Like almost every other appliance in the house, our washing machine decided to break down last week. The other morning we were finally able to get a repair guy out to take a look. Of course they never give you an actual time they will show up! They simply say I will be there in the morning and call when were are 20 minutes out.
There I was confined to our house with a toddler & a baby. I asked myself the same question I have asked 5,067 other times, "What do we do?" Pj (Payton) is still in the stage where she either sleeps or eats with a little play in between. No brainer for her.
I look down at sweet (*cough *) little Knox's face to see it has "entertain me" written all over it. Sigh! I should probably tell you that my parenting style usually involves a lot of independent play for him. I definitely make sure he and I get some one on one time, but for most of the day he plays by himself. Lately though he wants me to entertain him or let him watch "choo-choo" aka Thomas the Train.
Seen as how we didn't have much else to do I decided to break out the paint. We had a lot of fun for all of 8 min. and then he was done. He had painted several pictures, but got bored very quick. Here is some of his lovely artwork.
I feel like I am at a standstill with how to help Knox find activates to do. Of course there is TV and iPad, but I am trying to limit the time with electronics. For the first couple of months (ok, I will be honest the first 6 months) of Pj's life I did what I had to do to survive. That involved a lot of time in front of the TV or playing on the iPad. I do not for one second feel guilty, but now that we have a routine going I would like change that.
I will be turning to the O so many pins I have pinned on Pinterest. I am ALWAYS open to suggestion, in fact I beg for family and friends inform me of any activities you have found fun and helpful throughout the day! To be specific I am looking for things to entertain Knox while we are at home. We have plenty of play dates and fun things to do outside the house, but we can't go out EVERYDAY! Being on a budget doesn't always allow for us to travel elsewhere. Even if these activities are free, the gas to get to said activity is not :)
Follow me along as I try to figure out if I am crazy or not to try plan activates for a toddler to do!
** Disclaimer: In no way do I base how many activities I have planned for the kids as a guide for how I am doing as a mom. I have known other moms who beat themselves up for not having made a craft or gone on a fun adventure that week. That's not how I roll ;) It is an area I can use improvement on, but I will not be anxious or worried if nothing really changes. So, if you never see another blog post about this again just know more important stuff came up! I will be making an effort though.
What are some of your favorite activities to do with your kiddos?
Does it work best in your house to have planned activities or just roll with the punches?
What is a fun alternative to TV!!??
2 comments:
We do a little of both planned activities and roll with the punches. There are a lot of fun things on Pinterest, but when I need a last-minute activity I find a lot of them require too much prep. Stacey and I actually got together one day this summer and put together a few activities for the kiddos. Some were summer fun things to do together (ice chalk, toddler paint, moon sand, etc.), and some were more independent-play based as "take home" activities (mostly for Drew). I made Drew some little felt "pizzas" (or cookies, or tacos, depending on his mood) that I keep in a small wipes container and can pull out and he has fun "cooking" (based on this http://pinterest.com/pin/107101297361221915/). I also bought a cheap colander, pipe cleaners, and beads for him to play with (http://pinterest.com/pin/107101297361224446/). I put it all in a plastic storage bin along with an egg carton and he has a blast organizing the beads, putting them on the pipe cleaners, and wiring pipe cleaners through the colander. WARNING: we can't seem to keep the beads contained well, and now that James is mobile you can guess where I keep finding beads! I'm working on putting together some fun pom pom activities (http://pinterest.com/pin/107101297361222047/). I used to LOVE messy play, but not so much now that I have two. I used to like to let him play with noodles, or flour, or paint, or..... but now it's just a pain trying to keep it contained then trying to clean it all up. :P I also do not base my merit as a mother on the number of activities we do each week, but they are great to have around during those times that you need a "minute". I had a friend tell me I must be such a cool mom because I post pictures of such fun things that I do with Drew and I told her, "it's really more selfish than anything! It buys ME time!!". Sometimes I think I do it more for me than for Drew. :P
P.S. Before even reading this post I saw a cool idea to have a "busy bag" swap party. Each person makes an activity that can be kept in a small bag, and makes enough for herself and each person at the party, then at the party everyone swaps bags so you come home with your own activity plus however many others are involved. I totally think I'm going to plan one, so I'll definitely make sure you're in on it!
P.P.S. iPad and Super Why/Sesame Street were our BEST friends for the first little bit with James too and I don't feel guilty one bit either, but also trying to move away from that again.
Thanks for the great ideas. Yes, I totally agree, I need these activities more for me!! Today was crazy and instead of Knox playing with his toys, he climbed everything. I will be trying some of these, and I think a "busy bag" party is a great idea!
Post a Comment