Go out and be Awesome!

I firmly believe that you have to take children into public so that they know how to act in public. It's not doing them any favors to refuse to take them in the car, or out to eat because they act like ravening zombies. Now I know, maybe better than some, the logistical issues with taking children to the mall or grocery store. It's truly like herding kittens. But I think of the outings as some tactical drill in this war. It's something that has to be done often so that you can get good at it.I have many mom friends who refuse to leave the house either because of their fear of their children's behavior or because they're afraid of how people will react to their children's behavior.

My children have been going into public with me since they were days old, several times a week. I actually feel as if I'm depriving them of an experience if we don't go out and see something each day. It still amazes us how many people compliment my children on how well mannered they are (as if I give them a choice). And I'm constantly amazed how many of my friends are hiding away for fear.

Which is why days like today are so special. Rarely  there days where I have absolutely no reason to go into town. Or maybe a have a reason not to drive that far (at 3.57 a gallon!). We live about 15 miles from the nearest grocery store. So any errands that need to be run take careful planning and must be performed after breakfast and before nap time, which is about a two hour window. Now, I've already talked about how I make a list, tear it in half and lower my expectations for the day. So usually I have to go into town several times a week, for play dates, appointments, errands and at least to pickup my oldest son from preK.

Today, we stayed home, caught up on the mammoth pile of laundry that's been growing in the laundry room, snacked on the fruits of the latest grocery run, caught up on the DVR'd season finales, and napped. Well, the kids napped, I mostly got some things "cleaned", did some work around the house (laundry, dusting, vacuuming, made a pork roast for dinner, etc). I think this is also a chance for the kids to catch up on their allotment of my attention that they don't get while I'm driving around in town, their naps which seem to run longer on down days, nutrition because other days it's usually drive through for lunch, and some much needed tickle time. While the older kids are napping, I get to spend some one on one time with the baby so that we can talk and snuggle a bit before he drops off to sleep.

When my husband finally gets home at 5:30, the house is a bit cleaner, smells like cooking meat, the kids are happily watching My Little Ponies, and I feel like my stay-at-home-friends may be onto something.