Kids are 5 and 1. Weekends are about survival. I spend a lot of time worrying about what I'm going to feed them. DD has dance on Sunday mornings. I usually haul them out on an errand or two with me just for a change of scenery. Sometimes we have to load DS in the car and go for a long drive or else he won't nap.
Ugh - we had to do this with both kids for a while. Hope he grows out of it soon (though I used to kind of like driving aimlessly in silence.
17 months and 4.5. Sat AM- Story time at local bookstore - but they were closed from December-January and I about lost my mind. after story time I get a coffee at a local shop and in the summer we head to the Farmer's market and might do lunch with friends Nap for 17 month old Grocery Pick-up @ walmart- maybe an errand to another grocery store if walmart didn't have something Dinner
Sun- Am- Nothing- I need to fill this time Pm- Library/play outside when its nice Get ready for the week
Most of his activities are during the week/after school and I try to order online to avoid errands. T- Ball is starting soon that will take away some Saturday mornings and afternoons. Our library isn't open on Saturday ( just Sunday) which drives me crazy. I'm usually good with activities fall and spring but winter gets to me.
Saturdays start with soccer in the spring and fall. During the winter, we've been going to the Y on many Saturday mornings. H and I work out and then we take the kids to swim. In the summer, we often go to the farmers market in the morning. We try to reserve Saturday afternoons for something fun -- lately, it's been birthday parties but we'll also see what's going on around town or take the kids to a park, movie, etc. Saturday is usually the night we eat dinner out each week.
Sundays are CCD/church in the mornings. They are less fun but more productive. We'll do a deeper clean of the house (mop, dust, bathrooms, and other things we don't have time for during the week), and I meal prep. When the weather's nicer, the kids usually play outside while we do that, or we spend Sunday afternoons hanging out with our neighbors while the kids play. We often ride bikes to the neighborhood park on Sundays too.
Post by jeaniebueller on Mar 6, 2019 9:39:57 GMT -5
Ours are 10 and 4.
If we don't have anything going on as far as activities or events, we sleep in, run errands, do chores, play board games, play outside, swim at our HOA pool, have playdates, go to a movie, etc. We are busy on the weekends quite often so i cherish the wekeends where we can do whatever we want. In the summer and spring months, we spend a lot of time outside, at the beach, going on walks, etc.
Post by countthestars on Mar 6, 2019 9:48:28 GMT -5
It's so interesting to see what other people do! We are a weird mix of not wanting to stay home and feeling like we never get to relax. Our kids are 5 and 3 and a typical winter weekend looks like this:
Friday: Swim right after school. Dinner out, home for tubs and bed (maybe a little playing). Saturday: Kids watch cartoons while we get ready for the day. Do some sort of kid activity - Home Depot build, bowling, indoor inflatable play place. Come home for lunch, DS takes a nap, I run some errands with or without DD, then dinner and playing. H and I will either get a sitter and go out or watch a movie or catch up on our shows. Sunday: Grocery shop in the morning. Maybe fit in one other errand or something else "fun for kids". Come home, put away groceries, lunch, nap for DS, meal prep for the week, head to my parents house for dinner.
I think maybe I just need the snow to melt so we can add in more outdoor play either at home or at a park (free!). It just feels like we're always spending money on bowling or the play place or the nail salon. I do also need to set different expectations with DD, who is admittedly spoiled. Soccer also starts soon, so that will help!
I’ve also made a conscious effort to do less activities that cost money. There are a ton of free activities in our area so we look for those and plan on doing one a weekend. It’s easier in the summer, but there are still a lot in the winter.
For free/low cost stuff:
Library/library activities (music or story time) Discounted tickets from library to zoo/aquarium Play dates Playground Walk around local parks Swim lessons (comes in around $15/class) Play place ($10)
Saturday mornings are for dance for DD and sometimes a sport for DS depending on the season. I also work every other Saturday night. We try to do our errands (hair cuts, laundry, cleaning) on Saturdays as well.
Sundays we try to keep to family time. We make a big breakfast or go out to breakfast and grocery shop. We go to the gym and then often do art projects at home (DS's favorite thing to do) family swim at the gym, or movie day in the winter. When the weather is warmer this is when we go to the park, the beach, hike, etc.
My kids are 4.5 and 21 months. They are not in any organized activities yet.
Usually we spend Friday nights getting a jump start on laundry, and let DD pick a movie to watch after DS goes to bed. Saturday mornings H goes to the gym and the kids and I play at home. They usually get a long bubble bath while I try to clean and/or do laundry. Sometimes either H or I will take a kid on an errand mid-morning just to get them out of the house. Saturday night we usually do a nicer dinner at home with dessert, and let the kids have a dance party. H and I will play a game with DD after DS goes to bed. Sunday is usually reserved for meal prep, grocery shopping, remaining cleaning, and visiting family. The kids will come to the grocery store as an activity. In the winter, our weekends are pretty boring. We've taken the kids to a local indoor playplace, out to lunch/play at Chic-Fil-A, to kids museums but they always seem to get sick when we do that. We had a rough round of sickness in February so we are avoiding the germ-infested places for now.
During the nicer weather, we are outside almost all of our awake time. We like to go on family walks or to the park. We have a big yard and a pool and host family/friends a lot of the time in the nicer weather. We also spend 1 weekend visiting family out of town, and one weekend every 6 or so weeks hosting my family at our house so that breaks up the monotony a bit. H and I both have large immediate families, so there's often a celebration for someone's birthday, graduation, etc. taking up some of our weekend time.
Post by Velar Fricative on Mar 6, 2019 10:58:10 GMT -5
We both work FT M-F and the kids are 5.5yo and 21mo. The younger one still takes naps.
Every weekend is different. Saturday mornings are typically either ice skating or swimming lessons for DD1. That's really the only "fixed" thing we tend to have depending on time of year. Otherwise, we plan family visits (we have large families and most are local), do local activities (library, park, zoo, children's museum, festivals when warm), or day trips/weekend trips. DH or I will often run errands during DD2's naps if we need to get stuff done. And then there's always parties of some sort and other milestone events with family and friends that fill up various days. No birthday parties from school friends yet, thank goodness (she was invited to one so far but we had another commitment anyway, and it seems like the rest of the class just sticks to goody bags and treats at school on their birthdays).
And then when we have a string of crazy weekends with lots of events (last summer was insane with graduation parties, weddings, birthday parties, etc.), we try to keep one weekend during that time free of commitments so we can just relax at home.
countthestars , I think it is interesting to see what everyone else does, too. And like you, I like a combination of wanting to have plenty to do but also time to relax. But what is relaxing with a toddler, lol. konapoppy , I am similar to you in that I NEED to get out with S for at least part of every day. I go crazy on the days we don't. redheadbaker , jealous that you guys all sleep until 9!
I have a 19 month old
Sat: 7-8:30 breakfast and laundry and prepping for the day/playing inside 9-10:30ish I either run (S is with a sitter) or go to kickboxing (bring S with me, my trainer is also his daycare teacher). Starting in a month he will have swim lessons during this time so we will be gone swimming instead. I will run after swim lessons, or before. TBD. Home by 10:45 and do an early lunch then down for a nap until about 2. During this time I usually shower and nap myself If I do not need to nap I will do stuff around the house or do a workout in my basement if I did not get to one in the morning. Grocery shopping in the afternoon with S. Do errands and possibly find something to do. If I grocery shop on Friday or have groceries delivered we will find an activity to do instead. Activities include: bounce house kids museum playdates skiing winter hiking/snow shoeing Then home for indoor play and dinner and bedtime
Sunday: Weekly meal prep first thing in the morning. Usually done by 8:30/9 am. If I do not run or get in a workout on Saturday I will get a sitter and run Sunday am Possibly a play date or activity that we did not do the day before or brunch or something home for naps and more laundry afternoon activity again usually outside of the house Home by 4 or so for indoor play and dinner and bedtime.
If my husband (who is not around this time of year due to work) was the one to make the decisions we would just be home all day, lol. I HATE IT.
Summer makes it a little easier because we have a deck with a kiddie pool and fun outdoor toys that S loves. I am more willing to be at home in the summer, though I still prefer to leave and DO stuff.
Post by minniemouse on Mar 6, 2019 11:36:47 GMT -5
Mine are 9 and 5. We are so busy on the weekends, but it’s not the same thing every week. The only consistent commitment is dd2’s dance class on sat morning. The rest of the weekend fills up with bday parties, play dates, sleepovers, family events, school events. We also usually go out to eat at least once. When we have a quiet day, we find something to do- usually using our memberships to the ymca, zoo, children’s museum. In the summer we are more likely to hang out at home or go to a park.
For a while we had DD1 in a tumbles class and then swimming for one weekend morning, but she hasn’t had an organized activity since November. Lately if we don’t get out of the house it feels like she is constantly begging for the iPad or to watch a movie so I’d really like to get an activity going again. It will be nice if I could get DD2 into something also but it is going to be so expensive.
We are in a weird transition mode getting used to having 2 kids. So we don’t really have a routine except we usually go out for breakfast one morning and try to get DD1 outside at least for a little while even though it’s freezing here. DD1 naps from around 1-3 and DD2 naps sporadically not on any kind of schedule but is more flexible as to where and how long.
Post by countthestars on Mar 6, 2019 13:09:20 GMT -5
For those of you with play dates - how old are your kids and do the parents stay? I'd love to have drop-off play dates here where I don't have to make small talk with the mom. On the flip side though, DD is terrified of dogs and all of her friends have them, so I'm not sure if she'd let me drop her off somewhere.
Sat: Usually an activity in the morning - park, library, children's museum, etc, followed by lunch and nap. In the afternoon, errands (often I take one kid and leave one with DH), walks, DH and I clean or relax while the kids play or watch TV.
Sun: Church in the morning, then lunch and nap. Usually I take the kids over to my Grandma's in the afternoon; DH will stay home and do school work and/or clean up.
redheadbaker , jealous that you guys all sleep until 9!
DS doesn't, LOL. He will get up, change out of his PJs, and either play with his toys, turn on Netflix, or play Minecraft on an old laptop that H refurbished for him. He can make himself toaster waffles and get himself a cup of water.
And once Little League starts, I doubt we'll be able to sleep in that long!
Outside play/activity (park, indoor gym, zoo, museum, etc.) Saturday and Sunday. My boys have a lot of energy so we almost always have them doing physical play sat and sun (usually in the mornings/early afternoons). Library visits a couple times a month (at least). Errands and chores are sprinkled throughout the weekend whenever we have free time.
Sat: Usually an activity in the morning - park, library, children's museum, etc, followed by lunch and nap. In the afternoon, errands (often I take one kid and leave one with DH), walks, DH and I clean or relax while the kids play or watch TV.
Our weekends (both sat and sun) look a lot like your Saturdays.
Saturdays I usually go to a Zumba class at 8am, then rush home and get showered/changed then take DD to ballet class. After ballet I meet up with DH and DS for swim lessons. After swim lessons I usually go grocery shopping. Then we're usually home for the rest of the afternoon or at a birthday party.
Sunday we all go to the Y where DD and DS go to the kid care room and DH and I work out. Then Sunday afternoon we do a lot of meal prep to get ready for the week ahead.
My daughter is 9. Our weekends have evolved over the years as our lives has changed and DD has grown up. During the school year she usually has Hebrew School Sunday mornings and a rehearsal (theater or dance performance) in the afternoon. In between we do errands, get ready for the week, chores, homework, etc. Saturday is our family day. We used to go to synagogue in the AM, but haven't done that in a long time. Sometimes we do day trips like amusement parks, beach, hiking, etc and sometimes we do smaller things like a few hours at LEGOLAND or a trampoline place or go out to eat, playgrounds, bowling, movies, museums, etc. On rare occasion DH and I go on a date night Sat night, but that doesn't happen too often.
When the weather is nice we like to go into Manhattan and do various activities in the city like parks, cultural events, street fairs, etc,
Dd is four and we have only done one drop off play date. The other child goes to daycare with her, we have done activities with the family, and one of the parents is our doctor. I felt comfortable with it. We need to have their child over soon. Another family offered, but the dad gives me weird vibes so we declined.
A lot of the kids in her preschool class need help in the bathroom, so I’m not volunteering for drop off play dates until next year when they start kindergarten, lol.
I'm always jealous of people who cram in a ton of amazing things every weekend. I feel like my weekends are largely chores. Cleaning, laundry (never ending), meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep for the week. Plus other assorted errands, like my kid needs new shoes, or haircuts, or picking up a gift for an upcoming birthday.
The kids go to Sunday School most Sunday mornings (no Sunday School on the first sunday of the month), and right now my son is doing a baseball clinic Saturday mornings. The dog needs a long, exhausting (for him) walk both weekend days, rain or shine, to make up for shorter walks and crate time during the week. My H often works on Saturdays.
There's really no time to work in expensive activities, which I guess is a financial win, at least. Three out of 4 of us are introverts, so if we do have weekend free time, we often just need to use the time to relax and avoid people.
For those of you with play dates - how old are your kids and do the parents stay? I'd love to have drop-off play dates here where I don't have to make small talk with the mom. On the flip side though, DD is terrified of dogs and all of her friends have them, so I'm not sure if she'd let me drop her off somewhere.
Drop off play dates start around 4.5 here. I’ve never done a play date where the parent stayed. If we are getting together with my friends’ kids the parents stay, but I don’t call those visits play dates since we (the moms) have been friends for 29 years. It’s more like I’m hanging out with my friend and our kids are stuck playing together 😂
I have a 12, 10, and 7 year old. DH works 8 weekends on/8 weekends off, and I work about 10 w/e a year. Not ideal, but it is our normal. This is our schedule this weekend Fri night: DS swims, pizza or dinner out Sat: DS swim meet, DD2 art class, DS lacrosse practice in the late afternoon. I have a couple errands I need to do for my volunteer gig and DH and I will try and fit it our workouts. Sun: DS swim meet, DD1 lacrosse practice. DH and I will both take turns running. Grocery shopping, laundry, clean.
The older two generally have friends over every other weekend. They plan it and are old enough to entertain themselves, so that is no big deal. DS's winter swim schedule ends soon and then we get a couple months of just lacrosse, which b/w the kids is still every day. We try and go out with friends a couple times a month (w/o kids), but it doesn't always work. I feel like our schedule, other than us working w/e's, is pretty typical of families with older kids.
My kids are swimmers. We basically are at the pool 75% of all weekends. Practice, meets, lessons. Birthday parties are the other 25%. We have a 6 week swim meet break coming up. I’m a bit lost about what to do with myself lol
Haha, yes. We have the last week of March through April off. Maybe my son will have normal non-chlorine saturated hair by the end of those weeks off.
DD is 21 months. She's up around 7am every morning, sometimes earlier. MH is an early riser so often on weekends he'll just go get her and let me sleep a bit longer.
We make breakfast and eat together at the table, or once in a while we'll all go to a diner for breakfast.
On Saturdays I take DD to the supermarket with me. Meanwhile MH stays home and either cleans the house or does his woodworking hobby in the basement. When DD and I get home it's usually time for her nap. During the nap I'll either just chill out and watch TV, or do laundry or meal prep.
When the weather is nice we try to take her to the park when we can. Or we'll drive down the Shore (we time it so she'll nap on the car ride down) and walk around on a boardwalk like Asbury Park or Seaside Heights, or Point Pleasant and stop in the aquarium. Or a brewery. Last summer/fall we went to NYC a few times with the stroller and walked around in parks and found casual places to eat.
We recently found an indoor play place 10 minutes from our house which is good for wintertime and rainy days, although it's only open 9am-noon on weekends so we have to plan ahead in order to go there. MH has taken her to the library a few times, too.
Sometimes we have our friends over on Saturday evenings. Their kids are 4 and 6. Last time they came over we opened up a tea set DD got for her birthday and she and the 4 year-old were playing with it.
On Sundays we try not to do a whole lot. Grocery shopping if I didn't get around to it on Saturday. Residual laundry. Sometimes we visit my mom, or MH's relatives.
We don’t do much since our budget is pretty limited. Being able to afford to go out AND pay for a babysitter is rare lol
Saturday mornings this winter have consisted of taking the twins to swim class from 10:30-11:00. Then we usually come home, put them down for a nap, and then my H and I will work out. Saturday nights we usually eat a nice dinner on the couch after the boys go to bed, and watch Netflix or whatever. Kind of like our date night!
Sundays my H makes a big breakfast while I meal plan, and one of us goes grocery shopping while the other cleans the house. We pack lunches/dayhome bags/meal prep etc as well. Usually 2-3 times per month we go over to my parents house for a big Sunday dinner.
I’m looking forward to when our lives don’t revolve around a 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day. It’s nice to have the peace and quiet now, but you’re still housebound lol
Friday night is usually just hanging out at home. SS (12yo) comes to our house on Friday, so a lot of times it's him playing with the little boys (5yo and 3yo) and figuring out something easy for dinner. Sometimes H and I will hang out with my sister and her fiance or some of the neighbors after the kids are in bed.
On weekend mornings, we're definitely lazier now that C(5yo) knows how to get himself a snack (granola bar, yogurt squeezer, etc) and turn on the tv. He always comes to ask if he can watch a cartoon before doing it, but he'll turn on a movie for he and his little brother. P.s. Thank goodness for the Xfinity voice remote that lets him say "Free kids movies!" and get whatever he wants to watch.
H or I will usually roll out of bed a little while later and figure out something for breakfast and let the kids play. Sometimes we have specific plans, but lately we haven't. Spring hockey is going to start up soon for C, so we'll have at least one destination each weekend day once that begins. This last weekend I took the kids to an Easter party thing and then to the McDonald's play place for a while. The weekend before we did a Costco run and the library. The weekend before that we didn't leave the house all weekend.
Sundays my H works, so I'm solo with the kids until he gets home around 2pm. The morning starts out about the same, but then sometimes we'll go visit my parents for Sunday breakfast or find something fun to do. My biggest challenge has been trying to find activities that appease all of the kids. The ages of 12, 5, and 3 can be challenging because I can usually make the 12 and 5yo happy, but it leaves the 3yo out, or I can make the 5 and 3yo happy but it leaves the 12yo bored.
If I'm being super honest, this winter has included WAY TOO MUCH TV on the weekends. So I am looking forward to hockey starting again to curb some of that.
For those of you with play dates - how old are your kids and do the parents stay? I'd love to have drop-off play dates here where I don't have to make small talk with the mom. On the flip side though, DD is terrified of dogs and all of her friends have them, so I'm not sure if she'd let me drop her off somewhere.
ha, I am sure you are not talking about people with kids my age, because for me, with a 19 mo old, we do get togethers more for the moms than the kids, lol.
But for my friends with older kids, I would say they start doing playdates with kids being dropped off starting at 4? I think it is all in the wording. If you say "hey, why doesnt little joe come over for a playdate! we would love to have him!" it is more implied that parents are not going to be expected to stay. if you say "oh, we would love to do a playdate with you guys!" then it is more implied that its a parents included get together.
Saturday: - I cook breakfast when I wake up (DH lets me sleep in) - if DS isn't vomiting/nauseous from chemo, he goes to his martial arts class (real life, yo) - I go to my martial arts private session around lunchtime - DH goes to the gym - we do some type of family outing if DS is up for it (playground, ice cream, dinner, walk, beach, etc.)
Sunday: - family breakfast - DH gym - I run an errand or two by myself - another family outing
DH usually takes DS outside to play, just the two of them. They have nerf gun fights, build forts, dig holes, and do other random stuff. Ha! Sometimes he takes Ds to the comic cook store.
Other things we do: - ice skating (first time a few wks ago, and we'll go again this week) - sledding - walk on our local beach (even if there's snow!) - local trail hike - pay the day rate to swim at our local Y - ice cream - bookstore (nearly every weekend) - library - wander around Goodwill - mall in the summer months - visit ILs (sometimes DH will take DS and I will stay home) - fun takeout for dinner, kid friendly family movie while eating - go out to the movies - set off rockets (we have a few different sets) - take a frisbee and soccer ball to a local field - local fairs and festivals (check "events" on FB to see what's in your area. We hit up most area carnivals in the warmer months!)
DS always does laundry on weekends, and usually selects 2 "chore sticks". (Jar with chores listed on them.)
We do a lot of family projects. A couple weeks ago we did a mural together. DS has a huge rock collection, so we'll take that out and look through them together. Legos are huge, and we also play with those together. I hate imaginative play, but we all enjoy boardgames, Legos, and crafts together. DH and I have scooters, so we'll scoot around while DS rides his bike, too. Really, parenting has been so fun when we go down to DS's level and do fun things like climb on playground equipment WITH him.
I could go on and on. We're always trying to shake up our schedule.
And lastly... we also allow ourselves to be board. This leads to DS creating art projects on his own, and reading independently. So while we do go out and find fun. There are chunks of the weekend where everyone is doing their own thing, too.
I think maybe I just need the snow to melt so we can add in more outdoor play either at home or at a park (free!). It just feels like we're always spending money on bowling or the play place or the nail salon. I do also need to set different expectations with DD, who is admittedly spoiled. Soccer also starts soon, so that will help!
I find that with extreme temps in the winter, short spurts of outdoor time equate to longer spurts in warmer months. Meaning - if we can just get him out in the fresh air for 15 minutes, he will still crash on the couch and relax when we come inside.
You can also set limits on spending. "Bookstore outing, but you only have $5 to spend, so choose wisely." That eats up a ton of time with DS, because he'll have to narrow it down from, like, 100 books. So we're spending much, but not much. We'll also take him to Goodwill and let him pick a set # of books.
We also love those gourmet donut and cupcake shops. Big bang for your buck!