Summer Fun Ideas!

I cannot believe that it is already summer vacation!  Clara just completed her first year of preschool (just two mornings a week) and I am beside myself.  I just don’t know what we’re going to do with all of our new-found time!  I have some good ideas.  We’re going to host an outside art play date a few times a month (more on those art projects to come)!  We’re going to do tons of fun things like swim at our favorite outdoor pool, go camping in California and at Lake Billy Chinook, play at our favorite parks and fountains (remember this post of great places to play in SW PDX?), and of course, have a big rainbow birthday bash for the big girl.

But, what is one to do on a day when there is nothing looming on the horizon and (hopefully) hot boredom is setting in.  For, that, I stumbled upon this brilliant little idea.  I couldn’t/ wouldn’t sew a pouch, but I did find an empty applesauce jar just sitting in the recycling that was perfect.  A little construction paper, markers, and a glue stick… viola!

Then I dug around for some popsicle sticks and used a sharpie to write activities on.  Next time we’re bored, with nothing to do, all we have to do is rummage around in the jar, pull out a popsicle stick and get on with a great time together.  I read them all to Clara as we placed them in the jar.  The only one that didn’t get a “hooray!” was storytime in the backyard.  But, I bet if there were ice cream sandwiches involved a good time could even be had doing that.

I promise that as we do some of these things I will report back on them here.  I also promise that the art projects will show up as well as a chicken and garden update coming soon.  I would go out and take some pictures of the baby chickens in their new digs right now, but its pouring rain.  Wait, isn’t it supposed to be summer?

Sick kid vs. Not so sick kid

Last week Clara was super sick.  I mean throwing up, diarrhea, fever, the whole nine yards.  It was quite a week.  And it was spent primarily at home all day long.  Nancy has never had days like that before, because when you are a second child, you just get carted along to everything that your older sibling has to do… playdates, dropping off and picking up at preschool, swim lessons, etc.  So, they learn to go with the flow and that life is just full of action.  And then, suddenly, we didn’t go anywhere or do anything.  And all big sister wanted to do was lay on the couch (how out of character!).

So, I had to entertain an (almost) one year old by myself, which is something that I haven’t had to do in almost three years! We made a lot of towers and knocked them down.  I tried to read her a bunch of stories (although she just is not as into them as Clara was at the same age).  She walked around and around the house, holding my hand (because she just hasn’t made the mental leap that she can walk on her own yet.  And then in a fit of just wanting to sit down for a moment, I made her her own play kitchen.  A cardboard box, a couple of real pots, and some blocks to put in there to cook and stir with a wooden spoon.  Brilliant!  This bought me at least a half an hour a couple of times.  You know, so I could start laundry to clean up vomit.

What did we do while quarantined for H1N1?

1)  Orange apple print pumpkins

2)  Painted contact paper leaf collage

3)  Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

4)  Butterfly wings for Halloween

Toddler Ailment

I hate for my first blog entry to be a complaint. I really do, but this has been my week. One of the longest of my life. It has long been my contention that men (and specifically husbands) are horrible, whining messes when they are sick. For an illustration of this phenomenon, see “Man Cold.”  But this week, I learned that there are worse things than a man with a cold.  There is the toddler with a cold. 

Clara has been horrendous!  Yes, she has had a fever, hacking cough, and snotty nose.  But for the love of God, please stop whining, crying, and being completely unpredictable.  I’m done with it, thank you very much.  She has also been bored.  Very, very bored.  Mostly because I generally fill every day with activities, friends, and activities with friends.  There has been none of that this week.  We can’t give our friends this awful affliction.  So, we have been at home.  By ourselves.  

Monday was okay because she was very tired and we had to go grocery shopping.  It was actually the best grocery shopping ever because she was content to sit in the cart and shake things like macaroni boxes.  In the afternoon, we made valentines.  Tuesday was semi-okay because in the morning we had a dance party, then built a tent out of sheets, and then Daddy came home to entertain us.  Plus it snowed, so that was exciting.  

Wednesday, it all started to go downhill.  The boredom had reached a fever pitch.  Let me illustrate.  Clara learned a new game on Wednesday.  She only gets time outs for a) biting or b) hitting.  She knows this.  When she was not getting her way this week she started hitting me in the face.  Time out.  She learned quickly.  Soon, for entertainment she was hitting me, then running, giggling to the time out step.  No amount of explaining to her that hitting hurts Mommy would change this.  

Thursday.  Oh, Thursday.  Clara wanted things her way, or no way.  Screaming for no reason seemed to work.  Screaming, screaming, and screaming.  That was my Thursday morning.  We went to the mall to run and play.  We bought new shoes.  No, there was still screaming.  Yikes.  Then there was nap time.  A beautiful three hour nap time.  And it got sunny out.  And when she awoke, everything seemed better.  We went for a lovely walk (thank you, Lesley) and everything turned glorious.  Thank God that’s over.