Staying Home

For quite a while I've been thinking that we need to be staying home more. It seems like we are always going somewhere for something--sometimes every day of the week.

When Jay was getting ready for deployment I hatched a plan that we would stay home almost all the time. And then reality hit. There were still all of the errands and obligations (plus some extras) as well as the need to lay eyes on other adults from time to time. So for over four months we went somewhere almost every single day.

Then came summer with all of its accompanying birthdays, holidays, classes, and trips. We were definitely not staying home.

When September rolled around (about a year since I first had the thought to stay home more), I decided I would make every effort for us to be home at least two out of five days a week--and we were successful all the way up until last week! Fall break meant that Jack went to Grandma and Grandpa's overnight (without us) for the first time. I wasn't going to be too upset about breaking our streak for that.

Sometimes it's hard to squeeze everything into three days a week without making an out day seem like some kind of death march. We have library, speech, music, and grocery shopping that have to be done each week. Then there are the extras--playdates, field trips, just because things. The four necessary things take us all over town, so combining them can make for a long day. I have noticed how much more we are getting done when we go out, though, since I am determined to have our two days at home.

We get so much more done at home, too. We have actually stuck with our schooling plans, loose as they are, without much trouble. We get in plenty of playtime. We don't eat out all the time. It's nice.

Tomorrow starts a streak where we have something every day for almost two weeks. It's going to be a long two weeks!