Banging The Buck

It’s getting harder and harder to keep afloat. I mean, you’d think it’d be easier as time went on, no? But really, it gets wearing. Doing the work of both parents is hard. How single parents do it, I’ll never know. I’m afraid to get sick and I take Cold FX every day just in case.

I’m constantly on the go from the time we get home until Greta’s in bed. Ray goes an hour later, and by that time, I’m ready to hit the hay too. By 9pm I’m toast. We arrive and I either make dinner or finish it (if it’s been cooking while we’re on our way home), empty the dishwasher, reload it with lunch dishes, and get out plates and cutlery for dinner. Then when dinner’s ready, I serve it up and get drinks. By the time I can sit down to eat, Greta’s finished (until she sits on my lap to eat my plate) and Ray’s running around between the table and the living room.

I finish and put dirty dishes into the washer, harass Ray to finish her meal, and keep Greta from getting swatted by the cat. Then I clean up the left-overs and put into containers for lunch the next day. While I’m at it, I cut and prepare fruit and cheese for the next day’s lunch. I might even start preparing for the next night’s dinner. If there’s enough juice boxes washed, I’ll get the drinks ready too. Not to mention prepping my tea for the next morning, washing any left-over dishes that are too big for the washer, and tidying up the kitchen.

The soap goes into the dishwasher and the delay is pressed so it’ll wash over night. If I’m doing pre-emptive laundry, I’ll switch it over to the dryer (as I put it into wash during the day or right when we get home). Then it’s 6:15 and time to go up for our tub.

A quick cleanup of the toys in the living room and up we go. Sometimes Ray will bathe with Greta. Sometimes she wants a shower, so by the time we’re all ready, it’s just around 7pm and as I’m reading stories to Greta, Ray’s downstairs getting herself a piece of cheese for bedtime snack. I’ll get changed into my pj’s and put Greta down and I’m downstairs by 7:20 or so. Ray goes to bed at 8, but after two stories and a cuddle and a song or two… it’s 8:30.

It doesn’t give me much time to relax and have ‘me’ time on the computer. I have to take care of the Mary Kay business, email Sailor, do the blog entry (unless I do it at work, like today), return phone calls, finish the packing up of breakfasts and lunches for the next day, fill the diaper bag, have my Mona Vie and popcicles… By the time 9:30 rolls around I’m ready to fall into bed, but I REALLY want to read something – my McLean’s or one of the books I have waiting. Once I start my next uni course, I’ll have to add in some study time too, and do assignments too.

A nanny will not save me money at all – in fact it’ll cost me more money each month as I’ll be paying for preschool AND kindy – but it’ll save me time. And that’s more value for my money I think.