2nd year nurs student, "single" mother of 5...help!

[lallybroch]

I am entering my 2nd year of nursing school and my husband has been told that he has to go on a job that is out of town. He leaves Mon morning and comes home Sat evening. When he asked if he could stay in a local job, they gave him a ton of grief. Last year, while I was in school, he had a similar situation, but was home on Fridays. I feel like I'm going to lose my mind. My hubby has been my biggest supporter when dealing with getting through school. I depend on him so much to help with the kids in the evening. I don't mean to sound like such a downer, but I really don't know how I'm going to make it through without him around. All of our family lives 600 miles away. I can hardly afford a sitter (hence...a small reason why I'm going to school). Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation? And how did you make it through? I'm open to advice. And quitting is not an option. Thanks for hearing my vent session.

[JulianaRose]

I will be going to school with 5 kids too. What are the ages of your kids? The older ones may have to take on more responsibility, depending on how old they are. In my case, my SO is going to have to take on a lot more. Luckily our schedules allow for this. I am most worried about whether or not he is going to be making dinner since I won't be getting home until 6:30 or 7pm every night (I am also working 24 hours a week when not at school). I have a 4 month old and 19 month old, and 3 stepkids that live with us all the time ages 5, 9 and 10. Luckily the 10 year old can be very helpful with the younger kids. Besides trying to figure out dinners ahead of time, we are just going to have to play it by ear for the next 2 years...

[MountainBikeChick]

I have no idea how to comprehend how difficult your situation is, as I'm only pregnant with my fist babe!

BELIEVE you can do it. be confident.

Try to plan things ahead of time, while he's home. Even though it may suck to take the only day you guys have together to work, try and make all the meals for the week to put in the freezer, or spend one day a month to do it. I've never really consistently used a crock pot, but this semester I plan on putting together a ton of meal that go into a ziploc bag that go into the freezer, then directly into my crock pot. Google search "freezer crockpot meals' and there will be a million options! The main ones I'm doing are chicken with various veggies and spices. Then i can easily have sides like corn, instant potatoes, or make it into a soup. This will at least cut down on food prep during the week! I know food is my biggest problem during the school year, and with 5 kiddos, I imagine is difficult for you as well.

Write everything down in a planner. Try to find other moms in your area who you can maybe trade days with, it you aren't in school Mon-Fri. Put them to bed earlier, or send them to their room earlier. My dad was a single dad of 3 and works as an EMT and would send us to our rooms every night at 7pm, whether we went to sleep or not!

Honestly, you'll figure it out somehow. Good luck!