Leap Day is Bonus Day
Let’s get some fundamentals truths out of the way.
- Being a parent can be hard
- Being an adult can be hard
- Being a kid can be hard
- Being a human can be hard
Here’s a little secret….. It doesn’t have to be! It can be so easy at any stage of life to get bogged down with life. All of the responsibilities and just stuff that comes with that. February is a hard month, not winter, not yet spring. It is a grey time in need of a burst of joyful brightness! Congrats! You are that brightness! You can be the light at the end of the month. You can brighten the lives of your kiddos, your spouse and maybe most importantly yourself!
Enter: LEAP DAY!
We get a glorious chance once every 4 years for an entirely bonus day! This is the season of tiny wins folks. I can not stress enough how just a simple good can pull anyone out of a slump. I personally will look for any reason to celebrate. I love a theme and I especially love encouraging my girls to make a huge to-do about the average things in life. I feel like one day they will look back and remember the completely wonderful way that we went over the top for the regular things because fun and smiles are great rewards. Research has told me that Leap Day is a necessary corrective measure. Every year the Earth actually takes 365 days + 6 hours to fully orbit the sun. Using the Gregorian of 365 days doesn’t account for this extra half dozen hours a year. As a correction, every 4 years we get to add a day to the end of our shortest month. This results in February 29th making it onto the calendar. There are extra requirements like only in years that are divisible by 100, but not by 400. However, I am sticking with the nice and simple, every 4 years. Probably goes without saying, but I am going to cover my bases. An extra 6 hours adds up to an extra 24 hours every 4 years, 24 hours in a day, extra day! Fortunately, this Leap Year falls on a Saturday and we (GASP!!!) have nothing on the books. We get the glorious and amazing ability to really feed into this bonus day. Bonus weekend really, because we are plan free and will be enjoying all the family time.
What we are doing:
Plans: Friday Night: After dance class, of course Have dinner, probably leftovers Get Clean and wear our Family Jammies (matching jams from Christmas that our toddler is obsessed with having us all wear) Start a great movie marathon or at least catch up on a show Saturday: Leap Day Get up before the crack of dawn ( I know, crazy!) Drive 1.15 hours to Galveston Watch the sun rise from the beach (the girls love this!) Catch breakfast (if it’s in the budget, if not bring breakfast snacks) Head to Moody Gardens ( we are pass holders) Enjoy the attractions Head out about late lunch time (again brown bag) Drive home and have pizzas for dinner Get clean, family jammies Continue Movie Marathon Girls have sleepover Sunday: Lazy Catch Up Day Get up late and catch up on all the things Prep homeschool for the next week Talk money for February and March Bed early to be ready for the week ahead Being able to celebrate the small is great for us. Being able to do that while spending small is even better! There are a ton of ways we do things while saving money. We will take our snacks, waters, and meals with us. We have the girls make some DIY decorations to commemorate the event which helps to get them excited.
Running Special Offers
There are also many places running specials for the day. I will include a few here:
Moody Gardens is offering 2 attraction tickets for $29 https://tickets.moodygardens.com/webstore/shop/viewItems.aspx?cg=TI&c=DayPasses Scroll to the bottom and click “Leap Day Deal”
Fort Bend County Library is hosting a murder mystery! https://www.fortbend.lib.tx.us/event/leap-murder-leap-day-murder-mystery
iFly is offering 29% off https://www.iflyworld.com/leap-day/
Houston Fast Track is offering 1 free ride http://www.houstonfasttrack.com/monthly_coupons_feb-coupon_5_leap_day.htm
Houston Humane Society is having a Love Your Pets Kids Fest https://www.houstonhumane.org/events/calendar/love-your-pet-kids-fest-a-leap-day-celebration
As a family, I just love to make something out of nothing. I have been talking up bonus day for over a week and have asked my kiddos to help plan. As always, getting the kids involved helps to pump them up. Therefore pumping you up. A little bit of excitement and a reason to celebrate are really all you need to add some extra magic to everyday! Sometimes all any of us need is a bonus day!
How Leap Day Actually Went: http://makingeverydaymagic.com/leap-day-did-not-go-as-planned/