Not everyone has the adventurous … or spontaneous gene. I get it. If you’re Type A, you most likely thrive on set schedules, routines and plans. Messing with your baby’s nap schedule gives you anxiety, and your bedtimes are set in stone. I’m not a Type A personality, but when it comes to my kids, I find myself often struggling to go “off schedule,” especially when it comes to their sleep (which equals my sanity!) However, I love spur-of-the-moment spontanaity! It keeps life exciting, and it doesn’t have to be big like deciding at 9pm on a Friday that you should hop in the car with your hubby and friends and roadtrip to Las Vegas (yep, we did that pre-kids … we did a lot of things pre-kids!) It can be small, simple things that spice up the mundane … and I truly believe it’s these things that can create lasting memories for your kids. Still not sold? Work your way up. Start with something small, like I did, and hop in the car in your jammies first thing in the morning to go buy pink sprinkle donuts. Take a bunch of pictures, pour some milk and indulge! Drive your kids to go get a tasty treat right after school. Blow up a bunch of balloons and play with them even if it’s nobody’s birthday. Run the sprinklers on a hot day and let your kids run wild in their undies. Turn up the music in the house and have a dance party. See what I mean? Some of these things don’t cost a dime, but they are so fun!
Interested in doing something a little bigger? Pick up your kids early from school (or just play hooky all day!) and go somewhere fun like an amusement park or the beach. Let your kids build a fort in the livingroom to sleep in, complete with popcorn and spooky stories. Camp in your backyard, redecorate your child’s room (together of course; awesome for an older kid!) or order in dinner and have a picnic in the living room.
As a teacher, my students absolutely adored any spontanaity in our routine. Structure and consistency are important in the classroom, but sometimes changing things up and having some fun is just what everyone needs. And I do think those are the things my students remember about being in my class.
Finding ways to create lasting memories for your kids is totally worth any effort, wouldn’t you agree? What is something spontaneous you’ve done with your kids or plan to do? Drop me a comment below!
xoxo,
Heidi
We ordered pizza tonight and ate it on the floor in the living room while watching part of Finding Dory (skipping any part that was not brightly colored as well as all those containing the sea lions, per Hannah’s requests (demands). We’ve done it a handful of times before, but not often, so she gets SO EXCITED when we have pizza movie night!