In order to deal with my crabby state of mind this week, I have taken the following actions:

• Baked various things featuring white flour, sugar. Took turns licking giant spoonfuls of uncooked dough with Riley.
• Booked a hair appointment. Fuck you, roots.
• Hired my smart web coder friend to help me build a new website that is going to be so totally awesome I swear to GOD you guys.
• Watched this video, like, a LOT. Ditto this.

JB’s parents leave tonight and I am bummed. It’s not that I wish they, you know, lived with us or anything (!), but they have been home with the kids while I’ve gone to work and Riley has been so incredibly HAPPY as a result. I leave in the morning and they’re all having fun, getting ready to go for a walk or whatever; I get home at night and the kids have had their dinner and Riley’s chattering at me like a cracked-out squirrel about how he and Grandpa made a FORT, come look RIGHT NOW MOMMY.

I’m sure JB’s parents are more than ready to get back to their normal, non-baby/3-year-old-centric lives, though. It’s probably been a rewarding, but exhausting few days for them — I can personally attest to the fact that caring for two small children all day long is, well, a real bitch sometimes. They think I’m insane for putting Dylan in a swing to sleep and so they’ve been putting him in his crib all week, and he’s responding by not napping for shit, so they haven’t even had any decent breaks.

(Oh man, I so don’t want to deal with the swing/crib issue. I know I’ve got to just cowboy up, move him into the crib and handle the fallout, but people, he just started sleeping through the night — he stays down from 7ish PM until 4:30 or 5 now. I feel enORmously whiny about a regressed sleep schedule, which is sure to happen, but of course I can’t stuff him in the swing forever. He already looks sort of ridiculous in there, like a Sumo wrestler driving a Mini Cooper.)

I’m going to take the kids to daycare tomorrow so I can run some errands and finish my freelance work for the week, but I’d also like to take a few hours to pursue the act of Chilling the Hell Out. What would you do if you had a little free time to yourself, in order to help de-stress and recharge your batteries?

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Michelle
Michelle
15 years ago

Cry – you know, a good chemical release of stress. Then, have Jamie Zeppa’s book about teaching in Bhutan in my hands instantly, magically, instead of across town through loads of traffic at the bookstore. And then maybe book + bubblebath in silence.

I spent the day (out of the office at least) ripping out moldy sheetrock and insulation from a home damaged by Hurricane Ike, and now I’m home and hungry with a headache and the dogs won’t be quiet and the husband isn’t home yet to give me a hug because he was almost in a car accident and so is talking to the police somewhere on some road. So I can’t be mad that he’s home late.

Heather-in-Australia
Heather-in-Australia
15 years ago

Dude, check out Flight of the Conchords on youtube. Especially the Robot song (the humans are dead! binary solo: 00001111, 00001111!!) We sing it to our 3 month old and she bounces in her Jumping Joey to it: guaranteed happy place material :).

Samantha jo campen
15 years ago

Nap nap nap then nap some more. But knowing me I wouldn’t be able to turn my brain off so I’d just lay there THINKING about napping. Sigh.

Akimbo
Akimbo
15 years ago

I HAVE TO KNOW:

Where does Dylan nap at daycare?

We take our daughter to an at-home daycare and the woman is great but also the PUSHIEST BITCH ON THE PLANET, and she magically got our daughter to take 2 hour naps in her crib, BUT she’s always giving me other advice.

So. Anyways. Just curious.

Free time. Hmmm. I think it might involve wine. And goat cheese. Followed by a nap.

b.
b.
15 years ago

To get a few minutes to myself, first my three year old would have to be surgically removed from my ass because (said in ominous whisper) I am never alone.

I would first just enjoy the silence. The freedom of no one saying MOMMY-MOMMY-MOOOOMMYYYYYYY. Cast around a bit, see where I misplaced my sanity. Then I might do something crazy, like read entire SENTENCES without being interrupted. Go to the store (any store!) *alone*.

…I mean motherhood is WONDERFUL and I would never want to spend ONE MOMENT that’s not in the company of my precious snook’ems. Er. Something like that.

beach
beach
15 years ago

Go for a run….the winter will be here before you know it….run, blast your ipod….take some scenery pictures…..then come home and throw in some netflix, after a hot shower(and btw….get yourself some great takeout for lunch!!!)

Jenna
15 years ago

Mani/pedi for sure…

Or better yet…Watch a movie uninterrupted.

Enjoy your chill out time!

georgia
15 years ago

My all-time favorite “just chill the fuck out”, “leave me alone I need a minute to myself” activity is napping. Not very creative, I know, and I don’t even have kids…but my god, is that not the best luxury in the world???

squandra
squandra
15 years ago

Running is good. So is napping, if you’re that kind of sleeper. Even when sleep-deprived, I just end up spending minutes/hours staring at the ceiling, but I know some people (I’m looking at YOU, boyfriend) can pretty much sleep on demand.

Maybe just make yourself a nice comforting snack, and curl up in bed with that and a book or comic book — or a DVD? If sleep comes, so be it … Relaxing, either way.

Melissa
Melissa
15 years ago

Ummm, so many things I would like to do! Get a massage or a mani/pedi. Sleep a bit, read, go to the gym (maybe) and just get a few things done. Enjoy!

AndreAnna
15 years ago

I’d sleep. Somewhere. Anywhere.

anatomist
15 years ago

go to hoa and get a mani pedi! they are the absolute best and then you can go get a cup of coffee down the street and relax. as a matter of fact, i think i might do that myself while the man watches football with the kiddo on sunday.

Briana
15 years ago

Go to a movie!! I miss that so much. My kid has been asleep for over an hour, and I’m stuck to the computer like some kind of freak, reading all the mommy blogs and facebook crap. Why do I do this to myself???? Insanity brought on by motherhood. That’s the answer.

clarabella
15 years ago

Mani/pedi or a facial, if you really want to splurge.

Melissa
Melissa
15 years ago

Also meant to say that our pediatrician told me that once they start to sleep through the night the napping will begin to fall into place. Sounds like BS to me but maybe Dylan just needs a little more adjustment time and then it will get better…not sure if that makes you feel any better! :)

Navi
15 years ago

I’ve been all about Gossip Girl from Netflix…but that’s the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever said aloud. I don’t know what it is about “pretty people with problems” that just sucks me in.

And, seriously, this definitive decline in the weather this week is SO worth the white flour and sugar and cookie dough off a spoon. It’s made me all kinds of crabby, too.

(Fuck you, Fall. Seriously, I mean it.)

Missy
15 years ago

a long walk, some kind of giant iced mocha type thing, and a massage

Nancy
Nancy
15 years ago

Re: the swing — there’s still time to move him to the crib later. Do what gets you all sleep for now. For us, our babysitter magically got babyB to nap in her crib. Once we realized she was doing it, we tried it at nighttime and lo and behold it worked! But I wouldn’t rush it.

If I had some spare time, I’d go with DH to see the newest Batman movie in IMAX — tomorrow is the last day at the theater near us. We just haven’t made it yet. DH might go tomorrow (next to last day at a job he’s leaving and they’re screwing him out of several days pay, so he may just take the afternoon off) but I can’t spare the time this week.

Go, have fun, and tell me how it was!

Undomestic Diva
15 years ago

Pace around, getting precisely NOTHING done because I’d have No.Fucking.Clue what to do with myself.

Erin
15 years ago

3 words: Book. Couch. Chocolate. Ahhhh.

But I also second the going to a store (doesn’t matter which one) withOUT a child, a cart, a list, a budget… (well, I can dream)

Or go to a movie that *I* want to see.

Enjoy your downtime!

ML
ML
15 years ago

* a run (pray for less drizzle, go enjoy the leaves turning)
* hot bath to celebrate
* new magazine plus a treat that makes me feel good (huge, sweet plums and dark chocolate)
* shopping for one feel-good splurge for me
* a brain-dead dvd under huge, soft covers and a good nap

***notice I used all “me’s” instead of “you’s”…so you wouldn’t feel judged or whatever. :)Enjoy!

SJ
SJ
15 years ago

I would stop at a coffee shop for a cup of coffee (or five) and maybe sit and read for a bit. Or maybe I’d head out with my camera and go somewhere and take a shit-ton of photos. Of course there is always shopping. Or a movie. Whatever you do enjoy it. You deserve it.

Sarah
15 years ago

Go for a walk. Sit in a bookstore and drink coffee and read a book. See a movie. Nap. Get a manicure or pedicure. Go window shopping. Relax!!

KB
KB
15 years ago

SPA: facial; massage. Lunch someplace yummy, doesn’t have to be fancy, with “reading” material, like People Magazine. A movie? Aimless shopping at the mall?

Becky
Becky
15 years ago

lovely bath followed by mani/pedi..topped off with a yummy coffee and a magazine! And hell I’d toss in a quick run to the store WITHOUT KIDS.

Jennifer
Jennifer
15 years ago

Get a coffee, then wander up and down store aisles aimlessly, just looking at stuff. Do a bookstore, or the mall, and people-watch or browse. Get another coffee, repeat wandering.

amber
15 years ago

I played hooky from work the other day and left the kids with my mother-in-law. Then I went to Barnes and Noble, browsed the books and magazines for awhile, picked the ones I liked, then sat in the coffee shop with a tall nonfat toffee nut latte and read an ENTIRE magazine in peace.

Such a little bit of heaven, there.

Christina
15 years ago

You are so damn lucky to have such wonderful In-Laws!
If I had some baby-free time, which I have not, in oh A YEAR! I would just leave the house, probably go grab a coffee and sit at a book store reading (us weekly- lets not get ahead of ourselfs) or go shopping for something just for me, not for the kid or the husband. I really don’t know, I would be lost if I suddenly had a sitter and a few hours, I think I may have forgotten how to be by myself…. strange.

Elizabeth
15 years ago

I would go get a haircut, facial, and pedicure. And then I would go browse a bookstore for as long as I wanted and pick out the perfect new book and go sit and have a chai and a sweet and read uninterrupted.

Heather
Heather
15 years ago

I would likely indulge in a little of all above suggestions: Wine a-plenty, while soaking in a wonderful bath (of wine, possibly)simultaneously reading a fantastic “can’t-put-it-down” that I can only put down when Flight of the Conchords is on (it really is riotously funny….did you also see the one where Jemaine and Brett buy leather suits? That shrink? )Then shopping, and chocolate, or shopping for chocolate, and finally a mani/pedi if you can find a pedicurist (?!?) who wont hurt you (I cannot.) Enjoy.

Jem
Jem
15 years ago

I would sleep or book a massage. Either way!

Stacy
15 years ago

Nap, haircut, massage, de-clutter the house, take dog for a long walk/jog, spend an hour and a half at the gym, get a pedicure because I haven’t one since December 20th LAST YEAR, and finish it up with another nap.

Traci
Traci
15 years ago

1. Good french-pressed coffee that will stay hot until I finish it (unlike the luke-warm crap I have to drink in the morning chasing the kids around).
2. Hard hard run.
3. Sephora

Caitlin
15 years ago

Go for a nice long, peaceful walk somewhere beautiful and quiet.

Or, erm, sit around in my undies watching tv and eating all those things I’d been a-bakin’ all week.

Laura
Laura
15 years ago

Either a chick-flick movie at a theatre and lunch with a friend OR a take-out lunch at home with a good book or a DVD. Either way, a big glass of Malbec would be on the agenda.

Lesley
Lesley
15 years ago

Chilling the hell out for me would be an afternoon matinee at one of the deluxe cinemas with a large pumpkin spice latte (’tis the season). If I had such an opportunity I’d probably see Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais of The Office and Extras fame, because he’s one of the funniest people alive – his stand up is to die for – and the movie has gotten very good reviews. Otherwise, a stroll around the seawall with a good friend followed by dinner at a favourite Thai spot.

Jamie
15 years ago

When I have free time, I chill out with a couple of friends called Ben & Jerry. If I can’t do that, it’s with Ciao Bella brand Blood Orange sorbet.

And if no frozen concoctions are available, a good book, a quiet room, and a snuggly puppy do the trick. And maybe some cookies.

Kristi
15 years ago

1) Run 2) Massage 3)Hot bath 4)a great snack in bed while watching a good movie – and if you happened to fall asleep all the better.

sooboo
sooboo
15 years ago

I usually go to a movie by myself, so that I can see what I want and show up on time! Sleeping is good too. I also like hitting Ross for cheap clothes. I have to add that my niece slept in a recliner in the living room until she was 4! She’s 17 now and sleeps in a bed like a normal person. Give yourself a break. You’re awesome!

biscuit
15 years ago

I can’t wait to be your friend on Facebook. Swistle + I are buddies on there, she even sent me a virtual plant on my birthday.

I didn’t know this before, but the other day I was Googling “flat spots” because my daughter (Dylan’s age) had 2 one on each side of her dome. I read that letting babies sleep in swings makes them develop/become worse. See, I always put her in her swing for her 2 daily naps, crib for the night. Ooooops.

I say if Dylan’s head is pretty round then let sleeping dogs lie if it’s what gets you through or maybe stick his swing in his room near the crib to slowly transition.

I like meandering around Target, Ross, thrift shops + Sephora or having my husband pop my toes on the couch.

You know, simple shit.

Kalin
15 years ago

I cannot stop watching the second video. It’s… beautiful?

Because of this, I’m going to suggest that in order to relax you should go out and buy yourself some flesh-colored dancing shoes and put together an elaborate routine. Make sure to include a part where you break it down.

Mary Helen
Mary Helen
15 years ago

Massage. Pedicure. Wine (or maybe gin and tonic). A book I would actually get to read. And, of course, a nap. Mmmm…

H
H
15 years ago

Drink something tasty, watch an old movie, read a good book, and go for a long walk. While I love having a fresh haircut, I’m surprised so many people find the actual process of getting one’s hair cut so relaxing that they list it here. What is going on at the salons, people?!

Eileen
Eileen
15 years ago

Lady! I recommend because I know you’re a friend of it..an hour MASSAGE. It won’t command the afternoon so you don’t have to feel guilty not getting “other stuff” done. And OH it feels so good the way other me time doesn’t.

Go, go have your day!

Marcie
15 years ago

Go see ‘Burn After Reading’ with a bag of popcorn and a large diet coke. You’ll laugh out loud which is always good for the soul…

Pete
Pete
15 years ago

surf porn

Lesley
Lesley
15 years ago

Oh that Pete is so….male!

honeybecke
honeybecke
15 years ago

I’d go to thrift stores and/or to garage sales and find treasures aplenty.

I’d find the optimal route from my house to the Target that is opening soon (finally!) in our town. Then I’d drive through the parking lot looking at all the pretty red carts waiting for us. This is Momentous.

I’d start planning Girltrip 2010 for me and eight of my closest oldest friends. Hawaii? Cruise? Oh man, this is gonna be the shit.

I am so happy you got some alone time. Your in-laws are awesome.

anna
anna
15 years ago

Go home, make a giant yummy salad with all the yummiest freshest ingredients – match it with grilled salmon and eat it in piece, then go out to nearest coffee shop and get an espresso coffee and giant piece of choc mud cake, take it home and eat curled up in bed watching a great DVD.

anna
anna
15 years ago

See? I haven’t had peace in so long that I can’t even spell the darn word…

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