Hugh Grant. Love him. Today I was reminded of one of my top 3 Hugh Grant movies, About a Boy.
I had a conversation with a friend of mine the other day who works full-time and has a 1.5 yr-old. She mentioned how difficult it was to be home with her son all day and how difficult it was to manage a day when she was home. At first I was shocked, thinking that working full-time would be so much more difficult, then I was flattered. Yes, it is hard. Yes, you do have to "manage" your day, otherwise you go crazy and your kids go crazy.
I had it down with Carter. We had a very happy routine which resulted in a ton of physical energy being used and also one outing per day. With Everett in the picture it is a bit more difficult. Being that I am a self-proclaimed "Nap Nazi", it's hard to have any type of outing that lasts longer than 30 mins (due to E's long naps and short awake times).
Anywho-back to Hugh.
Hugh's character in the movie is a narcissistic bachelor who doesn't work and must fill his days with "units". He uses examples for units as getting his hair done, watching a TV show, going to coffee, etc... all units of time.
So back to my point.
As a stay-at-home mom, you need to have your game-plan for the week, day, and hour. If you don't, you result in having a bored kid, which is a sure ticket for a tantrum.
Here's a day in mom units:
6am-wake up and run (2 units)
7am-wake up the baby and feed (1 unit)
8am-shower and put baby down (1 unit)
8:30am-wake up the kid and give him breakfast (1 unit)
*I could make myself look like a good parent here and omit the Sesame Street session, but I won't, it's all about honesty
9:00am-Kid watches Sesame Street, mom gets the house ready for the day (1 unit)
9:30am-Pack up the car, load kid in, quickly wake up baby and head to the library (1 unit)
10am-Storytime at library, feed baby (1 unit)
10:30am-Take both kids to grocery store to buy chocolate chips to make cookies (1 unit)
11am-Put baby down, start on cookie project with kid (2 units)
*Yikes, cookie project is much more messy and much longer than anticipated when kid helps, plus kid consumes a minor amount of cookie dough, a major no-no because of the raw egg factor... but, who's watching anyway?
12pm-Play sports with kid, kid gets bored, have a picnic lunch in back yard (1 unit)
12:30pm-Kid is bored. Think of something creative. Mom allows kid to climb a ladder and "paint the house". Kid is ecstatic. Mom is relieved (while cautiously making sure kid doesn't fall off ladder). (1 unit)
1pm-Kid takes a nap (whoohoo!), mom wakes up baby and feeds him (1 unit)
1:30pm-Mom gets special time with baby, lots of giggles and coos (1 unit)
2:00pm-Mom puts baby down, enjoys the wonderful hour of silence--chooses not to do any housework (2 units)
3pm-Kid is up, Mom lets kid rest and watch Elmo for 1/2 hr (again, could be omitting this, choosing to be honest, though). Mom snuggles with kid (1 unit)
3:30pm-Mom and kid play indoor tennis, basketball, and football (1 unit)
4pm-Kid enjoys some "solo time"--isolated to his room, Mom wakes and feeds baby (1 unit)
4:30pm-Mom, baby, and kid play outside (1 unit)
5pm-Mom puts baby down, Kid helps mom with dinner (2 units)
6pm-Dad arrives, baby wakes, and family eats together (1 unit)
6:30pm-Dad bathes baby, mom cleans up, Kid plays (1 unit)
7:00pm-Mom feeds baby, baby goes down to sleep for the night, Dad plays with Kid (1 unit)
*My night ends here. This is where I choose to stop counting units.
7:30pm-Dad bathes Kid, puts Kid to bed
Taken on today's 13th unit:
