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7 Simple Activities for Rainy Days!

parksandcoffee

There’s no where my kiddos would rather be than outside; running, screaming, and exploring. They would spend the entire day outside if they could, and sometimes we do! However, there are days when we just can’t do outside. It’s too hot, it’s raining, or maybe it’s too cold, which doesn’t happen often here in North Carolina.

Regardless of the reason, all of their bottled up energy needs somewhere to go, and I’d prefer it not be them jumping from couch to couch. Of course, on these rainy days their old toys no longer interest them and they are all over the place. Thankfully there are plenty of fun, easy, and quick to put together activities to keep your little ones busy right inside your home.

1. Sensory Bins:

Sensory bins are a great way to let your little ones explore different textures, colors, and concepts. Everything is contained in a big plastic tub, or so it’s supposed to be, which makes for easy clean up! Find a plastic tub you have laying around the house and fill it with whatever interests your child. We currently LOVE construction of any kind. So, off I went to the garage, got some soil and rocks and ta-da! A sensory bin was created!

Some other fun themes are: holidays, individual colors, and seasons.

2. DIY Dry Erase Board:

Have a glass door or window? I’m sure you do! Well guess what, you also have a dry erase board. Grab some dry erase markers and let your little one draw a picture. Make sure you remind them markers are ONLY for the door or window, otherwise you may end up with a lovely Picasso-esque mural adorning your walls. When drawing their own picture loses your littles interest, draw shapes on the door, then begin naming the shapes, while having them erase or circle the shape you named. You can do this with anything: letters, numbers, shapes, sight words, etc you name it!

3. Alphabet & Number Games:

We have been focusing on our numbers, letters, and shapes for a while. Over time we have narrowed down some of our favorite games. Do you have an old cookie sheet you no longer use, alphabet or number magnets, and a sharpie? If you do, you have a new game at your fingertips. Take a sharpie, write down the alphabet (or numbers) and have your kiddo match them up! How easy is that?! If you don’t have magnets, grab a piece of paper and some paint! Write the alphabet or numbers down and have your kiddo trace them with paint. Both activities are simple to put together and will keep your little ones busy.

4. Cook together!

Cooking together doesn’t have to be elaborate! Have them help you make breakfast, or lunch. Measuring, dumping, and stirring help build fine motor skills, it also builds memories together. Bonus, my toddler also seems to eat more of the food when he helps!

5. Painters Tape Race Track!

Cranes, trains, and automobiles are just a few of our favorite things. With that being said, we have a TON of vehicles throughout our house. These vehicles sometimes need to place to go (other than under my feet!). So, we grabbed some painters tape and created a race track! But, what’s a race track without some tunnels and bridges?! Thank you solo cups! The tracks don’t have to stay on the ground. Up the walls, over the couches, and down the kitchen drawers are all fun places for their cars to travel.

6. Bring Nature Indoors!

Not literally.  But when all your littles want to do is venture outside, you can still let them scope it out from the sidelines.  Talk about the weather, look for wildlife with a pair of binoculars, grab a bird book and identify birds at the feeder, watch and learn about the types of clouds.  If you live in a larger city or busy neighborhood, people watch!  These little window-watching conversations will introduce new fun, and even new vocabulary.

7. A timeless classic…Build a Fort!

What kid doesn’t love a fort?  They are ripping your house apart anyway, might as well do it intentionally!  Gather all the pillows, blankets, cushions and get to work. Have flashlights or lanterns?  Great!  Stuffed animal role players? Awesome!  Forts aren’t an everyday occurrence over here, so making a rainy day extra special with this family activity is always a blast. Leave them up all day, eat lunch in there, watch a movie by lantern-light. It only takes a slight departure from “normal” for kids to think something is magical.

Now it’s your turn!

Choose one or a few of these rainy day activities for your little one and go have fun!

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Staying Sane? There’s an App for That

parksandcoffee
PBS Kids, making us feel better about screen time one Daniel Tiger song at a time.

Every single time the power goes out, I try to use something that requires power. It never fails. After a short (but not short enough) mental delay, I am left feeling like a first world idiot. Last summer we had a huge line of storms come through, of course right as it was time to cook dinner. Pretty normal for summers on the Carolina coast. The heat and humidity just build and build and explodes into pop-up thunder clouds right before the sun goes down. So here I am, chicken in the oven, almost done, and a huge flash…uh oh…thunder…then the power blinks, struggles a bit, and goes out for good. Immediately I think, “Great. Ok. No big deal, it was almost done I can throw it in the microwave!” But no. “Ugh. OK lets turn the light on and just think this through.” But no. It always throws me for a loop!

Nowadays we also feel like this when, for whatever reason, we don’t have our phones. It’s unbelievable how much I have come to rely on that tiny little rectangle in the past seven or so years. This past fall my phone decided to utterly fall apart when I removed the case, and I was without my phone for a week. It was, in a way, a great experience and made me strive to be unplugged more, but it also made me realize just how useful (and sometimes essential) it can be in the mom world. For one, I had to research ways to contact 911 if my kids had an emergency! To save you the trouble, I learned that any old cell phone is required to be able to call 911, even if it’s not connected to a service. Same goes for a plugged-in house phone. Supposedly, not sure how you test that out! Luckily I didn’t have to.

When we started dreaming up this blog, we both agreed that our driving focus was to share tips for staying sane. We wanted to share things that helped us, commiserate with other mothers, and keep our creative sides occupied- all of which contribute to our overall sanity. So we have compiled a small list of our favorite apps. A tiny nod to the technology that has made our lives easier. The ones that come to our aid the most:

  • Amazon– Nothing here that will throw you off your rocker, but we are all about apps that save time and money. Amazon Prime & Amazon Pantry are bonafide lifesavers. We order diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, dog food, laundry detergent, and other monthly essentials, on top of birthday gifts, party decor, books, etc! Also good to know- several stores, including Target, price match Amazon if there is something you want that you just can’t way 2 days for.
  • Walmart Grocery– Another popular app and overall no-brainer. But this was a game changer for me when it came to mindful purchasing and monthly budgeting. I often forget things at the store, and with this system you can continue to add to your order until the night before pick-up. Our local Walmart also started offering delivery, which was well worth the $10 fee when we were all sick a couple weeks ago!
  • InkCards & TouchNote– Both of these apps serve the same purpose. Kate uses one, Elizabeth the other, so we included both! These are a cheap and easy way to send cards to loved ones for any occasion. Custom cards with your own photos, cheaper than Hallmark, and you don’t need a stamp or a trip to the mailbox. They do everything for you. When my friends need a little pick-me-up, this is where I go!
The sweetest response ever from one of Elizabeth’s friends!
  • Lightroom CC– Photoshop and Lightroom are photo editing programs that are not generally free, but the Lightroom CC app for phones is free and is pretty amazing for editing photos on-the-go! Take your Instagram game up a notch by getting this app and playing around. There is even an autocorrect image feature if you don’t feel very photo savvy!
  • Robot Vaccum– If you have a Robot Vacuum, this app is awesome for scheduling cleanings and even finding the dang thing. It just makes things that much easier!
  • TimeHop– If you don’t have this app, GET IT NOW! It takes all of your photos from various photo sharing services (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Photos) and gives you a daily update of what you shared a year ago, 5 years ago, 9 years ago. It really does make my day to see pictures of my newborn baby from a year ago (insert tears the day THOSE photos started showing up because she turned one) or a sweet picture of me and my husband from our college days. I feel like I am reminded of so many photos and memories I otherwise may have forgotten about.
Newborn baby memories! As if first birthdays weren’t hard enough!
  • DT Parents– That DT is for Daniel Tiger, folks. Ever heard of him? Well our kids LOVE that delightful little PBS show, and while it can wear on the nerves, it really does contain meaningful messages for kids. The DT Parents app organizes the songs from episodes into common issues or feelings your child may experience, like sharing or being sad, so that you can have Daniel Tiger sing them a song about it. It may sound silly, but when your toddler is in a mood, who better to talk to them about it? YOU or an orange tiger cub? Yep, I agree.
  • ToneitUP– I think every mom desires a simple, cheap workout app that is actually practical, when so many promise to be. I can barely use the bathroom alone, how in the world am I supposed to find 30 minutes to myself to complete a workout?? This is a tried and true app by Kate. If you are looking for something to tone up a little for summer, start here!
  • Hatch Baby– This is specifically for newborns and infants. It is a wonderful app for tracking diaper changes, feedings, weight, pumping, etc. There is a stopwatch feature for nursing (and it records which side) so in those early days when you can’t even remember your middle name, you know when you last fed your little one and for how long. Your partner can also have the app on his or her phone with the same login so you can both add in baby-specific details, like logging that middle-of-the-night blowout that dad was lucky enough to change.
  • Chatbooks– Y’all, I cannot say enough good things about Chatbooks. Chatbooks was originally started to make photo series books from your Instagram account, but now allows you to make custom books and pull photos from Facebook and your photo library too. You can keep captions as they were posted or go in and edit. I currently have them printed for my kids from 0-6, 6-12, and 12-18 months. While these treasured books are for me right now, I cannot wait to gift them to my kids when they get older and show them all of the memories they are too young to remember for themselves. Almost a photo a day, with a caption from mom. I may never be able to part with them!
Elizabeth’s Chatbooks collection. So far she has printed 0-6mo, 6-12mo, and 12-18mo for her oldest and 0-6mo for her youngest. She plans to keep it up throughout their preschool years. The greatest memories they may not remember.
  • Baby Coloring– This is what I call my “doctor’s office app.” It’s the perfect calm “game” to keep kids busy without being glued to a show. It’s extremely simple and both of my kids (13 months and almost 3 years) can use it. You pick a coloring tool and use your finger to color a picture, the end. Sounds boring but I swear my husband will color with my kids for an hour if you let him!
  • The Wonder Weeks– Wonder Weeks has been a lifesaver! Every time one of the kiddos is having a hard couple of days, I check this app to see if they are currently in a leap of development. The apps shows what their brains are focusing on during their current stage and what new skills they may be developing in the near future.
  • Dino Puzzle-This app is great for quiet places, like appointments, meetings, or even car rides. Dino puzzles are just that, digital puzzles for your child to do. Our toddlers currently love Dinosaurs, so its a huge hit for them!
  • White Noise & Sleep Pillow– Until I had a 2nd baby, the iPad was our noise machine and Sleep Pillow the weapon of choice. When we had two babies we decided we might want an ACTUAL sound machine, especially since the iPad got taken over with Baby Coloring and PBS Kids! Having these apps are great for playing in the car, staying in a hotel, or even placing in the stroller on a nap time walk.
  • Pandora– Ending with another no-brainer. Pandora has been around for over a decade, I remember logging onto it in college from my computer. But if you aren’t using it to play children’s songs, make workout stations, or have a dance party in you’re living room, you’re doing it wrong!
Dance party in progress. When she asks for a dress and her shoes, she means business!

If you have any other mom-tastic apps that you can share with us, please do!

XOXO, Elizabeth & Kate

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The Rotating Toy Box

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A mom-tested method for getting your kids to play with toys, avoid a mess, and bug you less.

Currently, our homes seems like they are made entirely of a mountain of toys.  Thank you, Christmas.  Thank you, Amazon.  Thank you, dollar-spot-that’s-no-longer-the-dollar-spot at Target.  Right after the kids go to bed we tend to spend our kid free time organizing the toy area, a reset for the next morning.  And let’s be honest, it’s a mental reset for us as well. It often looks like the world’s cutest grenade went off in our living rooms.  It’s amazing how many things two tiny people can disarrange in a day.  They are like those ants that can carry 50 times their own weight and never seem to stop moving.  But somehow, still, they are bored.  They want to watch a show.  They want us to play with them.  They want something else.  My response is almost always, “Why?! You have SO MANY TOYS!” 

Here’s the thing.  Just like we sometimes wander into a grocery store and see fifty million kinds of ranch dressing and scratch our heads, kids can also find many choices a little overwhelming.  I mean I know if I wanted to build a bookshelf, I could probably do it if someone gave me a bookshelf kit.  Maybe sit beside me the whole time handing me what I needed and coaching me through it.  “No, no, Elizabeth.  Good job but you need to use the Alan Wrench for that.  A-L-A-N W-R-E-N-C-HHH.”  But if I had to go into Lowe’s and try to find the wood, nails, stain, glue (I obviously have never done this) then I would probably cry or ask someone to help me too.  So here was my friend’s suggestion.  Limit the toys.  No, don’t get rid of them, but ROTATE them.  Here is what she did.  She bought 7 boxes (foldable cube storage boxes work wonders) and divided up her son’s toys.  One box for every day of the week.  At the beginning of each day she would set out his toy box.  He would play and explore with all of those toys, she would toss them all back in the box at the end of the day, and the next day he would have a brand new box.  My immediate thought was “that doesn’t seem like enough toys to get through the whole day!  Didn’t he get bored?”  No.  He appreciated what he had, didn’t get overwhelmed trying to figure out what to play with first, and rediscovered previously ignored toys.  She also said that she excluded a few favorite toys from the sorted boxes, so these could continue to be played with on a daily basis.

  Toys, toys everywhere!

We have so many toys.  Most of us think this is the answer, but when you found yourself with a newborn and a toddler, it can become a struggle trying to stay sane while keeping everyone happy and entertained.  Toddlers always want to bring you things, handing you one item after the next…after the next.  Sometimes, we just wanted them to discover independent play, nurture their creativity, and seriously leave us the heck alone for five silent minutes.  We reached out to Google (or as Elizabeth’s husband calls it, The Oracle), read blogs, perused discussion forums, posted pleas on social media, and the best answer we received actually came from a friend with a toddler similar in age.  It was such a simple concept.  TOO MANY TOYS.

Hmm.  Less toys, more independent play, less clean up?  That’s what Michael Scott would call a win-win-win.  We all win!  So, Elizabeth set forth immediately, gathering boxes to split up the toys.  Don’t feel like these boxes need to be adorable and matching, feel free to use what you have on hand.  Honestly, if it’s cardboard, throw some crayon’s in that bad boy and you just created a whole new activity my friend.  But here’s the thing…this really did work for us.  She pulled out the toys in the day’s box and kept herself more entertained than she did when she had more options.  Rarely touched toys got played with, and when they came back into rotation 7 days later they were exciting all over again.  We have since fallen off that organizational wagon, between summer vacations and getting more toys for birthdays and her little sister being more mobile, all of the toys seem to have a family reunion going on in the living room.  And they have multiplied like RABBITS.  It’s only when Kate and I started discussing toys that the lightbulb went off- “Hey, I’ve been here before!”  

Bins are ready to go!

So here we go.  Round two with a system that’s tried and true, and Kate is giving it a go for the first time.  And since we have already gone over the basic concept, here are a few tidbits we’d like to share based on our most recent experiences:

-Don’t do this while your kids are at home or awake.  They will see you boxing up all of their toys, every single one of which “sparks joy”, and think you are getting rid of them.  May result in epic tears.  Oops.

-When dividing toys amongst the 7 boxes, make sure you are separating toys that have a similar function.  This may seem obvious, but you might want to shoot yourself if you somehow created a box full of musical instruments, so, you’re welcome.

-When sorting you may find some toys that are missing pieces, no longer age appropriate, or that your kiddos are no longer interested in. Feel free to donate them!

Now it’s your turn – how do you handle toy clutter?
Leave a comment below to share!

Happy sorting!


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The Meet Cute

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“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

-C.S. Lewis

We danced around the idea of a blog for a couple months before finally deciding to take advantage of a kid-free Sunday morning and meet for coffee.  On said day, it was pouring.  Usually this would be a plan-canceler for us, a reason to stay in.  A footnote in our friendship agreement of sorts.  But today we braved the weather (because KID FREE) and showed up to Starbucks wearing almost identical outfits….jeans, white sweater, boots.  We then ordered lattes and proceeded to talk about everything but our future blog for over an hour.

It’s very cool how people meet.  Kind of a weird statement, I know, but it all comes back to that, right?  When you met your husband, when you first saw your child, when you became best friends.  It’s nostalgic.  It’s epic.  It’s the origin story.  Maybe it’s a classic meet cute or maybe it was a bit rocky, but it’s memorable nonetheless.  I once read that the average person meets 10,000 people in their lifetime.  As stay at home moms, I feel like that number could be a lot less.  Maybe that is why we are all about community events, playgroups, coffee dates, etc.  Especially as military families when the worthwhile friends we do manage to meet are often renting a moving truck far before we are ready to see them go.  That’s why it feels like winning the lottery when you not only find a friend, but one who gets you so well.

We met at a park on an unexceptional late-spring day, where we both separately decided to grab coffee with our husbands and take our 1 year olds out to burn some energy.  As I remember it, both of our children gravitated away from the playground equipment and towards the forbidden body of water that ran surreptitiously alongside the small park in coastal North Carolina.  We giggled over this common toddler obsession, made a Moana joke (duh), and struck up easy conversation.  It wasn’t until a few conversations later that we realized we had both driven 15 minutes away from our homes on a weekend morning to go to Dunkin Donuts of all places, both passing other coffee shops along the way, and then taking our toddlers to a park none of us have ever been to before that’s in the town we live in.  Plus our kids had basically the same due date.  So there, that’s our meet cute.

Awkward toddler hugs!

Over a year later, we both welcomed new baby girls who are also close in age and commiserate daily on the whoas of motherhood.  Our toddlers even celebrated their 2nd birthdays together. While I feel like we are SO alike, we are also very different.  We are both military spouses and SAHMs. Kate is organized, talented at DIY, and has a flare for interior design.  She has a knack for giving her kids amazing educational opportunities and making their days so unique and special. She likes to say that her son’s social calendar is more happening than hers!  Elizabeth has an eye for photography and an affinity for nature and adventure.  She and her husband love to take their two littles on road trips and camping trips that may seem a bit overzealous with two young kids, but oftentimes the best memories come from the chaos. That’s us in a nutshell. I have a feeling you’ll learn a lot more about us later!

So why start a blog together?  I guess it’s because we both impress each other as moms.  We always love what the other is up to and it’s so easy to bounce ideas off each other.  When one feels like they are lacking in a certain area, the other has a great suggestion (or at the very least, an empathetic ear.) I have found that sometimes as a mother you just need to know that what you are doing is okay.  Sometimes you need a reminder that it does, in fact, take a village.  And sometimes that “village” can simply be the words of like-minded moms in a blog about staying sane and taking motherhood one sip at a time. So we hope you will join us on our journey. We welcome comments, inspiration, suggestions, & support from our village at anytime!

XOXO, Elizabeth & Kate