Moms Talk: I Need a Time Machine!

Welcome back to Moms Talk, a feature that is part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community are all welcome to weigh in and use the discussion forum as a resource. Each week, we'll pose a question and solicit feedback on a wide array of issues, but you should feel free to suggest questions you'd like to see discussed as well.

This week, our discussion turns to "getting it all done."  Compared to the last few weeks, we had a relatively quiet weekend.  We had karate in Bethesda on Saturday morning, brunch with friends in Arlington right afterwards, grocery shopping and then major gardening activities while the kids played outside until the sun went down.  Sunday was a golf lesson for my husband, playdate with our friends that led to an impromptu bbq, and then,  more household chores that took until my head hit the pillow. 

After a weekend like I had, I find myself  thinking, did I get to spend enough time with my kids?  We were together all weekend.  But with all of our structured activities and all of the work that goes into running a busy household, I worry.  Do we spend enough "quality" time with the kids?  Does taking my son to Costco with me equal quality time?  Does gardening while the kids ride their bikes and scooters around equal quality time?  Does folding laundry in the same room that they are playing equal quality time?  

I look back to my youth.  How did my parents do it?  It was a different time.  We didn't have playdates.  We didn't have classes on the weekends or organized sports practices/games/tournaments.  We would go outside and play with the kids in the neighborhood for the entire day.  I guess that's when chores happened at home.  And, I do actually recall being responsible for chores like folding laundry, mowing the lawn, and raking.  So, I guess that's how some business around the house got done back in the day.

What do you guys think?  How do you make sure you get quality time with your kids?  What do you count as quality time?  How do you fit it all in???