Recovering small time periods (The surprising case of newfound time)

This post combines with the preceding one. You have to come up with new formulae.

The easiest way to go to the cinema is going to the night showing. They are sleeping and you leave them under your brother-in-law's care, who does you a huge favour. Now, you have to carefully choose the film. As you can only go to the cinema once every six months, at least the film has to be worth it (the last one I saw, The King's Speech, definitely was- an excellent film).

Sex. Trying to forget about tiredness, when they have a nap (it's always difficult for the two of them to fall asleep at the same time) or when they are fast asleep at night. A good alternative: that somebody takes them for a walk or to play for a while.

As for creams, hot baths and hair removal as well as hairdressing I haven't come up with a magical solution. A quick shower and that's it, noon getaways to have my legs done when I have been meaning to go for three weeks and total rapport with your partner when you tell him that you're going to get up at 7 o’clock on a Saturday to be the first one at the hairdresser's at eight o'clock to be done asap.

Weekend breaks can't be improvised right now. They require a certain amount of planning even though we are improving our timings and we're getting better at logistics thanks to experience. Practice makes perfect.

Having a relaxed chat with a friend over a cup of coffee means that we have organised a "little ones free day" (that is, that they both stay with their grandparents, grandma or cousins). Otherwise, the attempt gets frustrated with the girls running about and preventing you from talking about transcendental matters. In this section we could also add buying clothes for myself.

Dancing in a disco is something I'd better not talk about. I'm dying to go dancing but it's been like three years since I last did (except for when I dance in my living room, but it doesn't feel the same).

Having a relaxed breakfast? During the week, I wake up at 7 o’clock and I have to buy some take-away latte on my way to work because I haven't had time to have breakfast. Some weekends we have managed to, even though it's true that we should redefine the concept "calm". I'm content with having breakfast with a relative peace and quiet.

There's a moment during the invasion in which you come to think that you won't manage. You even think that you'll forget about all those things which you used to do and which you liked so much. However, fortunately, some time periods are gradually recovered. Doing so is vital for your own health, that of your partner and that of your family. Step by step, each of us gets their personal space back.