SAHM's - do you give yourself a 'time-out'?

[BlueBluePink]

When the kids are driving you nuts (especially atm with the holidays) do you have something that you do to give yourself a time out, i tend to make sure they are sat safely in front of the tv for 10 minutes while i hide in the kitchen with a cup of tea, i do this if im lucky twice a day sometimes not at all! my friend says she sends her kids to their rooms to play for 10/15 minutes and she turns the tv on for her with a cup of tea and some bikkies - what do you do if anything??

A nice hot shower with unjustifiably expensive shampoo and shower gel seems to do it for me.

Or if it's past 5pm an icy Gin and Tonic alone in the kitchen with the radio on.

My mum did. She's a social smoker. She'd plonk us in front of the TV and then go outside and smoke a ciggy and drink a glass of wine - she could see us through the French doors. We have a screened in patio in the back garden at home - it's a bungalow.

eh expat? How does that get to be "social"?

That woman can go for months w/no fags, then she just picks them up and has one or two and forgets about them till someone brings them up.

She's been that way about them for 47 years.

She said sometimes, whilst entertaining us, she'd just crave a fag.

So she'd have one and then just be done w/it.

She was never addicted to them.

I mumsnet, does that count?

Fair enough. Just thought going to sit by yourself on the patio was not very social. Although fair play to her and I have been known to slip out onto my patio with a diet coke or glass of wine dependent on time of day.

same as georginaa, i come on here while he sleeps

that's it really

Ah expat - I thought it was just my mum who did that. She smoked one cigarette every now and again for about 30 years. Gave up completely though when she turned 60 for some reason.

She had phases of smoking 1-2 a day for a while then then would stop for weeks and have one now and again (once every few weeks etc) for a while, followed by months of nothing. I don't think she ever had more than two in one day though.

She also never got addicted - I think it is fairly rare though.

I used to smoke 20 a day, I stopped cold turkey when I had ds. Stupidly I had a smoke on my hols a few months a go and now I smoke when I go out drinking but can go weeks without having one if I don't go to the pub - never thought I could be a social smoker. Not that it's that sociable anymore

I come on here for me time or walk the dog.

i come on here when younger ones are havin a nap, or i read a coule of chapters of whatever book im on. after a few weeks though when i REALLY feel the need, i have a bit of a tant and dh insists i need "me time" which basically means i go off shopping for the morning all by myself, or go for a hair cut or somethin. . i think we are perfectly entitled to a couple of hours off here and there.

Thankfully ds who's 3 will still go up to his room for a rest to listen to tapes or whatever for an hour after lunch so I can MN or read or sleep or phone a friend.

Most weeks I have a couple of hours off at some point over the weekend when I nip into town and potter on my own - lovely.

If they are having an afternoon nap then that time is sacred to me - I usually end up Mumsnetting! If I just need a bit of a break I log on to the CBeebies website, and that generally gives me some peace. But I have to be careful about using Cbeebies, make sure first that dd hasn't just had a big drink and that she's been to the loo, otherwise I pay for my break with a puddle by the desk.

oh I hear you PC
the afternoon nap hour
I do exercise dvds in my room, paperwork and eyebrow plucking NO housework

ds2 has given up his nap just in time for the school holidays ... ...

I come on mumsnet whilst dd has her morning and afternoon naps, we are sometime soon getting a new bathroom so I will also be doing some soaking in the bath with some yummy oils along with a glass of wine (only in the evening tho)

Another one who has time out when DD sleeps in the afternoon (or in this case on mns when DD is watching cbeebies - because we are going out soon, and I can't go all day without MN).....

The only problem is that recently I have actually fallen asleep myself when DD having nap and feel that I have missed out on me time....

if i have a spare half hour i jump on here and have a good nosey around, i'm really interested in what other mums have to say and their mummy stories are always good, if i feel i need to get away from the kids (which is hardly ever) i go outside and do some digging,weeding in the garden, the kids then follow and play in the garden

DD strapped into highcahir (on the lowest setting and wheels locked) and the Wiggles on TV.
Off for a lovely 15 minute shower!

Ooh - just got the new wiggles dvd, the wiggly safari or something, OMG - put it on - guaranteed peace for the whole film!!! im a new fan of the wiggles lol!!

I love to sit here at the pc mumsnetting with a lovely hot cup of tea and a big fat pack of bikkies, its definatley becoming an addiction (my bum could do without those bikkies though lol)

I go on Mn when they are happy playing or asleep(dd asleep now) as the comp is right next to playroom, or if they are watching a bit of childrens telly I'll snuggle up on the sofa with them and read Heat, Now, Closer etc and trashy autobiographys by Jordan, Jade ,Posh, Daniella Westbrook etc. Ds doesn't have a nap anymore so its never completely child free time untill they go to bed.
If I need some children free time and dh is in I have a bath or go to the shops for a wander. We are near a large next, M and S, Monsoon, Borders etc.And Matalan.

I mn if my two are asleep or playing. Sometimes will take myself into kitchen for 10mins or so for a breather but our kitchen isnt very big.