Thursday, February 28, 2013

Stay at Home Help...

Alright other mamas, I need your help. We've been doing this stay-at-home thing forever now. Almost four years. But I'm struggling to come up with things for us to do. We watch far too much television and don't really have a great schedule (we eat breakfast and lunch at the same times every day and take naps at the same time every day, but that's the only consistency...). James goes to school on Wednesdays and Fridays (until May...AND THEN WHAT DO WE DO?!?!) and we go to storytime most Mondays and Bible Study most Thursdays. But when we hit summer I need a real schedule. (Grandparents, this is not a plea to come and get him...please know that I am not trying to pawn my kid off...I just need ideas for activities!)

So...a few questions for you other stay-at-home moms.

1. What does your daily schedule look like?
2. What activities would work well for a 3.5 year old and a (by summer) 15 month old?
3. How do you keep your kids occupied (without turning on the television) and still get your "stuff" done? (Shower, household chores, etc.)
4. What do you do during naptime?
5. How can I be a super productive keeper of the house and also a super productive mama of two busy boys?
6. One of my kids (guess which one?!?!) is not entertained by toys AT ALL. He wants to either watch television or have me interact with him at all times. ALL TIMES. What am I do to?

We'll be factoring in a few other daily activities this summer - library time, "field trips," and swimming lessons, but I just need to come up with a daily schedule I can stick to, entertain kids with, and maintain a clean house with a meal on the table each night.

Any suggestions would be great!

5 comments:

Lauren said...

Splash park and swings with AM!!!

Anna Catherine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anna Catherine said...

Not that I'm a stay at home mom or an expert, but james does like games, so maybe you could convince him to transfer things like marbles or beans from one container to another. Thats something he could do in your kitchen and be close to you while also playing solo. Just an idea...

Melissa said...

Last summer when I had a 2 yr old and a 3.5 yr old- this is what our week looked like: 1 day was grocery shopping, 1 day is at home- outside (water play, free play, scavenger hunts, etc.) inside (games, playdoh, coloring, crafts, etc.) 2-3 days were playground/park days. We do most of our activities in the AM. I try to be out of the house by 10 AM and they last until around 12, then lunch and naps start between 1 & 2. We eat out once a week- usually on Fridays, some weeks we take it home to eat, other weeks we eat at Chick-Fil-A and I let them play on playground before/after. Every couple of weeks I try to throw in something extra fun and different- like Monkey Joe's or going to have lunch with grandma or something. I really try to think outside the box and live in the moment in the summer to keep things fun and exciting. They love to have picnics- inside or out, spur of the moment trips to get ice cream, etc. I also change up the plagrounds/ parks we go to. Hopefully 1-2 of the playground/park days I throw them in the double jogging stroller and am able to get a run in for myself. Then after naps- I let them watch TV starting around 5:30 so I can cook dinner. Then its free time/play with daddy after dinner until bed/bath time.

In the summer, most of my stuff gets pushed off until nap time because we're out of the house so much. It was just something I learned to "let go" so they could get energy out/get outside which in turns keeps us all sane and happy. I also started showering in the late PM before I started fixing dinner or evening time so that I could get out the door faster in the AM. It totally changed my stress level in the mornings.

Honestly this is probably what our summer will look like this year too!

Sorry this comment is so long... hope this helps you with some ideas.

Meggie said...

This has been a toughie for me in the past too. Last summer I had a 3 year old and an almost 1 year old and we were eventually able to get into a good groove. I used one day (some weeks 2) for the grocery store and possibly another errand. I used another day for Chick-Fil-A (we would go mid-morning and order a snack... fruit cup and cookie) then play before coming home for lunch. One day would be the library or Chuck E. Cheese. And one day was usually a special outing to see family or someone coming to visit us, etc. I guess an outing a day was always my goal.

I usually tackle "chores" after naps each afternoon. They help vacuum (or pretend when I am) and they also help dust. I get them to play together now while I cook. It's such a big help that they can entertain each other! I also try to plan some one-on-one time with my oldest while my youngest naps. Usually a simple craft or playing with play dough. And I try to plan some one-on-one time with my youngest while my oldest watches a tv show or does something in his room that his brother can't do.

PS... I highly recommend a sensory box!

Hope this helps a little!!