My husband is in favor of me staying home with the boys. He knows I would like to go back to work, but he really wants me to focus on the positives of staying home while I have the chance. Of course, he is right, and I am truly grateful for having the opportunity, even though I personally find that for me staying home is much more difficult than working. He is always trying to give me helpful advice on how to keep pushing forward, although sometimes I find he is a little out of touch with the reality of daily life in our home. That is completely my fault—I haven’t really allowed him to experience the full chaos of what is our life. Unfortunately for me, this results in him not fully understanding why the house isn’t cleaner, or why more of these children can’t use the toilet.
He called this morning and said he knew how difficult things have been for the last few days, and how it’s going to be really hard on me this summer. I thought he was going to suggest I take the weekend to myself, or go get a massage or something. But no, he suggested I make a schedule for the boys to solve my problems. “For example,” he suggested, “you could write down, eat from 8 – 8:30, and then you could take them to the zoo or do your own little field trips.” I didn’t speak, so he continued. “Then you could have a mandatory nap time, then play outside. If you teach them the schedule, they know they have to do it, and if they do, I can reward them when I get home.”
I love this for so many reasons. First, the idea of a schedule—that’s new. Second, field trips to the zoo—awesome idea! Of course, I almost stood in front of traffic after our 20 minute trip to Target yesterday, but no worries. Third, nap time. Now that sounds refreshing. And finally, after this great day, Daddy can come home and reward them. I guess it’s like one of those good cop/bad cop type of deals. Perfect! Now all I need to carry out this plan is a large poster board, some markers, at least one nanny, some magic sleep dust (or horse tranquilizers could work in a pinch) and a giant bottle of wine. But I’m still recovering from our trip to Target yesterday, so forgive me if I start tomorrow.
PS: does anyone know if Target even carries magic sleep dust/tranquilizers? Because if I could get everything in one trip, that would be ideal.