My day: Unplugged

So I hadn't intended on staying away from the blog all weekend, just an unplugged Friday. But this weekend was a crazy one, with an open house at the new house and me working (one of my many part time jobs) yesterday and then a birthday party for my MIL last night I just didn't have a spare moment. I hope you didn't miss me too much. You know I missed you. Honest I did.

So without further to do, I give you:
As proposed here.

Friday, May 29th: Unplugged.

So when Jodie first proposed this idea I thought she was crazy. Not that I let Maddy watch TV all day and of course I don't have a business to run or even a job to keep up with but I just didn't think a day unplugged would be as relaxing as she billed it to be. (See link above with her proposal.) And as much as I'd like to say I was wrong... that our day was as relaxing and rejuvenating as Jodie said it would be, it wasn't. I was exhausted (more so than normal) at the end of the day. And let me tell you why...

First thing in the morning I loaded Madeline into the car to meet some friends at the zoo.

Note her oh so happy face, (she is not a morning person, just like her momma!) milk in her left hand and breakfast waffle in her lap. We wasted no time getting out of the house so we could get to the zoo before 9am. (Between 8-9am a lot of the stuff you have to pay for at the zoo is free, ie the conservation carousel, the children's zoo and even the new sting ray exhibit.)

We took our first trip across the Hampton bridge. It was great, except no one in St. Louis seems to know how to use a round about.... this could be interesting.

When we got to the zoo we headed straight for the carousel.

Madeline rode a gorilla, until she decided the bear next to her would be a better choice.


We hung out with the giraffes.


Rode the train (again).


And had a banana (like a monkey) as a snack.


By this time we were pretty beat so we headed home and had lunch out on the deck.


Then I put Madeline down in her bed to take a nap. Until this point I had not missed my technology a bit. I was ok without a TV or computer... but as soon as she went down I panicked... see...


Ok, so I am being really dramatic here. My routine is that I put Madeline down and then I check my e-mails, blogs, etc. So what was I to do with two hours and no computer or Ellen?


Laundry. I didn't do ALL of this laundry during her nap, but I did fold about 1/2 of it... the other 1/2 had been done the night before by my lovely husband whom I adore.

So I tackled the play room.

Before

After

I didn't want to over do the photos, but there is another 1/2 to the playroom to the left of this angle that I also cleaned. Promise.
After Madeline woke up, the thought of letting her trash the room I had just cleaned made my skin curl so I devised a plan to get her out of the house. Our first trip to the POOL!!!!!

Since it is within walking distance (for me AND her!), and the weather was totally gorgeous I thought we'd just head on down.

There were no complaints from little miss either. That is until it was time to leave.

We came home, had a snack on the deck and then:

We weeded one of the gardens! I know, how thrilling! It was somewhat satisfying to be working in the garden. We have a lot of them at this house and I don't really have a green thumb.

After dinner and a visit from Granny and Poppy it was time for a bath and bed. The bath was eventful, but I don't have any photos of that. Let's just say it involved a disgusting deposit of something that shouldn't be found in a bathtub.... you're welcome.

After such a long day I decided to relax with a nice cold beer.

A Fitz's Root Beer of course.


Now let me say that it was a wonderful day. Both Madeline and I had a great time and I couldn't have asked for more fun packed into a day. I think all that fun is why I didn't get the relaxing benefits. If the day had been more low key, then I bet it would have been a lot more like Jodie proposed. Don't get me wrong, the day was not a bust and I would totally do it again, the exact same way! When we do this again, yes I said when, I think I will plan a more low key day.

Planning is the key word. I will plan more simple activities closer to home. Maybe an art project, or a trip to a local park and a picnic. That is for next time.

Thank you Jodie for this great idea! I can't wait to see what everyone else did for their day unplugged!

mg