Rest: The Colonel is a trainer so during those first few weeks of training he really doesn't get a lot of sleep. Buddy has just about finished teething, so that has meant a lot of sleepless nights for me as well. On top of that when I was pregnant with Buddy I started getting migraines (one of which caused a mini stroke) and my main trigger is a lack of sleep. We get sleep in shifts. It is far from ideal, but rest is important. The Colonel rarely ever hears the kids when they wake up through the night, so I get up with them and try to let him get a good nights sleep. Then when he gets up he takes care of the kids and I usually go back to bed. This gives the 3 of them a chance to spend some time together. If we want to do something as a family, we usually do it in the morning. Then we all rest or have a quiet time during Buddy's nap time. We have kids so its very rare that anyone gets to sleep past 8:30. This is more of a time management thing than anything else. It simply means we can't stay up all night trying to get things done or watching tv. The goal is usually to be asleep by 10, even though that rarely happens.
Family Time: When the Colonel has been out on the road, one of the last things he really wants to do when he gets home is to go out again. We on the other hand have been home quite a bit and are ready to do something. This can create conflicts at times. Some weekends we go out and do something, usually a trip to a playground or a farm so the kids can see the animals. Other weekends we stay home and go swimming, play tennis, or take the kids out to our little playground. And other weekends we just stay home and rest. If we've had a busy weekend or few weekends we are more likely to stay in. We still make it special with something simple like a movie and popcorn, but it gives us some very needed down time. We also try to schedule our outings for only a portion of the home time. For example if the Colonel is supposed to be home for a weekend, Saturday would be our outing/event day and Sunday when he would have to go back out onto the road is our rest day.
Keeping up with the Cleaning: I try to get as much of the cleaning done before the Colonel will be home, but let's face it cleaning never goes away. The times that I actually reach this goal are great because then I get to focus on family time and resting. It really really helps with the whole mood of the family. It also helps immensely to have everyone pick up after themselves. Buddy turns 2 this month and needs a little guidance, but even he is capable of picking up after himself.
How do you make home time work for your family?
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