When Julian and I walked into the house at 7 pm one day this week, Rookie Dad remarked that it was the first time in months that he got home from work to an empty house. I was happy for him. I thought he should have been laying on the couch, but we found him chopping vegetables. Oh well, we did our best.
The challenge is to pack up, hit the road with a friend, and stay out of the house until bedtime. Heather and I went on an awfully big adventure recently. We put both carseats in her car, packed in the boys, their snacks and various milk sources, and went out to do some random activities that have already been suggested on this web site. We put the boys in a photo booth and as you can see on the left, we struggled to keep them both in the frame.
Note: If you are going to try this one, allow yourself half an hour to deal with the carseat adjustments the first time. The second time we did it, it took less than ten minutes.
In our excitement over being in one car together, we both forgot to bring our strollers, so we rented them at a mall. Yes, we felt like superfreaks with these bumper-car strollers, but the boys were happy.
Part of the adventure is discovering what you have forgotten to bring and making a scavenger hunt out of finding a solution.
You may feel like a freak with the bumper cars now, but later they will make a horrific trip to the mall san help so much easier. My 3yos stroller was lost some time ago and he outgrew the umbrella stroller, not a problem when Daddy is with us but horrible otherwise. I will gladly pay the four dollars to rent one and listen to Vrooom vrooom rather than subject the rest of the mall to get back over here or a lockdown when he disapears.
great idea, just to mix it up a little. sometimes the kids, and moms!, get so sick of the ordinary. and this can be such a relief for dads to come home to peace and quiet and just be. good tip.