to find shortcuts where you can.

I agree with using Amazon Prime. It will cost you up front (around $70) but you can buy a lot in bulk. As far as grocery shopping, I'd say save it for the weekends. It sounds like you have so much going on during the week. If you want to get out and about (the park for example), pack a picnic type dinner (sandwiches, fruit, potato salad) and take your daughter there after picking her up.

If she's not really 'dirty', J. have her take a bath every other night. I realize this is not possible for some kids, J. a suggestion!

Make dinners on Sundays so you have food for all week. Pre-portion them out for you and your daughter so all you have to do all week is choose what you want to eat and pop it into the microwave. Instant meal in 5-10 mins! May take you a few hours on Sunday to do it but it will save you time during the week.

I'd pack the lunch and snack bags the night before so you have a few extra minutes in the morning.

You can also shop online - walmart, target, macys, jcpenny, etc. I realize shopping for shoes isn't ideal online, but it's a possibility.

I'd also try to do anything you can on your lunch break.

If you have errands, take your daughter in the evening and have her work on homework in the car on the way.

I feel you! Working full time is so stressfull...and I have 2 kids!!! Your day sounds kinda like mine. I tell you right now I am sooo behind on laundry and cleaning. Oh well. And sometimes we don't eat a homecooked meal...actually alot! I J. make them eat a sandwich or something with fruit. Whatever works. Are you able to shop and run errands on your lunch hour? I am lucky enough to have almost every store under the sun within 5 minutes next to my work. Sometimes I grocery shop on my lunch hour and bring the food into our work fridge. I don't care...it needs to get done!

I shop either on weekends or during my lunch breaks. Sometimes I will bring my lunch, eat while I'm working, then take my lunch break to go out & buy things that don't need to be kept in the fridge/freezer. Or I'll do my shopping & grab something to eat for when I get back to the office.

As others have said, amazon.com is awesome for stuff like papertowels, toliet paper. They have a FREE subscription service (which is different than the Prime). Most stuff on the subscription they deliver free. You sign-up to receive a large box of paper towels three weeks, or every month, or six weeks, etc. We get a LOT of stuff this way (including our diapers). Check it out, ther are a lot of things available through the subscription. You manage it online and you can speed up a shipment or even skip one. We love it!

We don't really go out on a week night. Kids have to be starting the bed time process by 7:30p at the latest. So if anything, we might take a short walk. Save that kind of stuff for weekends... or have a special Friday night "date."

Try doing grocery shopping online. I started doing it when I first brought my daughter home and it was a lifesaver. Not sure where in Philly you are but Genuardis in Langhorne has shopping online and it is great. I chose a 4 hour delivery window so it only costs about $4 to have them do my grocery shopping and deliver it right to my kitchen.
I also agree with cooking several meals on the weekends then freezing them. Before leaving for work, take one out to defrost. When you get home, all you have to do is heat it up.
As for fun, I haven't figured that one out yet myself. If you find the secret to find funtime or mytime, please please let M. know.

You could wake up half hour early, get all ready and make a quick stop to pick these up on the way to kid's school/work if you can't do so in the evening on the way back. Grabbing paper towel etc wouldn't take you more than 10 mins or so in the store but you have to consider the drive time.
I suggest buying all these essentials in bulk from stores like Costco over the weekends.
But I hear ya. Even grocery shopping is a pain on weekdays. And if you decide to do everything over the weekend, then you wouldn't have time for anything else.

I shop for certain things at Costco. Diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, organic milk, and coffee. Things that we go through CONSTANTLY, and that I would be stopping at the store every other day for if I didn't buy in bulk. I love the costo (kirkland) brand coffee, milk and diapers, and I buy Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels there in the 1,000,000 pack and keep the extra in my garage until I need to pull out a new pack. :)

I'm totally with you. It's hard. I try to do grocery shopping on the weekend and I buy non-perishables in bulk. If I run out of something during the week, it's hard to find time to go and get it (my poor son has been without milk for 2 days now). The only reason I got new shoes was because I went shopping when I was on vacation this summer.

Although I feel like I should be home cleaning my house, each week I try to set aside one evening for something other than the daily grind - during the summer we'll do a picnic dinner at the playground (sandwiches, fruit, etc). It's much harder in the winter when it gets dark so early, and we all go a little stir crazy in January and February.

I don't have a great answer, I J. wanted to say that I totally understand where you are coming from!

Like you said, buy her dinner. Sometimes it's a chicken nugget and apple slice happy meal with juice. That's not going to do long term harm to our littles. Even though the grocery store is far, do you have a CVS or Dollar Store? You could at least pick up essentials.
I'm lucky that everything is close to M. and I get off at 5. I can do 1 thing after work, per pay, max. Somedays we go to the gym, get home by 7, J. in time for quickie dinner, homework, bath and bed. Somedays I have to stop at grocery store, I buy a rotisserie chicken or frozen pizza or something practically instant. Some days we go to the park for about an hour, if I know I have something ready at home, like a crock pot meal. Planning ahead helps make it all go smoother.

Online shopping is my savior! Sites like www.amazon.com have so many daily items (grocery store things like paper towels! We, too, always run out of paper towels)
I work full time and have 2 small kids. On Sundays, we make our list and go on a scavenger hunt to the store. My 3 year old also loves to have her own basket to "help".
It's tough work!

.

I would wake up a little earlier each day. It is amazing what you can get done with a little extra time. I am not sure what kind of snacks you are preparing, but if you do thing like baby carrots, you can prepare them as soon as you buy them by putting them into individual snack bags. You should really get to know your crock pot. In the extra time you have waking up early, you can prepare a meal and set it on low before you walk out the door. Dinner will be waiting for you when you get home, no cooking required!

I buy in bulk and keep things in storage in the garage on my "Costco Shelves".

I also keep a lot of healthy frozen foods in my freezer so I don't have to make so many trips to the market.

I shop big about every two to three weeks with a very occasional run in to grab something as needed. I really shop big, I'll buy 2-3 boxes of cereal so I know I have it and will have it; sometimes folks stare at my cart, but it really makes my life easier. Figure out what you run out of most or what you find you keep buying and see if you can assign a time to run that errand rather than get to the point of being out and needing it and feeling the stress of having to get it now.

Good luck

Working for the weekend Momma!
I honestly dont know how full time working moms do it. I tried to fathom it the other day and got too tired.
I dont even work full time, I try to go to the park once a week, but to be honest, by the time I cook dinner, and we do homework, its almost bedtime.
I am not a single mom, but when my kids go to bed around 8pm, thats when I head out to do my shopping. Most stores are open until 10pm, and our grocery store is open until 1am.
And, I refused to have 3 little kids and not be close to stores. Anything I need is literally a minute away.
I feel bad that working moms usually have to spend most of their weekend getting all of their errands done. Like I said, I dont know how you do it.
You also have to count your full time job as like least one or more kids, thats a lot of work!

outsource anything you can that isn't spending time with your daughter or for yourself. We have "peapod" around here for groceries (I'm not fond of it, but if you are 1/2 hour away from the closest store, you need to figure something out). If you can get perishables somewhere closer and do all the big shop that way it would help. Minimize the housework, and if you can afford it get a every other week or even once a month maid service. Pack all her snacks at once if you can. Grab a bunch of ziplocs or containers and have her help you. Make it like an assembly line. Have your ex and inlaws help more. Maybe set it up so he does 2x/week, or a better day? Is it possible to shop near their house for shoes and stuff?

Good luck.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&am...

I'm lucky enough to have a husband that is a wonderful help. And there are stores much closer to us than 1/2hr away.

But I do agree... House can wait. I do most of my cleaning on the weekends.

I get my dairy items delivered to my door and get billed monthly for it. It looks like Philly has WAY more options than J. dairy. *link above was the first one that popped up*

OUR DAY
5:40a - I get up, get dressed/ready, make lunches & coffee.
6a- Hubby gets up and takes all of our stuff to the vehicle and helps M. get the chitlins ready.
6:30a - My mom shows up so she can get my 8yr old off to school.
6:45a- Drop 3yr old @ daycare.
7:30a - @ work (25ish miles from home)
5p - Pick up 3yr old @ daycare.
6p- Make dinner ***IF I FEEL UP TO IT*** ☺ Sometimes, cereal it is.
7-7:30ish - Get kids in bath.
7:30-8p - 3yr old to bed (try for this time anyhow)
8:30-9p - 8 yr old to bed

And hubby and I get to bed somewhere around 10pm... On a good night.