I can’t believe it is Friday again. That means tomorrow, to quote Thing1, is a Stay Home Day.
Stay home days are difficult. Much harder than weekdays when all I have to do is go to work, where it is quiet and no one fights or whines or cries (usually).
With the holidays over the last couple of weeks, there have been a lot of stay home days recently. In fact, a stretch of 7 out of 11 days were stay home. Sure, to be home with your kids for 7 of 11 days may not sound like much to SAH moms and dads. And I wasn’t doing it alone. I had SuburbanMommy to join in my happiness torture. (By the way, I have no idea how you SAH types do it every day!)
But when you aren’t used to it, when it isn’t part of your kids’ daily routine, it is not an easy undertaking for the parents OR the kids. The last time we spent this much time together was on our summer vacation. And you know how that went.
My kids are used to, and really enjoy, being in preschool/daycare full-time all week. I rather like it too. They thrive on the structure, constant activities, and socialization.
So, when it comes to stay home days, by lunchtime they are bouncing off the walls and we’re usually out of activites. Especially when the weather is too cold to go outside. Getting them to nap is near impossible, even though they take one every day as part of the routine at school.
We resort to a “divide and conquer”, 2-1 zone defense, where one parent stays at home with two kids, and the other parent takes the third kid out of the house somewhere. Anywhere. Around 5pm, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and we get our second wind. It is also the time we crack open a bottle of wine, which doesn’t hurt.
TGIF? Right now it’s more like TGIM for Monday. Wish me luck this weekend.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Kim // Jan 4, 2008 at 11:30 am
How I hear your statement on how SAH’s do it.. They must be graced with a higher level of patience.
2 Mimzie // Jan 4, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I used to be a nanny and I remember hating the summer because the kids were home and it was too hot to go out so they stayed inside and whined and complained and fought all day. I have to say, I don’t miss that!
3 Chuck // Jan 6, 2008 at 11:52 am
Oh man, you are preaching to the choir. There are some weekends when Monday seems so so far away.
4 Amy // Jan 6, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Hope you survived your weekend.
We are a big fan of the 5:00 glass of wine, whiskey, or vodka. Whatever gets the job done.
5 Tot's Mom // Jan 6, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Hope your weekend went well. And it’s already Monday morning at where I am. TGIM, indeed.
6 Scott Lancaster // Jan 7, 2008 at 3:17 am
Hey
My name is Scott Lancaster from http://www.diyfather.com we are a global online interactive forum for fathers based in New Zealand.
I was hoping that you might be interested in sharing content, we would link back to your site with your name on our site.
Also would you be interested in doing a podcast interview via telephone?
Let me know if this is possible I look forward to hearing from you
My return email is [email protected]
Regards Scott
7 suburbandaddy // Jan 7, 2008 at 8:24 am
Yes, I made it through another weekend. TGIM!
8 Doodee // Feb 3, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Thanks for sharing
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