Saturday, February 9, 2013

Planning My Days

Blizzard Nemo kept me and my family stuck in our house for the past day or so, and I loved it. As teachers, my husband and I are good at the snow day thing. We plan ahead for a special breakfast (we actually keep "emergency bacon" in the fridge for this exact reason), we store new TV shows on our DVR, and yesterday we even hooked up our Playstation to play Guitar Hero (also known as the Sowul obsession of 2007). When our son is a little older, he'll become more a part of our special snow day traditions, and we'll be adding things like snowman building, snowball fighting, and snow angel making. I can't wait!

All of these little traditions made me think about how much better a day is when it includes at least a few plans, no matter how vague. A day with no plans at all feels depressingly empty. You keep procrastinating on things you could do because there's no deadline to have them done. At the end of the day, you've accomplished little, and you're feeling sluggish and unfulfilled.

Sure, every once in awhile, it's nice to be able to laze out and do nothing, but that's much more satisfying if you did actually have plans to do things and decided to cancel them (as in my Perfect Book Day). In general, it's better to have plans. I've surprised myself with my ability to stay at home with Edwin and not get overwhelmed by loneliness or boredom. I attribute that entirely to giving my days structure, working toward personal goals, and planning visits with family.

Here's my usual stay-at-home-mom routine, in case you're interested:

Get up whenever Edwin wakes up (usually around 7:15, after about eleven hours in bed- but don't be jealous, because he wakes up at least six times during those eleven hours, and needs help getting back to sleep every time)
Change into workout clothes and get Edwin dressed, then go downstairs and do a workout while Edwin plays with his play gym
Breakfast for both of us
Shower/dress time for me, while Edwin either sits in the bathroom with me or watches a Baby Einstein DVD (I don't believe in much TV for babies, but I have to think this is more educational than watching me get dressed).
Play with Edwin, read a few books
Start him on a long nap from mid-morning to mid-day. While he naps, I cradle him in his nap sack (a wonderful invention, makes it really easy to move him from one place to another without waking him: Zcush nap mat). I use this time to write or edit my novel, typing over Edwin's head.
Lunchtime for both of us

After lunch, the days vary. Sometimes I bundle him up and we go out to do errands, sometimes we stay home and get things done around the house, sometimes my parents come by for a visit or we take Edwin to visit my grandmother. But I always feel successful, because I've spent the morning well, getting in my exercising, writing and healthy eating while still meeting all of Edwin's needs.

Today's plans? I already did a workout, had a nice breakfast with my family, and wrote a blog post. Later I'll be getting Edwin ready to go over to his grandparents' house so that my husband and I can have a long-awaited night out. We're going to Tarrytown to see Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood's improv comedy show. I'm a huge Whose Line is it Anyway fan and I can't wait! We saw the show three years ago and it was hysterical. This time we're sitting closer to the middle so I might even get picked for an improv game! I'm so excited!

Enjoy your Saturday plans, everyone!

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