I shower as the sun rises and before they realize it is a new day.
Closing my laptop and vowing not to open it again, I gather the first of sleepy heads into my lap and watch his feet dangle, ever closer to the floor.
There have been too many have to’s and one more minute’s and Mommy’s busy’s lately.
Today the sippy cups are filled, snacks are packed and we are heading out to do what they want.
As I lift from his crib the only one who still needs lifting, I crouch down and bring them all close.
Top-secret-mission-like I explain: We can do whatever you want. Go wherever you want to go, we don’t have to do anything today. Where should we go first?
My bright eyed little toddler, the one who can spot a bounce house hiding behind a sprawling grocery store and a park in the pitch dark and pouring rain, is the first one to put in his request.
The basement!!
My four year-old’s whole body exclaims: Can I never, never change out of my pajamas?!!
Where’s my Barbie ballet dress? asks the last of them as she saunters off.
And they are gone, sliding down stairs, planning how Buzz will save Barbie and then we will all have a Mr. Potato Head grocery store…
in the one place they unanimously agree on spending a wide open do-anything-you-want day.
Home.
———————-
If you’re staying in here’s something fun to try…
1. Grab an old sheet and cut a rectangular hole in the upper middle of the sheet.
2. Hang the sheet in any doorway in your home, making sure the rectangular area is eye-level with your kids. I used painter’s tape to secure it to the walls so that I can take it down at any time.
Tip: Hang it in a doorway near anything you need to get done. I put ours up between the kitchen and the living room when I need to cook dinner. Instead of the kids being at my feet they put on a puppet show. Winning :).
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That is so true! I appreciate and love going to different places but there’s just no place like home. I’m always excited to go home to see my son, sleep in my own bed and have the privacy, peace and quiet that no other place can offer.
I agree with you. That there’s no place like home. That is why i’m so excited to go home after work to be with my kids.
It is so fun when the kids are excited about playing in their own home. The ‘have to’s’ and other commitments can be just so much sometimes. Finding a balance is the tricky part & I often feel like I don’t do very well with it. It’s a work in progress with me!
So true. There’s no place like home. I always look back and sometimes wishing I could come home everyday.
All because YOU have made their home the best place to be…
What a sweet post, I just LOVE it!!!
With your hands always full, it’s really difficult to do a balancing act.
I love looking at that photo. It’s so… real. That’s what life is supposed to be all about. Pure, simple joy.
I love staying home with my kid too. She also likes it when I tell her that we can do absolutely anything on a blessed day.
Pulling out kids outside of home is a big problem. They annoys much outside of home and then it becomes very difficult to manage them. Really there is no place like home.
I am a homebody at heart.
I loved this post.
I’m a totally homebody. I think I might be raising a few :).
I love the title of your blog here! And I definitely agree with it..there’s no place like home. It’s feel like heaven when your far away for long time and get to back home.
I feel like my world has been filled with entirely too many, “just a minute, hon” lately as well. I think it’s time for a staycation.
I love that they picked home! My kids never pick home, though they don’t seem to mind it when we do stay here 🙂
My 2 always pick to stay home in their pjs too. I have to confess I find those days hard b/c I can’t seem to ignore the laundry, the dinner or whatever other projects which I seem very capable of ignoring if we are not home.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
And this is why I don’t even blink when my friends give me that look that says, “Seriously?!?” when I admit that we don’t do day camp or sports camp or summer school or anything else that’s scheduled all summer long.
All. Summer. Long.
We are home. (Or wherever else we want to be.)
Because sometimes we can’t choose what happens to us or where we are in this life.
So when we can? We do.
Good for you, my friend.
How wonderful! I love that they were excited to stay home and do whatever. Speaks volumes of you all. 🙂
So sweet. My toddler and I spend A LOT of time at home. Like today. He wanted to wear pajamas and take a walk around the neighborhood. And so we did. And it was wonderful.
I love that they want to be home!!!
I’m very guilty of the “just one more second” while I type away on my phone.
Today I’m choosing playtime!
I find balance by sometimes skipping the scheduled activities. Like today we had a busy weekend so I skipped music class. It just felt nicer to spend the time at home.
I would totally get along with your kids. Yesterday I had the day all to myself and could have done anything I wanted. I sat in my pj’s in my favorite chair and read all day long. It was heaven.
Sounds perfect!
My kids quiver with delight on p-jammy day too. We’ve gained balance (as much as possible) by limiting our activities, always with the understanding that life has to include downtime (we purposefully work naptimes into our weekend). The trade off is not as many sports games, not as many “skills” being drilled into our kids at a young age, but we prefer to look at it as building strong relationships with family and learning the skills that help keep us together and the kids mentally stable.
Balance can be hard. Let’s face it life it full of have to’s. My wife and I didn’t grow up with much a a Jewish education, but we joined and very Jewish community. At some point we started taking Shabbat more and more seriously. We stop running errands. Took to kid to shul, made lunch plans with friends. We took a day were there was no running around. For the most part if we can’t drive there, we don’t go. We play out side, have lunch at friends. We meet up with other families in the community and just have a day of community and family. It gives a a break in our weekend that we never felt we had.
We spend so much time at home that my kids want to go out! But then again they’re older and spend all day locked up at school so they’re ready to head out and have some fun!
That is what happened to us yesterday. Every weekend has been full of running around and not really any relaxation. Yesterday we just hung out at home all day until we decided to go out for dinner. Sometimes it is so nice to just break away from the normal hustle and bustle and just stay in your pjs all day (or most of the day) and shut the rest of the world out.
My oldest would stay home – always.
My youngest would rather hit the mall 😉
If I could do anything I would be torn between home with a good book and the mall.
You are a wonderful mom.
My son often prefers our backyard than the park. It makes me feel good knowing that he has fun here
Then there are days when he begs to go to Papa and Nana’s because they have the candy 😉
I love that they chose to stay at home. And yes, it is so hard to find that perfect balance. I’m still struggling with that.
I love that they picked staying at home. My kids definitely get tired of always going from one errand to another errand. Its definitely hard to find a balance! Especially because I have the one day to get so much done since I try to keep the weekends for family time and work the other four days!
I agree with Galit. It says a lot about the home you’ve made for them if that is where they want to be. This made me smile really big. 😀
I love their love of Home, and your willingness to listen to them.
(Both say so very much about all of you.)
xo
I love that they chose home. What a statement about the home you have given them.
My son is a park guy. Always.
Home can be so awesome. We just have to let it be. And sometimes I am bad at letting busywork distract me.
I love this. At this point, my twins are too young to make requests, and seem just as contect with a run to Target as they are with a trip to the zoo, but I do find my self having to force myself to put away the lap top, or put off the dishes so that I am there and present with them, whatever it is we are doing. 🙂
Love it! Home is the best.
Balance… It is an ongoing struggle. Some days are better then others. But lately, I would take a stay-cation over a vacation any day. I am one of those rare people looking forward to summer and the kids home from school… simply because we can be home more…
Home is definitely my favorite place to be too. I love that your kids picked to be home for the day.
Some days I have balance, other days everything is chaotic and crazy and I can’t seem to catch my breath.