Making the most of family time
I’m not very good at doing nothing. I like to fill my days with meaningful tasks so by bedtime I have a sense of achievement. This usually involves dashing about the house, going out to meet friends or taking the kids out to play.
On the odd occasion I do sit down I’ll have some activity on the go, like writing a blog post, enjoying a movie night or planning our next adventure.
The thought of sitting on my bum without purpose drives me crazy. Yes, I’m a bit of a control freak. I hate the thought of valuable free time being eaten up by faffing.
Last weekend I really wanted to have a plan. Mr Tin Box is working away in his job with the Royal Navy from now until Christmas so it made sense to do something before he left.
However, it’s been a busy couple of weeks and while I tried to raise the subject a few times we hadn’t agreed to do anything in particular. This worried me. I really didn’t want the weekend to be eaten up by ‘nothing’ as Mr TB packed his bags and the girls got restless. As any military spouse will tell you, those last few days and hours before your other half leaves can been fractious without focus.
As it turns out having no plans wasn’t such a bad thing. We did things like this: Tin Box Baby’s first body painting experience.
And this: brunch at a lovely cafe.
And this: a dog walk (and swim) on our local beach.
The weekend was saved! However, it could have been a different story. This knowledge has helped me refocus my thoughts. During the next eight weeks I am desperate to be more organised so that we make the most of our family time at the weekends.
So, I’ve decided to make a bucket list of things we can do as a family before Christmas. I’ll be sharing it here later in the week but top of the list will be something we’ve had planned for a while now, which is going to London for the Family Travel Show.
We were originally going to stay overnight in London but then realised the Rugby World Cup Final is on the same weekend. We’re now going to make the trip to Olympia in one day, driving to Woking and taking the train the rest of the way into the city. It’s going to be an adventure in itself and we hope to get lots of inspiration for our next family holiday.
Thanks! I really hope the girls will have fond memories of us all being together X
Sounds very organised. Mess is usually what happens on our days at home. I spend my day tidying up 🙂
Wow, it sound like you have to be very organised. I bet a spur of the moment activity is a bit of a relief sometimes!
Ahh so cute and you really are making the most of family time together. The kids will have great memories of it all. Thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me I hope to see you again tomorrow for another round of #sharewithme
The simple things really are often the best for little kids. They just want our time. I often forget this. We had a great time in London, thank you! Not enough to time though – same old story! X
Days running say is my pet peeve. The hardest part about Mr TB going is the first few hours. I'm fine after that 🙂 x
Oh yes, changing your mind is perfectly acceptable 🙂 x
I am definitely a planner, our calendar is normally full for at least 6 weeks in advance but every now and then even I admit it is nice to have a wkd day at home chilling out and letting our boys do as they please. Although this usually results in a lot of mess!! I hope you had a fab time at the Travel Show 🙂
It sounds like the world is your oyster – I love it! Couldn't agree more 🙂 x
It sounds like you are really busy and deserve that chill out time when you can grab it. Thank you 🙂
I know! Thank goodness. I would have been a very grumpy Mrs TBT if it hadn't 🙂
Working your own hours can be a blessing and a curse, can't it. I hope your half term plan worked out!
Ha! It was pretty fun and messy! The bath water was blue 🙂
Having the eldest two boys being sport mad and on the local soccer and hurling teams and the youngest boy doing karate does mean Saturdays are normally spent at matches.
Weather and location/time permitting we all go to cheer whomever is playing on.
Being on a tight budget means that trips and excursions have to be planned in advance with military precision.
I do like the spontaneous "It's a nice day, let's go somewhere" though.
Hope you enjoy the Family Travel Show.
#ParentingPicks
Some of the best weekends are those that are unplanned. I like to try and organise things at the weekend for Zach though because I feel like he doesn't get enough excitement from us during the week. Quite often though a day at home painting and playing followed by an hour in the park is all he wants! Hope you enjoy your trip to London 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
I'm not a planner at all, but I'm totally with you on not doing nothing. I just like to be spontaneous about it. I love having no plans for the weekend and then at the last moment packing the kids and the dogs into the car and going away for a few days, there's nothing better. Family time is so valuable, it's so important to make the most of it.xx
Oh my word look how big and cute they are!! Love the messy painting, TBB is having a ball 🙂 I do both – I try and plan because I'm also a control freak but I also like to have a litttttle bit of flexbility in case I change my mind ha ha! x
I am so with you on always having to have a plan – I'm incapable of doing nothing and will always be dashing around trying to squeeze every last minute out of a day. But sometimes I do think I need to chill out a little and just go with the flow – but then again whenever we've done this in the past the day just runs away with us! Looks like you made good use of your time though – that body paint looks like loads of fun, I really need to start doing things like this now Taylor's a little older. It must be so hard being apart from the mister for so long x
We try and get as much planned on the weekends as we can, usually out at organised runs! We do a lot of that so when indoors we tend to go with the flow and chill out. Enjoy the Family Travel Show, sounds great!
It sounds like a lovely time, and it's so nice it all fell into place. #twinklytuesdays
I do a bit of both – I do plan activities for us, but often I just go with the flow. I find that with toddlers and babies, you do end up being pretty busy no matter what you plan or don't! 😀 Some of the best days are when I have a vague plan but just let fun happen and let the day take control, sometimes you end up doing loads of fun activities and adventures 🙂 And body painting – sounds amazing! 😀
Hi! I love the photo of your kids covered in paint! I find it hard to plan family time as my husband has no fixed worked hours being his own boss. At the weekends I try to plan things as much as I can, and now that we are on half-term I tried to plan the entire week last week so that we would be kept busy! #twinklytuesday
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