Fumes...

One of my biggest struggles as a SAHM is staying at home. I struggle with not having connections with people, with not every leaving the house, and with a general lack of self-discipline to correct any of the above issues. I don't want my kids to have a life of boring nothingness because Mommy is too lazy (or just has no gumption to get up and do something about it) to make plans to get out of the house.

So, I've started making attempts to do something about all of this.

First, I've been working on making friends and stepping out of my comfort. To do this, I had to accept that God has us here in Warsaw for at least a few more years, and I was tired of not having any real relationships (we've been here almost 2 years so far) and/or any "roots". So I met a friend to "hang out". Then we had dinner with her and her hubbie. We're hoping to get together again soon. And, I asked one of the ladies at church to mentor me. Neither one of us knows what this might look like, but it's at least a step in the right direction. (If you have any advice as to what this might look like - mentoring re: motherhood, being a wife, general life, spiritual life, etc, I would love your input!!)

Second, I've started "scheduling" activities for us to do outside our home. Sundays, we have Sunday school and church. Tuesdays, we have "story time" at the library and run all our errands. I'm working on getting J to let me have Thursday afternoons "off" for some much needed Mommy time after four eleven plus hour days of just Mommy & kid time (he leaves before they get up and gets home about the time they are getting ready for bed).

Thirdly, now that the weather is beginning to be "outdoor worthy", I've been trying to get outside for at least 30-60 mins every afternoon after naptime. Some days that means driving to the park (about 1.5 miles away) so Jenny can slide, climb, swing, and have fun with her "friends" (whoever else happens to be there). Other days, it means taking the kids in the backyard - sometimes we kick the ball, other times we dig in the dirt or fly our kite. (Sometimes Mommy even gets some yard work done! If the ground is too wet to play on, but the roads aren't too busy (usually in the mornings), I'll pile the kids in the wagon and we'll take a walk in the nearby neighborhood (our street is too busy to walk on).

So, I'm working on getting out of the house - my goal is at least two scheduled trips out each four day work week to help break up the time without Daddy at home. And I'm working on building real relationships. And I'm trying to make good use of my time at home with the kids.

I just realized that the title I picked for this post doesn't seem to tie in very well to the post itself... something tells me that I should have gone to bed awhile ago, and that two interruptions (Jenny waking up to use the bathroom and David waking up to eat) didn't help my train of thought stay focused. Not to worry... it really does have something to do with the post.

Today, we were planning on going to the park after naptime - even possibly meeting some friends there. But we were ALL tired and grouchy, so I was starting to think about calling our friends to let them know we probably weren't going to make it. And then I walked into my bedroom and was overcome by horrendous fumes. Our landlord was working on the downstairs apartment and was doing something to the floors that smelt like really strong nail polish remover and he was also using really strong bleach in another area downstairs - all of which was coming up into our part of the house through the air ducts. I quickly opened both sliding doors to the patio, threw coats and shoes on the kids, and ran outside to the van... I was NOT going to sit in the house for another minute (I almost got sick as it was). So, thanks to the landlord, we got out of the house this afternoon! :) (And that's how the title tied into the post.)

And I think I'm going to bed before I spew anymore garbage onto this post... but before YOU go, leave me your thoughts - if you're a SAHM, what do you struggle with in regards to staying at home? do you have a mentoring relationship, and what does it look like? what did you do this afternoon? I can't wait to see your responses!! Good night!