Our Weekly Plans

So I mentioned in this blog post that we had a goal for something to do each night after dinner and before we get Cara ready for bed so that we weren't just sitting around doing nothing.

This time of day has become a harder time of transition for me because after work was when I'd usually be lazy; and while I could be lazy with a baby, I don't want to be (like physically and mentally it just feels wrong to not do something with her during the time I actually have with her). I wasn't sure what to do with such a short amount of time (short because she takes a nap, we eat dinner, we feed her, and then put her down pretty early), but after thinking about the demands of each night (who works out which night, which nights are bath nights, etc. etc.) I came up with a decent plan to start out with.

We started this last Thursday, so it's been a full official week, and here's what we've been able to come up with that's worked so far:


Sunday - Lazy/Chore Day 

Sunday is what I call Lazy and Chore day. We usually do grocery shopping and laundry on Sundays. Eventually (when kid(s) are older) this will also be clean-the-house day so that we can start the week with a nice clean house...right now we won't discuss how often the house is cleaned haha. And because it's such a lazy day the rest of the time it's a "go to bed early" night. I love that we can start the work week well rested and get things taken care of on this day.

Monday - Creative Night

Monday is creative night in that we should do something creative: Play an instrument (so far we only have a keyboard, but we might get more as time goes on), color, draw, build, dance, etc. This last week we made a sensory bag for Cara to play with. I was so excited to see how she'd do with it and she does seem to like it, but mostly wants to put it in her mouth (like usual haha) so we might have to make this a more edible creation night for the next little while haha.

Tuesday - Reading Night

Reading Night is pretty self explanatory. Right now it's just "read to Cara" night and then I'm working on catching up on my magazines once we put her down for bed. This is also a secondary "go to bed early" night as well since reading makes me EXTREMELY tired and so it's hard for me to do it during the day and then try and do something else. Alternatively I can work on our budget or blog updates during these nights if I don't feel like going to bed early.

Right now we're reading a Disney short stories book to Cara. I like that they are a bit longer so it feels like I'm really reading to her (they aren't just a quick read like the ones with only a sentence or two on each page), she likes the pictures, and they are Disney so I love it even more!

Wednesday - Fend For Yourself Night

Fend For Yourself Night is mostly for the one who isn't with the kid(s) all day. Right now that's Larry (not that that will change right now, but just saying) so I take over watching Cara and doing stuff with her while he can take the after dinner time to do whatever will help keep him sane. I'm sure having her all day, playing with all of us all night, and not really getting a weekend break takes it's toll after a while so I like to give him breaks whenever I feel confident that I can take over. Last night was our first night of doing this one, but it was our first night introducing her to oatmeal cereal and peanut butter so of course he actually wanted to be a part of that. But it's a work in progress.

Thursday - Reading Night (pt. 2)

Because I don't think you can get enough of books and the advantages of reading I added a second reading night to the weekly routines. I love reading to Cara and she seems to like it too. I just need to get more books that have more sentences on each page haha. Plus I love that this gives me more of an opportunity to read my books (once I'm done with my magazines!).

Friday - Game Night

Larry and I have quite the stash of games in our home and we've talked for many years about how we'd love to have a game night as a family as we grew up so I figured it's a good time for us to establish this. Cara mostly just loves playing on her activity mat so we have her on that next to us and then if she gets bored with that I'll sit her on my lap while we play a game. Last week we played Settlers of Catan (Larry's choice). The best part of this is we can switch off who gets to choose which game we play each week so that we all get to play a good one as the kid(s) grow up.

 

It can't all be glamorous...right?

 

I also think it'd be fun to include playing a sport (catch, basketball, tag, etc.) in this one during warm months when we can be outside. Maybe sledding or a day off to do skiing during the winter (I imagine we'll just be loaded with money in the future, that's not odd right? Haha)

Saturday - Movie Night

This one is similar to Game Night. We normally are running errands and doing things all day Saturday that it's nice to just relax at night (especially since Sunday is the lazy/chore day). Right now we pick a Disney/animated movie for Cara to watch before we put her down and then we can watch one together. This one will also be good to switch off who gets to choose a movie each week or if we go out to one. Since it's September I've been working on my thriller/horror movies for now. It'll eventually be Thanksgiving/Fall/Football Movies in November and Christmas movies after Thanksgiving :)

So that's our plans for now. I'm sure they will be altered, but it's a good starting point...I feel like it anyways.