Do you actually *stay at home*?

[TchrGrrl]

I go back and forth on this issue. I really think that children need downtime in their own enviornment to play, explore, discover but then again I think that an enriching childhood includes new experiences and new places to play and explore. I have several local friends who rarely EVER spend a day at home - often spending the whole day out, skipping naps and having mealtimes on the go. They are constantly on the go, although in several cases I would say that is for the momma's benefit, not the childrens.

We generally stay home at least 2 weekdays a week (today is a pajama day : ) and other days we try to go to playgroups, lunch with grandparents, the park, maybe a couple of errands in the morning but then are almost always home by noon-1 for naptime and then afternoons are for cleaning up, crafts at the kitchen table and for me to cook dinner.

Am I an extreme homebody?

[QueenMommy]

I'm with you. I do work part time (that will end the end of May!) as a TA at my oldest twos preschool. That's on Tuesday and Thursday. Generally we SAH Mondays and Wednesdays and run around a bit on Friday. Sometimes we will go out on Wednesday instead and SAH Friday. Mondays we are always home because that is cleaning day

Jenn

[mmace]

We do more running around than I would like. My son is in morning kindergarten - I have to pick him up at 11:00 every day. The little guy I watch is in afternoon preschool Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - I drop him off at 12:30 and pick him up at 3:30. It's a lot of running, and I feel badly for my littlest one (she's two), but there really is no getting around it. Only six more weeks of school though - all the big kids will be in school full-time next year!

I'm going to start working part-time for a preschool this summer. I'll do 95% of my work from home, but my little lady will get to go to class when I have to be at the center. *Fingers Crossed* that everything falls into place - this seems like the perfect job for me, and I really need the money because I am a single SAHM.

[HelloKitty]

I'm a *new* SAHM, I've only been home full time for the last three months. We are home a couple days a week and the other days we try to get out of the house at least once. It's been hard because it's been cold here, but when it gets warm I expect to go out with them more.

It's been really hard for me so far because I've yet to make any SAHM friends, I would like to find a playgroup or something to get my toddler into for some socialization or just make friends with some people that have kids his age.

[GranoLLLy-girl]

Re:

Well, I'm in the same boat as you, tchrgrl!
I've been accused by some of my friends (and I'm not sure that they mean harm) that I live "just for my children"--because I don't have any part time thing going on on the side--like Pampered Chef, etc.--
and because I try to work my life around the schedule of the kids.
As far as I am concerned, it's actually for ALL of our benefit.
It's no fun to go anywhere with a kid who is tired or hungry or having a bad day. And my kids are still small, so they are not as flexible as older kids might be with living on "the go".
Besides that, a kid who is well-fed and well-rested is more likely to be healthier mentally and physically.

[crunchy_mama]

I feel like we are always going somewhere. I think we stay home about half the days. It really doesn't seem like I do a lot- we try to go to Grandma's 1 x a week. We go to a LLL playgroup 1 or 2x a month, usually just 1x as it is an hour and a half away. We go to church every week. Grocery shopping is really sporadic, however dh does this sometimes. We also meet up with a friend a couple of times a month, she comes to our house and sometimes we go to hers.

I try to always schedule going somewhere right after a nap and try to make sure he at least gets his morning nap as that is his best, usually. He doesn't nap when we are out, however doesn't get cranky he is too much of a busy body loooooves people. We try not ot do anything at all late as he likes to go to bed very early. I was going to the gym at nights, but now go at 6 am- half the time I have to bring ds in to meet dh (who works nights- he then takes lil' man home), the other half I just leave the 2 of them to sleep in together

[TwinMom]

We are usually out at least part of every day. We have scheduled things to do every Wednesday, Thursday, and most Fridays. Mondays are Tuesdays aren't scheduled but I try to have at least one playdate each week, plus there's the regular errand running. If the weather is nice I feel guilty if I don't take the kids to the park.

[hawaiisunflr]

I work around the kids

and get the same statements that GranoLLLy-girl said.

But I have to say I totally agree. I would rather have happy kids to take out then tired crabby ones who make the outings not worth it.

We have MOMS group and errands but they are always around nap time.

[BabyOsMommy]

I'm a homebody by nature, but my 2year old needs to get out of the house or neither of us have any fun. I'm just starting to get the hang of going out to run errands with the baby and a toddler, but the weather is warming up here, so it's a lot easier. We were housebound 4 days a week in the winter, but now I try to stay home 2 or 3, but make sure that we get outside for an hour at least. As it warms up it will be more than that. So we go to the library 1x/week, each Grandma's once and then there's the usual groceries, shopping, etc.

My toddler could take or leave his nap so long as he's well fed, and the baby sleeps in his carseat, so I don't have to worry about naps (but I do anyhow because I need the downtime). I agree that activities shouldn't forsake naps because if the kids are tired/cranky they're not getting much out of the activity anyhow.

[EllasMummy]

DD and I are home most of the time. If I have errands to run or groceries to buy we do this in the morning then its home for lunch and nap time. We then spend afternoons playing, reading, cooking dinner. We have a small playground at the end of our road which we walk to every afternoon if its not raining. It only takes a minute to get there so I think DD thinks its part of our garden! She gets most upset by other children daring to go on her swings!!lol

I do get comments from other moms about going to more activities with DD. We do go to LLL and an AP playgroup, so thats 2x a month. There are a number of reasons why we don't do more.
1. DD is a very sensitive child and she is easily frightened by lots of other children.
2. Money. Groups for children are expensive and we are on a very tight budget for me to be able to SAH.
3. I also don't like to thought of paying someone else to do what I can do at home. eg. music groups or art groups for toddlers.

I also totally agree with GranoLLLy-girl about well fed and well rested children. DD really needs her 2 hour nap and to be honest so do I!

[frolick16]

Our day involves a drive to and from Kindergarten then I usually plan a 'outing' so everyone expends some energy and gets a change of scenery including myself...due to gas prices our outings involve a walk to the park or to the river. Sometimes we go to my friends home, she lives on a farm and has lots of TOYS! Aside from the occasional rally at the capitol it's just not worth dragging kids out of their element for my sake.

[hlkm2e]

We are home most days. We do have a mini schedule that is flexible, but my dd is definitely a schedule baby, not like her mom. We usually run any errands in the morning, before her 10:00 nap (or 9:30 today) We do have playgroups on thursday and friday, but besides that we usually are home. We play outside, see the neighbors, take walks, etc. But, we don't skip naps and we try to not overschedule.

[PumpkinSeeds]

we go out almost every day to do the shopping (no car and live in city).

If it's nice we go to the park first.

Sometimes we walk to a friends house.

Sometimes we have guests.


TOday we didn't do a darn thing.

[UUMom]

I have 4 children. 2 go to school and 2 are hs'd. I used to hs 3. I enjoy being home and I love that feeling of going to bed at night knowing there is no place I need to be the next day. I try to make that happen a couple of times a week. I like to knit, garden, read, cook and just generally muck about the house. My girls and I set up paint and other art things. The more we are home, the more time they have for this.

This is also why I host playgroup towards the middle or end of the week. I don't have to worry about toddler siblings of playgroup friends getting into it. (Much. One little guy painted my fireplace seat purple while we weren't looking. Luckilly it was only tempra, so it washed out. lol) But no matter our schedule, except for Wednesdays, we don't' have' to be anywhere until the afternooon. No morning playgroups for us! Naps are no longer an issue.

I also like to do my aerobics tape in the morning, and then a little while after that, my yoga tape. One reason I like to stay home is because it takes me forever to get in the shower after that and I don't want to go anywhere stinking. lol

I don't consider trips to the market or library not being home. Nothing is far from where we live and we can walk to the library. It's not a production, yk? also, with the two in school, I often pick up and deliver them to music practices or rehersals. One of my boys plays two instruments and the youngest plays 3. (Apple does not fall far from the tree. My dh plays 2 instruments as well. Plus can fool around on the piano). My 6 yr old wants piano lessons, but i am trying to hold off on that for a bit longer.

Monday is a music group for my youngest or she has a friend over so my oldest dd and I can set up our hs plans for the week. I usually read her the viloent history/war stuff while my little one is busy. We might also watch an innapropriate- for -little ones history video on this day. Oldest ds has a music lesson at 5. I drop off, dh picks up while I get dinner ready.

Tuesday is 'knitting playgroup' (kids play and moms knit. My 12 yr dd knits with us).

Wednesday is my 'difficult' day, when I am out of the house most if it. My 12 yr old dd has a hs archeology class in the morning and my youngest dd has a library program nearly right after. My youngest ds has a music lesson not much after the library program. Sometimes I host a couple friends from the library program and they stay here while I run my ds to music. Part of the yr my 12 yr old has drawing classes and part of the yr she has riding lessons. I try to make it so one day is the running around day.

Thursday is a home day.

Friday is basically a home day, sometimes I host a small playgroup at my house, and we always go to the library on Friday at some point. Usually about 2 or so, and then we walk over to my ds elementary school to pick him up and go back home.

[cjr]

I am on the fence with this one. My sister is ALWAYS on the go. I feel sorry for her kids because she is always dragging them out shopping or to my moms house. She also has them in a TON of activities. Her dd is in kindergarden and I honestly think she has no time to just be a kid and relax. My sister even took her son out with a 102.9C temp because she just had to return a bathingsuit. The poor guy had scarlet fever!! She is bored being a SAHM and it really shows.

On the other side there's me and dh. I take the kids out shopping or to the park. We like to go swimming. DS goes to playgroup once/week when we can make it. The girls were in dance on the weekends, but they really hated the commitment. I couldn't imagine putting them in planned programs in the evening. Both the girls need 11 hours of sleep and our evening routine is just too important. My sister makes me feel guilty because her dd is in music classes, sparks, swimming and soccer...all at the same time. Plus all the running around she does in between. I couldn't imagine my kids being happy with that kind of schedule.

I always plan around nap time. If I can't (ds sometimes needs 2 naps in a day and doesn't make it and needs to sleep while we are out) I let ds nap in the car. It's really nothing to grab a coffee and park the car somewhere so he can have a nap. Usually he falls asleep when I take dd to kindergarden in the afternoon. DD and I just sit and chat until her bell goes off.

I like down time at home. I like playing around the house. I try to cram all my errands in two days so the rest of the time we can just have fun around home.

[abac]

We stay home almost all the time. Dh works 20 minutes away so if I want the car, I have to drive him (he gets there at 7:40 a.m.) then drive back home usually, because nothing is open that early and nobody I know is out of bed. Although now that the weather is warming up, we go to the park more.
Every Thursday, we drive dh to work, kill time for 2 hrs., go to my grandparents house from 10-1:30 for lunch, (my sis and her boys go too,) then we're off to my parent's house for the rest of the afternoon until we pick up dh at 5 p.m.
Other days I stay home. I couldn't agree more about the neccesity of naps. If ds misses his, he's miserable and whiny, and clingy, and cranky, and...
Although on those occasions when he falls asleep in the car, I have a book handy so I can park and read.

[Copper]

Our schedule kind of ebbs and flows. The last few months we don't have as many "scheduled" activities. Dh is off on Sun. and Mon. so on Sunday we got to church and bible study she goes with a couple of kids (very small class and the teacher) then children's church storytime and then to the "nursery" and they play so we can actually enjoy the service. Monday are our activity or get things done/run around family day.

Tuesday; I have her signed up for a Mother's Day out at a local church from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and she has a friend in that class. Dd has turned 4 and has become a bit um, emotional and cried a bit today when we got there; am not sure where that is coming from all of a sudden although my friend's dd in that "class" has become a notorious bully and so the teachers watch her closely so she does not intimidate and bully everyone.

Wed. open day/shopping whatever.

Thurs. every other; is a storytime we attend and also every Thursday for 1/2 an hour a small "ballet" class (loosely based private lessons in someone's home studio). Sometimes when my MIL wants she asks for dd to be dropped off for a few hours to bakd and play-maybe once or twice a month.

Friday; open day in the evening though she has music "class" she attends with dh it is their special activity to do together (45 min of me time!!).

Sat. anything goes sometimes we have some friends over and play some games, have a drink or two watch the kids tear my house apart..

Now that it is spring and we are heading into summer though, there will be lots of park time, picnics and such.

I did try to sign dd up for private swim lessons but we are on a waiting list.
We do put up a 3 foot pool in the summer so that will go up soon, but when it is nice we are out as much as we can stand it.

Fresh air is sooo good for the soul and for wearing kids out. That is except for all these darn allergies.......

[artgoddess]

We certianly have our lazy days. I used to make a point of running errands every other day so that we could have a stay home day that DS seemed to need to recoop. But as he gets older, he needs to explore more. So even on stay home days we try to go out and play in the yard at least.

[FireWithin]

I try to only plan one toddler centered activity a day. I find that any more than that and we become overwhelmed. I feel stressed about house stuff that needs to be done and DS needs time to play at home.

We have been going to playgrounds more (and to the zoo today). I plan on having the rest fo the afternoon here at home, or with a stressfree walk.

We live in an apartment without any outdoor space, except for a pleasant balcony. I would love to have a green space to play and run around without feeling the need to take a long walk or get strapped into the car.

A balance of activity and down time is important in this house.

[meowee]

we very much stay at home! home, home, home. I am like furniture, I'm always home! We do have a cute backyard that we go out o a lot, mainly when the weather is warm, which it now is.

I do deal with lots of guilt about not geting out "enough."