Oh my gosh Twins Twice!

Mike and I are working on scheduling…. Like scheduling every area of our life. Our live is so busy and chaotic we forget things… like to appreciate each other, spend time together, make the most out of the weekends and nights, etc, etc.

Scheduling things out has been hard… because well it takes time to do and some trial and error to see what works. So far we know that we need a date every other weekend. So this means planning things to do and arranging appropriate child care… not an easy task with four kids and family who helps so much during the week it is unfair to ask them for help on the weekends… which means hiring help….which means finding someone and paying someone… Which also means adjusting our budget… see how everything takes so much planning?!

We are also preplanning at least one family activity a weekend in addition to what we want to make a normal routine of church and the gym.

With two working adults and four young children it is very easy to rest on the weekend… let the whole weekend getaway… and be left with the feeling that you didn’t do anything because well you didn’t. Going back to work for me has been an adjustment and we want to make the most out of our weekends… which means planning and scheduling.

 

So when I told  Mike my ideas for this weekend’s plans he told me that I was being a little aggressive… and while part of that statement was true and we did all but one thing on the list… we did it… and it felt good. I believe the more we do the less overwhelming the effort to do things… will feel. Because let me tell you it is a MAJOR effort to get everyone out of the house to do anything.

The first thing we did this weekend was Friday night I joined the YMCA. I have wanted to do this for a while. I wanted to do it all summer. But the $120 joining fee kept stopping me…. As the school year started and I started to think about our fall routines and schedule the YMCA kept popping back up.  I stock their website on a regular basis browsing schedules and kid activities. (They have so much fun stuff for little ones). When I went to stock their website on Friday… I saw they had no joining fee and Friday was the last day of it. So I went and joined that night!

Mike was a little unhappy that I joined… since it is a monthly expense… we have been trying to cut expenses and save money so this was kind of in the opposite direction of that. Mike has recently picked up bike riding has a form of exercise and has been riding his bike to and from work daily. He told me I need to walk or run, doing something free for exercise. Excuse me… who the hell is going to watch the kids?! Long story short… after a weekend at the Y… he is in love!

 

Saturday morning we packed all four kids up and headed to the YMCA. We got there at 9am. We left the kids in child care and they had a great time! The girls there loved our kids! They said they were all such happy kids… my heart melted.

I ran, and by “ran” I slow jogged on the treadmill for 2 miles the pace was 13/14 minute miles… so more like a fast walk then jog. I am so out of shape I was sweating and so bright red and the end. I did a few weight machines and that was it. (My knees were killing me the rest of the day!)

We were back in the car at 10:30 and headed home to feed M and E their 11 am bottle. We gave the kids an early lunch and then packed everyone back in the car and headed out to Chesterfield Berry Farm to pick pumpkins. A little early in the season… but we like early in the season… I like to avoid crowds! The more crowded a place is the more stressful the outing is for us. Since this was the first weekend of pumpkin picking there were no crowds or lines! And we also got a lot of freebies! It was a fun stress free time

We headed back home for nap time…. Where I feel a sleep on the couch! That night Mike and I had a little date night and headed out to Oktober fest which was held at Mike’s parent’s church.

 

Sunday morning we unfortunately did not make it to church Sunday morning. We headed to the gym at 11:00 (right after M and E’s bottle). Since my knees where hurting so bad I just fast walked on the treadmill, and then did some swimming, taking me back to my competitive swimming years. I knew it would make my knees feel better and it did. After the gym we ended downtown to go back to the Oktober fest as a family where we ate lunch, let the kids dance to the German music, and explore the kids play area… while daddy enjoyed some adult beverages. It was a great outing.

We came home for nap time and I headed the grocery store. We had no effort frozen pizza for dinner and everyone including us went to bed happy and early to start the work/school week.

It was a great “aggressive” weekend!

I am planning another aggressive weekend for next weekend. There are so many good things to do I can’t decide our activity… Virginia State Fair, Apple Picking, or Lewis Ginter for Butterflies live and the last weekend their Splash park!