hello fellow moms and dads here,
i'm jenna out here in california and i'm so exhausted from the daily rants of taking care of my beautiful 2 year old daughter. sometimes it gets so bad that i feel like getting out. i just am in in desperate need some Me-time. when she takes her nap in the afternoons, i find myself constantly cleaning and afterwards, it gets so bad that i doze off to sleep but it's like that short amount of time isn't enough. then i'm off to cooking and then bathing my daughter, cleaning again, when i'm cleaning, i enjoy listening to relaxing music like lately I've been listening to Brendan James's song Green off his The Day is Brave album that comes out august 26th. it was recommended to me by a friend from umgd. has anyone listened to this song before? i like his sound and the way that he plays that piano is awesome! i guess if you guys have some down time, here's the video i found for the song: 'Green' by Brendan James - MSN Video
sorry for the rant guys, just wanted to share with you guys this problem i'm experiencing rite now. so what kind of music do you moms and dads here enjoy listening to in your me-time??

my friend just informed me that the album came out already and not august 26th...i'm so excited. i'm thinking about getting it in the next few days. my me-time, when i do get it, is going to get a little better.

Hi Jenna, I'm not a mom or a dad. I'm a male though...never had the priviledge of having children. Do you have any help? A mom or a good friend or a husband/boyfriend who would watch your daughter for a little while ...while you get away?

I know nothing about parenting, but I do know something about relaxing. Maybe if you could get just an hour, you could go get yourself a massage. If money is an issue, that puts massage out of the question, maybe you could just ride down to the local park, go sit on a bench and read a book for an hour or so...

If those don't work, how about waiting until your baby is asleep and just forcing yourself not to clean up, just take it easy for a few minutes and get in a hot bubble bath...the mess will stay there...it won't move.

I think it's critically important work you're doing being a mom. Nothing in this world is more important. BUT you need to find a way to pace yourself because you have approximately 16 more years of this. For that reason, and with that thinking in mind, maybe you can just put some of your "busy, but not mental" time into thinking how to maximize your downtime.

Good luck. Like I said, your work is amazingly important. I bet you're doing a bang-up job. I hope you get the rest you need. If you need more suggestions, just holler.

Cheers. (how about a glass of wine)?

Hi!
I have 2 kids, now 6 and 10 so I'm lucky...they're both in school 5 WONDERFUL days a week!!! But when they were young I too found myself in your place....my husband worked out of town alot at that time...and I don't leave my kids with just anyone for the convenience...I have to really trust that person.

Two ideas...1)2 or 3 mornings a week I took them to a dayhome/daycare....that's when I went running or booked my dr. and dentist appt. or hair appt. or had tea with friends...you can nap too...but since you were out of the house to drop kids off it's easy not to get in that trap of "oh I'll just clean this first and then get some me time"

2)do you have a friend you trust you can take turns with? Watch his/her kid(s) one day, the next day he/she watches yours. This worked great with my sister and some friends...sometimes it was a couple moms with quite a few kids!!! But we always got rewarded with me time....helps put everything in perspective when you get a bit of me time. Sometimes, even though you love your kids sooooo much, it can be sooooooo overwhelming sometimes.

I also have 2 grandparents who took the kids for sleepovers every couple weeks for a night. Good luck....hope it all works out!!!