It has been a while since I’ve done a Mum’s Mailbox post but I have had an excellent question from Multi-Tasking Mommy which I thought I should answer here for you all to see.

She says “I am curious how much time per day on average you spend on the computer in order to keep up with all of the blogging you do.

Sometimes I wonder how people do it, because to keep up on two blogs, I find I can barely do it in a day!

And with 5 children in tow? And all of the home cooking you do. How do you do it? I’m just so impressed and jealous!“

I have never sat down and worked out how much time I spend on the computer. I think that if I did the answer would shock me and I’d feel guilty. I think to answer this question it might be easier for me to tell you what an average day is like in my household. Here we go:

Sophie (1) wakes me up between 6.30 and 7am and we stagger out of bed. I give Sophie a quick nappy change and I go and have a quick shower. By this time Riley (4) and Caitie (6) are also getting up. I go and wake Clare (8) and Chloe (10) up. Chloe gets up straight away and makes her own breakfast. Clare doesn’t!.

I make breakfast for the younger kids and get them settled and I go back to tell Clare to get up again. I go and make Clare’s breakfast and that’s when she usually gets up. While the kids are eating their breakfast I finish packing the girls lunchboxes for school.

I have already laid out the kids clothes the night before so once they have finished their breakfast they get dressed. I help Riley get dressed and then get Sophie dressed for the day.

Next it’s time to do hair and teeth and then the kids pack their bags for school or preschool. I then put on a load of washing and then I turn on my computer for the first time. I check my emails before it’s time to head off to school.

We walk to school because it’s just around the corner. When I get back I’m back on the computer (it’s usually about 9:15am) while Sophie and Riley are happy to play by themselves. This is usually when I am checking on my eBay Auctions progress and packing things to post. Sometimes I manage to get a bit of blogging done but not often.

If I need to go to the shops or do any errands I go around 10am. That way I am back by 11-11.30 for Sophie’s nap. If I don’t go out I get to do a few more things on the computer and then play with the kids for a while.

Once I have put Sophie to bed I set Riley up with something to do, either he plays on the computer or he sits at the table with some craft or colouring in. I hang the clothes on the line and reboot the washing machine, unpack and pack the dishwasher, tidy the dining room and lounge room, vacuum, make the beds and clean the bathroom. Then I make Riley and myself some lunch and we eat it together. I do a few more things on the computer and then hang out the next load of washing. I do any baking or dinner prep and then Sophie usually wakes up not long after this and I give her some lunch while I finish what I’m doing on the computer.

Around 2pm if it’s a nice day we will go and play out in the back yard until it’s time to go and get the girls from school at 3pm.

Once we are home I get them all something to eat and drink and they all go off and do their own thing. Usually watching tv or playing on the computer or PS2. Sophie is happy to potter around, happy that the girls are back from school so I do a bit more on the computer.

At 4.30 the girls all come to the dining table to do their homework. Riley will usually join them with some colouring in or will draw pictures or try to write letters. I set up my laptop at the table with them but I don’t get a great deal of blogging done in between helping them.

At 5pm I do a quick tidy up, picking up toys that sort of thing and then at 5.30 it’s the kids bath and shower time.

At 6pm I start dinner and then it’s a blur of feeding the kids, getting them into bed, ironing and preparing clothes for the following day and making lunches.

Usually I am able to get back on the computer again around 8pm and I have a few straight hours to get the majority of my blogging done.

I try to go to bed by 10.30pm but I have been known to stay up till midnight, not often though.

So that is my day in a nutshell. Looking at that I guess I would probably spend between about 5 and 6 hours a day on the computer. One thing that I find really useful is to keep a notebook. I jot down ideas throughout the day and I have a running to do list so that when I get on the computer at night I know exactly what I want to get done and I do it. This helps enormously because I know that if I don’t have that list I get sidetracked and spend the night on Facebook or playing games.

Thanks for your question Multi-Tasking Mommy

It has been a while since I’ve done a Mum’s Mailbox post but I have had an excellent question from Multi-Tasking Mommy which I thought I should answer here for you all to see.

She says “I am curious how much time per day on average you spend on the computer in order to keep up with all of the blogging you do.

Sometimes I wonder how people do it, because to keep up on two blogs, I find I can barely do it in a day!

And with 5 children in tow? And all of the home cooking you do. How do you do it? I’m just so impressed and jealous!“

I have never sat down and worked out how much time I spend on the computer. I think that if I did the answer would shock me and I’d feel guilty. I think to answer this question it might be easier for me to tell you what an average day is like in my household. Here we go:

Sophie (1) wakes me up between 6.30 and 7am and we stagger out of bed. I give Sophie a quick nappy change and I go and have a quick shower. By this time Riley (4) and Caitie (6) are also getting up. I go and wake Clare (8) and Chloe (10) up. Chloe gets up straight away and makes her own breakfast. Clare doesn’t!.

I make breakfast for the younger kids and get them settled and I go back to tell Clare to get up again. I go and make Clare’s breakfast and that’s when she usually gets up. While the kids are eating their breakfast I finish packing the girls lunchboxes for school.

I have already laid out the kids clothes the night before so once they have finished their breakfast they get dressed. I help Riley get dressed and then get Sophie dressed for the day.

Next it’s time to do hair and teeth and then the kids pack their bags for school or preschool. I then put on a load of washing and then I turn on my computer for the first time. I check my emails before it’s time to head off to school.

We walk to school because it’s just around the corner. When I get back I’m back on the computer (it’s usually about 9:15am) while Sophie and Riley are happy to play by themselves. This is usually when I am checking on my eBay Auctions progress and packing things to post. Sometimes I manage to get a bit of blogging done but not often.

If I need to go to the shops or do any errands I go around 10am. That way I am back by 11-11.30 for Sophie’s nap. If I don’t go out I get to do a few more things on the computer and then play with the kids for a while.

Once I have put Sophie to bed I set Riley up with something to do, either he plays on the computer or he sits at the table with some craft or colouring in. I hang the clothes on the line and reboot the washing machine, unpack and pack the dishwasher, tidy the dining room and lounge room, vacuum, make the beds and clean the bathroom. Then I make Riley and myself some lunch and we eat it together. I do a few more things on the computer and then hang out the next load of washing. I do any baking or dinner prep and then Sophie usually wakes up not long after this and I give her some lunch while I finish what I’m doing on the computer.

Around 2pm if it’s a nice day we will go and play out in the back yard until it’s time to go and get the girls from school at 3pm.

Once we are home I get them all something to eat and drink and they all go off and do their own thing. Usually watching tv or playing on the computer or PS2. Sophie is happy to potter around, happy that the girls are back from school so I do a bit more on the computer.

At 4.30 the girls all come to the dining table to do their homework. Riley will usually join them with some colouring in or will draw pictures or try to write letters. I set up my laptop at the table with them but I don’t get a great deal of blogging done in between helping them.

At 5pm I do a quick tidy up, picking up toys that sort of thing and then at 5.30 it’s the kids bath and shower time.

At 6pm I start dinner and then it’s a blur of feeding the kids, getting them into bed, ironing and preparing clothes for the following day and making lunches.

Usually I am able to get back on the computer again around 8pm and I have a few straight hours to get the majority of my blogging done.

I try to go to bed by 10.30pm but I have been known to stay up till midnight, not often though.

So that is my day in a nutshell. Looking at that I guess I would probably spend between about 5 and 6 hours a day on the computer. One thing that I find really useful is to keep a notebook. I jot down ideas throughout the day and I have a running to do list so that when I get on the computer at night I know exactly what I want to get done and I do it. This helps enormously because I know that if I don’t have that list I get sidetracked and spend the night on Facebook or playing games.

Thanks for your question Multi-Tasking Mommy

It has been a while since I’ve done a Mum’s Mailbox post but I have had an excellent question from Multi-Tasking Mommy which I thought I should answer here for you all to see.

She says “I am curious how much time per day on average you spend on the computer in order to keep up with all of the blogging you do.

Sometimes I wonder how people do it, because to keep up on two blogs, I find I can barely do it in a day!

And with 5 children in tow? And all of the home cooking you do. How do you do it? I’m just so impressed and jealous!“

I have never sat down and worked out how much time I spend on the computer. I think that if I did the answer would shock me and I’d feel guilty. I think to answer this question it might be easier for me to tell you what an average day is like in my household. Here we go:

Sophie (1) wakes me up between 6.30 and 7am and we stagger out of bed. I give Sophie a quick nappy change and I go and have a quick shower. By this time Riley (4) and Caitie (6) are also getting up. I go and wake Clare (8) and Chloe (10) up. Chloe gets up straight away and makes her own breakfast. Clare doesn’t!.

I make breakfast for the younger kids and get them settled and I go back to tell Clare to get up again. I go and make Clare’s breakfast and that’s when she usually gets up. While the kids are eating their breakfast I finish packing the girls lunchboxes for school.

I have already laid out the kids clothes the night before so once they have finished their breakfast they get dressed. I help Riley get dressed and then get Sophie dressed for the day.

Next it’s time to do hair and teeth and then the kids pack their bags for school or preschool. I then put on a load of washing and then I turn on my computer for the first time. I check my emails before it’s time to head off to school.

We walk to school because it’s just around the corner. When I get back I’m back on the computer (it’s usually about 9:15am) while Sophie and Riley are happy to play by themselves. This is usually when I am checking on my eBay Auctions progress and packing things to post. Sometimes I manage to get a bit of blogging done but not often.

If I need to go to the shops or do any errands I go around 10am. That way I am back by 11-11.30 for Sophie’s nap. If I don’t go out I get to do a few more things on the computer and then play with the kids for a while.

Once I have put Sophie to bed I set Riley up with something to do, either he plays on the computer or he sits at the table with some craft or colouring in. I hang the clothes on the line and reboot the washing machine, unpack and pack the dishwasher, tidy the dining room and lounge room, vacuum, make the beds and clean the bathroom. Then I make Riley and myself some lunch and we eat it together. I do a few more things on the computer and then hang out the next load of washing. I do any baking or dinner prep and then Sophie usually wakes up not long after this and I give her some lunch while I finish what I’m doing on the computer.

Around 2pm if it’s a nice day we will go and play out in the back yard until it’s time to go and get the girls from school at 3pm.

Once we are home I get them all something to eat and drink and they all go off and do their own thing. Usually watching tv or playing on the computer or PS2. Sophie is happy to potter around, happy that the girls are back from school so I do a bit more on the computer.

At 4.30 the girls all come to the dining table to do their homework. Riley will usually join them with some colouring in or will draw pictures or try to write letters. I set up my laptop at the table with them but I don’t get a great deal of blogging done in between helping them.

At 5pm I do a quick tidy up, picking up toys that sort of thing and then at 5.30 it’s the kids bath and shower time.

At 6pm I start dinner and then it’s a blur of feeding the kids, getting them into bed, ironing and preparing clothes for the following day and making lunches.

Usually I am able to get back on the computer again around 8pm and I have a few straight hours to get the majority of my blogging done.

I try to go to bed by 10.30pm but I have been known to stay up till midnight, not often though.

So that is my day in a nutshell. Looking at that I guess I would probably spend between about 5 and 6 hours a day on the computer. One thing that I find really useful is to keep a notebook. I jot down ideas throughout the day and I have a running to do list so that when I get on the computer at night I know exactly what I want to get done and I do it. This helps enormously because I know that if I don’t have that list I get sidetracked and spend the night on Facebook or playing games.

Thanks for your question Multi-Tasking Mommy

I get a lot of emails from the lovely readers of my blog so I thought I might start answering some of them here for everyone to read. And please, please keep sending me those emails I love to hear from you all

Overwhelmed recently asked me about podcasts, in particular were they free and where to get them from. So for Overwhelmed and anybody else unfamiliar with podcasts, here you go:


What is a Podcast?

A podcast is simply an audio recording which is able to be downloaded to your computer, ipod or mp3 player. There are many different types of podcasts ranging from professional podcasts that sound very similar to talk radio shows (and many are just that) to the not so professional home podcaster.

Are Podcasts Free?

Yes podcasts are free. How cool is that!!

Where Do You Get Podcasts?

There are many directories on the net now that allow you to search for and download podcasts. But if you have an iPod my advice would be to use iTunes as I think it is the easiest way to download podcasts. Once you are in the iTunes Store click on Podcasts in the left hand menu, this will take you to the podcasts page where you can browse thousands of different podcasts. If you are not an iTunes user then here are some Podcast directories to check out:

You can also download all the episodes of my A Juggling Mum Podcast from here.

If you’re a podcast listener leave me a comment telling me your favourite podcasts or if you are a podcast producer tell us a bit about your podcast and where we can find it