Any Lone Parents out there doing the Mon - Fri 9 - 5 thing?

[RunawayRasin]

DS is 19 months old. I went back to work last year when he was 8 months. I was full time (35hrs) but doing a compressed week so had Mondays off as well as the weekends. This worked well for us, DS went to nursery which he loves 3 days a week and to his Nana's (XP's DM) on Thursdays.

Before xmas it was announced that my department was closing and I was facing redundancy. I thankfully found another (better) job at the same company but it is not a flexible role and I need to be there Monday - Friday 9 - 5. Although my days are little shorter, TBH I'm finding this shift much harder. DS now stays at his Nana's Wednesdays and Thursdays, (sleeping over night as its a 45 min trip each way). It's nice to have an evening to myself but I do miss him. He's in nursery Mon Tue and Fri.

My weekends seem to fly by now that I don't have the Monday off and I feel tired all the time. With housework / shopping etc to do it's difficult to ensure that I spend enough quality time with DS as it is let alone have any kind of social life / opportunity to meet someone outside of work.

So after a but of a ramble I was hoping to find someone out there in a simalar situation or just ask working parent for advice / tips on making things work :)

I try to keep my weekends free by doing the housework in the evenings. Spreading the jobs out means that I dont have a lot to do at the weekend other than fill the washing machine.

Thanks Cairn, that's what I've been trying to do to. When I first arranged for DS to stay over at his Nana's every Wednesday I decided that this would be the night I'd get all the h/work and boring stuff done. So far though my Wednesday's seem to have been spent at my best friend's house (who I don't see often enough) sinking a bottle of wine so I'm sure I could discipline myself into doing more in the evenings.

Problem is by the time I've collected DS and got home it's at least 6.30. I do us both dinner then get him bathed and into bed and then I sort out clothes / packed lunch etc for the next day. Before I know it it's late and knowing I have to get up at 6 the next morning I go to bed, but this often leaves washing / washing up / clearing up that should be done so I make it worse for myself the next day.

Cain sorry!

I'm an LP and do Monday to Thursday, 9-5 or just over. My DD is 6 which has different advantages/disadvantages.

I think one of the things is just to be really organised - meal planning, internet shopping etc. and, if you can afford it, a cleaner. My cleaner comes for two hours a week and cleans the house and does the ironing which makes a huge difference.

Also always only cook one meal for the both of you and what I have learned is to lower my expectations around food. We still eat fresh and healthy, but use a lot more frozen veg or have baked potato and tuna type meals.

One thing that works in my favour now is that DD has friends over to play or goes to their house for a couple of hours at a time. I'm guessing yours still has an afternoon sleep? Use that time to do 20-30 minutes of stuff and then catching up with friends or reading a book.

I'm assuming you are doing all the obvious stuff like paying all your bills by DD/SO and doing online banking.

The harsh realities are that being a working lone parent is extremely hard work. I rarely go out socially and do 12-13 hours straight every day. The LP threads here are a good support, also check out if you are eligible for any benefits. I am well paid and still get working tax credit every week. The thing that has helped a lot is that last Autumn I started a job much closer to home. Keep looking and see if anything comes up.