It's 3:30. The time of day when everything starts spiraling out of control.
The house looks awesome.
(and the baby has no pants)
(and the baby has no pants)
The kids are chipper.
And Brooklyn is mega focused on getting her homework done.
Ya, basically, it's not my favorite time of day.
And lucky for me, Dave's work schedule keeps him safely at work until the kids are in bed and he arrives at home just in time to walk through the door to find me; hair frazzled, some form of child bodily fluids on my clothes, and maybe starting to twitch a little.
I know there are a few of you (Sharlene, Natalie, Andrea... and probably more) who get to do this shift alone too. And even if you don't, I am sure things are still plenty chaotic.
SO, does anyone have any magical ideas of how to make those 3-8pm hours a little easier?
I am trying to:
*prepare dinner earlier in the day (huge help)
*give everyone (including me) a little snack so we aren't all turning savage waiting for dinner.
*investing in rope and duct tape
(ha ha, I'm kidding...No really, I am...Really)
I love these little monkeys.
And would I rather be at work?
Forget about it!
But when Aubrey is screaming, Bradley is crying and trying to wedge himself between me and everything else, Jack is playing/running/screaming/teasing, and Brooklyn is making angry faces at Jack and doing her homework at the rate of one page an hour...I start to feel a little loopy.
Speak to me my friends.
In the meantime, I'll go fantasize about Dave getting a job with "normal" hours.
8 comments:
Kira I totally know how you feel! The worst hour for us is 4:00. I also try to get dinner made early. Some things I try to do (if dinner is prepared and on warm in the oven), is take the kids on a walk, or I save this show called "Brain Surge" on the DVR and let them watch it at 4:00. They love it, it's a game show. However most of the time, things are crazy and kids are cranky :( boo
Girl I hear you. Dean leaves for work at 2pm and I don't see him until the next morning. Here are a few things we do to keep the 'peace' and my sanity; Go to the park and eat dinner there if possible. go for a walk, watch a quiet movie, generally nothing involving star wars because ethan just wants to be in the movie and fight too. Read books, turn on music really loud and dance. As for the slow homework doing, i have Ethan run laps tills he's got all the energy out and then we hit it again. He generally does much better. Good luck it's not easy and what works one day probably won't work the next but hey that how kids are right??
hi kira! yes, i'm without husband during that time of day too. like you said, i think the BEST, most stress-free solution is to have dinner prepared to the point it just needs to go in the oven. then i head to the mall, or the park, or have a playdate until dinner time. but i hear ya, i'm pretty sure on the days when i don't have it all together, my blood pressure is off the charts :) good luck!
One thing that I did when my oldest was in kindergarten and the other two were quite a bit younger was to set up "homework" for them too. It helped them feel like they were big kids, plus it helped keep my schoolie kid at the table and a little more focused. I know how ya feel. Rayce is gone from around 2pm till after midnight. Hang in there, that's the best I can tell ya! :)
I HATE this time of day too. Bryan is usually gone and it's the busiest time of day. Doing dinner a little earlier is what I do. We also go outside to play- that seems to relieve some stress. If Niah needs some down time after school I let her watch some TV or color and then we hit the homework. Chloe likes to do homework with Niah, and Bennett likes to color with crayons too. If you figure out any tricks let me know!
4-5 is my hateful hour. But come the beginning of 2011 Dave will be back in school so I will be joining you in the joys. I am worried and scared. I count on Dave to be home at 5 to help me...and pretty soon it won't be an option.
What is it about the late afternoon that sends kids into crazy mode? It's the crazy hours at our house from 3:30 until the kids are asleep. I have help about half of the time, but it's still CRAZY! I can't imagine doing it alone everyday. You're amazing!
I'm trying to be better at having most of my stuff (laundry folded, dinner prepared, etc.) done by the time Jaci comes home from school, so that I can just be with my kids. If we are doing something together everyone is a little happier and things aren't quite as crazy. Some days this isn't possible, but it's what I shoot for. We haven't had to deal with homework yet, so we'll see how that goes next year. Hang in there!
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