What Did You Do Without Them?

I do. It was nice. And quiet. I had my whole house to myself. I would read, watch movies, go out with friends for nice dinners, travel, etc...

There were weekends I would spend completely alone, totally entertained by what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, going where I wanted to be...

But, looking back, it was boring compared to my present day life.

Mine is 8, and as much as I think I "want" alone time, I always miss him, even when he's a t school, etc.

I used to think that my life was so busy and then I had kids and I found out what busy was. I don't remember what was so busy about my life before either : )

What did I do? I worked full time and often had another job or a class on the side. I worked out, I went shopping, I read a LOT, I dated, I went to concerts and dance clubs and bars, I went to the beach or into the city with my friends just about every weekend, I traveled...I had a great life!
Wait, why the hell did I ever get married and have kids? The urge to procreate must be VERY strong, LOL!!!

I could run to the bathroom without my robe on. Polish my nails, undisturbed. Experiment with cooking without hearing eewww what's this stuff? Read a book cover to cover without hearing MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM.

I don't know it is weird. My kids are all grown and gone and I now live alone with 3 dogs, a cat and a fish. So I still get the MMMMOOOOOMMMMM but it's in the form of a wet nose against my hand.

I would like to tell you all that I did before having kids but just in case one day my kids read this I should not.
Perhaps when I am 80 year old (like the other post said) I will say, lol.
I am glad I did what I did, no so proud of all and very lucky at some points, but I am enjoying this time so much too.
Funny thing my house is much more cleaner now with kids that before them, lol.

I'm currently in the pre-mom stage for now. :) We have a great time. Our house is always quiet, mostly clean, and we cook together a lot (a hobby of ours, we love the elaborate stuff). I finished my Master's degree almost 2 years ago, and we both work. We travel a lot, randomly, sometimes to spontaneous destinations. We're social with friends, we take bike rides, do house projects, work in the yard, sleep, sleep in, and watch a lot of movies. It's really wonderful, and I try to soak up every moment. I used to feel some pressure to start a family from other people in my age group (I'm 27, hubby's 30), but to be honest, we really are enjoying each other and laying a great foundation to add a member of our family. I imagine things will only get better from here. More noisy and poopy maybe, but more love to go around. :)

I escape every Thursday night while my hubby manages the kiddos - I mostly shop and meet with friends - pretty much what I did before kids. Except now all my shopping is to buy them stuff and my friend meetups don't involves as much - umm - adult fun as they used to.

oh - and i'm home by 8pm at hte latest...lol

Worked full time, went to the gym every single day, went to happy hour every Friday, slept a lot more, went for loooong walks or bike rides with my husband, went to the bagel place on Sunday mornings and actually read the paper while eating my bagel....

I honestly do not remember what I did pre kids.... LOL My firstborn is 15, and I really don't remember much other than working, cleaning house (which was not nearly as hard as it is now, then it was 15 minutes and the whole house was dusted! ), and shopping... same as I do now, but it seems to take a lot longer, and I have these little people telling me what to shop for now. :)

Went to the gym 3-4 times a week EVERY week, read books all the time, worked full time, ate more healthy, took scuba classes and got certified and watched TV shows in the evenings that I don't watch with the kids around.

what did i do without them? Well I waited 22 years to do this: PARTY!

I can remember that I lived a different life. I had a lot more time to relax, I was much calmer and I got to do whatever I wanted. I miss being able to watch what I want on the TV, like a horror movie and I miss having the house to myself. There are also days that I miss my independence I had always had a job since I was 16. Now I am a SAHM and I rent out the house I bought before I met my hubby.

I would not trade my life now for anything. I love being a mom and I love my husband. There were times when I was single and not a mom that were very lonely. I guess there are pros and cons from both sides.

I've been a mom for 19 yrs. I don't remember before. I do remember my girl going to spend a month with dad every summer and a lot of weekends with gramma. What I did was 1st - catch up on sleep, then housework, get the drinking with friends part handled, then I would get sick of it and be sad and lonely! I found that maternal energy = creative energy. When I was without my girl, I would get a whirlwind of creative ideas. I would paint a room, a piece of furniture, a picture. I got crazy crafty and turned odd objects into pieces of art. I wrote. I sewed, did cross stich, crocheted. I really would get into planting things. Like I needed to nurture something and see it grow! It was vital that I do these things, like a drive deep in my soul. When she would come back, any unfinished projects would gget tossed aside and all the creative energy would go back to mommy energy and the urge to start projects would be all gone.

I LOVE my alone time! What I did without kids -I still enjoy doing often -I browsed stores (especially book stores) without interruption, bought groceries in peace, and READ in the peacefulness of my own home -undisturbed! I watched movies and television shows without worrying what was on them that little eyes and ears might see or hear or being interrupted. I went out without having to get a sitter to live music, dinners, parties, movies and to places to get pedicures and massages -and to WORK OUT without scheduling it all with my husband to make sure the kids are covered.

Don't get me wrong -I love my boys more than life itself, but I'm never bored when they're not around and I have a free minute! I still enjoy almost all of the things I used to enjoy before I had them -it just takes a lot of planning to do many of them, and I don't get to do a lot of them very often.

I used to be much more creative than I am now. Now I'm lucky to get through work, dinner, homework and get GD in bed on time! I can't remember exactly what I did (it's been 32 years!) but I do remember doing a lot more arts and crafts type things, refinishing furniture, reading, going out with friends.

I think about that too. I worked out, watched more TV, volunteered some and socialized more. Shopped too. But at times - I was bored... I remind myself of that when I start getting annoyed I don't have enough time to myself.

i worked full time outside the home. had friends, went to movies, lunches, did shopping. loved biking. read a lot and travelled. so, i had it pretty good. now i work from home, i have friends with whom i am rarely in contact because of just no time, and no excitement per say to have anything to talk about, i don't go to movies unless they're kid movies, i don't go out to lunch. i do read still, and i do go biking with kids. so things have changed. they're still good but different.

I have no idea what I did with my time. My husband and I marvel at that quite often actually. I'm starting to think the time space continum shifts after your children are born.

Worked full time
Had a clean house
Did crafts
Read entire books (imagine?)
Completed entire thoughts almost every day

OK, my daughter is 12 and I'm a SAHM, so I do have time to myself during the day. I run a home business so I spend some time doing that. I also make a nice dinner for all of us every night (and often a guest or two). I try to keep up with laundry and keep the house just above landfill status.