Leave it to Beaver... I mean Bonni

Bonni is a modern day June Cleaver; the quintessential ‘stay-at-home’ mom of the 21st century. She says, with two little kids, her Petunia Picklebottom diaper bag has morphed from a bag with toys and “just in case” items, to a bag filled with necessities.
June Cleaver always had a warm plate of cookies for Beaver when he came home from school; similarly Bonni always has a Ziploc full of tasty treats.
In addition to keeping her kids physically well nourished, Bonni helps her little ones to a full portion of culture, fun and stimulation.
“I view being a full-time mom as a full-time job,” Bonni says. She suggests being a great full-time mom is similar to being a great employee. The difference, Bonni says, is effective motherhood takes more self-motivation. “You are your own boss when you are a stay-at-home mom. If you don’t actively plan stimulating things for your kids to participate in, no one else is going to do it for you.”
And Bonni practices what she preaches. She plans trips to the zoo, museum, park, library and a myriad of other outings. “I don’t want to over program my kids, so I plan everything in my phone. Once an activity is scheduled in my phone planner, I can make sure to balance the days events so the kids don’t get over stimulated.”
Bonni lovingly calls her pda cell phone her ‘brain’ and reiterates the adage: “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
The kids aren’t the only ones who benefit from getting out of the house. “I love museums and parks,” Bonni says. “I enjoy all the outings we go on. In fact, I’ve noticed on days when we don’t have plans, I tend to get more easily frustrated and the kids end up bored and frustrated too.”
For Bonni’s and her kids, morning are usually the best time to get out of the house; the kids are happy, everyone has energy and they have the best probability of making it through the scheduled event. “I still have to manage my expectations,” Bonni says. “If we are at a venue and there is a breakdown, we change gears and do something else.”
If you are not in the habit of taking kids on outings, be patient with yourself and children, Bonni advises. “Over time, they’ll start to enjoy museums as much as parks,” Bonni says. “Often getting out and learning to be in different social settings takes practice and getting used to. The more you do it, the easier it will become for everyone.”

Here are some practical planning and scheduling suggestions:
Keep and use a day-planner.
Consult your planner when someone invites you to do something… this will help you not accidentally double book.
Schedule time for everyday activities, like grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning. Bonni says that planning these activities into her schedule helps her not stress about when she’ll have time to grocery shop ~ she’s already scheduled it in to her plans.
Balance your days; if you go out in the morning, schedule a low-key activity in the afternoon.
Balance your weeks; if you have a totally full day on Tuesday, make sure Wednesday’s schedule is light. Give yourself and children time to decompress and recoup.
Don’t be afraid to say “no” to activities if you don’t have time or don’t think they are appropriate.
Plan activities you AND your children enjoy. “If you don’t like museums,” Bonni says, “go to the beach and collect sea-shells.”
Bonni says the key to planning is balance. “Writing down what we’ve got planned allows me to make sure we have a balanced schedule and variety of enriching activities to do together.”