dancer67 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I am curious as to those who have older kids(like 12 and up who are pretty much independent) do after your DH gets home from work and dinner is done. And also, if you do not have any evening activities planned. Do you sit around and watch TV? Housework still? Do you and your husband spend after dinner together until bed? Do you knit, and he watches sports? Do your older kids spend the rest of the evening with both of you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingnlearning Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Our evenings are busy. My kids are 14/11... DH gets home around 5 on a typical evening. He usually will come in the house and talk with me for a few minutes and then usually has some plan for the evening and sets off to work on it-fencing or moving cows or irrigation or any variety of things. He always has the kids help him with his projects-they learn a lot from him and he likes the company. DS14 is his right hand man-they do everything together and they both enjoy it. DD runs swing, between the house and outside. Late in the evening they do chores which takes about an hour and THEN we have dinner, which I've usually been cooking while all that is going on. I hang out with them outside or do what I want while they all keep busy. We have a very late dinner which is a pain for me but I can't get anyone to eat earlier and get it over with. On a slow night we might have an earlier meal then DH will play some xbox with DD14 or we'll all watch TV or mill around. We don't have a routine at all and DH and I usually only have a few minutes that we talk one on one in the evenings, when he first gets home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alenee Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Dh's schedule is random in the evenings but typically we all eat together and then we have our down-time. The kids may play games together or with dh. I surf the net...dh may do some surfing as well. We're pretty low-key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We usually spend time together going to a park or just being home together. We have a rule that no one is in their rooms doing their own thing once dinner is done; that is family time, not on-your-own time. My dh is really good about playing with the kids while I spend an hour or so online or doing busy work I didn't get done during the day. After we gather to pray at 7:45 the younger kids go to bed while we spend 30 minutes or so with the older ones doing a devotion or just talking. At 8:30 they get 15 minutes of reading and then lights out. My dh and I do not spend time together after the dc go to bed. I usually get on the computer or read and dh has a show he watches on the computer. We do chat before bed and pray together. I like our routine, not sure dh does particularly after the dc go to bed but that's just how things have worked. I really love that we don't have TV and don't have the computers on after dinner as it's helped to preserve family time (meaning time we spend actually interacting, not staring at a screen). I'd like to cut out the time dh and I spend on the computer before bed but it is my only quiet time all day so I have a hard time letting go of that. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 After dinner, we're usually out at sports practices. At least one, but usually 2, have something going on most nights of the week. On weekends, we might watch a movie together. DH and ds just watched Hunt for Red October. Last Friday, it was Right Stuff. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 My husband works late almost every night (except Fri, Sat and Sun-he gets off early those days). So, after dinner, I clean up the dishes, the kids usually play for a while, get ready for bed and then I read the Bible to them for a few minutes. It takes at least 30 minutes or more to get my kids into bed. My son always wants to read a Shel Silverstein poem to me (sheesh, we sound weird as I type this out :lol:), my 9 yro wants me to lay in her hammock with her... My 6 yro and 3 yro want to sleep together every night (they're scared), so they try to figure out whose room they're going to sleep in. Yeah, that's about it. We're such weirdos. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Our nights are hectic. We have both littles and a teenager. Monday nights DH, DS, DD and I all go to DD's AHG meeting (and DS hangs out with the Cub Scout Pack that meets at the same time/place). DSS hangs out with friends. We generally get home around 8:30, put the littles in bed, and watch some TV. Tuesday nights DH, DS, and DSS go play Dungeons and Dragons from 6 p.m. til midnight. DD and I go to the library, out to dinner, shopping, etc. Wednesday nights DS and DD go to AWANA and DH, DSS and I have our Venture Crew Meeting. We get home around 8:30, put the little in bed, and watch TV or a movie. Thursdays we go to my inlaws for dinner, games, movies, etc. Friday night is Cub Scout night for DH, DD, DS, and me. DSS usually hangs out with friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtneyBrooke Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Our summer routine is much more laid-back and fun than in winter. During summer evenings, we eat early,around 5 pm, and then the kids go outside to play the rest of the evenings. DH and I, and the baby, will clean up dinner or play outside with the children or sometimes I'll do my busy work while he's watching the kids. Then we try to get a family walk in before baths and bed. Winter evenings we usually have activities after supper, or play a game together. DH likes to play video games with the boys. We try to read a book together after everyone's in PJs. We watch a movie together, with all the neighborhood kids, once a week on Sunday. Other than that, the TV stays off til after the children are in bed. Then DH likes to watch a movie while he's working on his computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancer67 Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thank you for sharing this with me. It seems like our evening tend to get boring after a while. And with winter coming, we are going to be stuck in the house. He seems to want to spend most of his time with me. Which is fine. But sometimes I like some time alone as well. I wish we had nice weather all year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We provide peace, quiet and space for his nightly molt (that's what I call it) The guy has an insanely focused job, we just stay out of the way & I act like an airline stewardess once an hour. "Coffee, tea, water?" Other than that, we are invisible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We only have 1 teen and he does have some activities to attend on certain evenings. We have dinner together almost every evening. Then, if no one has activities, we might play games (board, card or video) together, do chores or just talk. Once in a while we'll get ice cream cones and then drive to a nice park that's about 20 min. away. The budget is tight so we try to minimize driving, treats and such. We will be starting a vegetable garden soon. So, that may take up some evening time. If you have fire pit, roasting marshmellows is fun in winter. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 When DH was employed: After dinner that was my time off. I would retire to my quiet place to read, knit, watch Mom TV or have a snack I didn't have to share. DH used to take them to the park, play out front with their bikes & sidewalk chalk, or work on a project. He'd also read them a bedtime story & give them a before bed snack. During unemployment season: well it's always different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Scouts, sports, homework.... yeah - we're loads of fun here. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMW Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Oh... at least half of the time my dh is at the boat... sanding and varnishing or repairing or relaxing, while the boys fish off the dock or help him. I enjoy the quiet time alone... doing some sort of project. If I go with dh, I am messing with my camera, working on photography skills... sometimes we go to his parents' home... other times to another friend's home. If we are all home, dh will putz around in the garden, water real good, pay attention to the pets... I clean up a bit more... and we relax... Sometimes dh grills and we enjoy the weather... In the winter I try can usually get away with making a fire in the fireplace twice... then dh reminds me that the fireplace really doesn't work very good and makes the house too smokey... And I help sons with homework and school projects... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 DH is usually pretty exhausted when he gets home, so after dinner, he goes down the basement by himself and veges in front of the TV for awhile. Sometimes he'll play a game with the kids. I lead a Cub Scout den for DS2, so on those nights he hangs out with DS1 and he also takes DS1 to his Cub Scout meetings every other Tuesday. He plays poker once a week, and it's usually at our house, so on Thursday nights, the smelly old guys head down our basement and I'm on my own. Most nights, I clean up the kitchen or hang out on the computer after dinner, then start nightly reading around 8:00-8:30. I read for about an hour, then the kids go to bed. If Dad is in the mood, he will come upstairs and tell the kids an installment in a story he has made up for them. They love it. Dh is much more accessible on the weekends, and he helps with the chores, takes ds2 fishing, takes the boys to his mom's etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 My oldest two are 13 and 10, both closer to the next birthday than the previous one (so, almost 14 and nearly 11). So, close enough to the age you are asking about that I feel okay answering :) DH gets home late (well, what I consider late) -- usually 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Then he hangs out with the boys, plays video games with them or plays outside with them, they all take the dog for a walk, whatever. I cook dinner between 7:30 and 8:00 and we eat between 8:00 and 8:30 (1 - the culture here; 2 - we're night owls). Dinner is over by 9-ish, give or take depending what time we started. After dinner, baths for those that need them. With boys, that's a quick ordeal, 30 minutes and everyone is out of the shower. So, around 9:30 or so we sit down as a family to watch a DVD or play a board game. We watch TV shows on DVD, not a full length movie on weeknights. So, one episode of Mythbusters or Castle or Chuck or whatever we're watching that night. We alternate. IF we are watching something that one boy doesn't want to watch, he is allowed to play on the computer. Screen time is screen time, and we prefer the family all interact but sometimes DH & I want something that might bother one of the younger boys, so they're excused and can play on the computer instead. Mostly we try and watch/hang out together though. IF we split up for the main TV show, we will definitely call them back to watch an episode or two of Looney Tunes. Hilarious. Nothing like laughing at old TV with your children..... So, mostly they do hang out with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancer67 Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 Since it is going to be fall/winter once again:tongue_smilie:I have been trying to come up with some different things to do in the evenings when my youngest does not have activities. It gets to be the same ole same ole after a while. You can't go outside, and it gets dark so darn early. I liked the board game thread I started, got lots of good ideas from that. And esp now that my 12 yo has mono, we have been playing some. I have been asked by my SIL when I am going to get a job:glare:. She says my youngest is going to be 13. I told her nah, not ready for that. Maybe I would go back to school at some point. We are not big TV people. And I hate video games unless it is my Kinects. Just seems like after DH comes home, we eat and wonder, what next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Ds will be 14 next weekend. We are a dinner together family. Unless dh is working late (uncommon but it does happen occasionally) we eat dinner together and talk. Weather permitting we often take a walk after dinner. Sometimes we bring the dog on our walks. Sometimes we go for a bike ride instead of a walk. We might watch a tv show or movie we like, and talk about it afterwards. Right now they're playing Halo Reach together on the X-box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I will add that we don't always do things together. Some nights we're each doing our own thing but in the same room. Dh will watch tv, while DS and I are each on our laptops, or I might read. If I'm watching tv with dh I'm also usually knitting or crocheting. Sometimes I'll go in the other room and watch a mom show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 DH and I are both self-employed and work from home. We also are almost a no-TV family. We average a movie or episode of Doctor Who together every two weeks. Just to give you some background that we might be a bit different. On Tuesdays Little Librarian and I go to scouts usually. On Thursday evenings we get together with friends to play games. Otherwise we usually: -Play games together as a family -Go for a bike ride -Go for a hike -Little Librarian and I like to do puzzles. DH usually will read and sit with us. -I'll scrapbook, Little will do an art project, and DH usually has some sort of project he's working on also. Written out it seems very boring and low key but we love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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