Do You Get to "Sleep In" on the Weekends?

Updated on April 01, 2011
S.G. asks from Fort Eustis, VA
46 answers

I work M-F, so S/S are my days off. My husband is at home with the kids all the time. Their usual sleep schedule is they're in bed by 7:00, lights out by 7:30, and they usually get up around 7:30 a.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, when we put the kids to bed (usually a little later, like 8:00), we tell them to please be considerate, when they get up tomorrow, please read or play quietly in your rooms until Mommy and Daddy get up. Then we get up on our own around 8:30, have breakfast, etc.
What about you all? Do your husbands get up with the kids one day during the weekend, and you get up the other? Do you have them occupy themselves for an hour or so like we do? Do you both get up when they get up? What time is all this going down?
***In case you couldn't tell, I'm ready for the WEEKEND!!!***

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T.C.

answers from Hickory on

I have a great husband! I am a stay at home mom with 2 girls (4 y/o and 18 months). My husband is up at 4:45 every morning and works 10hr days. He is off on s/s. Even with all of this, he wants me to sleep in on the weekends and he gets up with the girls..... i love him

3 moms found this helpful
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E.M.

answers from Johnstown on

HAHAHAHAHAHA Sleep in???? What's that????? My hubby works an alternating schedule, we don't ever get to sleep in.

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T.C.

answers from Minneapolis on

i work m-f as well as my husband but i have always been the one to get up with the kids on the weekend. My kids are only 3 1/2 and 1 so they can not occupy themselves yet and my son has always been an early riser. I am lucky if they sleep till 7 once in a while on the weekend. They are usually up around 6/6:30ish, so i am up early 7 days a week!

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More Answers

T.L.

answers from St. Louis on

The best thing we did was to teach our kids how to tell time. Each child has a clock in their room. Every night when they go to bed we tell them when they can get up. The times range from 7:30-8:30 depending on what time they went to bed. We have only once had a problem with this otherwise we don't hear a peep until the time we told them. As soon as the clock hits that time you hear all three of them come running to our room. They then join us in bed for an hour or so of snuggle time and cartoon time. This is truly the best time of our weekends. Normally after every one gets up Daddy gets up with the kids and I sleep in since I have such a cray work schedule.

Another thing we do is rest time every Sat and Sun. All kids no matter WHAT AGE have to go to their room to rest for an hour or so. This allows hubby and I to discuss things and get on the same page if we need too, if not if gives us some alone time during the day. The kids have to stay in their room (usually bed reading) and be quite. If it has been a rough morning like a soccer game or a rough night the night before we require them to rest for a little bit longer.

Another sneaky trick is that we made their clock 10 min slow to allow us an extra 10 in the mornings. I know mean, but some mornings it is much needed.

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M.F.

answers from Youngstown on

I don't even know what this "sleeping in" thing is you're talking about!

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D.M.

answers from Denver on

We are an early riser house... kids are 3 and 4 and up by 6 (if we are lucky). They aren't old enough to be alone and quiet so someone has to get up. Unless one of us is sick, it's usually both of us getting up with them. We both work and so are used to an early schedule. They kids are asleep between 8-8:30 and we are asleep by 9 - 10 if it's a "late" night. I just stopped fighting it - I can't sleep when I hear them. I figure I'll sleep in in a few (maybe 10?) years!!!

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R.J.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I have been blessed with sleeping in kids. Honestly on the weekends my boys have always been the type to sleep until as late as 9-9:30 my teenager of course sleeps in later now. But my 8 year old will crawl in bed with us around 9 turn on the tv and lay with us for a bit it is really fantastic.

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J.G.

answers from St. Louis on

Get yourself some duct tape and you can both sleep in. :p

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A.H.

answers from Chicago on

Until 6? Yes. :)

Actually my husband and I both work during the week (I work 4 days and stay home 1 weekday with the kids) but still get up at 5 AM M-F to exercise. I take S/S off exercising and the kids sleep until about 6 or 6:30. So one day on the weekend I get up and close the bedroom door (aka I love you!) and get the kids breakfast, etc. The other day he does it. Normally neither one of us can actually go back to sleep, but just lying in bed as long as we want with nothing to do is a little slice of heaven! Unwritten code: if you're the one getting up, have coffee ready for the other one when they wake up. :)

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B.B.

answers from San Antonio on

I work M-F, and am up by 4:45 those days so I can make it to the gym before work. During the week my kids are generally up by 6:30. On the weekends we keep their bedtimes the same, but they do sleep a bit later (usually 7:15 or so) since we aren't waking them up. I usually get up early with them both days (once I hear them, i can't fall back asleep), although my DH usually makes sure I get a nap in on Sunday afternoons (he works all day Saturday). I can't wait until my kiddos (now age 3 and 17 months) are old enough to occupy themselves for a bit on the weekends before I wake up. :)

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M.U.

answers from Tampa on

I also work M-F and like to sleep in a bit on w/e. We have 1 young toddler and he wakes up between 6:30 - 7:30. He is too young to play quietly in his room until we get up, although I am looking forward to that! We try to take turns, most w/e it works out. One of us sleeps in Sat the other Sun. We usually figure out who gets which day on Friday night.

1 mom found this helpful

D.R.

answers from Indianapolis on

What are your children's ages? As babies.....good luck. There is no sleeping in. When my children were a little older 4 and 8, I would put a bowl of little boxes of cereal (the only time they got the sugary ones) and bought milk in the quart size (easy for little hands to grasp). Put bowls and cups on table with cereal. They could get up, have a cereal, and watch tv so mommy and daddy could sleep in on Saturdays. They like the fact they could get their own breakfast and we got some extra shut eye. Was it always perfect, no but as they got more experience, things went smoother.

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M.J.

answers from Dover on

My kids are older (10 & 11yrs) so yes, I get to sleep in on the weekends. My oldest has always been pretty self-sufficient though & my youngest has always been a late sleeper. Because of this, when my oldest was about 4 years old he knew how to use the remote to turn the tv on so as long as we put it on Noggin or some other kids channel before we went to bed at night he'd be perfectly happy to get up & just put the tv on until someone got up an hour or so later to get him some breakfast while everyone else snoozed away!

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A.D.

answers from Washington DC on

HAhahaha! I'm with a PP...my husband isn't around this year...but when he is home...he's the one that gets to sleep in on weekends. 365 days a year, I'm up with the kids...and my DS is an early bird. "Sleeping in" for him, which rarely happens, is 6:30am. Usually we're up by 5 or 5:30. DD is pretty consistant with getting up at 7 or 7:30. I'll sleep when I'm dead. =0)

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S.C.

answers from Milwaukee on

My kiddo gets woken up (if she's not already up) by 540am Mon-Fri. Which means she also gets up around that time on the weekends. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but pretty much never after 630am. If she sleeps that late I am thanking god!!

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L.L.

answers from Topeka on

Of course I sleep in,hubby is an early bird & has them feed dressed & out the door to play by 8.

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K.M.

answers from Chicago on

right now we live with gma and her sleep in is 7:30 right when my 4yr old gets up so on the weekends gma lets us sleep until we wake up sometimes that is 12pm b/c we go see the late show on fri or sat night or something to that effect (it's nice and we are spoiled). Before that we traded weekends. So one weekend it would be my turn both days and the next his ... if we had something going on the night before like a friend's party or something like that we took that into consideration as well. It worked well for us and when we move out again I see us doing that until he CAN keep himself busy better. There are mornings when I relax in bed while he watches cartoons in my room so I can get some extra zzzz's but over all this is what works for us now... tomorrow may be different.

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M.R.

answers from Rochester on

My husband is home days and works Sunday through Thursday evenings until 11. I work Monday through Friday days. I get to "sleep in" on the weekends because I do not have to be up at 7, but I get up with the kids since Saturday is his only day to sleep in and be home. The kids usually sleep in a bit since they are on a late to bed, late to rise schedule. I'm on maternity leave right now, so sleeping in until at least 9:45 to 10:30 each morning, but I'm going to bed pretty late and waking up enough to nurse at night a few times.

When I'm working the boys will stay quietly in their rooms longer and read books or play with toys before making enough noise to wake daddy up, so he sometimes gets enough sleep, too.

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L.N.

answers from New York on

My husband and I get up every day ay 4 or 4:30 am. That is our time to drink coffee and talk. I get the kids up between 6:30 and 7 to get them ready for school. He knows I am a sleeper and that I wake up that early only to spend time with him. He works I don't. Come, weekend my kids are up at 7, and no matter how much I have begged them not to wake us up, it hasn't happened yet. So he will get up with them, and try to keep them quiet to let me sleep in. i am usually up with them but there are those precious weekends when i do sleep in until 8. Also, i sometimes get to take a nap on saturdays or sundays. after we have done our things together and if the weather is bad, my husband plays board games with the kids and i lay down in the same room and sleep for an hour or so. teamwork. it works :)

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C.S.

answers from Medford on

My daughter gets up before 6am EVERY DAY! she gets up to use the restroom or something and goes back to bed, but always wakes me up to tell me. she has to go back to bed until the clock says six, zero, zero (6:00am). she will stay in bed and watch the clock. She is only 6 years old and has always been this way. My son who is 3 usually will sleep till around 7, unless sister wakes him up...on the weekend I try to stay in bed until 7:30, but I don't get much sleep after my daughter wakes up because i can hear them and they usually come in to ask a million questions.

No, my hubby never gets up with them, he can sleep through it all. bitter a little...

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L.D.

answers from Las Vegas on

My husband works Tues through Fri, starting at 5 a.m., so on weekends, I usually let him sleep in and I am the one that gets up with the kids. My kids usually wake up anywhere between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. My son is usually very good about playing with his toys while we are sleeping but he is loud. My daughter knows that she should find something to do while we are sleeping but she craves our attention so much that it is impossible not to get up when she gets up.

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M.G.

answers from Chicago on

My twins are 2.5, so too young to occupy themselves. We get to "sleep in" on the weekends only because they wake up at 7:30 and I am usually up at 6:30 for work. Both my husband and I teach Sunday school, so there is no sleeping in on Sunday. We try to rotate Saturdays, and one of us will get up while the other one catches an extra hour of sleep. This happens about once a month, but we try.

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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

The only time I get to sleep in is when we take vacations without kids. Our four-year-old daughter is a morning person and is usually up around 5:30 or 6:00 no matter what her bedtime. Our eight-year-old son loves to sleep, but sometimes wakes up early, too.

With the time change and darker skies in the morning, our daughter slept in until 7 am last weekend, which was bliss! Hadn't slept in that late since going on vacation to Alaska last summer. I don't think I've slept in until 8:30 in the past decade! Wow, that's really lucky.

C.B.

answers from Kansas City on

well i have a 4 year old, so NO i don't get to sleep in - and i wouldn't want him "entertaining himself" while i slept anyway...i wouldn't be able to sleep knowing he was up by himself! your kids are older then mine i am assuming lol...

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A.K.

answers from Norfolk on

I wish! My hubby is deployed, so there is no taking turns or sleeping in here. Maybe someday! Enjoy it for me, too!

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A.M.

answers from Lakeland on

Both our boys, 3 and 8 months, wake up at about 7 am. My husband gets the boys changed and I feed the baby his morning bottle. And then my husbands lets me go back to bed until about 9:30-10:00. I know I am truly lucky!!! My husband is just a morning person and I am definitely not. I love him for this gift!!

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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

We take turns getting up with the kids. One gets to sleep in (until about 9:00 at the latest) while the other one gets up, gets them breakfast, and supervises them. They tend to get up anywhere between 6:00 - 7:00. Since they are 15 months and 4, they have to be supervised (although the 4 year old is fine by himself).

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S.H.

answers from Washington DC on

Well I work weekend shift at a hospital so no, I don't get to sleep in on the weekends. My husband is a SAHD so we alternate every other day sleeping in during the week.

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K.L.

answers from Washington DC on

No sleeping in here. If my husband is home on the weekends, we're generally up and out the door within a half hour of waking up (somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30) and we go to flea markets, yard sales, etc. Many weekends though we have a whole different situation - my husband often works 3rd shift and gets home around 5 AM so he sleeps until noon OR there are weekends that he has to work 1st shift on the weekends and he's out the door at 5:30, which means I have to get up with our son.

If we're not leaving to go run somewhere, we usually just lounge on the couch watching sprout or disney for an hour in the morning.

Now on the occasion that my son spends the night somewhere (TONIGHT!!!), we sleep in, but that's not often.

My son is almost 3. Bedtime is between 8:30 and 9:30 and he sleeps until btwn 7:30 and 8:30 (during the week I have to wake him at 7:45 to go to the sitter's house). Hubby and I are nightowls and don't go to bed until at least midnight.

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A.S.

answers from Dallas on

I'm up everyday by 5:30 am and so when my kids sleep until 7:30 on Saturday/Sunday that is sleeping in to me. However my husband does routinely sleep in.

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Sometimes. Often my DH (God bless him) will get up with our youngest on Saturdays so I can catch a few more winks, but Sundays I'm up about the same time I always am. When the big kids were younger, we set them up with low shelves of plastic bowls, half gallons of milk, cereal and said, "Go eat, watch cartoons". Then we'd snooze for a few more minutes. (Now we usually rouse them by lunch time.)

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K.M.

answers from Norfolk on

My husband is currently working 6 or 7 days a week so we're both a little sleep deprived. If he works 6 days a week I let him sleep in on his day off and then I get to take a nap later in the day. (He can't nap and I'm a pro lol). When he's working just 5 days a week we each get a day to sleep in. We always try to alternate and share because we both love sleeping so much.

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K.K.

answers from Chicago on

Both my husband & I work so we each take one weekend morning to sleep in!!

M.P.

answers from Lafayette on

every other weekend i'm supposed to be able to sleep in until whenever i want to get out of bed, because my daughter is at her dad's house, and its not my fiance's weekend with his kids. but... i am the alarm clock in my house. so i wake up to the alarm clock and rarely can get back to sleep. the weekends that we have all the kids, 80% of the time i'm the one to get up with all the kids (they wake up anytime after 5, with my daughter usually being the earliest and waking everyone else up). but on the rare occasion my fiance will get up with the kids. those are the days i feel truely blessed cause he'll even make breakfast for everyone while i sleep. but i never get to sleep in past 9 because those are also the days he feels the need to go shopping as a family. lol.

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

My 2 year old is pretty good about sleeping in, lol.
But on the days she gets up early I either relax on the couch while she eats breakfast or if my SO is off work he will get up early with her (he likes to get up anyway).

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N.M.

answers from Cleveland on

We all get up at the same time every day, 6:30. I don't allow sleeping in and I never sleep in myself.

Frankly, I think it's not good for kids to sleep in on the weekends. It totally throws their schedule off.

If they sleep til noon on Sunday, then they can't go to sleep on Sunday night. Then, they're tired on Monday morning and can't do their schoolwork properly. Actually, the teachers at my kids' school have sent home letters asking for parents to PLEASE not let their kids sleep in on the weekends. It really affects their performance at school.

I'm the same way. If I sleep in, I can't get to sleep at night. And I need my sleep!
http://keystosimpleliving.com/kids_bedtime.php

A.F.

answers from Chicago on

My kids keep the same sleep schedule every day- in bed by 8pm (they are 2.5 and 3.5) and up by 745 (usually earlier on their own but not before 645/7am). Saturdays, if they are up before I leave for the gym, I get them until it is time for me to go (640am -- so usually it is not me) and otherwise, my husband gets them. Sunday, I don't hit the gym till 740 so it is usually me. Both me and DH work full time during the week and I do the morning duties when I get home from the gym around 7am while he just gets himself ready. It seems to work out best as he is a SLOW MOVER in the morning. I am a morning person (hit the gym by 530 am every weekday) so it isn't a big deal for me. I cannot stay up late and would NEVER be able to sleep in till 830 or later unless I was sick. I married a night owl so though it sometimes causes conflict, it does work out well when you have sick kids to tend to (he gets evening/night duty and I do early morning/morning duty).

I too and READY FOR THE WEEKEND *sigh*

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J.S.

answers from Boston on

I get up between 5 and 6 during the week to go to the gym and I get the kids out the door in the morning (DH does the evening pick up). On weekends, the kids will amuse themselves until 9 or 10, which is great. On Sundays I get up at 7 to go for a jog because I have to get up at 8 to teach Sunday school anyway so I don't get to sleep in on Sundays. Probably once or twice a month I can sleep in on a Saturday, if I don't have to get up to tutor someone (my other job) or go to a hockey game. DH can usually sleep a little late on the weekends (until 8 or 9) and during the week gets up whenever he wants to because he's self-employed. On the flip side, he will often be up into the wee hours of the morning doing paperwork for his business.

I really, really love weekends in the summer - no hockey, no Sunday school, no SAT prep! Just lots of lazy weekend mornings, yippee!

L.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I work (3) 10.5 hour days with a 2 hour commute, so on my working days, I am gone for 12 hours, 6 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., and I'm off Sat-Sun-Mon-Wed. But my son has school on Mon and Wed, so I am up early with him on those days (can't wait til summer!) My fiance is off from his "job" in the mornings, but he *always* gets up early to go work at his own business. He is such a work horse... gotta love that guy. But even on the days when he says he's going to take it easy and not get up early, he's up and staring at the ceiling by 6 a.m. He just can't sleep in!

BUT, YEEESSSSS we do sleep in on Sat and Sun. My son will sleep usually until at least 8, sometimes, even 9 or so, but even better than that is that he is a morning cuddler/lounger, so he'll curl right up next to me and ask me to turn the tv on, and he'll happily lie there snuggled up with me while I catch a few more winks, if I want. :) I knew these days would eventually come, but man, when I was still getting up with him at least 4 times a night at 18 months of age, I thought they'd never get here! Now I'm relishing them, and dreading when he no longer comes to snuggle with me on weekend mornings... :(

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R.Y.

answers from New York on

We usually try and trade off so each of us gets a weekend day to sleep in. Usually if my husband gets up he needs a nap after lunch (even if the kids don't). My kids are 2 and 5 but the 5 year old who should be able to play quietly can't seem to do it (he is rarely ever quiet or still if he is awake). My 2 year old is a bit better about sleeping in if she is tired but not my son--he is the only morning person in the family. It could be worse though, he is not usually up before 7.

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M.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

my kids are awesomely lazy & love their beauty sleep. if i could bottle it i would sell it. they literally both started sleeping through the night around 5 months. their normal wake up time during the week is 6:30ish (which works for getting everybody out of the house on time) and weekends they sleep super late like 8:30ish. and then usually we'll just all be in the bed lounging watching tv until 9ish. LOVE MY KIDS...and not just for that lol.

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R.L.

answers from Roanoke on

I LOVE sleeping in. Unfortunately those days are long gone. When I was a teenager I slept in until 10 or 11 on the weekends. My parents would come kick the blankets off and say "Get up, you can die in bed." And that was that.

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S.R.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I usually get to sleep in and my hubby unless it is his weekend to work, which it is every second weekend). our kids are 16,14 and 8, so the oldest 2 sleep in and the youngest will sleep until at least 8 and then watch tv and get his own breakfast. I usually get up anywhere between 8 and 9. My kids have always been good sleepers and not early risers, thankfully. I am not a morning person and my husband is a huge night owl.

K.B.

answers from Milwaukee on

Hubby works full time M-F (leaves around 6:30am). I work very part time, usually evening hours Fri or Sat night, then Sun afternoon. Daughter, who is 4 1/2 years old, goes to bed around 8pm, wakes up around 7am.

You did not mention how old your kids are, that could play into the answer. My daughter, 4 1/2, has gotten up earlier then I/alarm, I am a heavy sleeper in the morning and without me saying anything she does not wake me unless she has preschool. If I do hear her, during the weekdays I am up to get her started on her morning. On the weekends 7/7:30am is sleeping in to my husband so he usually gets up with her, where as 8/8:30am is sleeping in for me. If one of us is sick, the sick one gets to sleep in (or the most sick one sleeps in).

Looking back I think my parents did not sleep in, or ask us to leave them alone till I was about 11 years old and my brothers were 9, 7 and 4 (I entertained my brothers) BUT that was rare when one of my parents were never up with us (like it happened maybe once a month that they both slept in).

In the end we are the parents, it is our repsonibility to be up with the kid(s). As they get older, 10 plus, they might not want/need your guidance as much so will natrually occupy their time till you get up... before then I would say one of the parents should be up, and you do what works best for your family.

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M.L.

answers from Washington DC on

My hubby works full time and I work 5 short days during the week but I'm up early with everyone every weekday. On the weekends, we each get a day to sleep in. And on the day we got up early with the kids, we get to take a nap. It works for us because we both love to sleep. I don't take long naps like he does but I'll use my alone time to catch up on a show or do my nails uninterrupted. Sometimes that can be more valuable than a nap!
Make a plan that you both like and stick to it. You'll both appreciate it!

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K.O.

answers from Atlanta on

weekdays kids are up by 7. On the weekends, kids are still up at 7 but can go downstairs and watch tv or play. On Saturdays my husband gets up when they start to get rowdy or want breakfast (around 8:00) and I get to sleep in even more. On Sundays I'm the one to get up when needed and he sleeps in late.

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