We are almost to the end! Did you make it through the whole week? If you neglected your time log a bit today, that’s OK. You can try to recreate the day now. “Family time” works as an entry. The goal is more seeing the big picture than knowing how you spent every 5 minutes.
Last night I did get some reading in, though less than I wanted since the 5-year-old had a few issues going to bed. I chatted with my husband for a while, and went to bed at 10:45. I am pretty sure the boys were not asleep at that point.
It was good I went to bed, because the toddler woke up at 4:45 a.m. Sigh. I could not get him back down. I lay with him in his bed for a bit, then we went downstairs around 5:20. We watched PAW Patrol and I read until 6:10, when I gave him to my husband. Then I went to sleep until he woke me up at 7:10.
7:10-8:15 – got older kids and my husband out the door for skiing. This was not a good hour. Various things were missing. I found it stressful.
8:15-8:30 – showered and dressed. I was home with the 2-year-old, but I gave him a Kindle and he sat on my bed playing some game and then watching Dinosaur Train. I was able to shower with no issues! I remember from I Know How She Does It that women whose youngest children were older than 2 had significantly more leisure time than those with kids under 2. I may be crossing that line!
8:30-9:10 – cleaned out my closet. While he was playing the Kindle! It was amazing to accomplish a household project on the to-do list without giving up nap time to do it.
9:10-9:30 – did hair, got kid ready, etc.
9:30-9:45 – very frustrating process of putting old car seat in my husband’s car. We are down a car right now, and he took the van, and the van has the baby seat. So I had to put one in his car and it just would not go right. I was basically yelling at the *&#* thing in the driveway.
9:40-10 – drove to church, got 2-year-old checked into his class.
10-11:15 – church
11:15- 11:30 – got kid, drove home, got gas en route
11:30 -noon – thought kid would go down for a nap in the car, but he didn’t, so grabbed a snack and changed clothes and confirmed plan with husband.
12-1:20 – drove to Easton with 2-year-old (he napped the whole time), parked. Meanwhile, my husband was driving the other kids to Easton. We met in the parking garage.
1:20-4:10 – Crayola Experience. We did this to celebrate the 2-year-old’s birthday, but they all had a good time. It was crowded, so not my cup of tea trying to keep tabs on everyone, but oh well. A decent indoor play place for a winter day.
4:10-5:30 – got car, drove home. My 5-year-old rode with me this time, and she talked the entire way. Probably good, as I was sleepy. Husband got home with boys about 5 minutes after us.
5:30-6 – got into running clothes, ran a quick 2 miles on treadmill. Husband cooked kids dinner during this time.
6-6:30 – got kids’ dinner on table, sat with them while they ate.
6:30-7:45 – some time chatting with husband, hanging out watching football, playing with kids, did Facetime with grandparents, etc.
7:45 – 8:15 – started chopping onions, etc. while husband put 2-year-old to bed. Switched clothes over from washing machine to dryer in here somewhere.
8:15- 9 – finished cooking, and ate in home date night dinner: steak, twice-baked potatoes, mushrooms, and Caesar salad. Unfortunately, the older children did not leave us alone, which is always a hazard of staying home.
9-9:15 – watched the end of the (taped) football game. I put the 5-year-old in bed (no one has school tomorrow) and now I am typing this. I hope to be in bed relatively early, ending out this time-tracking week with a full night of sleep.
Observations: It was a pretty good week. I ran all 7 days! I will likely do some more analysis tomorrow, because I’m just tired. I hope your time-tracking went well!
My weekend plans were waylaid by rained out baseball fields and a sick kid so my time log for the weekend has more Lego Nexo nights than I would prefer to admit. But I did get to read my big girl several chapters of Anne of Green Gables when she was tired of watching tv but too sick to do anything else. Which translated to several more at various other points over the last couple of days–delightful even if circumstances weren’t the best.
@Calee – I have been meaning to reread those books. I liked them a lot at age 11/12 – I wonder if I still will? Sorry to hear about the illness.
I recently re-read them all and still loved them. I am thinking of reading them aloud to my 6 yo daughter and maybe my 9 yo son, but was worried about the lengthy monologues at the beginning. Glad to hear they are working as a read-aloud.
I haven’t had the chance to read the entire thing–only chapters 1, 5, 7 -11 since she’s been reading it on her own. We published a coloring book featuring quotes from the series last year that made me want to reread it. So far, the book is still wonderful and it’s been a great vocabulary builder (for both of us, honestly). Now that Kindles will instantly define a word for you, it makes it easier to stop and actually understand the older language.
Hi Laura,
Completed the challenge. Emailed you the data. Wrote the blog post to recap the experience. Looking forward to hear your inputs on it.
Here is the link to the post: https://conversationsonthego.com/track-time-like-your-life-depended-on-it-e939806d73db#.cw12bo5dk
“women whose youngest children were older than 2 had significantly more leisure time than those with kids under 2.”
Five months until my toddler turns 2. I am now counting the days…
(Mostly kidding, but the idea of being able to accomplish something – anything! – without being dragged off in the middle of it to read The Hungry Caterpillar for the millionth time is rather appealing…)
That said, we had a productive weekend. Over the two days got a lot of sorting out around the house done – clearing out and decluttering, mostly, but also things like putting a bolt on the porch door so the toddler can’t escape, and replacing our pillows and drinking glasses (which we’ve been meaning to do forever).
We went kite flying on the heath, to the soft play cafe at the garden centre for lunch and a play, and to our neighbours’ baby’s first birthday party. We ate most meals together, read a lot of stories, the husband made slime with the daughter (don’t ask) and they played Minecraft together. And I got a lie in one morning and a bath in peace, plus the husband and I got to watch the last Sherlock together last night. So, pretty good, I think.
I think my favourite thing about tracking my time is how much more I remember all the good things we do. It stops the days disappearing into a memory of chores and toddler battles and not enough sleep.
@Sophie – it is nice to have the time logs as a memento of these days. Sometimes to see good stuff, sometimes to remind myself that I’m not crazy and the crappy stuff did happen! And oh yes, putting a bolt on the door. People without toddlers have no idea. Everything is dangerous.
I don’t really buy into the whole “more leisure time when youngest child turns 2 or 3” thing. Yes, the nature of your physical commitment to your child decreases dramatically. But oh, the other (and often more energy-sucking commitment): extra-curricular activities, navigating friendship dramas, academic needs, monitoring internet/social media, picking high schools, living through puberty, etc etc etc. Our oldest is 12, so we haven’t hit all of those, but on some days, my 10 and 12 year old are honestly require more of my active energy and engagement than my 20 month old. And, as my mother in law told me recently, “you never stop worrying, even when your kids are totally grown up.” Which I can totally see. Though I guess worrying in and of itself doesn’t necessarily strictly interfere with leisure activities, it sure does impact the enjoyment of it.
In rereading that, it comes out sounding a lot more negative about child-rearing than I intended 🙂 Actually, raising my kids is by and large a really enjoyable experience for me. Sure, there are crappy moments, but my remembering self focuses on good! (Even the experiencing self tends to notice the good a lot.) It’s just that it’s basically pretty much a full-time commitment, pretty much regardless of your children’s ages (especially while they are still technically children.)