So we are two thirds of the way through July. About half way done summer vacation. We celebrated yet another national holiday with just ourselves. The playgrounds have opened up again. Armed with hand sanitizers and masks, I’ve been taking the kids and they are so happy to climb and slide and swing again. Schools have just announced that learning will be online for this first semester. The three year old’s childcare facility re-opened at the beginning of the month, but we chose not to re-enroll him. With no prospect of work for me until next year at the (unlikely) earliest, it just didn’t make financial sense to send him. I’m trying to figure out what that means in terms of socialization and development for him.
I thought I would be more organized about the summer. But it’s been pretty aimless. Here’s the daily routine:
5:00a -ish – Baby wakes and nurses. I stay in bed, drift in and out of sleep. the Husband tried a couple times to get her in the morning and feed her solids, but she’s not into that first thing, I guess.
6a/6:30a – kids awake. The Husband usually takes care of the first round of breakfast and diaper. I usually am up by 6:30a.
7:00a – The Husband ambles downstairs for work. I do second round of breakfast if the kids want. Sometimes I get some journalling or an exercise video in.
8:30/9:00a – I take all three kids out for a walk, or adventure. It’s so hot these days that I try to get us out early. Also this is when the baby takes her first nap.
11:00/12n – home and lunch. Also nurse baby. The Husband comes up from work and does lunch with the kids. Whenever possible I have the 8 year old make her own lunch.
1:00/ 1:30p – begins the epic nap attempt with 3 year old. I’m very much on the fence about this because we are only successful at getting him to nap one or two days a week. So maybe I should give up trying? He is in such a better mood when he does nap, but the whole process takes so much time and struggle. The 8 year old helps with nap time – probably because it involves watching stories on the iPad. So really 1:30 – 3:30p is kind of a free for all – the 8 year old has a to do list that she kind of does, and I try to clean up the kitchen or do something productive. However, a lot of my mental energy is going into seeing if the 3 year old is napping. What is the baby doing? Not quite sure. I’m sure it’s some kind of crawling around and nursing. Really, in the afternoon she’s kind of demoted to appendage status.
3:30p – Husband off work. Sometimes we have happy hour (should do that more often).
4:30p – I start dinner, with the goal to sit down and eat by 6pm with kitchen clean up right after.
7:30/8:00p – Bedtime for 3 year old. The Husband handles bedtime for the baby and the 8 year old.
9:00p – kids in bed. TV/ hobby/ reading time.
way way too late (usually sometime between 1:30a and 2a) – bed time. I try to pump before bed too.
Things that have been working:
Thursday adventures: I’ve been trying to plan an adventure on Thursdays because that’s when I realize that I start to lose my shit. The weekend is in sight, but still so far away and we’ve already spent three days mostly at home doing the same old stuff.
3:15pm pick up time: It is so hard to keep the house tidy throughout the day. So I’ve set an alarm and at 3:15p, we stop what we are doing and pick up the living room.
The Husband taking on lunch time: Gives me a small break and I can cross one or two things off my to do list. Usually computer related. It’s a little difficult to do computer work with the three year old around because he likes to sneak up on me and swipe my screen.
Early dinner: I like having dinner on the table by 6pm. If we eat much later than that, the evening feels rushed.
Some things on my mind:
The FUTURE: So much uncertainty. Unemployment benefits are finite. I’m starting to question my life choices. Also – online school until the end of January. Trying to wrap my mind around that one.
How to be a better stage manager when not stage managing: I’ve never really been very meta about what I do, but I’ve begun to really think about the hard and soft skills involved in my profession. Probably related to the above mentioned questioning of life choices.
Sleep: mostly the baby’s. I can only seem to get her to nap in the stroller or while nursing. I’m savouring the baby snuggles, but I’m worried about creating bad habits.
Screen Time: There are so many amazing things online these days, that I’m having a hard time figuring out what is worth my time. Also likewise for the eight year old.
What to do with the kids all day???? I get them outside in the morning. I keep them fed. I make sure they wash their hands. That’s about it consistently. I feel like I need to set the bar a little higher.
