Today I posed a question on the ol' Facebox. I asked for activities to do during the winter with an 18 month old. And I requested that my Facebox friends be my own personal Pinterest, if you will. Because ain't nobody got time fo dat. Pinterest, that is. [Love me some Pinterest, but my input (#1 strength, holla) mind can absolutely NOT handle the overload of information.]
Approximately 60 seconds after I posed my question, I seriously considered taking it down. Only because I was annoying myself with answers I thought people would give (we all know the interwebz can be an obnoxious place). I told myself that if I was going to be this critical of answers not even given yet, it wasn't going to be worth my mental energy. So I navigated my way to the post and saw the first several responses. And my friends were full of good ideas! So I told my mind to take a hike and left the post alone. Several hours later, the post is loaded with oodles of ideas.
We all know I'm type-A. The post was screaming at me for some quality organization. So I did what any self-respecting desperate mom of a toddler in the winter would do. And I organized the ideas. For me. And for YOU! So have at it. I know I will.
Some Monies:
> Small plastic slide to keep inside - B's bestie has one like this and he's borderline obsessed with it
> Cozy coupe - we got ours for free from a friend last year and it's still one of Bennett's favorite things. We keep it in hiding and pull it out a few times a week. It's always a hit.
> Membership somewhere with an indoor pool - we're totally looking into this
Less Monies:
> Coloring books - I like to give B only a few crayons at a time...otherwise he gets overwhelmed with all the crayons and ends up trying to eat them...so that's fun.
> Sticker books - or just give them pieces of tape. Because sometimes this momma is cheap.
> Color wonder - a great option with minimal mess
> Play-doh - this momma will need to to take some deep breaths leading up to this one.
> Window clingy things - what kid wouldn't love these?
> Coloring on windows with Expo markers - I'm NOT AT ALL STRESSED about this one. On opposite day. #hello1995 JK. I'm actually really excited about this one.
> Pretend painting with water and tiny brushes (we did this today...HUGE hit with the little man)
> Bin of dried rice or beans - add fun small toys to it and it's an instant scavenger hunt (we have yet to do this, but it's inched high on our list)
> Water beads - I don't have experience with these, but the ladies who know say they're super
> Or an edible version
> Balloons - keeping those suckers off the ground and other such activities you can do with balls of air
> Reusable sticker pad - I have high hopes for this bad boy. Would have been a great gift idea for Christmas!
> Bring snow in (come ON, Kansas, get it TOGETHER) and give them water color paints - paint in big bowls or pans
No Monies:
> "Washing" dishes - a glass of wine may or may not be necessary prior to this one :)
> Move toys to different rooms - change is good. Change is happy.
> Pack up most of the toys and bring out "new" ones periodically. We do this all the time. What!? I didn't know I had alphabet magnets! And a Cozy Coupe!? Best day ever. Every day.
> Toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, wrapping paper rolls, milk jugs, empty medicine bottles - gigantor wrapping paper rolls are way popular at this house...as are Amazon boxes and the packing materials that come in Amazon boxes
> Straws. That is all. Benz has the time of his life with straws.
> No-bath bath - books and cars in the bath - this one could be epic
> "Bowling" with bottles of water - think this could be doable with a little little with some modeling (#teacher)
> Pots and pans and spoons - we do this about every other week. It's loud and pretty ridiculous, but entertaining as well
> "Painting" bath - squirt of soap/shampoo, spoonful of cornstarch and a drop of food coloring - this will, no doubt, be awesome
> Dance party - Benny's dance moves consist of bending his knees and moving like a robot...classic.
So that's that. Our little one has been boycotting naps all week, so these ideas come at just the right time. I'm a horrible "player with littles," so some structured ideas are helpful for me. Perhaps you will receive some inspiration as well. And some camaraderie knowing that maybe, just maybe, you're not the only one trying to figure out how to fill your time with your tiny human who can't quite carry on a conversation. Bring on tomorrow!
