lone parents housework / keep fit / healthy eating thread

[meglet]

We can only do the best we can. No point in going on housework threads if you're a working LP who never has a break from the kids. Or if you're a SAHM LP with small kids who can't get to the gym.

So, a thread for us to start the New Year with good intentions and to juggle it around everything else we have to do .

• I banned Minecraft today and tomorrow after some shocking behaviour (kicking each other in the supermarket) the dc's had a burst of enthusiasm, dysoning and tidying up to get back in my good books.

• I have managed to get out for a few runs over Xmas. We stayed with my mum for a couple of days so I went out then.

Here's to a positive start to 2015.

Lizardqueenie I take in pitta bread and hummus from aldi for packed lunch (2 pitta each day - so the pack of six and a pot of humus does me three days) bargain lunch. Also, I try to take in leftovers from dinner to reheat. Chicken curry and stir fry lend themselves to this very well
If I'm lazy and can't be bothered them I just have an oatso simple porridge sachet for my lunch. Surprisingly filling.

Nice to see Ex's are been reliable.

Liquid queenie- It was far cheaper when I sent Packed lunches for DS however he didn't eat them so would rather pay more and he eat something. I also if it was pasta would cook extra and do tuna pasta for him or cous cous is nice cold with salad.

Turns out my DS's awful behaviour may well be down to him brewing a bug so was off school Friday with a cold , cough and temp.

I need to exercise tomorrow too

Ah sorry ladies I meant packed lunches for me. Dd still at nursery & eats all manner of stuff there that she would turn her nose up at home

Mm pitta breads sound good- now to think of a way of refraining from eating the whole tub of homous!

Omg!!!! I want pitta now with ham and salad!!!! Yum......trip to sainsburys for me tomorrow

I knew you meant for you but I work from home so can't compare... I do home made soups that if you have a microwave is really easy to heat ... I buy little tubs of humus from Morrison's as they are much smaller. I also do prefer carrot sticks with humus

lunches. need to be easy to prepare for you. perhaps getting some takeaway boxes from asda/tesco to put in portions of various cooked meals in. freeze and defrost at work.

bread rolls and tinned fish with cucumber or sweetcorn? plus some salad and fruit?
varying the bread (bread/pitta/rolls/wraps) as well as the filling may make it more interesting.

I used to like soft cheese and cucmber. egg mayo, cheese and pickle, cheese and tomatoes sliced and added at work, ham and tomato if you eat ham. (much to everyones disgust here it has recently been put firmly on the not healthy list by recent research so we rarely have it)

Blackeyedsusan.....im a littke bit preggers so im allowed unhealthy for now! Got to enjoy this stuff while I have an excuse for being fat!

Arrgh!!!!! Forgot to put ds' s uniform through the wash!!!!!!!!!! So now im having to wait up to wash, dry and iron it before dd gets up!.....anyone else do stuff like thisor is it just my baby brain???

jeez? Your X's . Why can't they just grow up.

I'm not quite in blackeyeds league yet but I did start clearing my shed out yesterday. One broken mower and an old indoor g-pig hutch were taken to the tip. The DC's are tasked with pulling everything in the shed out one nice weekend then we'll sort it and put it back tidily.

ha, I am starting from a low base. we are just short of appearing on tv in either diysos or life laundry. there is so much to do. not easy when one is slightly hunched from having a small nocturnal visitor in bed.

Hi everyone, is it ok if I join in the thread?

I'm a single parent to 3DC aged 5, 3 and 2. Their dad doesn't see them at the moment and I am in a new ish area where I don't have any family or friends nearby.
I work 3.5 days a week and am only just starting to get organised!
My diet is appalling, I never exercise and my house is a shit tip - partly because ex has taken pretty much all of the furniture so there's nowhere to store anything and partly because I need to de clutter!
Today I have a rare day off while the DC are all in school/nursery so I'm planning on getting the house sorted.
Any tips welcome!
I've recently started dating a lovely man so that's further motivation for me to get myself and the house sorted. (He's not judgy about it but I am!)
I'm looking forward to get cracking.

Surf...dont try and gdt everything done in one go or you may end up shattered and achieving next to nothing. Thats if your anything like me anyways...I have adcd.....attention deficit cleaning disorder....it means I jump from one job to another all day long so end up doing losds but have nothing to show for it because the first job is still unfinished!

little bits, littel bits.
I have done short bursts of ten fifteen thirty minutes at a time and I can see the difference. it is still a shit tip... but less of one.

one forum I read suggested getting the overall level of shittienss down.. ie if everywhere is a ten, go for everywhere being a nine.

or do one square foot at a time.

anyway , I am off to asda then need to get on with tidying.

Well my kitchen was clean but then I had ti bake with 6yo ds for his homework. ..hansel and gretel house. Some other parents are just sticking sweets onto cardboard but thats a waste of sweets! I woukd rather make an actual cake then it can be eaten and its a competition so hopefully he will win with it! He has drawn up his design and ge will be decorating it once its cool so no chance of it being clean just yet!!

Wow Fatty face there are a few places selling off gingerbread house B&M and Aldi ( the ones you build)... though bM ones are minging.

I still have a child off school so not great things achieved though I have got holiday insurance sorted..I have also done 30 mins on the wii for the past couple of days.

I also washed the throw as DS had a banana and then sat on it.

Surf..I would also say start with a job where you know you will see a difference it is more motivating

'getting the overall level of shittiness down...' I can relate to that .

Haha my dd sits on food all the time!. Ds was a big help today he tidied the toys in the living room and wiped the sides....kitchen is still a tip though. I would have bought a gingerbread house but we only got told today! Ds wasnt in on friday because he was ill. So we had to bake....not complaining it gives me something to do with him just wish I had more notice!

ahh now starlight, that reminds me. we have an increase of fruit flies (which came in with the aldi compost) which means that ds has thrown or abandoned a banana skin somewhere.

this is his latest annoying habit. I think possibly partially due to the use of language... throw it in the bin. he sits on the bannister or chair in the hall and launches the banana skin in the general direction of the kitchen

banana skins have been added to misdirected flow/over ambitious estimations of the capacity of a potty, (medical reasons) and his hatred of teeth cleaning that often results in him spitting on whatever surface is to hand..

oh and we can add this mornings meltdown into the mix. I tried to wake him to go on the computer for a bit while Imade breakfast but he would not wake until after seven... then there was wailing.. right in my ear as he slept in my bed, he stamped downstairs, knocked over the long handled dustpan, flung the junk modelling stuff put aside for school, fluhg dd's slippers, rampaged in theliving room pushing over the toy kitchen.slide, flinging washing, tipping things up and kicking stuff about.

i need to sort out the devastation.

oh no Susan not a good start to the day..My DS is back at school about to do wii fit ...Managed to book a haircut...Last was done in August.

at 'getting the general level of shittiness down'
I procrastinated a little bit yesterday but ended up buying some boxes and sorting out the kids' old clothing ready to sell on a local site. It felt quite good to be doing that, although the rest of the house still looks diabolical!
The carpets are an absolute disgrace, due to the DCs' insistence on sneaking food into the lounge and then squishing it into every surface imaginable!
I feel like I'm making progress just by being on this thread . . . One step at a time!

I have got very little tidying done, but on the plus side I have found their child benefit number and filled the last box on ds's DLA form. just red through it. when I filled it in I started to have a wobble that I had overegged the pudding, mainly as I have a memory of a goldfish and when he is not here it does not seem so bad. when he is here I remember but then I am not thinking of the form. I filled it out amongst the devastation today. nope definitely not exagerated.

Did my Wii fit...Have just started doing 3 mins jogging real progress as I feel I am getting fitter...However...Cooker has broken..It is nearly 5 years old re con when I bought it and been mended 3 times so decided to stop throwing bad money after good and have ordered another.

I did also take a small carrier bag of books to charity shop too. My Hairdresser is on maternity leave..Didn't know she was having a baby so have booked in with another hairdresser... not what I want but desperate.

It is always good to check through DLA forms on a bad day susan..

All we can do is one step at a time..School not phoned so DS has managed the day...Will see how tired he is when he comes home

Wow! Busy day all round! I had to go shopping this morning, and sort out the destruction in my kitchen. ....ds even managed to get icing sugar in the washing machine. ...no idea how but he did haha. Dd has been her usual mental self and to too it all morning sickness kicked in with a vengeance this morning!