I just read a post on AOL’s ParentDish titled, “Moms Have More Leisure Time than They Think, Researchers Say.” Basically, an article in the Washington Post Magazine by John Robinson asserts that we mamas have a lot more free time than we think we do (about 30- 40 hours a week, it so claims).

So, are we just a bunch of whiny mamas crying out for more time alone, or do we actually have it and aren’t using it wisely?

I will take a typical day of mine and break it down to try to find out.

Monday: Annabel is in preschool for 4 hours, and Luke’s at home with me all day.

7:30: I wake up, splash cold water on my face (wait, is this “leisure time”?), and pull on work out clothes. My own getting ready time includes fashioning my hair into a ponytail and slapping SPF 15 moisturizer on my face. I assemble Annabel’s lunch, cajole her out of bed, and make breakfast for my 2 kids. I assist her with getting ready for school, simultaneously filling Luke’s request for more peanut butter on his French toast. I clean up those breakfast dishes and hustle Annabel out the door.

8:45: It’s only been about an hour.

I now help dress Luke, brush his teeth, pack our water bottles and snacks, and manage to brush my own teeth while playing with Luke’s pretend circular saw. We’re building a birdhouse on his tool bench. Again.

9:45: Luke and I head out for his library class. We sit for 40 minutes of story time and songs, then head to the children’s section to choose books and dvds for the week.

11:15: We arrive at the Y. I drop off Luke in the babysitting room and head to the gym for a workout. THIS IS LEISURE TIME. I have 45 minutes to 1 hour to myself to listen to my iPod and exercise. Some days, the workouts are NOT leisurely, but I realize that yes, this is indeed time away from work, 3-4 times a week.

12:15: Luke and I head home. I prepare lunch, we eat, and then we play together. Usually in between and during these activities, I empty the dishwasher and/or throw in a load of laundry. (Notice I haven’t yet showered. I’m grossed out by this, too.)

1:15: We leave to pick up Annabel from school. I suppose that waiting in the carpool line COULD be considered leisure time, IF only I didn’t have a chatty two year-old in the backseat. In between answering questions, “Mama, what that man doing?” or “Why Miss Sandy wearing that hat?”, Luke and I sing and chat about our day.

1:30: Back home. We marvel at Annabel’s school creations in her backpack. I direct this backpack, the lunch bag, and the shoes to their proper place. We play. Annabel plays by herself as I put Luke down for his nap.

2:00 Annabel and I have alone time. We bake chocolate chip banana muffins. We play Chutes and Ladders. We read books. We make a guitar out of an old waffle box and some wrapping paper.

3:15: I put Annabel into her room for quiet rest time. I hurry to the kitchen and chop veggies for tonight’s salad. I cut my thumb in the process and spend five precious minutes cleaning up the bloody mess. I marinate some chicken breasts and decide that’s dinner. I check my work emails, responding to several. I put off going to the bathroom until I realize how ridiculous I’m being. I remember to drink water. I fold the load of laundry I’d put in earlier. I begin to complete some of my editing work and I get about 1/16 of it done that I’d planned to. (I’m assuming, according to the research, that this all counts as LEISURE TIME because my kids are in their rooms.)

4:00: Luke’s up from his nap and Annabel’s done with rest time. We have a snack and pretend to be in a band, using Annabel’s new “guitar.”

4:25: We rush to the car and drive to Annabel’s Preschool Musical class (that’s for another post). While she’s in class, Luke and I play at the playground. It’s really fun, and while I push him on the swing and chase him up the slides, I chat with a couple of girlfriends. I’ll include this in leisure time, I think.

5:30: We’re home now. I toss the chicken breasts on the grill, and I supervise them and the kids playing outside. We play a modified version of capture the flag. Leisure time??? Hmmm….

6:00: We eat dinner, play “Good Day/Bad Day,” and may or may not eat dessert. Then comes playtime with Daddy, baths, stories, and bedtime. Usually somewhere in here, I have 10-15 minutes to myself, you know, to leisurely clean up the dinner dishes or to straighten up the house.

8:00: The kids should be in bed by now. They should be quiet. I should be relaxing with a glass of wine with my husband giving me a head massage.

But…the work I didn’t finish earlier today still needs to be done. Yikes, I forgot to shower, too. And I’m tired, really tired. I do some work while watching “Make it or Break it” on ABC Family and call it a day.

Total leisure time today = 2 hours, 45 minutes

Real leisure time today = 1 hour, 45 minutes

For argument’s sake, let’s round that up to two. Or, to be truly generous, three. By my estimate, I have 14-21 hours of leisure time per week.

Am I moaning? Of course? Do you relate? I hope so. Is this how I pretty much expect my life to be right now as a stay-at-home, working part-time mom? Yeah, I think so. Do I have fun during those “working hours” with my kids? Most of the time, I really do.

How does your leisure time measure out? What do you do during your leisure time?

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