Guidelines for a Stay-Homer's Sanity - Part 8

-Disclaimer:  These are *Geoffrey Rush's Barbosa voice* "more guidelines than actual rules" and they are what I think will work best for our family.  Every family is different and so take these with a proverbial grain of salt.  To each mommy their own!-

As a homemaker, obviously most of your days are spent in your home, which can lead to a serious case of cabin fever, regardless of the season!  For the sake of sanity, get out and about as often as you feel is necessary.

On an everyday basis, you won't be able to just go and lark about by yourself.  The little ones have to be involved, so that puts a dampener on the fun and interesting things you could do out of the house, right?  Nope!  Planned outings, either with just you and the little or as a whole family when Daddy is home on the weekend, can be a great way to break up the dull-drums of everyday home life.

We live in a rural area that obviously doesn't provide many children's public activities.  However, luckily, we are only about a half hour from two bigger cities that, like most metropolitan areas, offer all kinds of publicly and privately funded events.  (Think carnivals, the circus, stroller-walks, etc.)  There are also tons of public education classes for adults and children of any age, both together or separated.

Don't despair if you can't find (or necessarily afford, I know how tight a budget can be with only one working parent!) any of the more elaborate events I mentioned.  There are tons of things you can do for anytime and on almost any budget:  Go for a drive.  Run errands (it's gotta be done, right?).  Go for a walk.  Take the stroller to the mall and just window shop.  Make play dates or just have lunch with a friend.  It doesn't matter much what the activity is, only that you're taking in a change of scenery which will make you happier, healthier person when you return home.