Mix it Up

The last few weeks I've been in a funk. Crabby, cranky and generally just feeling rather off balance. The little lady wasn't sleeping well (which meant the rest of the family wasn't sleeping well), the winter seemed to drag on and I just couldn't bring myself out of the blues. Finally last week the sun came out, the weather turned a bit warmer and I began to come to terms with the fact the we may be a no nap house from here on out. After reading my good friend Sarah's blog post last Thursday I decided to turn my day upside down and shake this funk for good.

We went about our morning routine like any old, normal day. I went to the gym, the lady got to hang at the daycare and afterward we ran some errands. Then came nap time. Dun, dun, dunnnn. After just one attempt at putting the aforementioned lady down I decided to scoop her up and finish the errands that I didn't get to in the morning. We returned some movies, grabbed some apple juice and mama juice (aka, Diet Coke) and took a nice walk. Let me tell you, there is nothing more fascinating to a toddler than water running in a gutter. The girl was in heaven!

After we walked around the block we got buckled in the car and drove over to our next destination. We headed into Crafty Planet for a peek. I always mean to get in that store, but never prioritize the time for myself. They were so awesome and let the lady run around and play with fabric scraps while I shopped. Plus I got some good advice for toddler sewing, and some new fabric to boot. Next we walked down the street to a new restaurant that I've been meaning to get the menu for (they deliver). They had just opened for dinner so we quickly grabbed a menu as we proceeded down the block for our walk. After a little ways the lady needed a rest and a juice break so we sat on a bench and counted the cars go by.

Then it was time for home and a little bit of a movie while I cooked dinner for an impromptu dinner party. The food turned out great, the lady ate and played well and by the time bed time rolled around she could barely make it through one story.

Success.

Now a day that serendipitous is hard to pull off everyday. People's moods, attention spans and overall happiness all come into play. However, it made me realize two things:

• One, the lady thinks everything we do is cool, if I spin it right. Water running in the gutter? What a cool river! Look, it's a bus! We could be doing anything and as long as I take part in it and we are doing it together, she is going to have a good time; which means I am too.
• Two, sometimes we just need to break out of our routine. Now, most days the routine is the only thing that holds us together. The little lady knows when it's time to eat, change, sleep all because we do it (relatively) the same, everyday. But it's ok, or even great, to change it up now and then. Variety is the spice of life after all.

So the next time you feel like you're in a rut, change the day up a little. Forget your routine and take a new approach at the day. You might find that it makes the day go by faster and have a little more fun.