Early Shabbosos- HELP!

PinkFridge

Fri, Dec 02 2016, 9:28 am

amother wrote:

OP here. You all gave me great ideas. Here is what we are implementing for now:

6. Shower/makeup Friday MORNING

Looking forward! Wishing all of us siyata dismay, calm fridays and beautiful shabbosos!

Re your list: Applause

and hatzlacha!
Re 6: I heard that while you will read that it's optimal to shower after chatzos, in our day and age, we don't get so shmutzed up so showering earlier is fine, but - IIRC this is from the Mishnah Berurah - it's recommended to wash your hands and possibly face in warm water l'kavod Shabbos.

A few notes: it used to be feet too but again, not relevant now. And if washing your face will be stressful because you put on makeup earlier, to me it seems no problem because that too was definitely l'kavod Shabbos, and in fact, you should endorse yourself for your strategizing. Just throwing this out for people who want to try it. It's appropriate for kids too and actually, could be a very nice thing to add to the list IMO.

PinkFridge

Fri, Dec 02 2016, 9:31 am

amother wrote:

New pro tip:
Sending the kids to my mother for shabbos
Cool

I never do this and shouldn't be proud of it but it's been a bunch of early Shabboses already and I've had a really hard week and just can't do another Thursday night marathon followed by the Friday sprint. I'll breathe and then re-activate next week.

I don't think you should be embarrassed. Would you be embarrassed if you hired a mother's helper, etc., to get you through the day?
It sounds like you don't regularly do this so your mother isn't feeling put upon. In fact, she's probably able to do this without too much stress (one day you'll get there!) and proud of the hard work you do.

sky

Fri, Dec 02 2016, 12:57 pm

I'm working until close to shabbos.
DH runs in from work within an hour of lighting, and didn't get home last night until 9.

I do all cooking Thursday night. When I go to sleep all food is prepped. (Food shopping is Thursday).
Friday morning I get up early to put up soup and cholent on flame.
Any kids that need help bathing get done Friday morning early before school.
Thursday evening kids help clean living room and dining room while I cook - They clear table and put on tablecloth.
I don't let myself make anything new on Friday, no matter how much I want to.
I have extra food in the freezer in case we have surprise guests - which happens often.

amother

Blonde

Fri, Dec 02 2016, 2:01 pm

amother wrote:

OP here. You all gave me great ideas. Here is what we are implementing for now:

1. Daven friday morning. (loved this one!)
2. Consider light bentchen time to be an hour earlier than it is.
3. LR/DR neat and table set Thursday night
4. No playing outside of playroom Friday.
5. Jobs for kids:
• Gathering a- garbage b-dirty laundry c-toys d-muktza objects that are out of place. (4 separate jobs)
• Make beds
• Put away dry dishes
• Set table
6. Shower/makeup Friday MORNING

Looking forward! Wishing all of us siyata dismay, calm fridays and beautiful shabbosos!

Thank you so much for sharing your list! I was the amother who gave the idea for gathering jobs which my children take care of Friday after school. But I'm still overwhelmed when we get home as I'm still doing too much by myself which means that what I though would be accomplished by Friday is not. So seeing your list helped me break our tasks down further and going forward we will need to implement the following help from the kids.

Tuesday night shopping list needs to be fully ready so that shopping can happen on Wednesday, otherwise it doesn't happen until Thursday which puts us a full day behind in every single one of our Shabbos preparations. This task is for me but I will make it a family task with the kids around me and the computer and I will give out tasks like check the fridge to see how many yogurts we have, tell me what you need for school snacks next week and other such items. Start cooking up the hard boiled eggs and meat on Tuesday nights instead of later on in the week. Involve the kids.

Wednesday night laundry gathering and help load the washer and transfer to dryer. Toy gathering and make sure playroom is cleaned up. Help unpack weekly order, tape up boxes and bring outside for garbage. Whatever part of the groceries and boxes are not done yet by the time dh comes home later in the evening he has to finish up with me.

Thursday no toys allowed out of playroom. Help with cooking by separating eggs, unwrapping and draining broccoli for kugel. Trim green beans and wash red potatoes. Make cholent together. (I will slice meat.) Load dishwasher. Take care of weekly newsletters from school (I still need to implement a better system for this. Tips appreciated.) Clear and wash counters. Put up hot water urn and hot plate. And dh can't pass on giving the kids baths when he gets home later in the evening.

I specifically took the time to type this up now during the busy Friday rush. Writing it up forces me to think the schedule through and rearrange until it feels doable.