To SAHM's with more than one child and who waved the last one off to school last September...

[TinyGang]

...what kind of year have you had without children in tow all day?

Mine will all be at school from September. I know I'll miss them, really I will, but an uninterrupted thought and some peace is looking very inviting to me.

What's it like? It's been so long (8yrs) I can't remember! Did you feel shell shocked for the first week or so?

Oh I hate you!!

2 bloody years till I get all mine 'packed off'

Ahh, I'm only joking....

....NOT!

Oh I remember that feeling (even though ds3 is now finishing Yr2)
Shell shocked is a pretty good description of how you will feel I think but as long as you're expecting to feel like that I think you'll be ok IYSWIM.
I think the quietness is the hardest thing to get used to and you'll be looking at your watch most of the afternoon until it's time to go and get them.
It's fantastic if you have someone else you can meet up with and go shopping, have coffee etc. but if you have a whole week with nothing much planned it can get a bit lonely.
But on the whole it's great to be able to do whatever you like for a few hours a day before the mayhem begins again when they all get home.

I doubt very much I'll be looking at my watch!! Or am I disillusioned?

Mind you, I work from home so I won't be twiddling my thumbs! For me it means I can work normal hours instead of evenings adn weekends which I hate and find utterly exhausting.

Lol! I do know what you mean gdg. It's wonderful but you need a couple of spare heads to manage it all. My head just spins atm.

When I try to have a conversation I keep tailing off forgetting what I was going to say. After years of breaking off to yell
'Nnooo! or

'Yes, that's a worm. No, I don't know if it's a boy worm or a girl worm.' or

'Yes robbers are bad people. No I don't know all their names.' or

'Don't put that in your mouth. I said don't put that in your mouth. Don't put it in you sister's mouth either!'

Suddenly you have time to get everything done and have time left over for yourself. It's lovely. And you look forward to the time when they come home, which is nice too.

That's what I think anorak - if I can work in the day, shop, do the housework etc and maybe even manage the gym, I can focus on them more when they get home. At the moment I'm just an old ratbag because I'm over stretched and very tired.

I have to wait until January 2009

I spent about 4 weeks solid sitting in coffee shops with piles of newspapers, reading, reading, reading and enjoying the peace

Then I threw myself into my allotment, my voluntary work and helping out at ds's old preschool. Then after 4 months got horribly bored - nearly ended up doing housework

Then got part-time job. Then another Now wish I had more free time....sigh....

i had no excuse not to get a job!

I've got too many SAHM/part time work friends to get bored - I hope they don't go back to full time work

Anorak.. that's just as I envisage it.

I feel quite stretched atm so in a funny way it'll mean I'll spend better time with my children because I'll have got straightened out during the day.

Dh and I juggle the children sometimes over the weekend and on occasion I get left behind like Cinderella to catch up while they go out and have fun