Pages

Friday, May 20, 2011

Share From Your Arsenal...seriously, share.

My last post was a lamentation of the weather and my ability to be an effective/awesome Mom while the weather keeps us indoors. And might I add, without spending oodles of money entertaining ourselves... which I am fully capable of, mind you. I mean, who doesn't LOVE to use the weather as an excuse to go the  Mall and drop some kizza$h on a sweet new outfit you can only wear when the sun comes back out.

Anywho...

My dear friend Kay suggested I create a blanket fort for Lucas. Amazing idea!  I started small and just set up the couch cushions with the ottoman, creating a tunnel. In my attempt to show Lucas how great it is to hide underneath, he decided he'd rather climb on top. Of course. Because I can't take this kid anywhere without him trying to climb on chair, bookshelf, big kids play-structure (and my heart falls through my chest as I envision him falling to his death) or anything climbable, really.

So in spite of things not going the way I had planned, he was still occupied for a long time... while laughing and being creative... to my delight. Win, win, if you ask me.


It occurred to me that I should have an arsenal of "good ideas" to keep in my head for days like these. Why not pool some ideas from my amazing Mom friends? Shoot! What type of toddler activities do you initiate in your home to keep the little rascals from watching too much tv or whining your ears off? Do share.

6 comments:

  1. I always like pulling out the play dough. It can be rough easing in as eating it is tempting for toddlers. But it's entertaining enough in short doses that even mom can play too (thus monitoring the eating factor) and makingit is easy peasy so eating some isn't the end of the world.

    Having a few focusing toys (puzzles, bean bags, blocks) that only get pulled out on occasion is good sometimes. Some bean bags and a small box can be endless hysteria once they get the idea to throw the bags in the box.

    Hmmm....I've got to have more ideas, I'll be thinking about it for ya!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How old is Lucas now? One of my girls' favorite things to do is bake with me. I think I started both of them shortly after their 2nd birthdays standing on a chair watching the mixer go around, dumping in ingredients, etc. It is messy but they loooooove it. I need to start having Grace do things like break eggs and whatnot...

    ReplyDelete
  3. My boys are all about making couch pillow forts...and then running and jumping and destroying them. Over and over and over. Also, they love the traditional pasttime of playing drums on pots, pans and metal bowls. It's pretty irritating at first, but then you just deal with it while you have 10 free minutes to work on dinner. :) Oh - another oldie but goodie: Get a big box, cut a door and a small window (to peek out of) in it, put it on the floor. No joke. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad I could help! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Are there any indoor play structures in your area? When the weather is bad, I occasionally take Liam to Washington Square to play in the kids area. We also walk around the mall.

    Leave the money or card in the card and you won't spend anything ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I acutually used a large box when Steve and Mike were little, the bigger the better, cut a door and a couple of windows, it's a fort,its cheap, you can recycle it later, and kids well spend hours going in and out and with a blanket, snacks, toys, etc.

    ReplyDelete