Winter Blues

It’s been cold here.  Really cold.  Usually we bundle up and persevere in our walks and outings – through rain, cold, or whatever.  But not the last two weeks.  It’s been in the 20s and windy.  And since it takes a lot of effort for me to get out these days anyways…and since our new house is a little farther from any of our stops…we’ve been stuck. Inside.  Going crazy.

I’ve been trying to do activities with the kids to break up the monotony of princess dress-ups and train tracks.  I printed off a snow man tot pack and we’ve been doing crafts and such around the winter/snowman theme.  Here’s a peek into our efforts to bust the winter blues.

:: Snow Man Tot Pack – I downloaded two different ones (3Dinosaurs and Royal Baloo).  Elaine is doing pre-writing practice and cutting practice, as well as matching games, coloring sheets, and puzzles.

:: Baking – We made a new kind of cookie with ingredients we had on hand – Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.  Then, of course, we tested them while they were warm, accompanied by mugs o’ milk.

Nolan just dunks his cookie until it no longer holds together.  Then he eats a non-dunked cookie.  We need to work on his technique!

:: Fruity Play Dough – I’ve shared this recipe with you before.  It makes the best play dough!  I don’t keep mine in the fridge, though.

:: Extended Bath Time – the have-a-tea-party-and-wear-shaving-cream-beards-until-the-water-is-cold kind of bath.  My kids love bath time.  Lately it has been rushed because we’ve had some late nights.  So one day I delayed it until the next morning and let them play until they were prunes.

:: Indoor Snowmen – If it’s going to be 20 degrees, then there needs to be snow with it!  In keeping with our Snowman theme, I found a recipe on Pinterest for making snow.  The best part is that it’s reusable.  My kids had a blast.  It was by far some of the best $5 I’ve spent yet.  I’ll share more on it tomorrow, because I have a couple of tips to make it easier {in case you want to make your own}.

:: Painting – Elaine is really into paint right now.  A couple of weeks ago we invested in water colors and washable paint.  I just printed some coloring sheets online and let her go at it.  Today we are planning to make puffy paint for our snowmen.

  
I thought Elaine did well on her rainbow with minimal help!

:: Glitter Art – One of my friends is a kindergarten teacher and has posted some great pictures of her classroom activities.  I stole one and let the kids make snowmen.  I covered the whole snowman in glue, then let them add glitter and craft odds ‘n’ ends until they were happy.  They still run to the fridge and pull it off to show anyone who comes to our house {whether in person or virtually}.

Nolan’s pictures.  He enjoyed the glitter, not so much on the coloring!  We ended this craft with a trip to the ER!  While I was helping Elaine in the bathroom, Nolan got into my Zantac and got it open.  We don’t know for sure how many he swallowed, but I pulled 5 or so out of his mouth…almost dissolved.  Poison Control directed us to the ER, where he received a charcoal treatment and four hours of observation. He is fine and never got sick.

:: Movie Date – We all sat down and watched an afternoon movie, complete with popcorn.  The kids loved it.  We also had a movie night with Daddy recently to watch our new Toy Story movie {thanks, Uncle Wes!}

Elaine “showing” you her popcorn without taking her eyes off the screen.  This is Nolan’s new “cheese” smile!

:: Play Date – We did venture out for an indoor playdate with some friends.  Ben’s current work project has him needing the car to run for materials “frequently” so we haven’t had transportation, but we are hoping for another play date next week!