For nursing home visits - they will LOVE seeing the baby!

But, keep in mind that contagion of minor illnesses from kids to nursing home residents (especially those who are ill or very frail) can be life-threatening, so be ultra-cautious about sniffles.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

Yes, my parent's and the rest of the residents LOVE seeing our children and they can't wait to meet my new grandbaby this week when we bring our daughter down. The other thing I would be careful about is how young your baby is when you bring him out to all the places you are thinking of going to. My dd's pediatrician told her not to bring him anywhere for 1 month.
She has had to go to the grocery store, and has tried planning that around times her hubby has been home, or just made sure to keep his carseat/carrier covered so he doesn't get exposed to the germs. People in nursing homes still get colds and other viral infections.

I've never heard not to take the baby anywhere for the first month. We took ours everywhere, lol. But, yeah, I think I will definitely be leaving the kids home with their dad when I go shopping, or at least the baby. It's bad enough going with two, three is where I draw the line, lol. We will be careful to keep him away from sick people, too. The nursing home and stuff won't be right away. It will pretty much just be church and I will be careful of germs there, too.

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Mom to Christian (13), Saphira (10), Xavier (5), and Adrian (2).

Following the Biblical practice, our babies aren't supposed to even go to Church for their first 40 days. We didn't go much of anywhere during that time (except dr, pharmacy, that sort of thing). It's amazing how long it takes modern science to catch up with the Bible sometimes.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

I fully agree with Tory. If you over run yourself every area suffers. Quality is better than quantity. I do know where you are coming from. I'm a seeker, a planner. I love to discover and search out cool things but when it comes down to it, I don't enjoy being busy or having something to do everyday. Even my girls like their down time. I found when we were too busy the more important things suffered. I'm also very indecisive. Praying you make the best decision for your crew!

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“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
― Mother Teresa

So, should I not do the Cub Scouts? I'll feel like a horrible mom if I don't! The thing is, I can be a hermit, and while I don't want to be out every day, I don't want to be a hermit, either, or have my kids be hermits.

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Mom to Christian (13), Saphira (10), Xavier (5), and Adrian (2).

Well, it's YOUR choice! I don't think anyone is saying what you have to do. And, by all means, if our suggestions don't fit your life - well, don't take 'em! ; )

Our view of the 40 days is that it not only protects the baby for a while, but also gives the *family* time to get to know each other and form a bond with each other before adding a lot of other people to the mix. Developing a *relationship* between family members - not only Mom & Baby, And Dad & Baby, but also between siblings takes priority during that time over other obligations.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

My ds's did cub scouts, but we didn't do anything else. DD was too little and she went with us and became a mascot of sorts, lol! She was even in the parade and passed out candy.
We didn't do anything else during that time, though, other than story time at the library once a week, and the cub scouts was once a week.. so that was twice a week we were going out.
You can do whatever you want, just don't get overwhelmed. Don't try to do cub scouts, AND three other activities each week, for instance.
I knew a lady that had twins and a dd that was a year older than her twins, they went some where every single day. Not kidding... they were up, dressed, and out of the house by 7 am every day. I do not know how she did that!!
I tend to be a hermit, too, so I do know where you are coming from. We can't keep ourselves at home and our dc at home all the time. So.. pick the things you are really passionate about doing and do those, but you don't have to do them all at once. YOu can spread them out over the year.
For instance, when my dc had swimming lessons, that was twice a week and we did NOTHING else for that time. Once swimming lessons were over, we would join the home school group for park day once a week. So you balance it out.. not too much at once, but also not staying home all the time either.

Ok, I think I have it figured out what we will do. I did get some info on the Cub Scouts and am happy that the cost is not very high at all. They even said that for the camping trips in spring and fall, they have plenty of extra equipment, so they don't want money to be the reason a family doesn't go. And for other activities throughout the year, the cost won't be more than $12 total for the whole year. So, that's good. As far as time commitment, it looks like the Den meetings are twice a month, instead of weekly like I thought they would be. So that makes it a little easier for us.

Dd really wants to do gymnastics and it's something I think she would be very good at. I found out that their homeschool discount makes it very affordable, so she will do that once a week. It's on the same day as park/library day and I already have that whole day scheduled as an activity/non-school day. So, between that one day and ds's scouts every two weeks, I think it shouldn't be overwhelming.

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Mom to Christian (13), Saphira (10), Xavier (5), and Adrian (2).

That sounds like a great plan and very doable even with the new baby coming.