My dog walker got stuck in our elevator on Friday afternoon. You think this would be enough of an emergency to warrant our elevator repair guys to fix the problem post-haste - but nooo.... here I am Monday morning still waiting for them to show up. And it's *really annoying me because although I may be able to walk down 5 flights of stairs with Archer (very very carefully of course) there's no bloody way I'll be able to walk back up. Call me a wimp but Archer + the car seat are like a million pounds. I'm hardly even exaggerating. Well, maybe a little bit...
But the bigger problem is, the elevator guy is throwing off my weekly plan... and that's really super annoying to me.
The thing is, Archer and I plan out our week meticulously. I found out very early on in my new life that boredom is the enemy of the new mom. Add exhaustion into the mix and you realize that you're in no position to be making decisions on what to do early in the morning for the day's activities. So you end up staying home, cleaning things you've already cleaned, watching reruns of bad daytime television, and ermmm...writing blogs.
So this leads me to Downtown Mama Rule #5: Always have a plan for what you are doing every day of the week at least the week before.
To give you an example of what my week plan looks like, here it is:
Monday - Grocery shopping in the morning, coffee with mom's group in the afternoon
Tuesday - Passport pictures for mom and Archer in the morning, gym in the afternoon
Wednesday - Movie with M & W in the afternoon
Thursday - Walk with Pudge and Archer in the morning, coffee
Friday - Playdate with T & E
There are some things in my schedule that are fairly rigid. Like Mondays, I always go grocery shopping, Wednesday, I almost always go to a movie. Pudge needs a walk on Thursday because we cut back on dog walking on that day. The rest of the week, I'm flexible - I save the days for playdates, major chores, etc. And lest this all seem too structured, if anyone has a better offer for something to do on any day of the week (impromptu lunch date, hip hop dance classes, that sort of thing...), then I'll push off my previously scheduled activity to another day.
If you're not sure what to do even now, roughly follow my schedule above until you find your own groove- 1 day for groceries, 1 day for a movie, 1 day for a walk in the neighborhood or a mall, 1 day for working out, 1 day to meet with a friend or play group (check out www.meetup.com for a group in your area).
Another suggestion? For days when the rain gets in the way, when you are just too zonked because your little dude was up all night, or something like that, have a stay-at-home activity ready to go - usually mine involves some sort of television. Don't judge. I'm slowly going through Season 1 of The Wire (which is amazing, btw) and I have Breaking Bad ready to do. For you, maybe its time to work on something more productive like thank you cards, or your baby book... just have something.
Finally, write all of this down. I've temporarily traded in my blackberry for a day book... I write everything down... my to dos for the week, my schedule, activities to do at home... I find that this helps a lot when I'm tired and just can't think of what's on the schedule (and to my current employer (major telecommunications company), I *promise to try all of this on my blackberry soon - live the brand, live the brand. I promise!)
As for now, I hear that the elevator guy has now come and gone which coincidentally also lines up with the end of my PVR-ed "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" from last night, so Archer and I are ready to start our day!
Have a good one yourself!
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