…Bringing in 2021

We made it to another year!

Don’t come in here acting up, now 2021!

Like most [smart, sensible] folks, I stayed home with my little person because I didn’t have another [safe] means to escape her. And being that we are on Winter Break from school, I wanted to do something with her to bring in the year.

For the past 2 weeks, I have been actively avoiding Ky and hiding. Don’t feel too badly for her; she’s been able to stay up under her Gigi or hide in her room with her new toys and TV. But then that damn ole mommy guilt set in and I started surfing through Pinterest for ideas.

Nothing seemed to stand out.

My friend casually told me of an idea she had did with her little person. Every hour our so they did a different activity until it was time to ring in the new year.

Obviously I wasn’t typing I the right stuff on Pinterest…

Anyway, I came up with a list for Ky and I…

6p Color by Number Worksheet

7p Interview

8p Vision Board

9p Game (of her choice)

10p How to Draw (her choice)

1045p Making pudding & cookies

1145p Dance Party

12a Cheers with milk and wine to 2021

Planning

If you’ve been following my journey, you know that I rarely plan anything (birthday parties, gatherings, sleepovers, etc.). It’s absolutely my least favorite thing to do; ESPECIALLY with Ky. She gets really antsy to do the next thing, rushes through everything, asks me a BILLION questions…all in all, she becomes A LOT.

So in planning for the evening, I decided to start later [especially since we’ve been all going to bed at 3a, 4a, & 5a]. I also wanted to keep in mind that I can only be patient for but so long before anything becomes unenjoyable for both of us.

When I made the list I thought of things Ky and I both like to do: draw, games, sweets; but I also wanted to tap into something I wanted to cover as well (i.e. our vision boards and her interview video).

The Evening

One thing I have understood about motherhood is my little person LOVES doing things with me. Doesn’t matter what it is, Ky just wants to spend time with me and have my undivided attention. I’ve also realized how difficult for me because I like to keep busy and I’m usually focusing on multiple things or my brain is running down all the parts of my life at once. Having to focus and be patient with her was my goal. Having fun was mine for her.

If you noticed, we got through 5 out of the 8ish activities– ringing in the New Year wasn’t pictured because she became a lot by then!– which I’m still hella proud about! Planning AND getting more than half of the list completed?!

I gave Ky the choice in what coloring sheets, drawing, and snack she wanted to do; that way she at least had a say in our plans. However, as we did the activities, Ky would try to rush through everything [as expected] and we started running out of time.

….and I may or may not have felt a bit overwhelmed with all the talking she was doing and my massive need to take multiple breaks…

Still we had a decent time. And like the teacher I am, I asked Ky for feedback on the activities she would like to do again or anything else she was wanting to try.

Moving Forward

I actually enjoyed putting something together for Ky and I. It’s something I think was good for me in knowing that I CAN do this. Winters have always been trying for me; the motivation to do anything just isn’t there. To have a kid like Ky would needs to go out, do something, be around people…is probably the exact reason I was blessed with her. She forces me to get out of my moods–even when I just can’t. However I hopeful that in 2021 we’ll have more days like this one. So much so that my goal is to make it a thing for us at least once a month: pick a weekend and just schedule things for us to do–with her feedback in mind of course. Nothing time consuming or energy draining. Just enough for us to spend time together and she have my attention.

Felt like I was really mommying hard into the new year. Just want to keep that same energy all 2021…

-Ash