Mommy Time Out!

The first few year of motherhood (for me anyway) has been all about the kids. Yes, I have worked to varying degrees, from full-time to Brewer to full-time Mum and some in between, but at the heart of it, my days have still revolved around kids. Feeding kids, changing kids, caring for kids, playing with kids, shopping for kids. Kids. Kids. Kids.

Some may say that is/was a mistake on my part and on some days I am the head someone, but each to their own, and it is only relatively recently that I’ve started to look forward to (read…crave, need, desire) some Mommy Time Out. Some time to remember that, believe it or not, there was life pre-kiddies and that person is still somewhere in there clawing her way through gag-worthy diapers, perpetually filthy PE shorts and stinky socks to a world where adults can have a conversation that does NOT involve schools, school runs, school pick-up times, after-school activities and how exhausted we are! Where mums can explore Dubai and all its offerings outside of soft play areas, birthday parties and play dates (I’ve heard there are quite a few).

During Mommy Time Out, you will not hear a single whisper of children or the multitude of options to entertain them in Dubai (for that, you have the rest of the blog). This space is just for the Me in Mommy (it’s invisible at first glance, but I promise it’s there). You will, however, learn more about interesting and fun products for Grown-Ups, spots for a great meal that do not serve chicken nuggets and activities that do not offer babysitting or childminders. It will hopefully become a little corner just for us.

Seeing as I am still dusting off the laundry and stuffed toys and reminding myself how to be more than just “Mommy” again, I thought I’d tap into my UAE Mom Blogger village and find out what other mums do for a good Mommy Time Out around here!

The first and probably the best advice I got, was from Meghna at Life, Love and the little one, and I keep her post “I deserve my “Me” Time” as a necessary reminder that yes, I do deserve/need the time to myself. As the saying goes……

Here are some of the amazing recommendations from fellow Mom Bloggers that I have added to my list:

• Keeping it simple, healthy and cost – effective by spending some time outdoors and enjoying all things Nature! No better person than Amruta from Sustainability Tribe to advise on her favourite spots to soak up some Vitamin D and find your inner calm.
• If you’re arty – or heck, who cares if you are, do it for the fun of it – what about the peace and tranquillity of The Lost Chambers combined with an art class, unlimited grape and canapes? Yes, please!
• We all take pics (by the gazillion) of our kids but what about widening our horizons (if not our lenses) and experiencing a Photo Tour of Old Dubai as Latika from Stars in the desert tried out?
• If you are feeling particularly brave (I say this only because I took 3,5 years before I could do this), you could even consider a quick getaway with your parenting partner in crime like Tani from Our Big Dubai Adventure did.

I look forward over the coming weeks to go on this journey of finding the perfect Mommy Time Outs so if you come across something, please let me know, and if you’re new and need a co-pilot then let’s chat!