How Do You Find Me Time?

I go to MOPS-Mothers of preschoolers support group, we meet once a month at night and have a fun mother's class, a craft and some time to get to know other moms with kids same age as you. You can go to www.mops.org to find a group near to you. They have groups that meet once a month morning and nights.
I love going I am sad this will be my last year because my baby will be in school this fall. Good luck.

Hi J.!
Let's see...when I look into the happy little face of my children, I feel good about being a mother. When I send an ecard to a special friend or sister and they reply back with "That made my day!" I feel good about being a sister. When I can reach out and help another woman with whatever it is they need at the moment, I feel good about being a woman. Me time for me is relaxing and enjoying life, in the little moments, ie: the laughter of a child, and the big moments, ie: celebrating a special occassion. You can find Me time anywhere, anytime just doing something you enjoy, even if it's just sitting down and reading a good book. When I want serious Me time, I spoil myself and get my nails done then go window shopping all by myself, or go sit by a lake and take in all of God's Glory. Mother/daughter time for me is also girlie time. I ask my daughter(s) to pick out their favorite music, put it on and do hair and nails and tell silly stories and giggle a whole lot! I cherish these simple moments in time and remember them always. Here's to you for seeking out new ideas!! Kudos!!

Just Me!
S.

I am taking my oldest son skating this weekend and I also take him snowboarding. I am a single mom and each week, a different one gets a date.
For me time, I love going Goodwilling, to the bookstores or even just to have quiet time at Walmart.
I dont get a lot of free time, but I feel, when you do, its not only good for you, but for your family.
YOU deserve it!

for me time i usually try to get together with other moms, even ones i have never met,,thru meetup.com or momsclub.com in your area.
i'm very blessed that my husband comes home from work(i stay at home) and takes over, and if i need to get out for a few hours to do what ever.. he is usually pushing me out the door..lol

individual time with my two kids i haven't really had. my husband may take our son some where and leave our daughter here.. so they get out for their guy time.. my daughter and i just relax..lol
however..just today was my sons first day of preschool and my daughter and i went shopping..lol.. the first of many mom/daughter days for the next couple months..
she never really got any one on one time being second..

also, sometimes i'll just go to our room ,close the door and read a book or watch any shows i like ! lol.. which as you know, after long days of watching Ice Age 3 times in one day..lol just your own shows can be amazing..lol

i wish you lived closer,, i'm having a girls game night on friday night.. you should plan something like that yourself.. have people bring different games to play. it's a blast..
good luck

Well my children are young, but I still like to do something special with each of them. My oldest in the winter we like to go to the movies or to dinner. My youngest is 2 and we like to sit and read books and snuggle. She could listen to books for hours. But in the summer I like to take the girls to the pool or to the park.

As far as me time I take it every change I get!! I am expecting in Aug so I feel that my me time is very limited! So like to go for a drive or to town shopping. Even take a bubble bath with a candle after the girls have gone to bed is something that I enjoy. I also work only part time so I do occationally take the girls to daycare in the morning to have some time alone.

Have a skip day. I haven't done this often, but it works when desperate. My daughter goes to daycare. I schedule a day off and don't tell the daycare. I take her to daycare dressed like I am going to work, come home or go out, and do whatever I want. We've even done a date day before. It was great. We had breakfast, went to a movie, then went shopping, and later, we picked our daughter up early at daycare. I've only done this two or three times, but how wonderful. If you have access to a daycare or sitter, use it a day! If not, involve youself in activities to find a good person to watch your child(ren). There are many resources on here too!! Some daycares even have a free drop in day.

My daughter is still fairly young. Right now we do things like take long walks, go shopping (her favorite), and hang out in play areas. I plan on getting the two of us involved in the animal rescue league to volunteer to walk and take care of the puppies probably next summer. We also like to go swimming in the summer and go to the zoo. I would like to also take her to the Botanical Center as well.

Also, I thank you for posting those questions. I could use some more ideas as well!! I hope I can help!

Nat

In the Spring and Summer I love to take walks, it is a quick 1/2hr or 45minutes where it is just me and my ipod. It makes me feel good about myself, and I feel less stressed and better able to handle things. I usually duck out after the dinner dishes are cleaned up about 2 sometimes 3 times a week, and it gives my husband some alone time with his two girls. So it works out all the way around.

I also make plans about once every other month to go out to dinner with a friend or two. It is a couple of hours connecting face to face with a few friends, and getting caught up.

I would like to spend more time with other moms. That doesn't exactly answer your question, but spending that time with adults would be a great way to relieve stress and see that we're not alone in this super rewarding but sometimes difficult job of being Mom's.

Here is what worked for me when I had preschoolers.

1. MOPS--already mentioned by another mom. But it is all mom oriented, even though you have time away from the kiddos, you're still focusing on motherhood.

2. Bookclub--I was in a great bookclub with about 20 other moms. We rotated houses according to who had selected the book. It gave me a reason to spend some time to myself reading in the evening and a thought provoking discussion night to keep me mentally alert.

3. Crossword puzzles--I became the master of finishing the daily in 20 minutes. Coffee and the crossword is still one of my favorite things to do. If I can sneak off to Starbucks sans kids, great. If not, home is almost as good.

4. Ladies night out--We called ourselves Ladies of the Night. ;) Bunch of moms in the neighborhood who took turns hosting. The host was responsible for the activity and we all contributed snacks. We did country line dancing, game night, wine tastings, scrapbooking night, etc.

That was about all I did where I was without the kids. Everything else I still had the kids in tow, but if you do it with friends of similarly aged kids, it's still a bit of a outlet.

M.

I know what your mean. All though I'm in a little bit diff. situation than you; I'm a single parent. PLEASE feel free to pass any idea's on to me. GOOD LUCK.

Well for one do things you like but also that's kid friendly. Depends on agesd of of your girls. Paint nails, make pictures. Arts anything like that. A movie night watch old classics or rent something new at blockbuster. I'm sure you'll think of something. After all you are the mom, right?
R.

I get pedicures. They're cheap and make me feel super feminine, and what's better than a foot rub? Some times I take my 11-year old with me and let her get cute little designs on her nails she loves it!!!! We usually do lunch as well and if my sister comes with us she feels like part of the grown-up group

Hi J.!

I was happy to see your request because I also have been struggling with this!! I am just craving some good ole' "girls only" time! I love my boyfriend and daughter and all the family time we have. I wouldn't trade it for anything!! But I find myself missing some good girlfriend connections, you know, like other women to go shopping with, out for coffee or a drink, or lunch to get that female perspective on life! I think just having other women in your life to hang out with and bounce ideas off of can give us the "me" recharge we need, and we can help each other keep things in perspective! Let me know if you want to hang out!!

Hi J.,
My girls are almost 22 and 17 and yes, I STILL need ME time! The fact that I also work 2 jobs and have my own photography business, leaves me wanting more ME time than ever before. One thing that I did was I joined a women's pool league here in my town. There are 6 of us per team and the season lasts for approx. 4 1/2 winter months. Its ONE night out of the week that I can go, be with other women, talk about things NOT related to homelife and just relax and have fun. I've been doing this for 5 years now and I look forward to pool league season MORE and MORE with each passing year.
As for Mom/Daughter time...it just depends on which daughter I'm talking about. My youngest is still in high school, so she is here all the time, but yes, I even need breaks from her as well (we BOTH work at the SAME motel). But...our best Mom/Daughter bonding time is usually on Saturday afternoons when neither one of us has to work and my husband (her stepdad) is at work. We just grab some munchies and chill out on the couch watching the movies on the Lifetime channel. We seem to be able to talk more during those "movie" times than any other time of the week. As for my oldest daughter...Mom/Daughter time is rare, as she is in college and lives 4 hours from me. Our best bonding time lately is when she calls me at work when I work the overnight shift (10 pm to 6 am) to keep me awake! We've had some awesome conversations during those early morning hours!!
Now when my girls were much younger and it was the 3 of us living together (after divorce and before 2nd marriage) we would have a once-a-month skip day. I would call them in sick at school and my oldest would call me in sick at work and we would spend the day just laying around on the couch, usually watching "Little House on the Prairie" and just talk, laugh or whatever. Sometimes we would leave town and do window shopping but my youngest wasn't a shopper at that time and was easily bored with it.
Another good Mom/Daughter bonding moment is baking together. Both of my girls love to bake and each has their own recipes that they prefer to make. Its fun and laugh...oh my, we have shared so many laughs over the years, I could write a book about it!
Another ME moment is sewing. I am enjoying the craft of making quilts and it may not always be relaxing, but its MY time to do what I want. I also enjoy reading and I try and read NIGHTLY before sleep takes over.
Oh, one last Mom/Daughter bonding moment...since I am a freelance photographer, one of my daughters is usually my assistant when I shoot a wedding. It may not be one-on-one time, but they get to be involved in Mom's business and it makes them feel important and they also get to see the "behind the scenes" of the photography world.
Good luck in finding what ME time works for you.

I find me time by going to a spa (at a reasonable price of course)with or without a friend now and then or to yoga/work out classes at the local Y, the kids can play or swim while you are at the Y, it makes me feel good to work on myself too! After a work out I sometimes go play in the swim area with the kids-they like seeing me play like a kid.
Then for mom and daughter time we go out to eat, shop, watch a movie (like big girls do) they really like this, they feel more connected and so do I.