E.A.S.Y., right?

I don't have to read Secrets of the Baby Whisperer to know that, contrary to the basic premise of the book (which suggests a routine of eating, followed by activity and then sleep, and, as I've seen on more than one blog, "as a bonus," time for you), it's just not that simple. Nor does every day here in the Grigsby household play out according to the very tidy schedule I outlined here. Some things just work better on paper (or on a blog, as the case may be). The one thing I failed to include, however (whether every day unfolds like this or not), is just what do I do with all that me-time?

A couple of months ago, when naps were particularly elusive and, when they did happen, varied greatly in duration, I came up with a daily schedule of chores and activities. In case you hadn't already guessed it, this will undoubtedly reveal my obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and I should preface it by saying that my success rate at actually keeping to this schedule is only 50 to 75%, at best, but I share this with the idea that perhaps it will be helpful to someone else. I found that even when Elias did finally nap, I'd get little done because I never knew how long he'd be asleep. I'd take care of the high-priority items (go to the bathroom, eat, mix formula, etc.) and then, not knowing how much time I had left, I'd usually check my email and then waste the rest of the nap aimlessly wandering the Web. The idea behind creating a schedule of different rooms to clean and other chores and activities to take care of on certain days eliminated any thought-process that might otherwise be necessary in deciding what to do during a given nap. Having something to jump right in on also helped counter the anxiety I would feel once I finally got Elias to sleep. So, for example, on Tuesdays, as soon as Elias goes down for his afternoon nap (the morning nap being mostly spoken for with dishes, getting ready for the day, checking email, etc.), I clean the bathroom. Then there are certain days that are better for different activities and errands (for example, now we go to Gymboree on Thursdays and Fridays, so Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my errand-running and otherwise-getting-out days) and other tasks (paying bills, for example) that I try to accomplish during the week. I find that I'm most successful keeping up with basic cleaning and other things (like going grocery shopping, for some reason) tend to get done on the weekends. The goal, I guess, is to take care of this kind of stuff during the week so that we can spend time together as a family or, when Neal takes Elias for awhile, I can enjoy some true "me time" on the weekend.

Now, if you have a house with more than four or five rooms, this probably won't work for you. Or you'll have to clean more than one room each day. Or, if you can afford a home that big, maybe you should think about allocating some of your monthly budget to a housekeeper. I do miss having the time to clean the entire apartment in one two- or three-hour chunk. There's something very satisfying about the entire place being spotless at one time, even if it only lasts fifteen minutes. But unless I want to spend half of my Saturday cleaning while Neal hangs out with the baby, I'm willing to settle for this rotating cycle of clean.

Speaking of Gymboree, I might add that Elias and I have been going to their "play & learn" class for about a month now and added the first level of their music program as of yesterday. The first couple of groups I joined, while there was, obviously, a lot of discussion about our babies' development, books to read, activities to do, etc., were primarily focused on the moms - socializing, co-ruminating, making plans for lunch, etc. Around the 6-month mark, I felt like I'd developed a large enough social circle of other new moms and wanted the focus of whatever class we signed up for at that point to be on Elias. So far I'm pretty happy with Gymboree although, for a class that only lasts 45 minutes, there's still too much discussion time. It's not that I don't enjoy chatting with other parents and caregivers, but the group I joined has been meeting together since their babies were just a few weeks old. Add to that the fact that I'm going to the Gymboree in a town that is like a lot of towns and neighborhoods in and around Boston in that it has a distinctly local feel to it. It's kind of like accidentally stumbling into a "townie bar." With your baby. And your ever so subtle California accent.


Anyway, today we started class by helping our little ones make glittery Valentine's Day-themed hand print flowers (a little random, no?). You can see that by the third "flower" Elias finally opened his fist (like a rose blooming, if you will) and allowed us to record his full hand print. Then he screamed his little head off as I tried to wash the hot pink paint off of his hand. Guess I should do more arts & crafts with this kid, huh?

Happy Valentine's Day!