Being a stay at home mom is a blessing and I know it.  Some women don’t have the option and I’m thankful every day that I do.  But, there are many days, cooped up in the house for too long with a toddler who is starting to walk, but can provide no meaningful conversation, that I just want to pull my hair out (well, okay, really I want to either take a nap or go out for a relaxing glass of wine).  At some point in the near future Gage will be going to day care for a few hours a week and I think it will be good for both of us, but in the past few months I have found other ways to stave off boredom for both of us.

1. Library Storytime is the best thing available for moms. We live within 20 minutes of four libraries and we go to storytime 3 times a week at 3 different libraries.  You can find us at the library on Wednesday, Thursday, and 2 Fridays a month.  They are free and take babies from about 6 months up.  A great place to meet other moms.  This is Gage at a storytime at the library where I used to work.  This is Shelby and she and I used to work at the reference desk together, now she works with the kids.  Note that Gage is paying attention.  This happens about 5 minutes out of 30.

2. My Gym (or any other gym for kids) is awesome.  We started taking Gage twice a week (once with mom, once with dad) when he was 5 months and he hated it because he hated being on his tummy.  Once we got his acid reflux under control he started really enjoying it.  They have circle time, a new skill each week, free time in the gym, swings, and separation time where all of the parents gather together in the front of the gym and chat while the kids play together in the middle of the gym supervised by staff.  One mother called separation time the best 10 minutes of her day and I can’t disagree.  We may start going 3 times a week. The 45 minute classes are worth every penny.

3. Pretty Girls. On our street we have a few teen girls who babysit Gage.  This is Brooke and once a week she or her sister Maddie come over for 2 hours after school and play with Gage.  I usually leave the house (coffee with friends, shopping, hair cut), but sometimes don’t because I tackle things like cleaning the office or organizing things for donations.  And once a week Marcy comes over for an hour after school to play with Gage.  She’s 13 an it’s her first babysitting experience so I stay home, but the hour to get stuff done (think laundry or actually cooking dinner) is awesome.

4. Classes.  We sign up for free ones at our city library, they have great ones liked Kindermusik and classes that cost a little at our local nanny school, like the sign language class.

5. Blogging.  It takes time, but I can do it after Gage and Jason have gone to bed.  I consider it my grown-up time and consider it an important social outlet for me.  Thank you all for keeping me sane.

So, there you have my helpful scheduling tips for stay at home moms.  I’m always looking for new things to try until I can start taking Gage museum hopping, so let me know if you have a good one.