I was just curious what the norm is when it comes to having free time to yourself without the kids to go grocery shopping alone or getting a haircut, etc. I am a stay at home mom with two kids under the age of two and I feel like I never do anything without them. We don't have a nanny or even a babysitter so it's just up to me (my husband helps of course at night and on the weekends). Just wondering how other moms deal with this issue.
Other than 40 minutes of my commute (because half of it I have the kids with me)
I get about 20 minutes a day - and that's usually my shower.
LOL.
Check out the Elgin Moms Meetup group. We meet for coffee once a week without the kids.
http://moms.meetup.com/1098/
I belong to this great Mom's group called Mom-2-Mom!
They have many planed events for kids -
But the best part is the planed events for Moms- Including Mom's Night Out, Bunco, Book Club, Scrapbooking and many more!
We even started a Baby-Sitting Co-Op for members - This comes in very handy for getting your Hair/Nails done or Dr. Appts
If you are intrested call the Hotline and leave your name and number - they will get back to you and send out a newsletter!!
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Hey, S.! I belong to a group called Cary Moms Group (www.carymomsgroup.com) and we do several Mom's Night Out...coffee nights, etc. We also have a "babysitting exchange". We all know how hard it is to have to bring the kids everywhere...and sometimes it's nice to be able to leave the kids (at least one) with a friend while we do the errands or things like that!
Aside from that...usually when my husband gets home and puts the kids to bed is my "me" time. Sometimes I have my in-laws or my mom watch the kids while I go shopping or to get a mani-pedi.
Other than that, I try to take at least a 1/2 hour either in the morning or the afternoon to just relax and enjoy my time alone (usually when the kids are sleeping).
S.,
Well, I make sure that I TAKE some me time and that I give my husband some, too. We have a 2 boys, too. A 2 year old (28 months) and a 7 week old.
For example, I know my husband loves football on Sunday so a couple of weeks ago, I took both boys to my mom's house for the day and for dinner. He had the day to do whatever he wanted to (sit and sleep and watch football, lol). At the same time, the last two Thursday's I've left at 7:30 to go watch my favorite TV show (CSI) with my mom and sister. I came home after 9 and both (all three) boys were in bed.
On a regular basis, I don't have any "me time". I consider my time at work and my lunch hour my time to get things done. As for grocery shopping, my hubby HATES it, so I just go alone and he stays with the boys. Also, since I work full time and our kids are in daycare, I drop them off and my husband picks them up. So, I get about an hour or so at home until they come home. But, this is spent getting dinner ready and such.
It's different for a SAHM, I'm sure. You don't get a "lunch hour" where you can run errands and such. Maybe you can find another SAHM in your area that can swap some days/time with you for this reason?
T.
I work outside of the home, but the only way I get to go get a haircut is on weekends when my husband is home, but I go to Hair Cuttery so they are open during the weekend. Grocery shopping doesn't really ever happen alone, except on the rare occasion when I might go out very late after he is in bed, or again, when my husband is home on the weekends and stays with him. I think that is probably the norm for most Moms. I do have a weekday sitter, but she just watches him during the hours I am at work and lives far from where we live so weekend options are limited. For my husband and I to go out together, we usually do that when family is visiting or occasionally I will meet family halfway and my son will go to stay with them for the weekend. I also have a friend who will babysit for me every once in a while for a night out and I do the same for her. I don't really have time to run errands during the day since I only have a 1/2 hour lunch.
S.,
I am with you. I am a SAHM with a 20-month-old son and 3-month-old daughter. We have no family nearby and my husband works long hours. I have joined a neighborhood play group where I at least get adult conversation and new ideas about mom stuff. One of my neighbors takes my daughter on Wednesday mornings so that I can take my son to a library program. Time to myself depends upon what is going on, some weekends I leave for a couple of hours during my son's nap time. Sometimes I do grocery shopping then too or we all go grocery shopping - two carts, each with half the list. During the summer I had a neighborhood teenager to babysit my son, but now she is too busy with school stuff. Good luck.
Hi S.
I wanted to tell you about a great moms group in your area called Mom-2-Mom. We offer playgroups for all ages and have monthly kid parties & planned activities. For moms only we have bunco, book club, scrapbooking and moms night out. While we still have the kids, we do keep our sanity by having adult conversation. If you would like more information on our group, you can email me at ____@____.com.
Other than that I used to use nights as my me time, now I have kindergarten & preschool so I have 2 1/2 hours 3 times a week to do my errands!.
Have a great day!
C.
