Missy’s full time working mum juggling act MF adventure

missymoo81

Obviously still procrastinating work. Everything comes down to being more organised doesn’t it. You’re super organised @bluegreen143, from reading your diary. How do you organise? Is it weekly I know you plan meals etc. I do it sometimes just not often enough. Do organised people just plan everything on a weekend or do you do it weeks in advance? I  might have to get a sort of calendar. I thought about it last year. Me and OH run a digital diary on our phones, and in the holidays we have a white board which we write on to make sure we know what’s happening each day and to plan fun things.

Going on holiday will help, I will take my notepad and make plans and organise my head which will help organise things when I’m home. Could do with another clear out and declutter of physical stuff too. Does anyone else find that working a busy and demanding job means your brain is just too full at the end of the day and can’t cope with any thoughts of  being organised or doing things at home. 

Looking at money, as long as my expenses go through, (they’ve come up as approved on the system, yay!). I can afford the holiday, summer activities for the children and OHs birthday. Then I can get Mays laptop and school shoes etc on the end of Augusts pay. 

I will see what I can achieve this month, right really must do some work! 

fionaandphil

Is it France you are headed to? Don't forget you can't take any food in now, all checked at customs.

What about a film afternoon if it's raining? Big bucket of popcorn, sweets and some retro Disney or the like? Ours bring their quilts down and sit on the floor eating rubbish. Usually top it off by feeding them hot dogs - doesn't hurt for one day!

Or a games afternoon, trip to the library or the like? We are planning on having cake or cookie baking next rainy day. Uses up bits in the cupboard, make their own treats and occupies them for a couple of hours.

joedenise

fionaandphil said:

Is it France you are headed to? Don't forget you can't take any food in now, all checked at customs.

What about a film afternoon if it's raining? Big bucket of popcorn, sweets and some retro Disney or the like? Ours bring their quilts down and sit on the floor eating rubbish. Usually top it off by feeding them hot dogs - doesn't hurt for one day!

Or a games afternoon, trip to the library or the like? We are planning on having cake or cookie baking next rainy day. Uses up bits in the cupboard, make their own treats and occupies them for a couple of hours.

Re the bolded bit - never been checked and we always take food with us.  We travel in a motorhome and have fridge/freezer in it with food in plus food in cupboards.  If they ever check then it will just be a case of chucking what's not allowed and write it off to experience but we're on a motorhome forum and everyone does exactly the same.  If you really can't afford to replace any food if that happens then should you really be going on holiday!

missymoo81

Thanks @fionaandphil maybe I will just buy some at the other end….. and thanks @joedenise not sure I’ll risk it. It was only to save a couple of euros. 

And thanks @f@fionaandphil great suggestions. We used to have a movie night every Wednesday but the older Roo got the less he could agree on a film to watch with May. We also do HM pizza sometimes and bake but Roo just gets bored so easily being practically a teenager. Do love the library though.

jwil

I'm very much the two wants person, but it's about working out a balance of what really matters to you.  I'm single minded about my early retirement plans as I want that slow living, but equally I want to live now.  We do most things at low cost.  We don't really eat out, we'll have a takeaway a couple of times a month, and when we go away, we just book a cheap caravan or hotel.  We spend most of our time out and about, so lots of beach trips, or walks in the countryside, so it only costs fuel.  If we are out we'll either take a picnic, or just go to a bakery or buy a meal deal rather than spend a fortune in cafes etc.  We have our NT membership so there's always somewhere we can go without paying to get in.  We keep an eye out for free/low cost activities in the holidays as well.  We do the work on the house as and when we can afford it and just put up with the very outdated decor.  I'd love to have it all done, but not at the expense of not being able to do anything else or taking on more debt.

I'm also with you on the brain meltdown in the week when trying to juggle work and everything else.  I don't properly meal plan, but when I do my shop I make a rough idea of what we are having each day and make sure I buy what we need so I rarely need to shop midweek.  I bear in mind what we will be doing, and look for easy meals that can just be chucked together, and thrown in the oven or slow cooker, as I don't like spending a lot of time cooking.  While tea is cooking, I catch up on any admin type stuff that is needed for school etc so I keep on top of that.  I have a list where everything gets added and I tick stuff off as it's done.  I pay bills/school money requests straight away so I don't forget about them.  

I also try and make sure I do any housework in the week, so the weekends are mostly just for chilling.  I don't feel like doing it in the week, but its much worse trying to catch up on it all at the weekend when you'd rather be doing something else, so I try and force myself to do it.  

redofromstart

If it is motorcycle and panniers - we went to Jersey by bike last summer.  It was brilliant but by the time you have added a basic emergency tool kit, a pair of shoes each, and a few days of clothes for two people then there was just no room for anything much else.  I took my kindle rather than any books, just no space.  We stayed in a hotel so didn't have to worry about towels which helped.

missymoo81

hey @redofromstart how are you? Love the fact you’re still with me after all this time! You’re right, we’ve done a similar trip years ago, and literally couldn’t fit much, we do have a top box too which is helpful, but mostly fits the other bike layers. I didn’t realise in France they expect you to bring bed linen and towels! I’m trying to come up with places that don’t. 

Am starting to look forward to it a little now, could really do with the break!

@jwil thank you for your organisation tips, I do try and do the same whilst making dinner, get all the lunches etc done. I do need to try and get them to do more now. They are rather lazy 11 and 12 year olds. The trouble is, we have to get up so early sometimes to get to school that it’s just easier that I make breakfast. But they should be able to make some dinners, pasta bake is super easy, as is stir fry. I will try and start implementing things.

and thank you for your ideas on what you do with the children for fun. We definitely need to go on more walks and have more picnics. I love a picnic. 

had a rather long and unproductive (surprise, surprise) day at work, it’s just so hot! Better than a lot of places I’ve worked though. Only managed 6000 steps too. Really don’t feel like cooking. But spent a fortune on food at the beginning of the week for healthy meals so could do with actually eating it before we go away, as have no room in the tiny freezer! 

Bluegreen143

We have a shared google calendar we can access on both our phones and on the shared iPad in the kitchen. We also have a shared google task list - don’t use it lots but we have one tab as a shopping list which is handy as we can both add to it.

Re kids and getting them to make breakfast. I don’t have the time for making fancy breakfasts so had to sacrifice my ideals and the kids make their own breakfasts (well Monkey makes for both but Bambi is only 5 so that’s fair!). 

To make it easier we designated one open shelf in the kitchen as a “breakfast station”. It contains - 3x cereal dispenser Tupperware type things (we rotate what’s in them but I find that more than 3 types at a time means it ends up going stale). Box of plain microwave porridge sachets (not that frugal but 8yo has to be able to make it himself easily). Tub of peanut butter and loaf of bread. Fruit bowl on the shelf above. 

With the above, the kids have the choice of making peanut butter toast, porridge or cereal with a piece of fruit. My main rule is they must have either peanut butter or milk in their breakfast for protein so no dry cereal or toast just with jam. Absolutely no mental effort from me except keeping this shelf stocked. Mine aren’t big enough to do dinners themselves yet but I look forward to that! 

I have been doing twice weekly mealplans & shopping, which is easier (you’re only planning four days at a time) but I found I spent much more. Back to weekly shopping for me and I’m getting it delivered on Sunday evenings. I try to mealplan & complete the order on the Friday and can add any extra items up til late Sat night. 

missymoo81

Thank you @Bluegreen143 I really appreciate your advice. Yes breakfast I could def make easier and emptying a cupboard will help.

missymoo81

Ah so holiday is turning out to be way way more expensive than we thought. I really need to look at budgets!