After a long day looking after the kids, all a mother wants to do once they are in bed is sit back and relax. The twilight hours of the day belong to parents and offer an opportunity to do the things there simply wasn’t enough time for in the day. Craig and I will somehow wrestle the kids into their beds and then begin a frantic half hour of hastily shoving plates into the dishwasher, ironing, vacuuming up traces of breadsticks ground into the carpet and numerous other delights you only get around to noticing when the downstairs becomes a child-free zone.
As soon as the chores are done, it’s my time to whip out the laptop and crack on with a little blogging without a mini-me pulling out the charging cable and dunking it in their orange juice. Wine is most definitely optional, as is the resulting liver damage.
Without further ado - here are my top tips for surviving parenthood without your husband calling up Broadmoor and getting you sectioned.
Become a box set geek
With hundreds of television shows now available on providers like Netflix, why not get lost in the fantasy world of Game of Thrones, or the intrigue and politics of the CIA with Homeland? As soon as you’ve watched a few episodes of a box set you’ll be hooked and end up watching it until late into the night. Breaking Bad was my absolute saviour when night-feeding Heidi.
Start a blog
Look familiar?
I clearly took up this one! Writing your own blog gives you a creative outlet to rant about the demands of parenthood and get advice from experienced mums on how to stop your child stuffing their vegetables down their nappy. It is extremely time-flexible, you can update your posts whenever you wish, and write as little or as much as you like. All jokes aside it can also enhance your social life (through blogger events) get you the odd freebie, and give you a sense of purpose when you leave the 9 to 5 behind and enter the murky and disturbing world of CBeebies and messy play.
Try out gaming online
The popularity of online and social gaming has risen dramatically in recent years. This is mainly due to advances in social networking allowing users to share their scores and results with one another. In fact, just days ago I saw dozens of tweens and grown men queuing outside Game for the launch of FIFA15.
Online android casino gaming has also become more popular as the Smartphone revolution has taken hold. This has allowed iPhone and android users to get a slice of the action usually reserved for those sat at a laptop. You can follow online tutorials to get a greater understanding of the games, and once you start playing you can limit how much you are betting. The likes of poker and roulette are available to play online, so if you’re looking to do something distinctly more ‘adult’ of an evening, this could be the new hobby for you.
