Parents Full time working parents+longish commute

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flipnastic

Proud Parent
Just wondering if y'all have any tips as the compitions become more frequent, the hours become longer, etc? How do y'all juggle it all?
 
I work full-time and have a long commute to work, although the gym is not too far from our home. I also travel for work relatively frequently. The only thing keeping me somewhat sane right now is the fact that we found an after-school program that transports the kids to sports practices, so I can be in the office all day most days. Before that, I was working from home in the afternoons and was positively miserable.

We basically try to get everything done on the weekends--school projects, reading, housework, shopping, freezing food for breakfasts and dinners, etc. Competitions eat into that precious weekend time. We were fortunate that our gymmie only drew one Friday meet session this season, although we had to send her with another family because I was out of town that day.

Summer is by far the most logistically challenging time of year. This summer Tinker Bell is practicing three afternoons and one morning per week, which really messes with day camp. Day camps are not located near the gym and do not provide transportation. Last summer I averaged something like 3.5 hours of driving on gym days and burned a lot of vacation time.
 
We got our meet schedule in August and I scheduled vacations days on the Friday for any out of town meets. I only ended using 2 of them, but it was easier to add myself back into the schedule. The state meet caught me off guard with a Friday session as well, so I sent YDD with her teammate and missed that one. Unfortunately it meant no spring break for our family because I had used up most of my time off.

I carpool with other working moms to get kids to and from gym during the week. In the summer, I hire a sitter to drive them to and from practice and watch them in the afternoons ( practice is 8:30-12:30 M-F, but I work 8-6)

I use my crockpot a ton for dinners or make meals on the weekend and just warm them up during the week. Thursday is Panera day, because I'm usually getting toward brain dead by that part of the week
 
I carpool with other parents (to bring home) and hired someone a year ago to help me get the kids from school to gym (or other DD to dance). My work is flexible but once older DD moved to 4 school days a week at the gym I needed someone else to help get her there

no one from my school goes to the gym.

And my commute is on the short side but still enough to make me crazy sometimes.
 
Hire a driver, plan to take days off for meets, plan/cook/homework at much as possible on the weekends and hang on for the ride.

I also know people that take their lunch hour to pick child up from school and take to the gym.
 
Oh where to start, you do the best you can.

Hopefully the gym is good about communication and plans in advance. So you can request the days off.
Crockpot, freezer meals, bathch prep, meal planning, leftovers, takeout, get the family fed.
Carpool
Creative scheduling with work.

Then deep breathes and wine.
 
Oh where to start, you do the best you can.

Hopefully the gym is good about communication and plans in advance. So you can request the days off.
Crockpot, freezer meals, bathch prep, meal planning, leftovers, takeout, get the family fed.
Carpool
Creative scheduling with work.

Then deep breathes and wine.
Ha! I think I need wine just from reading all of these!!!! Lolol!!!
 
Friends and carpools. Crockpot. I also will make several meals on the weekends and have them ready to grab and go. Hubby does a lot, but he travels so most falls on me. Ours isn't super long, but I work 20 minutes from home, and gym is 25 minutes in the other direction, so he often just makes it. Can't wait until his brother can drive him!
 
I am lucky to live in an area where a "child transportation service" is available -- I found it through the all-powerful Google. Basically two moms who are licensed/insured/bonded/background-checked as limo drivers who operate a business that specializes in getting a child from place A to place B. Since it is only those moms, I know who is driving my DD. They are great about being flexible. They pick her up at school or home and drop her at the gym. They charge basically a dollar a minute for driving (or waiting). It is the only way that we can make this work as we couldn't find a compatible carpool (DD is at a different school from her teammates). Either my husband or I can pick her up after practice. Meets require occasional vacation days but mostly just a realization that there will be weekends where stuff just doesn't get done. So the house is always a mess the week after a meet and the laundry gets done on the fly. I always figure that happy kids are worth more than clean floors or bathrooms. And yes, the crockpot is a wonderful invention. As is making sure your partner is just as capable to cooking dinner as you are. :)
 
I am lucky to live in an area where a "child transportation service" is available -- I found it through the all-powerful Google. Basically two moms who are licensed/insured/bonded/background-checked as limo drivers who operate a business that specializes in getting a child from place A to place B. Since it is only those moms, I know who is driving my DD. They are great about being flexible. They pick her up at school or home and drop her at the gym. They charge basically a dollar a minute for driving (or waiting). It is the only way that we can make this work as we couldn't find a compatible carpool (DD is at a different school from her teammates). Either my husband or I can pick her up after practice. Meets require occasional vacation days but mostly just a realization that there will be weekends where stuff just doesn't get done. So the house is always a mess the week after a meet and the laundry gets done on the fly. I always figure that happy kids are worth more than clean floors or bathrooms. And yes, the crockpot is a wonderful invention. As is making sure your partner is just as capable to cooking dinner as you are. :)
Love the clean floor and bathrooms comment. But man oh man...if I had to pay a dollar a minute for driving....we'd be living in a yurt in a meadow with the bunnies and the buggies....:eek::eek::confused::confused:
 
Lots of crock pot meals, we car pool in the evenings. Dd is 4hrs/5 day per week. It's tough. It's a family sacrifice. We all have to work together. It definitely takes a village!
 
Lots of crock pot meals, we car pool in the evenings. Dd is 4hrs/5 day per week. It's tough. It's a family sacrifice. We all have to work together. It definitely takes a village!
OMG, don't you sometimes feel like you own the village?
I will admit I caved last night because I just couldn't deal with the crockpot....broke down and spent the money for a piece of pizza and a salad. I regrouped today. I think that is the key, being flexible with yourself as a parent, and knowing it can't always go the way you want it all the time. I will say that the commute has made my child very organized....she never forgets her water, pajamas (for after), the leo, and hairstuff. My job is to make sure there is enough gas in the car to at least get us there; after I drop her off I can crawl to the nearest station, lol...
Seriously, for those commuters...how frustrating is it when you get in the car to grab your child and head to gym and realize that drat it all there is no gas in the car again and of course this only happens on the days where you are hard pressed for time............:rolleyes::mad::oops:
 
OMG, don't you sometimes feel like you own the village?
...
Seriously, for those commuters...how frustrating is it when you get in the car to grab your child and head to gym and realize that drat it all there is no gas in the car again and of course this only happens on the days where you are hard pressed for time............:rolleyes::mad::oops:
Seriously! Every time I'm running especially late- which is almost always thanks for the stupid traffic. Ugh. Seriously, today it was 80 minutes to pick her up from car pool, and that was only halfway to the gym! I'm very grateful that carpool meetup is at a gas station.. I need to fill up every other day!
 
I pay a sitter to drop her off at gym. Sitter costs 15/hr. She can deal with both kids. And someone can pick DD up later. More cost effective than anything else.
 

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