Are your kids getting as stir crazy as mine are lately?

The weather, people being sick, trying to stay away from people who are sick…  It’s been keeping us home a bit more than usual, and let’s just say some days the house is NOT big enough for me and the two kids.

Some times you just need something new and different to break up the monotony.

A couple days ago I brought up two of the empty Christmas wrapping paper tubes and left them in the living room.  They have been used as super long telescopes, pretend stilts, and for a brief period, swords.  Of course, eventually I found them doing something like this with them:

I helped them out a bit with some duct tape and the use of the toy shopping cart for support, and they spent a good 30 minutes just sending car after car down the tunnel.

When that got boring, we put a box at the end to see how many cars they could each get to land in the box.

Then next day, while they were playing downstairs, I decided to take it to a whole new level.

I cut a slit in the tubes and used some masking tape to adhere the tubes to the space where the stairs meet the wall.  (The slit was to make getting any stuck cars easier to get out and I chose masking tape so it wouldn’t damage the paint.)  Once I saw that my idea was going to work, I grabbed one more tube and cut it in half length-wise, enabling our “track” to go the full length of the stairs.

I have to say this simple idea was a huge hit with both of them!

They spent a long time sending car after car down the stairs to the folded towel “landing zone” at the bottom. 

Since the tube really isn’t taking up any walking space on our stairs, I’ve decided to leave it up for a while.  Who knows, it might get jazzed up with some color or paper flames.  I’m even toying with creating a fun way to bring the cars back up the stairs….

Have you tried anything new to keep the kids busy lately?

Shared on Milk and Cuddles,

The post Keeping the Kids Busy with Wrapping Paper Tubes first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

This was one of those times.

The other day the kids and I headed out to the shade of the driveway to wait for their daddy to get home from work.  I suggested filling up the water table for them to play in.  The 3 year-old grabbed a few cars and said, “Sand in the water table.”

Sure, we could put sand in half of the water table, no problem!  I took a bucket and scooped out some sand from the sandbox in the backyard and filled the shallow half of the water table.  Then I got the hose to fill the other side with water.

Sand and water – what kid wouldn’t love that?  Especially a little boy!

Well, sand in a water table is NOT going to stay dry.

And evidently wet sand was NOT in this preschooler’s master plan.

First he got upset when his sister dribbled a little water from a toy onto the sand.  We worked it out where she would play in that spot of sand and he would get the dry area.

Then the dog dared to get a drink (just as I snapped a picture of my “happy” kids).

Well, that was the last straw.

“Bad dog!  Don’t like the dog!  Her got the sand messy!!!!!”

There was no consoling him.  No reasoning about how sand in the water table is going to get wet, no matter how careful you are…

After a good 10 minutes, I finally decided we needed to stop focussing on playing with the cars in the sand.  Maybe if the goal was to mix the sand and water???

Mud pies!

That HAD to be a hit, right?

I went inside and got a couple pans, spoons, and plates from the play kitchen.  The bucket we use to wash the car got flipped over and became a stove.   Peanut started cooking right away!

Her brother?

He continued to sulk over his wet sand, getting a little more upset that now big sister was taking it to mix with water – the horrors!

I opted to ignore the drama and ordered a mud pie, to which Peanut happily delivered.

And you know what?  Eventually the little stinker got interested.  Oh, he never went into full baking mode, but he did experiment…

…and the drama stopped.

And sometimes that’s all you can ask for.

The post The Drama of Mud Pies first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

I love Saturdays.

That’s the day my husband usually gets up and makes chocolate chip pancakes with the little ones.  That means, of course, that there is no rush for me to get out of bed to feed 2 starving little ones.

Today was no exception.

Even better, after breakfast we all lazed around as a family and let the kids lead us into a world of imagination.  Somehow my husband fit himself into the little Dora pop-up play house with the preschooler and toddler.  Stuffed animals filled any spaces that remained.  Mommy got to play “the big bad wolf” a few times, giggles filled the air.Of course, by the time I found the camera, the cuteness was gone.  All that remained was the pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals they had filled the pop-up house with.  But the memory, that is something I am thankful to have shared with my family.

It’s moments like this that are priceless to me.

The laundry?  The yardwork?  It can wait.  Little ones grow up way too fast.

Have a great weekend, and cherish all those little moments!

The post Enjoying Those Little Moments first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

But then I heard the Play-Doh calling my name.  Actually, it was screaming, all because of this book:

It was almost too easy to think of what we could do to bring this book alive.

We have literally read Making Tracks (Tonka) a thousand times — Woe to those who miss or change a word when reading it to the little guy.

Now we had used construction vehicles to mess around in Play-Doh before, but when I collected the trucks and cars with the deepest treads on their itty-bitty tires and suggested we make our own tracks, Monkey got excited.  I mean, REAL excited.

We had lots of fun comparing truck treads and their tire marks in the Play-Doh.

And if you’re making tracks with trucks, what better way to roll out the Play-Doh than with a road roller?

How have you made a book “come to life” for your little ones?

Linked up at JDaniel4’sMom and Mommy’s Adventures

The post Making Tracks first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

The kids have been waiting all winter for snow.  We had a slight dusting a week or so ago, and yes, I pulled them in the sled on the barely snow-covered muddy grass that day…

We’ve made paper snowmen and cotton ball snowmen, just waiting for the day we might be able to make a real snowman outside.

The weathermen predicted snow for today, so yesterday the kids searched for hidden snowflakes while they painted.  Super easy to do – I just drew a bunch of snowflakes, and even a snowman, with white crayon on white paper.  Then they used their water color paint to “find” the hidden snowflakes.

We woke today to some snow on the grass and howling winds.  It’s way too windy to go out and play today, so I’m getting creative and bringing the theme of snow into the house today.  I surprised the kids with an indoor “snowball” fight.

The result?

Lots of giggles and they took refuge in Monkey’s closet…

For our morning snack I made banana slice snowmen, complete with raisin eyes and pretzel arms.

I can’t wait until our edible snowman craft after lunch time….  I’ll be sure to share our creations with you soon!

Until then, stay warm and have a little indoor winter fun!

The post Snow Day! first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.