Letting Go of the mess
The key takeaway I have from being a stay at home mom for the last four years is finding a way to have a lazy day. Seems impossible right? Well I have the secret. Just take the day off. What I mean by that is let the laundry pile up, let the dishes pile up, and order take out for dinner. If you can't afford take out, make it a dinosaur nugget and mac and cheese night. Nothing fancy or special — all it takes is letting go for just a moment.
"All it takes is letting go for just a moment."
Get Out of the House
Plan activities to get you out of the house. We personally love going to the library for story time, and in the summer we hit up the parks. We also have play dates with other moms and kiddos. These are both free, so if you are tight on budget no worries — you can still have fun and not be stuck at home. We also just take walks around the neighborhood and talk about all the things we see. Harvey is at the age where the question "Why?" is worked into every single conversation.
Be Present in the Moment
The most important thing is being present. Turn the tv off and put the phone down — of course if it's nap time, come join me here. Playing with the kids always makes me have a better day. Now if you are a mom that really doesn't want to sit and play pretend, that is completely fine — I am the same way. With my boys we love to wash rocks outside and play with dump trucks. I love to paint and do crafts, so I try to find ones that Harvey and I can do together. I am still trying to find one that interests Ben. He is not really an artsy guy yet, but he loves his blocks and knocking them over. Who doesn't love to build? So we mainly do that. I bet you can't guess his favorite part — knocking them over of course.
My husband always reminds me that it is not only my job to keep the house clean. He makes the messes too. I have a hard time letting go, but that reminder has really given me a breath of fresh air. Take the time to breathe and have a day where you play with the kids without worrying about everything else that comes with the job.
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