Load 'Em Up and Move 'Em Out

10

For any new mom of two, it’s so, so easy to stay within the confines of the house. Rounding up a toddler and a baby in an infant carrier to the car seems as energy draining as running a July marathon in Texas. (Surely these do not exist.) All of a sudden, I find myself in the all-day, everyday position of cruise director to two (adorable) 2 years old and under tiny kiddos. As such, we simply must escape the house during the week. All three of us need a change of scenery on occasion to keep peace and harmony!

I’ve created something akin to a little kid summer bucket list, but I’m actually taking it a step further and writing them onto my calendar. I need that kind of structure. However, there is grace to call it a pajama day when the occasion arises. Some activities will be recurring, like weekly story time at Barnes & Noble. Others will be splash park days, zoo days, and whatnot. I think giving my littles and me an outing to aim for will help motivate me us to get moving.

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Maybe it’s the jump from 1 to 2 children that I’m still getting used to, but I’m having a little trouble finding my groove on loading all 3 of us up. If we have a hard and fast deadline to be somewhere, I’m great. For example, the type-A rule follower in me had it in my head that my little guy was “tardy” if we weren’t at MDO on time. But on-my-own days? If we’re not dressed by 9, it seems like we don’t make it further than the backyard that day. I’ve been giving myself a deadline of leaving the house by 10, yet somehow, it doesn’t matter what time we start getting ready, we’re always, always later than that!

As time goes on, I’ll hopefully improve. One thing I’ve done is set my alarm earlier so I’m ready before the kids are up. It’s not working. Somehow, they’re reading my mind and purposely waking up 10 minutes before it goes off no matter what time of day. Seriously. How do they know?

Do you have any tips and tricks for getting out of the house with little kids? What are your favorite summer activities around Cowtown?

10 COMMENTS

  1. SAME OVER AT OUR HOUSE! I have been telling myself I need to write things on the calendar to make myself get us out of the house. My husband has come home too many days lately with all of us still in our pajamas. Thanks for the push to get things on the calendar so we can get out of the house!

    Our favorite activity is the zoo – we go for a few hours and then come home for lunch and naps – outside time, gets us some exercise walking and definitely educational as we talk about all the animals. Also a fun place to meet up with friends.

  2. I have to plan ahead to make it out – especially with a little newborn! Even if I go to Target 4 times a week, it is totally worth it just to get some sunshine and fresh air (and see people)! Going to start adding more things to our calendar for sure πŸ™‚

  3. I set out everyone’s clothes the night before. I fill sippy cups with milk and put them in the fridge ready for am. I ground coffee and put out a fresh filter. After a year of having two-we feel like a nice little machine now. But it took a while.

  4. Being a mother of a toddler, whose life revolves around snacks and naps, I totally understand! Also, I am in the dark about some fun Fort Worth things. What’s this about splash parks? Where are they? Cost? I think my sweetest would love it!

  5. I’m with Emily Y. I feel like my life revolves around snacks and nap time. I can’t even start to think of what it would be like with 2. I’ve got to hand it to all you mothers of 2+.

    On the other hand, I find it helpful to schedule time for me. I *have* to workout to be sane. So I schedule my workouts on a google calendar that my husband and I share. That way it shows up on his phone as well. I also schedule grocery store trips, etc and try to make it fun for Jack.

    I do want to check out the calendar of events on this page and get together with all of you mamas!

    • Haha! The first few weeks with 2 are survival mode, then every day you start to feel like you improve on the juggling act. This week has been one of our best so far! And it started with me working out at 6A every morning (OK, so I skipped Thursday), so you are definitely on to something there. πŸ™‚

      I like the shared calendar idea!

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