Actually, I was really surprised with how energized I was on the days at home. I anticipated twice as much exhaustion as I usually feel on week days. But the contrary, the day felt natural, not taxing like typical work week days. When Mari came home at night he even offered to take the kids to the gym and give me a break, but I didn't feel like I needed one and told him to leave them home so that they wouldn't be late to sleep.
Not that the day wasn't with it's challenges. First off, they did not want to take a nap at nap time. They had fallen asleep for about 15 minutes in the car and that was enough to rejuvenate them for the rest of the day. This ended up totally throwing off their sleep schedule until Wednesday. So that was a big lessons learned: don't let them fall asleep in the car!
On Wednesday we stayed home in the morning, so there was no issue with falling asleep in the car. We read a story before nap and things went pretty smooth. It is going to take some time to get them into a routine and to lay out the boundaries. Like, teaching them to stay close to me when we go out, stay at the table during lunch, stay in their beds during story time. All of this will come with time I hope.
I've been really pleased with how LittleMan is responding. He communicates with me so much better than before already. This one-on-one attention is what he needed to release his vocabulary and imagination. It is so great to not feel rushed through the day. On the weekends I always felt like I had to fit in 'quality time' with cool activities on top of chores and errands. On both Monday and Wednesday I was able to slow down and focus on the kids, explaining things and coaching them. It really felt like 'quality time.' We did craft activities together, went exploring in the yard, cooked food, went shopping for groceries, listed to music at the town center, and moved our bodies all around.
Reading back over this, it sounds like we just played and that makes me feel a little guilty; I'm not supposed to play when I should be working... But all the activities were educational.
I was also able to get my work for the week done. Sometimes I called into meetings and answered emails while they were playing or sleeping. I woke up very early on the days that I went into the office and worked a long day. So I think this is going to work out.
Not that the day wasn't with it's challenges. First off, they did not want to take a nap at nap time. They had fallen asleep for about 15 minutes in the car and that was enough to rejuvenate them for the rest of the day. This ended up totally throwing off their sleep schedule until Wednesday. So that was a big lessons learned: don't let them fall asleep in the car!On Wednesday we stayed home in the morning, so there was no issue with falling asleep in the car. We read a story before nap and things went pretty smooth. It is going to take some time to get them into a routine and to lay out the boundaries. Like, teaching them to stay close to me when we go out, stay at the table during lunch, stay in their beds during story time. All of this will come with time I hope.
I was also able to get my work for the week done. Sometimes I called into meetings and answered emails while they were playing or sleeping. I woke up very early on the days that I went into the office and worked a long day. So I think this is going to work out.
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