Tell Me What a Weekend Is like at Your House

My weekends are just like weekdays because I work from home 7 days a week, but the weekends bring one added bonus- built in babysitter, since my fiance is home.

Typical weekend: Wake up at 7, start the coffee and my work, make the baby breakfast, make the girls breakfast, work more, drink more coffee, put the baby down for a nap, rush through as much work as I can, then make lunch for everyone. While everyone else eats, I'm doing laundry. Usually after that we'll get out of the house for a bit; go down to the river. If we don't go do something (or I'm not running errands solo), my fiance plays xbox and the girls clean their room. Then back to work. After dinner, we try to either have friends with kids over or go to their house. Being as it's been so cold, we're not doing as much outside, but that will change as summer comes.

Weekends for me means only the opportunity to get a little help with the big stuff around the house from my fiance... but otherwise, my weekends are exactly like my weekdays, minus the homework. LAME!!

i like your question b/c i wonder the same thing sometimes, like if my DS (2 yrs old) is bored. so...basically we're still working around his nap schedule (thank you Lord for naps!!), so there's sat a.m. & p.m. and sun a.m. & p.m. to work with - 4 sections of time. i try to DO at least one thing out of the house during one of those times. i used to feel bad sitting at home, but an older friend of mine (in her 60's) told me that he has to get up & go every morning of the week too and he would like to just stay at home. i travel all day long for my job so i have no desire to go driving around on the wknd. and this week i started doing chores throughout the week so we would have more *quality* time on the wknds, so i'm really looking forward to it. don't feel bad. i think i remember bugging my mom when i was a kid to do stuff, but really, i just liked being w/her. period end of story. :)
so i try to remember that for myself too. glad you asked this question. :)
you're normal, lol. sounds like i am, too - ha ha. :)

Sounds like you are feeling guilty that you're not doing this super-mom-fill- every-moment-with-enriching-experiences cr_p. While it's always good to go on a nature walk, go to the play ground, check our the children museums - it's just not possible to do that stuff every weekend. Unless you have cleaning fairies you probably spend saturdays like I do, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, folding laundry, etc. There is nothing wrong with doing that stuff with the kids. Get them to help in age-appropriate ways. The 4 yo can sort socks and fold washcloths, give the 7 yo a swiffer to dust. They can learn to vacuum at this age. Then as reward you can all take a walk around the neighborhood.

I'm married, but my husband is in the NYPD - so we've spent plenty of weekends on our own, fending for ourselves. It's tough to go to some places with young kids - like the beach. But playgrounds are great - you get to bring the newspaper and sit on a bench while they run around. Pack peanut butter sandwiches and a few apples, water bottles even scooters. I always found the playground to be relaxing time for we parents. You meet people, have grown up conversations, etc.

It is tough to take kids to children's museums or aquairiums by yourself - so find a friend with kids of similar ages. I met my best friend at church. We only became such good friends becuase her boy and girl were the same ages as my boy and girl. We'd take day-trips, go to the movies, trade off babysitting on workdays when they were off school, etc. I also took my kids to my sister's house, and my inlaw's quite a bit when my kids were younger - it gave us a destination and gave me a break. The kids also got to experience the love and care of another circle of people who loved them.

But bottom line is that you do not need to fill their days with "enriching" experiences every day of their lives. It's not realistic - that's not how life is. LIfe is full of mundate tasks that need to be done, punctuated by fun days, and days that end up to be an unexpected adventure. Days that seem to start out horribly where you all have to work together to resolve, end up being the days that are long-time funny memories. For example, we frequently drive to Virginia to see family - the one trip that really sticks out in my kids' memory is the time we hit a deer. Seemed awful at the time - but now it's a "funny" family story (not for the deer's family obviously).

You will do just fine mama. As long as your children know they are loved, and they have another circle of people who are speaking the same truths in to their lives as you are - it'll all work out. Make some microwave popcorn Friday night, play chutes & ladders with the kids then watch a movie. "Camp out" in the living room, have an indoor picnic (table cloth on the floor), make tents and cabins out of couch cushions, etc - it's all free and fun - and those will be the things that your kids remember.

Some weekends are busy and some we don't even get dressed or leave the house. I do try to get the four year old out at least part of the day just to wear him out and get away from the tv.

Our current guilty pleasure is driving around in empty parking lots so he can sit up front by me. He thinks it's so cool to hold my hand and I drive three miles an hour in a circle. :)

When I was a single mom and then even after I remarried and had two more children, I formed my Saturday plans around my parents plans for many years. Our Sundays always revolved around church activities. Then they left me to travel for a few months and I discovered that their absence gave me a sense of freedom and I could enjoy those weekends doing just whatever. Mostly staying around the house and not feeling that I had to do anything, also not having money to do much we pretty much did just that stayed home. My husband rarely did or does anything with us as a family other than maybe going out for a meal together on Sunday evenings, he didn't attend church with us. On special occasions (Labor Day) we would take stuff to the park and cookout - count on less than one hand. Occasionally we took the children fishing as a family. The things my husband enjoyed are the things we did together as a family. Once the children were involved in sports that took up a lot of Saturdays, and each time I looked forward to the next Saturday I could just stay at home. I never thought I could be a stay at home mom, but I definitely think I could be a stay at home grandma. The older I get the more time it takes to accomplish things around the house...
Now I just try to accomplish a few things around the house.. and then just hang out with my husband or friends and family, and keep grandchildren.
My daughter does a much better job looking for things to do with her girls.. they mostly go to the parks, or take the children skating which isn't too expensive once they are a little older. With small children the park is your best choice..however now days the state parks cost $5 just to ride through them and I remember some weekends that being $5 I didn't have. So, I can feel for you and my biggest suggestion would be to enjoy your children by not just hanging around the house, but hanging around them by playing with them encouraging them to use their imagination in playing outside, just because you are stuck around the house doesn't mean you can't be doing something WITH THEM...which is so easy to allow them to watch tv and play their own video games... quality time spent playing and working side by side has loads of pay off... great memories if nothing else... take this from someone with hindsite... looking back so many of us miss some great opportunities with our children...time moves so fast.. enjoy your children while you can...(one thing to do is a pretend camp-out - use blankets and sheets to cover chairs and tables as tents - eat peanut butter jelly sandwiches in the tents. or take it outside on a pretty day. Another is if you live around the woods - rake leaves or pinestraw to make the outline of a cabin, make chairs and table out of buckets and whatever you could find and play house if they are girls.

Good Luck and Best Wishes.

Hi L.,

I'm a single, working mom, so weekends are the main time my son and I get to actually spend TOGETHER.

Honestly, unless someone else is visiting, all our weekends are pretty much the same.

One of the days is spent on DS's sport or activity (t-ball now). The other, we clean the house (luckily he still likes doing that) then go to a movie, or the library, or a museum or something.

HTH
T.

My husband works on Saturday, so it has pretty much always been me and the kids that day. I usually do some laundry. Maybe cook a big breakfast. In nice weather we go to the beach or something. My kids take karate, and some Saturdays we have to make up missed classes. Or there will be a tournament. Or a piano lesson that is made up.

Mostly though, we are so busy during the week that my kids BEG to stay HOME and do nothing scheduled.

My stepdaughter is at our house every other weekend. Some weekends, we don't do much of anything, and other weekends we'll go to the aquarium, go bowling, or to a movie. She's ten, and the weekends we don't do much, she's always "bored". This is a child who has enough toys for two kids, games galore, a nintendo DS, a swingset, a yard, a bike, and a scooter. Not to mention, at least 4 girls around her age within 5 houses- But that is a whole different ball of wax).
I don't feel, even with my next child on the way in October, that I have to constantly entertain a child. We do play games with her and make an effort to go outside with her, but we also have to do our chores (laundry, cleaning, lawn care, etc) because the weekends are when we don't work.
I think your two kids could have a great deal of fun at home- without you spending a fortune. You can find inexpensive craft kits, let them build forts or hideouts with blankets, play games with them, and let them have some time to themselves (so they can learn to entertain themselves and give you time to do what you need to do!).

As for when I was kid, my sister (two years younger than me) and I, helped mom clean Saturday morning. She would cook us breakfast (almost always pancakes or waffles) and then we would clean. We took our laundry for the week to the laundry room on Friday night. When we were in elementary school, we helped sort and fold. After we were done cleaning (picking up playroom, bedrooms, dusting, etc), we were free to do whatever we wanted- especially if it involved going outside and getting out of mom's hair. Sundays, we went to church, then the grocery store, and then mom cooked lunch. We helped put up the leftovers and clean up and then we were free again until dinner time- when it was time to put away laundry and finish homework. I don't have a lot of memories of weekends where we went somewhere that involved a lot of money. In fact, going to one of the big parks and running wild was one of our favorite things!

Nothing is normal, not even for the same people.
Before we had baby #2 my daughter was close to 10, she was (always have) being very independent and also "very" into art (read, paint, write poems) and not sporty, outgoing at all. I use to push her to be more outgoing in the begging and just end up hurting our relation. My husband is a complete geeky, we have about 12 monitors at home, every year we all always know what he is going to get us: computers or any other electric device, even my mom and little sister!
So yeah, we use to stay at home or when much go to the movies, the library and Compucity.
3 years later, out of no where my daughter (now 13) is super sporty, we all go to her games on weekends and bring her to practice, our toddler goes crazy if she stays at home for to long so we are always trying to take her some place to run. My husband works Saturdays sometimes and we only have a car, so I have to drive all over. My 13 year also is staring to grow a mall window shopping love (just like momy, lol).
Some days being in the car together force us to talk more, others we barely talk because we all have things to do that only can get done the weekend.
Then they would grow and the house will be quite for a while, until grandkids come, lol.
Enjoy what you have because it changes all the time.
If your kids need to go out, then go if you can, but sometimes they don't want and we drive ourself crazy thinking they do.

I like to be out and the wekends are no exceptions to the rule. I plan our weekends at the beginnging of the month. I work in health care so I work every other weekend. The weekends they stay home with dad I plan activities for him to do with them. In the winter I take them to the local theater we see plays, we go to chuckie cheese, other local in door play areas. Fri night, Sat and Sun morning I do the cleaning/laundry. They both have Yoga and Ice-Skating classes on Saturday that start at 12 and end at 2pm after 2pm were out around town. Every Saturday we go out to a restaurant to eat has a family. I do one w/e of activities by myself with my girls to give the hubby a break and one w/e we do it together. I love our weekends. I don't like the kids sitting around the house on the weekends because they just get glued to their Nintendo ds, the IPAD, the computer, and I like them running around experiencing life. I will say that maybe once a month we do have a Sunday where we might just stay home and color, do arts and crafts.

I agree with most of what has already been said. Normal is that there is a balance and at the end of the day you feel good about it. My kids are 10 and 12 - boy & girl. Ever since they were younger they started in sports, just fall and spring (we gladly take a break in the winter). This fills our weekends up quickly and it also a social outlet. Meeting other families this way has been wonderful. Both kids are, and have been, in scouts. This sometimes will involve weekend activities.

The kids are allowed 1 (sometimes 2) sleepover a month. We try to take in 1 or 2 events as a family a month, i.e. festivals, cheap movies, checking out a new hiking trails, free music concerts, etc. For mom and dad's sanity we often invite another family over for a BBQ or potluck. Between all that and house cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, yard work and family errands (both my husband and I work FT) our weekends are filled naturally. We treasure the weekends that we stay in pj's and watch old movies.

I am of the opinion that it feels better to fall into bed at night tired.

Our weeks are so busy...we homeschool, we grocery shop, we do our errands, we clean, we go for walks, to the park, nature center, etc...during the week.

Saturdays we do NOTHING during the winter and play outside during the summer....Sundays are church and lay around days, and that's it. If there is a special event over the weekend we will go, but that's it! :)

I don't think we fall into "normal"--DH watches our son during the weekdays & goes to work after that. So on the weekends, I'm mostly in charge of watching our son. However, he helps out with it, and with some household chores (though I still mostly do those). I try to plan on one "family" activity, which can be as simple as going to the park at the end of the street, or maybe the indoor play space if the weather is bad. Or it might be a shopping trip & lunch.

Typically, I get my son up when he wakes on Sat & Sun. I fix him breakfast. If DH was up late the night before, I try to do quiet activities or go outside to play for a while. Then, DH will get up eat breakfast (he's a nightowl anyway). We eat lunch together & after lunch usually hang out or do something together as a group. Then dinner together, maybe a little TV or radio. Sunday is church for me & son (one of these days I might get DH to go <grin>). Sometimes grocery shopping, either with or w/o son. Then lunch and sometimes a nap for me (love my naps), then a group activity or hanging out, then dinner.

I do like to go out and do stuff on the weekends. I'm usually the one suggesting it. But that is because I'm more of an "let's have an adventure" person, while DH is more a "I'm happy in my home/my home is my castle."

Saturday belongs to sport's, errands, cleaning usually the boys are busy with their friends and boy things and i take care of all the stuff that lapsed the other 6 days.
Sundays are family days big breakfasts, all together for lunch and dinner watching football, or movies, playing games, getting some yard work done or swimming in the summer whatever it is we do it together, both my boys are home on Sundays always have been I LOVE Sunday.

We don't usually allow TV during the week, so the kids get Saturday morning TV (which is comprised of things like Kipper and Thomas off Netflix on demand). My husband is a SAHD so if I have the energy, I take the kids to the park. But the baby is still keeping me up a lot at night so often I get a "sleep day." My 6 year old gets to play Wii with Dad after the 2 and 1 yo go to bed. Depending upon behavior, the kids may get to "stay up late" on Friday/Saturday (which means 8 for the 2 yo and 9 for the 6 yo).

We usually go to church on Sunday & play in the yard if the weather is nice.

We do like to go for family hikes or to the zoo. Sometimes we have birthday parties. But that's not every week-end. If one or more of us are sick, we hang out all day, play inside, watch TV. We have been trying to work in a game night, but the 6 yo is too excited about the Wii....

we have dance class first thing sat morning. we try to get outside. I used to try and plan something every weekend but have definitely slowed down. My husband and i were really surprised when after a day of playing in the yard, drawing in the house and not doing anything "exciting" my 4 year old daughter thanked us for the best day ever. we have at least 2 home weekends a month. and our activities are more like zoo (we're members), park trips, monkey joes, hang out downtown and get ice cream or hiking.

Usually our weekend include a lot of time with our extended family. At least once a month we go to my BIL's home and stay Sat night into Sun. They live an hour away, and it's just much easier to spend the night than to drive back late.

We don't do much in the way of festivals and "cool" places because we are on a very bare bones budget. If we aren't with family, we just hang out at home, watching movies and relaxing.

Weekends are also when we do most of our shopping, if any is to be done. We only have one car, so if we need to go to the mall or the grocery store it's usually done on Sunday.

My husband is somewhat involved with childcare on the weekends, but it's not unlike the weeknights, where he will play with our son for awhile, but then defer to mommy for stuff like feeding and changing diapers. I don't mind, because I know he could and would do it if I needed him to.

I don't think you should feel guilty about not having a planned activity for every weekend. That seems like it could get exhausting! If there are certain events/festivals that are tradition to your family then by all means go to them and enjoy, but don't feel obligated to find one every single weekend. What do your kids like to do? Sometimes they need a little downtime too.

I'm a mom of 2 little boys ages 1 & 2 & currently separated from my husband, but we still spend time together with the kids. We usually try to find somewhere to take the kids on Saturdays just to get out of the house & let the kids have fun. Sometimes to the mall (playroom), festivals, or Birthday parties. I personally can't stand sitting in the house on weekends, so we always try to find something to do on Saturdays & relax on Sundays.
And, yes I find that I'm still the primary caretaker. My husband never volunteers to take the kids on a weekend to spend time alone with them just to give me a break.

I'm not sure how old your kids are, but enjoy it while you can!!!!! My kids are 12,10,9 and almost 2. With all the sports, birthday parties, overnights,etc. it's rare for us to be able to sit back and relax on the weekends. Especially, now that baseball has started - man, we won't have an "off" weekend until November (because football starts in July.....eek.)

I guess when the kids were younger, we tried to do a little something each weekend, like bike riding, going to a park, etc. As far as bigger things, like the zoo or museums, amusement parks, etc. - those were an occasional treat.

Yes, my husband is definitely involved on the weekends - he doesn't have a choice!! LOL! "Hon, you have to get kid A to practice at 8, while I get kid B to his Lego meeting by 9. Then, while kid D naps, you have to pick of the friend of kid C, so I can leave and get back in time to fix dinner......." yikes. :) But, it's also time for him to spend with the kids, which he enjoys.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, it might be fun for you guys to take walks, go to parks, ride bikes, etc. I say it doesn't have to be anything huge and extravagant - just time together, while enjoying the outside is fun! As far as winter, taking in a movie or a themed movie night at home - are ways to spice up the weekend for cheap! *The other night, the whole family played Just Dance on the wii and had a blast!!! We will also do a game night (not as often as I'd like, but..) Lots of fun!! Good luck and have fun

I guess I consider myself pretty lucky that my husband doesn't work on Saturdays or that I have a husband at all, based on the other responses. We usually do something together as a family on Sat. mornings, sometimes go out to lunch afterwards. This weekend we'll ride bikes, last weekend we painted pottery. We have twin almost 4-yo girls, so I need him to help me watch them (herd cats, as I call it). The rest of the weekend I seem to be in charge of watching the kids, unless I'm working on a project, then he'll take them to the park on a Sun. afternoon. Growing up, my father always worked at least one day a weekend, and I really don't remember getting out much. I blame this for much of my shyness in the early years. My kids are exposed to all kinds of people and situations and I would not characterize either of them as shy. But I do agree that no matter what you do, do it together as a family. My girls LOVE to help me fold laundry, although sometimes it's frustrating when they want to help, and you know you could get it done so much sooner w/o their help! At least they enjoy helping, & I know the day will come when they want nothing to do with me, so relishing it now!

I also try to come up with some sort of activity for every weekend because it makes everyone happy. Financially it's not always possible. My main concern hasn't become, "what should we do this weekend", but rather, "how have I managed to spoil my kids to the point where they are grumpy & pouting on the weekends we stay home because they EXPECT something fun every weekend." My daughter is especially notorious for driving everyone in the house insane with her whole 'entertain me' attitude even though it's been explained to her dozens of times at least that keeping her clothed, fed, warm, safe & happy is our job, not keeping her entertained. Whenever I can come up with a festival, or picking berries, or take them to the movies, or whatever I do, it's just not always possible. Last weekend for example, we worked on our car & did about a zillion loads of laundry. This weekend we'll probably go walk on the boardwalk because the weather is supposed to be nice.

I'm a single mom, too, to a 4-year-old son. I'm custodial parent and he visits his dad every other weekend. His dad is a "Disneyland Dad" because he has no interest in parenting and just wants to be my son's best friend. Therefore, going to Dad's means doing a lot of fun stuff.

It's kind of nice, in a way, because having a normal, stay-at-home weekend is restful for both of us. I feel no guilt spending most weekends relaxing at home with my son (I'm a teacher, so funds are limited).

We stay home a lot of weekends in the winter, but most of our spring and fall is spent in a tent on a campground just because it's something we both adore!

Don't feel ANY guilt about not doing exciting things a lot. Your kids may not develop strong memories of specific moments, but they'll have a comforting sense of being secure and loved. What more could you ask for?

It varies, depending on if the kids are here or not and what school functions (like a concert or play or science fair) we might have going on. When the kids were smaller, they often went to friends' houses or had friends over and sometimes had sleepovers. We run errands like groceries on the weekends, and that's usually a family affair.

I don't think you should feel guilty. We have so much we should do that sometimes we just revel in a weekend with not a lot going on. On a lazy Saturday morning, we get up whenever we get up (when the toddler allows), have a nice breakfast, and just enjoy being home without work or school.

Many times I am still the primary caregiver for our smallest one because DH is doing home repair or yard work or something, but he will also often take her for a jog, or take her out to play in the dirt, or just spend some time with her. Similarly, when my stepdaughter has a few minutes she might take her sister out to play or just entertain her so I can catch a break (til the next diaper change, anyway).

I like nature centers and special programs. But I also like to just "be" and I think that's important, too. So maybe schedule something some weekends but not others, or just one day and not two. Or do something at home like build castles out of play dough or plant flowers or just walk around the block. I think it's fine to do stuff (we do a lot of stuff) so long as you don't feel obligated to play cruise director every weekend.

There's no normal :D
We live in a really small town, so there's not a lot of festivals and stuff around us. Plus, that stuff can get expensive. There are a few festivals that we attend in the summer, but it's maybe once a month.
In the winter we don't seem to do much at all. We try to go do something, even if it's a trip to WalMart, at least once a weekend in the winter. But, we just enjoy spending time together, usually at home.
Now, the summer is a whole different story! We're gone doing SOMETHING almost every weekend. We take a mini-vacation one month, go camping another, spend a lot of weekends swimming with my brothers and sister and their families, we have cookouts, and just play all summer long. We have to cram as much fun as we can into those 3 short summer months :D

You have to figure out what you and your kids like to do. Are they going to enjoy a festival or a nature center? If not, then why bother to stress out about it?

My husband is so awesome about helping out on the weekends. He only works 4 days a week so Friday is my day off :) He changes diapers, does dishes and cooks dinner. I get to have fun and play with the kids.
The other two days of the weekend we work together as a team.

Our weekends pretty much revolve around Dad. Right now my husband is in school & gone during the week from 4:30 am to around 6:30 pm so he only gets about 2 hours @ night with the kiddos during the week but half of that is taken up with bedtime routines & such. The weekends are kept open for what he wants to do (though I normally suggest a ton of things to get us out of the house & he decides on what to do). Fri. night is family movie night, Sat. morning will soon be taken up with t-ball then the rest of Sat. is dad's choice. Sun. is church in the a.m. then the afternoon is dad's choice again. When he's home he pretty much takes over with the bigs for the most part but the baby is still (literally) latched on to me a lot!!
Don't feel guilty - do what you can & what works for you & your family :-)

Now that it's baseball season - we are going to be "consumed" with Little League.

We wake up - I TRY and fix a nice, big breakfast on Saturday morning - not too heavy if we have baseball...but enough...then it's off to the races!!

Some weekends we are working on school projects. I have two boys at home - 11 (on the 26th) and 8. As long as you are INVOLVED in your children's lives - you should NOT feel guilty if you stay home....we play games. We watch movies, we have Nerf Wars....it works for us!

Let me begin by saying normal is whatever routine you create at your home for the weekends.

There is not much difference in my life's routines from being a single mom for 15 years verses a married mom for almost 2 years.

I try to do all the housework and household shopping during the week. This way the weekends can be full of going on outtings or doing nothing. The third Saturday of every month the entire family volunteers at our church's feeding ministry. (We are up to over 500 hot meals.)

On the other Saturdays the boys go every Saturday morning to Men's ministry, where they learn so much about manhood and Godly living. I'm home alone, relaxing. The rest of the day is for whatever we want to do or where ever we want to go. Sunday's are our worship days. Always worship on Sunday mornings, followed by Sunday dinner, then relaxing the rest of the afternoon and preparing for Monday and the week ahead. We also often have a game night or game day. We pull out card games and board games and play together. It keeps conversation open and doesn't cost anything. I may put together a nice snack but nothing expensive or outside of the house budget.

Normal is what you make of it. The kids need to learn a lot from you but remember it is all about the memories and some things are taught while others are caught. They learn also by watching you.

Hi, generally, we have one "activity day" and one "chores day". Not all day of either though. Usually my husband and I and the kids do mostly everything together, with some splits. For example, Saturday mornings, I like to go to my gym, which has a nice childcare set up in it. My husband usually likes to go mountain biking one weekend morning and to the gym the other, so if we can, then we'll go the gym together one morning. Then afterwards we will do something depending on the weather, such as, if it's nice going to a playground or park and if it's not then going to our children's museum where we have a membership or we have a playdate with one of our friends (we have a lot of little kids in our neighborhood). Then the other weekend day we do alot of household chores, cleaning, vacuuming, laundry, food shopping etc. The kids usually food shop w me while DH cleans, or they help us clean for a little bit then we let them watch tv or play in the backyard if it's nice out. My girls still both nap in the afternoon. Sometimes we go out to dinner (not alot, can't afford it). In the good weather, we like to barbecue alot and hang out in the yard.
So there's my 2 cents :-)

My dd has dancing and gymnastics on a Sat so Sunday is our relaxing day. We usually go visit grandparents, go for a walk, a movie or shopping. She gets to stay up later on a fri/sat (10pm) and we usually snuggle on the couch with a good movie or do some baking/craftwork. We also volunteer every 3rd Sun at our local community centre which my dd loves.