Earlier this week i made reference to that time right before Isabella’s bedtime. I said it was my most favorite time of day.
and then came the comments. and the emails. the shock! favorite time of the day?? how is it possible?
Well, i’m here to clear up and clarify.
I’ve pretty much been single mothering it for the last, oh, 6 months or so. the husband works long hours. long hours. typically, he comes home somewhere between 8 and 9. sometimes later, depending on his hockey schedule. at first i was annoyed, and then i got upset, and then i learned to accept it, and now i’ve learned to love it.
We’ve got ourselves a lovely little system going. I come home. we have dinner together. the four of us. well, Emily and i eat, and Isabella and Josh turn their noses up at whatever I have made (or Haydee has made, depending on the day) They have become experts in the non-eat.
Then we go upstairs. This is my favorite time of the day. We wrestle. we take pictures. we watch tv. we talk about our day. the sky’s the limit. all three of the kids have my full attention and i have theirs. i love it.
Then i put Isabella to bed. Let Josh play Xbox or webkinz or Wii while i do homework with Emily.
okay, seriously, anyone out there have first graders? Emily gets a TON of homework. and she has to wait for me to get home because there’s things she can’t do on her own AND i have to sign everything.
and at 7:30, we brush teeth, read stories, do the tuck in. and they are allowed to play/read/whatever in their rooms until 9.
You see, what it comes down to is this. I work full time. and my time, any time, with my kids is so precious. and this is MY TIME. and i love having them all to myself.
sure, sometimes i get annoyed. when isabella won’t stay in her bed. when they won’t listen when i say it’s time for bed. when they wake up isabella. when josh comes into my room for his 7th hugkiss of the night. when emily can’t find something and doesn’t want to go all the way to the basement to get it. when they take advantage of my single motherhood.
they might be a couple of monkeys…but they are MY monkeys
what’s your favorite time of day?
what’s your LEAST favorite?
I totally get it, Ali. My fave time of day is either right after school around 4 or 4:30 when I am taking a break from work (benefit of working from home) and we just hang out, chat, have a snack, watch TV, play outside, whatever or on a weekend in the morning when we have nothing planned. We get to just snuggle and laze around in our jammies.
I agree that it’s a working vs stay at home take on this time of day. I would love for bedtime to be the best part of my day. Being home all day with my kids though makes this time the hardest for me as I am tired and have had enough mommy time. I’m ready for my parenting day to end. I have to admit that when bedtime goes smoothly, it can be a beautiful thing.
I love the mornings that we don’t have activities. My daughter will come in for a snuggle and then allow me to leisurely wake up. My son doesn’t even come in to my room anymore. He saves his morning snuggles for when I’m up and moving.
Yes – I love before bed time, we play whatever they want, lots of tickling involved. I love lying down with my older one & talking about his day.
I HATE dinner time, kids are always starving (even though they just ate a snack, or 2, or 3), whining, crying, & then complaining that he doesn’t like what I’ve made. I just find that whole hour so so so frustrating!!!
You’ve got the right attitude about hubby’s long hours. I am the same way. There’s no point being miserable about it. Go with the flow. Keep dinner for him and if he shows up, great! If not, we’re ok too!
I stay at home, so maybe a different perspective. I hate the early morning routine – breakfast, laundry, tidy up and get everyone on their way, clean and on-time. I feel like I have to be “on” the moment I wake up, when I’d rather just take my time. I love when my twins come home in the morning, and then when my eldest comes home in the afternoon. It’s usually a happy reunion and we get caught up on the day’s events.
I’m really starting to loath homework and that time of the day may just become my least favourite soon!
that’s a great point, ali. I know on the days I’m working, all i want to do is be alone with my kids, snuggle and hear their fun stories. good reminder to appreciate our babies before they’re all grown up!
I think it’s a little different if you work full time vs. staying at home.
I know my sister hates that in between time after dinner and before bed. But, she’s with her kids all day.
Like you, there’s not a ton of time for us. I like that time.
My favourite time though (most days) is morning when we’re getting ready. Matt is pretty fun in the morning. I love how he wants to cuddle when he gets up and then how he is into choosing his clothes these days. I love how he tells me what he dreamt about – even though I’m pretty sure he makes it up.
And, I love that now he wants to make breakfast with me. He will put his toast in the toaster with my help or choose cereal. I’m a morning person though, and so I’ve already had my coffee and breakfast and I’m not cranky.
The time of the day I hate is the time right before dinner when Matt is hungry and cranky and whiny. Thank goodness that is like 20 minutes and we just turn on Treehouse.
oh .. and least favorite? When I get up, at 5:30 am, man, that sucks.
I think the ‘working full time’ is the key. I too find the time from about 5pm to 8 pm .. precious! It is the time that I hear about my son’s day, get to do homework (and YES, he has quite a bit for grade 1!).. and then we get to just hang out. I too suffer the single mom-hood lately, my husband works late most night. And I agree, I used to get upset, but now I get a little annoyed when he gets home early and interupts our little routine lol. Spending time with my son, the BEST part of my day, hands-down!
I just went back to work after my second mat leave. I live for that time at the end of the day – even though I am exhausted and hungry and sometimes generally irritable. I like your idea of taking pictures together during that time – I think I will adopt it. Here’s my only problem – b/c I only see them for a few hours before bed, I sometimes feel all stressed out to make the time mondo meaningful. Your post was inspirational – I think I will just try to relax more and enjoy the time…
I totally get where you’re coming from. Whether she’s in a crappy mood, or a whiny mood, or a cuddly mood, or whatever, the time I get to see my daughter after work until she goes to bed is my most precious time as well. It’s difficult being a working parent – you need to make the most of the limited hours you have with your kids, because, as they say, you’ll never get this time back.