Wednesday, January 13, 2010
What do YOU do all day?
That is an entirely different question than "what do you DO all day?" This is for all you stay at home moms out there. I want to hear what your day is like. I'm trying to get into a routine with two kids and sometimes I just don't know what to do with Kalena. Right now I'm still in the sleep deprived haze so movie watching is much more liberal than usual, but that's not going to go on forever. I still don't have a car (sad) so I can't go anywhere during the day. She plays with her toys and we work puzzles, read books, sing songs and that sort of thing, but sometimes the day just seems to go on and on. I want to hear from all my expert readers: when do you fit in chores or exercise or hobbies? Are there some things that you always wait until your kids are sleeping to do? So, leave me a comment and tell me what YOU do during the day.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I work :(
ReplyDeleteI work, but my husband is a stay at home dad. Unless he errands, he doesn't take the kids out in the car all that often. We're lucky we live in Southern CA though because it's always great weather, which means they go to the park or on walks.
ReplyDeleteOn rainy days, he usually brings some of their stuff inside the house (like their ride on cars, tricycles, basketball hoop, etc) or in the garage.
On the days I have the kids alone I run errands, take them to the park, take them on a walk, do crafts (notimeforflashcards.com has tons of great ideas), play pretend games, do photo shoots.
Good luck!
We stayed home and watched TV a LOT in the early days. A LOT. How else was I supposed to breastfeed one and make sure the other wasn't destroying the house?
ReplyDeleteNow we spend a long time doing breakfast and baths - I do baths in the morning because I have energy and it's fun/something to do for the kids. Half the time I try to get out around 10 - errands or play gyms or visiting friends. Half the time we stay home and read, play, prepare food for dinner. Now that both kids are a little older I can fold laundry or wash dishes while they amuse themselves.
At naptime (and my highest priority is getting them to nap at the same time!) I try to get in about 30 min of exercise, then I eat lunch and blog/write/read/watch the biggest loser, etc.
When they get up, if there's enough time we might visit friends, but usually I'm fixing dinner. I use the TV a lot too during the 4-6pm witching hour!
Oh, and my kids are happy to play in their cribs for small chunks of time, which is how I get a shower every day.
Sorry to hijack your comments - love this question! I have the same one.
In the AM, we head to Jazzercise where I either work out or babysit. 2 days a week, Allison has Mother's Day Out and one of those, Jordan and I go to Little Gym. Allison starts dance next week on Mondays at 1130 and Jordan starts on Mondays at 9 so we're going to be BUSY on Mondays. On those days, we'll Jazzercise at night while Brandon is at school (they have a sitter there).
ReplyDeleteWe generally do grocery shopping on Tuesdays.
Playdates take up more of the free time.
I'll do laundry or little chores while we're at home.
When they're down, I scrapbook, blog, or shower (depending on the day). When Jordan was younger, I'd nap when they did. Luckily, I got them on a similar schedule.
Lately, we're into playing pretend princesses and Barbies when we're home. I try to reserve TV time for cool down before bed at night.
I'm trying to think back to when my kids were closer to your kids ages. Not very long ago but still... I would do crafts with M A LOT. I would also just sit on the floor with them a lot. They both loved walks so that was a regular occurence and back them I counted it as exercise. Now I exercise at night and go hang out with friends who have kids the same age.
ReplyDeleteI love the photo shoot idea! It's 3-fold: You kill time, you get great pictures for your scrapbook (whenever you get around to that), and I find that pictures makes me more loving of my kids, so it's perfect to bust out the camera when you've JUST HAD IT with him/her/them. Doing goofy things to make them smile or just getting pictures of their ugly mad-face to make YOU smile, it always works for me.
ReplyDeleteWe make smoothies 1st thing in the morning and Patrick sips his smoothy while we read copious amounts of books. Don't bother getting dressed because then we often take a shower together (even though he takes his own bath at night. It's a fun time-killer, and the sound of the shower keeps Eli calm in the bouncer in the bathroom). Then I make a NICE breakfast with eggs or oatmeal and toast, when our appetites have finally revved up (about 8 or 9:00). I like to do my chores in the morning when I'm still upbeat, and Patrick helps, especially with washing dishes, laundry loading, or vaccuming, so we do those chores the most. Then we get out lots of toys and our toddlers silly songs CD and I play on the floor with him (Eli comes too). Usually he can entertain himself like this for a while, too - I say "oooh, I have to _______ really quick" and I don't come back until he starts to whine. It takes him a while to notice I haven't returned. I try to get him to eat lunch before naps, and he plays with playdough or colors while I heat up lunch.
Then naps, which I totally enforce.
After naps we wash dishes again - I use LOTS of dish soap to make awesome bubbles for him to play in so I can make dinner in peace. Often he helps me cook, too - he likes to stir or unwrap bouillion cubes. If that fails, we put on a movie. We read books while dinner cooks until daddy gets home, then daddy takes him off my hands for the night and I'm home free!
I don't feel guilty writing the longest comments, I'm your sister. It's my right.
ReplyDeleteLeah has preschool two mornings a week, so that helps break up the week, Nora and I go to Mass while Leah is in school and then come home and clean/laundry/blog, Nora is really good at entertaining herself that time of day. The mornings Leah is home we seem to spend forever eating breakfast and cleaning the kitchen. The girls usually play on there own for an hour or so while I get stuff done. If the weather is remotely warm we go outside for an hour before lunch. Leah will usually watch one of her Leap Frog movies while I get lunch ready, then it is quiet time/nap for both girls. Leah does not always nap, but she does go to her room for at least an hour. I clean the kitchen while they are down. If there is cleaning I don't like to do with the girls (like bathrooms) I do it, otherwise I relax and knit or blog or something. When the girls wake up it is the home stretch! This is when I spend more time on the floor or playing one on one, they have a hard time entertaining themselves this time of day, when the days start to get longer we will go outside. I start dinner if I need, too. If the girls don't want to play alone Leah will help and I will wear Nora. I have found I like to exercise after John gets home, even if it means I miss dinner. I used to get up and go to the gym and 5am, and that just did not work. Sometimes I workout at nap time.
ReplyDeleteMy baby isn't old enough yet to comment on this.. my days are very boring right now, lol. But I know I'm in for a wild ride in a couple months! :) I enjoy reading everyone else's comments to get ideas!
ReplyDeleteApparently many of you must just blog and comment on blogs... ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, ya, I work.
I work and do the chores and take care of the kid.... wow, when do I sleep? My only exercise right now is the walking I do at work to go get students and return them to class after therapy. I do like chasing Espen around the house and playing peekaboo. I work up a sweat and it wears him out well for naptime - he is in his crib for at least 2 hours whether he's awake or not. He usually sleeps 2-3 hours so that's when I get a bulk of things done on my days off. -Amy
ReplyDeleteI clean up messes all day. Oh wait that isn't what you are looking for is it?
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm on the ball we have one morning for grocery shopping, one for the library, and one or two for play dates...usually at my house. We read books and play games and sometimes watch cartoons.