Pat
been working nights again for about a month now and for the most part I think
it’s going ok. We still have time together as a family and we try and
make it count. For us, family
time has always been about quality over quantity. Living two hours
away from my parents, siblings and other extended family has taught me
to make the most of the time that we have and find the ‘something
special’ in every day moments.
Pat has started taking the kids for donuts on Friday
mornings before taking Evie to school. It’s a special time that they
have together and I know they all have fun.
Pat even tries an 'adventures' with Mitch at least once a week. Sometimes
after they drop Evie off, Pat will take Mitch to the store to get
flowers. Pat told me that Mitch is so completely cute about it – he has
to hold the flowers as they walk through the store and give them to the
cashier. He said the other patrons in the store
get a huge kick out of it. And Mitch is always so proud to ‘give’ Evie
and I the flowers. Sometimes they go to the store to browse the toys or they go the park. Pat took Mitch to zoo one afternoon too.
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| This is what happens with Daddy... :) |
I
thought that the kids might sleep in a little now that they don’t have
to go the babysitter each morning, but that hasn’t been the case at
all. Mitch is usually up before
me and I get up around 5:30
to get ready for work. Evie usually gets up before I leave too so I
try to get them settled with cartoons and snack downstairs so that Pat
can rest a little more on the couch. Not sure if that works out well or
not. Pat and I
discussed changing their bedtime to be a little later, but we both
agreed that it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference. Our kids
have always been early risers.
We still have family dinners on Monday and Wednesdays, and even if Pat’s not there, I make sure I sit down with the kids - no TV, no phone, no distractions – on Tuesday,
Thursday and Sunday nights. Friday and Saturday
are more relaxed. Sometimes after the long week, I take the kids out
to each on Fridays. We also have a ‘snack dinner’ once in a while.
I’ll make a smorgasbord of snacks – tater tots, cheese, pepperoni,
pickles,
edamame, quesadillas, whatever we have – and let the kids eat and snack
while watching a movie. They love it!
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| Edamame! |
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| Kale, tofu and purple rice! |
On
Fridays since Pat started working, I’ve been letting Evie stay up late
to watch a big girl movie with me. She has grown to LOVE these Mama
& Evie movie nights. It can
be a challenge to get Mitch to bed so we can do this, but it’s worth
it. We snuggle under a blanket with a big bowl a popcorn and Evie gets
to pick the movie. Several times I’ve caught her looking up at me with a
little grin and then she’ll lean over to
give me a big hug and say “I love you Mama’. It makes me so happy and a
treasure these quiet times. Since Pat tries do special things with just
Mitch while Evie is at school so I don’t feel too bad about including
him in this time.
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| Mama & Evie movie night! |
We
are making this new schedule work, but it isn’t always easy. I missing
having a second set of hands around to help and I know Pat feels the
same. While it’s not impossible
to take our kids out by myself, it’s not stress-free. Mitch likes to
run (I swear I’m thinking of getting him a lease) and he really doesn’t
like sitting in a shopping cart. When we got shopping, there is no
browsing to be done. A list is essential so
that we can be in and out as quickly as possible. I really need to up
my game and start to do more online shopping.
I’m
not going to lie… It can be really overwhelming at times to not have Pat
there. I know he feels the same way in the mornings when I’m not there.
In a lot of ways, I think it’s
helping us appreciate each other more. I hope this schedule is only
here on a temporary basis. I hope that new opportunities present
themselves so that we can make the changes we really want to make. But
until that happens, we will just keep trying our
best to make out current situation work and be grateful for the
blessings in our life.
