| picture from last year|
Last night I was sitting in the bathroom on the little wooden bench I always sit on when the kids take a bath. I grabbed my phone and started making a list of things I needed to get done before we leave for Colorado Friday morning. Before long I got distracted and started cleaning m makeup brushes., it needed to be done and I thought it was the perfect time since I was already in there. Plus, those things haven't seen soap and water for longer than I'd like to admit; perhaps that's why I'm breaking out so much? Anyway.
It was just Tracen in there tonight, Sky was already begging to be put to bed (yes, he LOVES his sleep!) Trace is five and a half so he most certainly does't need me washing his ass any longer so I normally just chill in there and tell him how much longer he has while I scroll through my phone mindlessly. When he takes showers I will go in the other room and fold laundry, clean up etc since I feel comfortable that he won't drown from raindrops.
It got me thinking though of all the things we as parents can do while our kids take a bath. These are things for the parents that have toddlers or older kids that don't technically "need" us to help bathe them any longer but we can't be leaving them in a tub full of water either!
1. WASH YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES: This is what I choose to do last night. I sorted through them and tossed any that were not worth keeping and washed the rest. I use my Real Techniques brush cleaner palette and some Dawn dish soap (the blue one they use on those poor ducks in oil spills in commercials) that one works the best. Let them dry over night and you are good to use in the am.
2. CLEAN YOUR BATHROOM: I know this may sound funny since your kids are in the bathtub and that most likely that needs to be cleaned too but clean anything else you can! The toilet, the sink, around the baseboards, the mirror, the floor, change the towels, organize the cupboards, etc. There is SO much cleaning that can be done in the bathroom that you most likely hate doing, why not do it while you're already sitting in there anyway! Please remember to not use bleach or any harsh chemicals while the kids are in there since its such a small space though.
3. ANSWER EMAILS: I use this time a lot to hop on my computer and answer emails for videography business, look at orders that need to be filled from my clothing shop, start a blog post, edit photos or videos, etc. It gives me a little window to get a few things online done before we start the teeth brushing and book reading aspect of the bedtime routine.
4. PAMPER YOURSELF: I will take this time to wash my face really good and do a face mask. Usually this is the perfect amount of time needed to slab a face mask on and wash it off before the boys are done with their bath. A couple face masks I'm loving at the moment are, First Aid Beauty mask, Freeman Facial Charcoal and Black Sugar Polish Mask,and this black peel off mask..
5. FOLD LAUNDRY I will bring a basket, or two, full of clothes that need to be folded and get to work while they bathe. Once they are done I then drop off all the clean and folded clothes to everyone's room right before we read books. This way Jerek and I aren't forced to do this after bedtime and we can get straight into watching Ray Donovan!
6. TALK ABOUT YOUR DAY: With Tracen starting kindergarten I try to ask him about his day while we drive home or over dinner. I read somewhere that sometimes kids don't like to answer these questions because they just want to turn their brain off when they leave. Kinda like when we commute home from work, the last thing I really feel like doing is talking to someone on my drive home and telling you how my day was. Using the bath time to ask how their day is you might get much more of an answer than if you asked on your drive home from school!
7. PLAY A GAME: Again with Tracen and starting school, he's really excited that he's learning different words and to read. Take the time to ask him how do you spell "THE" or what words start with the letter B. Easy things you can do as "homework/practice" and also have him wash his fifthly little body at the same time, win win!
8. PAINT YOUR NAILS: I can't say to do this if you use regular nail polish because it might not be dry in time for when you have to help them get out and dry off. However, since I use an at home gel manicure system I can easily do this in 15 min and my nails won't get messed up! I've mentioned this before but this is my ride or die! I don't think I'll EVER go back to painting my nails with regular nail polish again!
9. MAKE A LIST: I am a die hard list maker! I make lists about lists! Take this time to make a grocery list, a weekend to do list, a To Sell online list, a list for your husband to do when he wakes up from a nap on the couch at 7 pm, wait what ;) Take this time to plan things out so you are not wasting time then! I just signed up for Shipt so I can legit grocery shopping done while the kids take a bath and it is delivered to me in an hour. I kid you not!!!
10. RELAX: Sometimes sitting on the chair with a cocktail and just watching him play is all I need at that moment in time! Take a breather from the crazy day and enjoy being home with them.
I know sometimes we hate bath time (at least I do sometimes) because we have to stop what we're doing and sit there while they
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