We leave the house every. single. morning.
For me, it’s one of the things that helps me most as a stay-at-home mom.
But what also really helps me is deciding ahead of time where we’re going.
This means three things:
1) On Sundays, I sketch out my week. I pull up my weekly to do list, and I decide ahead of time what our Morning Outings will be that week. What appointments do we have, what errands need to be done? This also helps me know what is happening when. (This also helps me be realistic about what we’re getting done - on days we have, say, back-to-back check-ups is not the day I’m going to tackle some monthly routines or a trip to the gym with kids, for example.)
2) I have assigned a go-to Morning Outing for each day of the week and I rely on this for whenever we don’t have anything else going on, whether that be bad weather, a sick kid, an emergency car appointment, or whatever. Because I don’t want to waste mental energy deciding, “Where should we go this morning?” So I said Monday morning is when we do this, and Thursday morning is when we do this, etc. And gosh it’s so helpful to have that already decided.
3) And in this season of little kids - where a lot of what happens in my day is out of my control, but also a lot of what happens in my day is so predictable and mundane - having Morning Outings that I personally enjoy and having Morning Outings already decided is such a wonderful gift to myself. Because honestly, my kids don’t care where we go - they just want a happy mama. So we do Morning Outings I enjoy.
“But Haley! What if you have a sick kid/you get a birthday invite/you need to go to Costco/etc etc etc???????”
Easy. We don’t do that day’s assigned Morning Outing. The below Morning Outings are there for only when we need them. Meaning we’re happy to deviate and go to the doctor/birthday party/Costco.
However. Since we love our assigned Morning Outings so much, we make sure to only say yes to invitations that truly excite us and align with our priorities.
And also, there are simply things I don’t enjoy. I don’t enjoy indoor play places, I don’t enjoy random play dates, I don’t enjoy trips to Target. I also don’t enjoy toddler sports or toddler classes, similar to the reasons Busy Toddler lists in this post. So we don’t do those things.
The beauty about choosing Morning Outings ahead of time is that you have the time and space to really intentionally pinpoint things that you enjoy - and things that you don’t - and build a weekly rhythm based on that.
That said, here’s our beloved Morning Outings for this current season.
(And here are our Morning and Evening Routines for this season.)
Sunday:
Family trip to the gym
We go to the indoor family pool together and practice our swim skills, or the kids go to childcare and Brett and I exercise. Here’s why we love a gym with childcare - and pools! - in this season.
Or, or! I sit in the cafe and tinker on my computer for two hours:
sketching out my week on my weekly to do list,
seeing if I have space to work on any monthly routines,
(and adding them to my weekly to do list, if so),
checking our Yearly Tasks and Expenses list,
coordinating/purchasing any upcoming Decide Once Gifts,
tackling household to dos,
referencing our If Haley Dies document,
looking at our Local Places list,
planning Weekend Adventures for our family,
etc.
Although these are tasks I love to do, they’re still a significant amount of work, so having time set aside to do so has been so nice. I keep a spot on my weekly to do list to jot down anything I’d like to knock out or explore during this time. It’s the best. I get good, uninterrupted time to tackle a pile of tiny tasks, and then I can relax the rest of the day.
PS here’s 10 things I do every month for my household and marriage.
Grab gas for my car for the week on the way home. Get a car wash and pick-up our curbside grocery order for the week, too. Sunday is a super important day.
Here’s four reasons why I love having a car wash subscription.
This quick instagram post says why picking up my groceries curbside works really well for me in this season. TLDR: The grocery store wears me out, and curbside pick-up allows me to reserve my energy for my higher priorities, like meal prep and swimming.
Monday:
Julie goes to morning preschool.
Joey and I go to a Fit4Mom class
I love Fit4Mom. I love the good workout with friends, I love being outside in a beautiful park, I love the craft/playdate/playground time after every class for the kids. I can’t recommend it enough.
Tuesday:
Joey and Julie go to the childcare at our gym and I go to a yummy yin-style yoga class
Wednesday:
KK goes to morning preschool.
Joey and I go to a Fit4Mom class
I love Fit4Mom. I love the good workout with friends, I love being outside in a beautiful park, I love the craft/playdate/playground time after every class for the kids. I can’t recommend it enough.
Thursday:
Joey, KK and I go to an appointment/errand
Whenever possible, I try to schedule appointments on Thursdays or Fridays for simplicity and consistency.
Or we may do one or two tiny errands as our easy Morning Outing: go to the car wash, make a return, donate things we no longer need, pick up a curbside order, grab a Sonic Dr. Pepper, etc. It all counts.
I have a box in my home for things that need to be returned, and I have a box in my home for things that need to be donated - this works really well for me. Click here for ten easy household systems - like my donation bin and my returns box - I couldn’t live without.
Assigning a day for easy, tiny errands really helps me, too. I know what is happening when.
Friday:
KK goes to morning preschool.
Joey and I go to a Fit4Mom class
I love Fit4Mom. I love the good workout with friends, I love being outside in a beautiful park, I love the craft/playdate/playground time after every class for the kids. I can’t recommend it enough.
or we go to an appointment/errand
Whenever possible, I try to schedule appointments on Thursdays or Fridays for simplicity and consistency.
Or we may do one or two tiny errands as our easy Morning Outing: go to the car wash, make a return, donate things we no longer need, pick up a curbside order, grab a Sonic Dr. Pepper, etc. It all counts.
I have a box in my home for things that need to be returned, and I have a box in my home for things that need to be donated - this works really well for me. Click here for ten easy household systems - like my donation bin and my returns box - I couldn’t live without.
Assigning a day for easy, tiny errands really helps me, too. I know what is happening when.
Saturday:
Adventure Day or House Day - read more about these fun days here!
FAQs:
What do you listen to in the car? What does your toddler do?
We listen to audiobooks in the car whenever possible and this is one of my hills to die upon - I love squeezing in the extra reading time on an otherwise monotonous drive. To ensure that the content (and language) is appropriate, I listen to non-fiction books, or family-friendly recs by Everyday Reading. Audiobooks in the car was definitely an adjustment for KK (she’d prefer music…or to talk the entire drive), but with consistent expectations she eventually she learned she can draw on her drawing pad, she can look at one of her birthday magazines, she can search one of our favorite look and find books, or she can just listen to “Mommy book.” As Busy Toddler once said, I am the captain of my ship, and kids will adjust to any changes I deem necessary for our unit.
PS I loved Busy Toddler’s parenting book. One of my go-to comfort reads.
What do you keep in your car?
See the list of things I keep in my car for peace of mind here. These things save my bottom time and time again.
What about Joey’s morning naps?
Currently Joey still needs a morning nap. And because I need to leave the house every single morning, this means his morning nap is often on the go - in the car, in the stroller, in the wagon, in the carrier, etc. Which means sometimes his morning nap is on the shorter side, and sometimes his morning nap isn’t that great. But! He grabs enough sleep to make it to the afternoon, and two of my other hills to die upon are We leave the house every single morning AND We are always home every afternoon so that everyone - myself included - can take a good, longgg rest. So if anything, Joey takes a good, longgg nap every afternoon, and he’s happy.
Wishing you a week of whatever you need to take care of yourself. For me, that means leaving the house every single morning, and only doing Morning Outings I authentically enjoy. xo
Want some guidance and inspiration for creating your own weekly rhythm?
Blogpost on my weekly rhythm coming soon!
Click here for my morning and evening routines.
But I also love this book for creating weekly rhythms to prioritize things that bring you joy. And, of course, I love this book for the power of Decide Once.
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