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Tag: Valentine’s Day

  • How to successfully balance work, parenting and love life

    How to successfully balance work, parenting and love life

    With Valentine’s Day today and the fact many of you have spoken to us through the blog and Facebook about being a single parent, eHarmony Australia has written a great post for us on how to better balance work, parenting and your love life. Enjoy! x

    Guest post sponsored by eHarmony Australia

    For single working parents, life can start to feel like one giant juggling act. Many parents struggle to strike a happy balance between their titles as mum, dad and colleague. In the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, the role that usually gets sacrificed first is their search for love as a single man or woman.

    The good news is that successfully juggling work, parenting and romance doesn’t have to be a superhuman feat. Here’s a look at some tips and ideas for making it all seem more achievable.

    Relationships

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    Let go of the guilt

    The first step to feeling better about your lifestyle as a single working parent is to let go of the anxiety and guilt about things not being perfect. At the end of the day, very few people’s lives are actually ideal. From a historic perspective, single working parents are a relatively new group in society, and institutions like welfare, daycare and maternity leave haven’t quite caught up yet.

    The key is to stop searching for perfection and let go of the super-woman working mum image we so often see in the media. Once you do that, you’ll feel a lot less pressure about how your family life ought to look and function.

    Set clear boundaries

    Your different roles as a parent and a work colleague will often compete for your time and your attention. It’s important to draw clear boundaries to make sure you’re committing your full attention and care to each part of your life. That means things like switching off the work mobile phone when you’re bathing your kids and setting clear guidelines about not being contacted by the office on weekends.

    It’s important to think about when the most important times are to be around in your children’s lives, whether it’s when they wake up, when they come home from school or having a family dinner together.

    Relationship

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    Use your support network

    Being a single parent doesn’t have to mean doing everything on your own. Make the most of the support networks in your life, like your family and friends. Always ask your workplace to consider new incentives to make your life easier, like an office crèche or flexible start and finish hours.

    Finding a network of other single parents in your area is a great way to find like-minded people and gain advice on the best way for handling tricky situations. For instance any singles in Perth looking to meet people with a similar lifestyle, parenting groups often meet at South Beach for a swim or coffee at the Fig Café in Freemantle.

    Don’t sacrifice your love life

    Being a mum and a worker shouldn’t mean the end of your love life. You might not have the time to head out on blind dates, but there are plenty of other ways to meet eligible singles. Online dating for instance is an easy and convenient option that locates like-minded people in your area.

    Best of all, with the option to tailor your matches, online dating sites make it easy to find singles who share your love for children, as well as your other core values and attitudes.

    What are your tips for successfully managing work, parenting and love life?

  • 12 Valentine’s Day ideas to date your husband all year round

    12 Valentine’s Day ideas to date your husband all year round

    Valentine's Day ideas

    The last couple of years have seen The Bloke in the Shed and I a little lean on the dating front. There’s usually wine and chocolates, but there’s also a TV, two laptops and a mound of work to catch up on. Valentine’s Day, birthdays and Christmases roll around and we’re reminded we probably should be more romantic.

    This year we’ve decided we’re going to make more of an effort for regular “date nights’’. Especially now Holly is a little older and able to be left with other people.

    Here are traditionally good ideas for Valentine’s Day that we’ll be aiming to use throughout the year instead.

    1. Masterchef at home. Spend some time in the kitchen preparing your favourite dishes and eat together – alone – afterwards, just like you’re in a fancy restaurant. It’s a true Valentine’s Day ideas that even calls for surprise roses beforehand, don’t you think? (I have been known to buy Julian flowers. It’s true! It was a really dark coloured rose back in our early days. I don’t think flower buying should just be for the men).

    2. Go stargazing in the backyard. Take out a blanket, spread it on the ground and lie down while looking at the night sky. Even just sitting in the outdoor area with a wine. The beauty of this one is it costs you nothing. Except for the wine.

    3. Tourist in your own town. I’m ashamed to say, but there are things here in our own town we haven’t done. You know, those touristy things? We’re always so driving somewhere else.

    4. See a live event. Back in the day, we used to attend concerts and shows all the time. We’ve often remarked that “oh, so and so is in town. They’d be great to see’’. But we never go. We may even travel interstate for a show. Maybe…

    5. Watch a movie at home. Prepare your popcorn and drinks and snuggle up on the couch together to watch your favourite romantic movie. Dim the lights for added effect.

    6. Eat out at a new restaurant. There’s something about food and romance. They just go so well together. This year we’d like to try somewhere new.

    7. Go on a road trip. Head out to a new destination. The time on the road will be perfect to talk and bond.

    8. Climb a mountain. This is the ideal date idea for people with adventurous spirits. That’s not necessarily me. Although, one of my greatest memories is climbing to the Wineglass Bay lookout on Tasmania’s East Coast with Julian. It was worth all the effort.

    9. Gourmet picnic at the park. It’s such a simple activity, but thoroughly relaxing. Unless it’s infested with tantrum-throwing two year olds. We’ll be leaving ours at home! Pack some cheese, dips, smoked salmon, cured meats, olives, crackers, fruit and nuts.

    10. Head to the beach. I’m not a beach person. As I’ve said before – I hate the sand. However, there is something about walking along the beach together. (I say this after Julian took me to Boat Harbour to propose 13 years ago and I refused to step out onto the sand, so he had to propose in the car. If only I’d known!).

    11. Find a hobby. Sometimes we get to a point where our lives boil down to work and kids. It’s nice to have something you can do together. Even if doing arts and crafts is a one-off activity, it all helps to create new memories.

    12. I need ideas for No. 12. What would you suggest? Do you have regular date nights? What sort of things do you do?

    DISCLOSURE: I received vouchers in exchange for my time and blog space with thanks to Roses Only. All opinions are my own.