Since Mark has started back at school, I have had a lot of time to spend with just Kaylie and myself. I unfortunately don’t get to see Mark much, but we’ve been keeping ourselves busy so we don’t go crazy. Here are a few of the fun things we’ve been up to here in Ann Arbor:
1 – Dinner Group
I love our dinner group! We heard about this idea from a few 2nd year MBA wives, and so a few of us 1st year MBA wives decided to give it a try. We all noticed pretty quickly that it is hard to motivate yourself to cook dinner when your husband isn’t home to eat it with you. And it can get depressing just eating by yourself all the time when you do make food. With the dinner group though, you have people to cook for, and you have people to see in those evening hours when your husband is still at school. Here is how it works…There are 3 of us in our group right now (we’re looking for a 4th), and we each cook one day a week. My friend Abby cooks on Monday, I cook on Tuesday, and my friend Sarah cooks on Wednesday. When I cook on Tuesday, I make enough food for my family and the other 2 (which isn’t too bad – basically doubling a recipe). And then Abby and Sarah come by my house to pick it up. (We usually stay and chat with each other for a while too, and let the kids play for a little bit.) On Monday and Wednesday, I get to go to each of their houses and pick up the food they made. It is awesome! I feel like I am trick-or-treating each week, but I get real food! I love it! And it gives you something to look forward to in the evening, which is a big plus! AND, you don’t have to cook/clean up dishes as much during the week, which I’m happy about. J
2 – Volleyball Night
Every Wednesday night (after the kiddies are asleep), a group of girls from church get together and play Volleyball. It is so much fun! A lot of people come out and play, and it’s cool because everyone plays pretty good. Most of the girls played in high school, and a few of them are REALLY good, so it makes everyone try to play better and get good games going. (I never played in high school, but it has been fun learning new things, and just practicing to get better.) We play until about 11pm, and we are all so tired and sore the next day. But it is worth it! J
3 – Morning Out
Another fun thing that we do through church is called Morning Out. Every Wednesday morning (and sometimes additional days in the week), there is a designated spot that moms and all the kids meet up at to play and hang out. When we first moved here and it was still warm outside, we would meet at different parks each week. Now that it is getting colder, the spot varies…sometimes we meet at someone’s house, other times at the mall play area, or at the library. But it’s nice to have a play date set up each week where we can go and have fun, and know there will be fun people to hang out with.
4 – Library Playgroup
There is a library close to my apartment, and there are playgroups available for kids 0-2 years old at different times during the day and evening. Kaylie and I go to a playgroup every Thursday night, along with a friend who has a 7-month old boy. The playgroup consists of singing time (which Kaylie loves – she loves to shake all the bells and watch the teacher singing), and play time (which Kaylie also loves – there is a little pool filled with balls that she likes to play with). It’s a fun evening outing, and we look forward to it every week.
We’ve been trying to keep ourselves busy, and are grateful that they are a lot of people in the same boat so we have friends to hang out with. I hope all of you are keeping busy and having fun too!
