leaving for a day

I don’t know how it goes in your house but if I’m going out for the day, just one day, then I need to leave instructions. In writing. By the hour. I love retro daddy but since I tend to handle all of the food/nappy/baby stuff in this house he needs to know exactly what to do. I’ll never forget the call I got as I was getting off the plane in Sydney once – it was retro daddy,

RD: What do I give elodie for dessert?
ME: a banana
RD how do I give it to her
ME: mash it up
RD: what did you say?
ME: mash it up
RD: what?
ME: MASH IT UP WITH A FORK AND GIVE IT TO HER WITH A SPOON PLEASE (people are now looking at me on the plane)
RD …..hangs up the phone.

supplies

So I have left for Power of Moms today and retro daddy is in charge. The kids are excited. Lists are onn the fridge. Dinner is made in the fridge. Supplies are left out to keep everyone happy and I’ll be home later tonight.

So do you need to leave lists when you go away?

Comments

  1. Enjoy your day. Funny conversation – but rather familiar.

  2. I have those conversations without kids!
    Have a great day cant wait to hear all about it

  3. and i thought i was the only one…
    sounds very funny coming from another person…have a nice time!

  4. Hehe, That is very funny! I wrote a list for dear husband the other week and he failed to even notice it on the kitchen table. I am just so glad husbands do so well playing with the kids!

  5. My hubby believes that if the item of clothing is in a kids cupboard then it must fit them (he doesn’t account for the fact that sometimes there are mix-ups or it’s been 3 months since I’ve been thru the cupboard.) I’ve seen the kids dressed in onesies that the snaps don’t do up..or do up but the kid is in a permanently arched position! Also one child in another child’s clothes so the shirt reaches their knees.
    sigh..

  6. Hope that you are having a great day. I went away last year (to SIT) and left the two kids for the weekend with DH and he was fine. No notes, no dinner organised. They had a great time and were all very happy.
    I am looking forward to another weekend away this year:)

  7. My partner tries to out-play the kids so by the time they come inside they’re too buggered to complain about how Daddy does things compared to Mummy.

    When our eldest was a single child and a toddler, I used to get those phone calls too :)

  8. I was having this very same conversation with a girlfriend of mine.. it is sooo true.. last night I said to my husband ‘if you think like a woman then you will have everything under control, think like a man and everything goes nutty!’

  9. Corrie have a wonderful afternoon! I’m looking at the microwave popcorn though and hoping your left step by step instructions on how that one works! I know, there’s instructions on the packet, but my dear hubby asks me, without fail, which buttons to push on the microwave when he’s using it!!!!! I left him a “to do list” the other evening. . . 3 things on it. . . . he completely missed one thing! Aaaahhhh men : )) Have fun!!

  10. Do I ever (leave lists)! This particularly resonates with me today as I left the house this morning whilst Hubby was on the loo (I’m sure he’d love me sharing that with you all) bombarding him with my verbal list of instructions; “MIss Flea needs a yoghurt in her lunch box, check with the Little Master if he has enough food for today, it’s also banking day today so they’ll need to fill our their bank books, will you or I pick up Big Girl this afternoon, oh and the Little Master & Miss Flea have Anti-Bullying day so they will need to get dressed in the orange clothes I’ve put on their beds plus they need to take a gold coin each … have you got all of that?” Mmmm is the response I get. I think it was all taken in :-)

  11. I had 14 days in USA with our 12 yr old for her dancing and left hubby with other 3 , can you imagine the lists and labeling I had to do!!!!!!

  12. I can relate to this too. I used to leave a list with where he had to be and who he had to have with him, on the days that I was working. LOL. Even then he’d get engrossed with his work and would be running late sometimes. Thanks for sharing with us Corrie. It brought back some good memories LOL

  13. Ha Ha :: so familiar :: when our now 18yo was little I went back to work for 3 hours on a Monday night :: my hubby had to get his mother to come out while I was at work so he could cope! So I would spend Mondays making sure the house was spotless before my mother in law came around ♥

  14. Why can’t men think for themselves? My husbands always asks, “what will I give him for lunch?” Is it REALLY that hard? I answer the same every time, “A sandwich”. I hope you have a great day off!

  15. Yes. Detailed instrustions, always. And still, they are not followed.
    Oh, and still I get told that what I do is “easy”, “a breeze”. *sigh*

  16. Loved this post! My little girl is only 13 days old, but the first full day home after the birth, my husband said, “if you want to get out of the house for an hour, I’ll stay here with her.” I looked at him like he was an alien… I think he understands now that I have to be with the baby 24/7…

  17. As the mother of two boys and wife to a husband who quite capably looks after our boys when I work or study. Including an 8 day stint with an eleven month old and 2 year old I have to defend men from statements like ‘why can’t men think for themselves?’.

    My dad and my father in law are also more than capable of looking after both my boys for the day including baths, dressing and deciding what to feed them. I’m glad my boys have strong role models.

    Sorry – I’ll hop off my soap box now!

    Have a great weekend Corrie (I did laugh at the mashed banana conversation,!)

  18. are you kidding? they would all die without my lists in my absence, but my husband still loves making fun of my lists… men… :-))

  19. Now I just let them figure it all out. I think it might have made things easier if I wasn’t such a control freak in the beginning (My directions looked like a military operation). I do think they are capable and from a very early age I had the girls cooking (supervised); making their own lunch (according to the food guide) and packing for trips – a few times without underwear. I find they get along surprisingly well and now at 22, 19 and 16 – my husband and the girls can fend for themselves. So much so that a couple of years ago I was able to go to Australia with my husband and leave them on their own.

  20. That is so funny the lists and phone conversation, Well I am still leaving dinner in the fridge and lists for hubby. Our children have left home long ago. I have been married for 48yrs and still doing it. LoL

  21. Hmmm. I’m feeling like I’m a neglectful wife now. I rarely leave lists. I let hubby defend for himself. For the most part he does OK and the kids thrive with Daddy time. I don’t cook dinner in advance either – I’m happy for Daddy to spoil them with pizza! But then again, I’ve never been gone for more than a day, so neglectful or not, I probably won’t change!

  22. That’s cute Corrie, I love how clueless the daddy’s can be sometimes. My lovely hubby needs things to be spelled out in detail when it comes to handling the boys… hence why I so often ensure they’re fed, bathed and ready for bed before I go out. A whole day… haven’t attempted yet.
    xo

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