Intrepid Murmurings

Five parts of our day that are currently going well: 

1. evening bedtime (woohoo!)
2. playtime (usually, unless somebody gets too bossy!)
3. naps/rest time
4. afternoons, if activities are set out/planned (otherwise, unpleasant TV badgering sets in)
5. car rides and outings

I love organization.  I love reading about it, I love looking at pictures of it,  and occasionally, I am good at accomplishing it myself.  I can do it if I try.  I just, often, don't.  Or, rather, I get overwhelmed, or distracted, or just lazy, and then ignore what needs to be done.  This has always been the case with me, but motherhood definitely makes it more obvious. Ha ha!  

One thing I've been thinking about (for months now) is how I needed to revamp the structure to our days.  I need to be more intentional about what we (and I) do, so that all the fun projects and ideas I have -- as well as the chores -- don't get continually pushed off to another day, or totally forgotten.  So many times I tell Emma "we can do that tomorrow" and then we never do, and she and I feel bad (I'm still mostly off the hook with the little ones, though I'm sure they'll start holding me to my words soon, too) .  

Waaaaaay back in April, I posted about being more intentional about daily planning and scheduling, and also brainstormed all the ideas I had about what exactly I wanted us to be doing.  But then, I was never able to make the leap and fill out a daily plan.  Writing down exactly what comes when is apparently akin to scheduling dental work, for me.  And so, here we are, it's now mid-August.  

But!  I had an epiphany last week, and it only took me another week to get it to fruition.  Progress!  I realized instead of an hourly, do-this-now kind of daily schedule, what I needed was more of a collection of ideas.  A guide, but with no particular order imposed.  So I created a form with all the elements that I knew I wanted, bringing together various lists I had going, either in my head, on paper, or on my computer.  I printed a bunch of them, and have them on a clipboard that I can carry wherever I want.  

What's on my daily plan page?  A to-do list, with space for only 6 (!) things, including outings, I want to remember and accomplish.  A space to write in meal plans: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack (dinners I try to fill out ahead weekly, the rest kind of fall into place a few days, or hours, in advance).  

I also created boxes for different types of activities I want to make sure we get to each day: independent play (things the kids do alone, by themselves), cooperative play (things they do together, for the most part, but hopefully without my constant assistance), and "projects together" (things I do WITH them, either one-on-one or as a group).   I also put a box for TV, so I can keep track of who's turn it is to pick, and what or how much they've watched (I limit it to an hour a day, sometimes its less).   

At the top right corner, I left a blank space big enough to clip on one of the Positive Discipline Tool Cards, which are kind of a cheat sheet/memory jog for various positive discipline strategies I am trying to work on.  I've been trying to figure out how to use these cards, and I think this will be a great way to remember to look at them! 

I also left some bank spaces, either for more activity ideas, notes, or to jot down quotes or funny things I want to remember.  So far, its been working well! Some days I get to it more than others, but even if I haven't filled out every box, the fact that its on the page is enough of a reminder.  And never fear!  There are plenty of days when we don't get to many of the activities or tasks on the list!  But, then I can just circle it and transfer it to another day.  I think this should help a lot! 

How much do you plan out your day with kids?  Have you written out a schedule?  Are you a list person like me?  How structured are you, and how do you remember what you want to accomplish each day? 

1. Enjoyed the last homegrown raspberries of the season
2. Hung cloth diapers on the line
3. Lost my temper and yelled at my kids
4. Went on a hike with two adults and 6 kids under 4!  
5. Lounged in actual lounge chair at swimming lessons, woohoo!
6. Dealt with two poopy diapers at the pool (at least they were not the swimmers, ha ha)
7. Enjoyed a cup of green tea in a new mug, and was not interrupted once
8. Mowed the lawn, for the first time in 5 years
9. Nursed upset toddler in middle of half-mowed lawn
10. Had to laugh at ridiculousness of twin-induced tantrum (one insulted by sister's pretending)

Today I had three sick kids on my hands.  It is late June and it is still cold and grey and wet outside, as it has been off and on all spring.  What the heck?  I am pretty used to soggy weather growing up around here, but I am reeeeealy starting to be ready for some sunshine, shorts and flip flops, thankyouverymuch. 

It actually was a blessing in disguise, though (the sick day, not the weather!).   After a busy week last week, staying home -- and having an open schedule all week, for the most part -- was really freeing.  Its amazing how busy things can get, with just school, a class or two, some appointments and outings and playdates.  Mostly fun stuff, for sure, but its nice to have some chill days at home, especially when the kids aren't climbing the walls with pent up energy.  Mellow, mellow, mellow. 

All three kids were up last night with coughs or fever, and it reminded me how far we've come, in terms of sleep.  I complain about sleep sometimes, because we are not at my own mythical ideal of what sleep should be at this stage, but really we are doing pretty great in the grand scheme of things.  

With pretty much anything, all I need to do to gain a little perspective is to remember where we were two years ago, with newborn twins and a two year old, and then I can appreciate how far we've come, and how great we do, in fact, have it now.  We have children who sleep for more than an hour at a time, they go to bed (in their own beds, not on me!) reliably, they play and entertain themselves for significant chunks of time, sometimes.  They eat and gain weight.  They can tell us what they want and need, and what they are thinking about.  It is delightful.

So today, despite having some whiny, clingy, feverish cuddle times (and lots of requests to nurse) at various points when the Motrin wore off (mostly Elsie, Delia and Emma have colds but are not too bad off), we also had some cool moments.  Like when Emma helped me sweep the kitchen floor, and actually got almost all the dirt from my piles into the dustpan, by herself.  And then, all three girls helped me clean the floors -- and they actually did it (I gave them all microfiber rags and a spray bottle with a vinigar water, and they went to town. AWESOME!  Emma also started FOLDING LAUNDRY (!) and did a decent job with a couple of things before she lost interest.  

I also did well at mixing things up throughout the morning (free play, art project, TV time, downstairs play) which makes a huuuuuge difference in terms of keeping things pleasant.  I've also been able to spend a bit more time with Emma one-on-one in the past few days (movie night, putting her to bed, playing a game with her after quiet time) and that obviously helps a lot. 

Thats all for now, many more posts a-brewin' (having a hard time wrapping them up and posting them, but they will be coming, soon!).

I feel like there are two fronts right now that lend themselves well to stats, so here they are:

Bites today: 2 (just so you know, this is really, really good, considering the past week!!!)

Potty Accidents: 3 (which would be great if it were a regular day, but since they were in diapers 90% of the day today, eh, not so fab.  Alas.)

As I continue to mull over the creation of a more regular and reliable daily routine,  I've been thinking of adding a regular "job time" (or maybe several) where we all work on family-related chores at a specific time.  I've been trying to think of ways to get my girls involved, particularly in cleaning. Though I haven't studied it much, I know the Montessori philosophy builds on this, with the idea of having child-sized versions of adult tools, and starting them on doing real jobs alongside the adults from an early age.

One thing that works well around here is "wall washing" (or really anything washing-- highchairs, tables, the dishwasher, fridge and garbage can are popular things to wash as well).   Basically, I find a wall or item that needs some TLC (the one near our dining table is the worst) and give each kid a rag, sponge, or sprayer, and they go to town.  They do remarkably well!  We trade the tools around so each person gets a chance with a different thing, and I rinse and add some soap to the rags or sponges occasionally.  I promise, they love doing this and I am not forcing anyone to participate!  

Obviously this needs to happen in a place that can handle some abuse (not wallpaper or somewhere with a special or delicate finish, etc), and you have to be okay with some water and soap getting on the floor.  I tend to come by and mop things up if needed, and to catch any spots they've missed. This kept them busy for at least 30 minutes, and they eventually moved on to the back door and my cabinets, as well! 

 A win/win solution -- kids happy and busy, and a cleaner house too!  

This post is of this weeks 30 minute mom blog challenge, hosted by Steadymom.   

In my process of contemplating more of a schedule for our days at home, I'm trying to think of different ways to fill our time. Meals and bedtime, I am happy to say, we have down.  The routines around those things usually work (though they certainly can use some tweaking, especially now as the little ones are getting older!). Its what happens around those set times that I need to work on. 

Generally, if we are not going out (for preschool, outings, playdates, etc) we have "playtime" off and on all day.  Basically, I say "go play!" or I pull out toys or set things up, and then hope they take to it.  But all day long, this gets tedious.  Sometimes, they are great at it, everyone engaged, either playing together or side by side.  So awesome! Sometimes, nobody wants to do anything, they all whine and cry and annoy each other. Often, its a mix of  one or two kids doing okay, one or two needing help or attention.  

So I am trying to think of different ways to mix things up, things that we sometimes do but not always (or just not enough), that we can work into a more regular rotation, either daily or weekly.  Here are some ideas (some I got from the book I am reading right now, some elsewhere): 

"rug time" -- time in the living room (or wherever) where the girls have to stay in their assigned space (rug, blanket on the floor, etc) and play with the things that are set out there (a mix of books and toys -- puzzles, people, dollhouse, blocks, etc).  They cannot get up and wander over to someone else's space.  We tried this the other day when they were all getting on each others nerves, and it went pretty well!   I let them rotate through the three spaces, every 5-8 minutes or so.  The little ones needed some help staying put but they all did it!  This kind of reminds me of "centers" in school.

"room time" -- time playing by themselves in their rooms.  Like rug time, this is for independant/individual play.  I think Emma will be fine with this but I am still trying to figure out what it will look like for Elsie and Delia (currently 22 months).  Since the point is to be playing by yourself (but they share a room), I will probably have to move one of them into my room during this time?  This won't be for a LONG period of time (similar to rug time) but I like that it encourages independent play and gives them some "down time" from each other.  Ideally this is done without much assistance from me...

art projects, cooking, gardening-- pretty self explanitory! Generally needing my help/guidance for most of it, obviously.   

directed play -- time where we all play together with the same thing.  Pretend/dress up, little people or animals, dolls, blocks, marble towers game, what else....?  This is something I RARELY do, as I mentioned in this post awhile back.  And its hard for me to figure out, honestly!  What kind of play do you do WITH your kids?  Ideally not the same stuff they gravitate towards by themselves (which they can/will choose to do during free play times), right?  

story time -- right now this happens before nap & bedtime, not sure if I want to add another time in though earlier/later in the day as well...?

cleaning/work/job time -- not just routine clean up (though that will be in the schedule too!) but things like helping me scrub things, sweep, sort laundry, etc.

outside play, porch play, walks, indoor physical/gross motor activities --I need some ideas of indoor stuff to do to get them moving, other than the crazy games of chase & wrestling that goes on sometimes...

quiet time/nap -- nap for the little ones, quiet time for Emma.  My challenge right now is what "quiet time" looks like.  Must she lie down in the dark and listen to her books on tape?  For how long?  Can she stay "up" and read books with the light on?  What about drawing, quiet games, puzzles, etc? Must she stay in her room for all of quiet time?  Please share what this looks like in your house, if you have no-longer-nappers!  

TV/computer time -- I am not ashamed to admit, we often do this daily, generally for 30-60 minutes or so...  

What am I missing?  Do you do something regularly with your kids that I haven't covered?     

Today, I finally put into action something I had been plotting for awhile.  It was something I had done before -- dried beans for sensory play -- but with a new twist (hello, swimming pool on the front porch).  It was met with resounding approval and I consider it a total success.  Tons o fun, no mess, really, for me to clean up!   I will definitely be willing to bring this indoors, too, on cold or rainy days.  And perhaps for use with some other messy projects as well!  

The past few days I have been thinking more about how I schedule our day, and how to be more intentional about the things we do here. When I was a new mother, I thought scheduling was for the birds, not good for babies and definitely not my style, at all.  As a childless person, I think we often enjoy and rather pride ourselves on our spontaneity, our lack of ruts & routines, thinking that that is a great way to go.  And it can be! 

But then.  Kids.  After having three kids I really and truly believe that many (most? or just mine?) young children thrive on routines, and even scheduling, to some degree.  Knowing what comes next, or the steps between X and Y gives them a sense of control that they crave.  Having bellies full and sleep coming at a regular time, with regular cues each day, leads to a more restful body.  

I didn't learn this until beyond the first year with Emma, but with twins and a toddler you can bet we had things somewhat organized much earlier on (as best you can, with little ones, of course!).  But up until now, while I've been good about routines regarding sleep, mealtimes, and some transitions, I haven't actually planned out our days, in any sort of meaningful way.   We certainly have a regular pattern, but its not intentional, for the most part, and it often falls back on the same old things, that aren't always that successful (the same type of free/group playing, with me refereeing, for example) or covering what I'd like (doing cool projects, having regular and reliable outdoor/physical activity, working on quiet independant activities, etc). 

I realize now that I need to make a plan.  Kind of like a lesson plan -- the thing I both dreaded and craved (and was never without, in some rough form) as a teacher.  Something that makes sure we cover what we need to, changes things up from activity to activity, accounts for the needs of the individuals, is flexible but also predictable.  Of COURSE you need some kind of plan.  Doh!  

So, thats my goal for the coming week!  I will post more once I play around with things and see what works.  

Thank you to Jaime at Steady Mom, both for the idea of intentional day planning (thanks to her book, Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood) and for this week's mom's 30-minute blog challenge, of which this post is a part.   

Does anyone else remember that Sesame Street clean up song? Circa 1977?  I was hoping to find it online but alas.  It was the cleanup song of my childhood.  Oh, Muppets, you make everything just a bit better...

Some friends and I were chatting (online) about the challenges of getting our kids to clean up.  As I mentioned last week, I do try to get my kids to do stuff on their own, as much as possible.  But cleaning up their toys, well, that's still definitely a work in progress, ha ha! At ages 3.75 and 1.75 (x2) I still feel like I spend a good deal of my time picking up (or tripping on) the detritus of toys, clothes, shoes, cups and other household items they strew about the house (in mere minutes, it seems).  

I think the challenges with clean up (and kids ignoring you when you are asking them to do stuff) is really common and age appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers (and probably on up!).   Cleaning up is admittedly NOT often a fun thing, and hard for kids who live in the moment to accept and do willingly.  I recently took a class on positive discipline at Emma's preschool and literally every family (20 or so) had challenges with this type of thing.  That felt really reassuring to us all!  Back when I taught 5-6 year olds this was definitely not a mastered skill for all (even with the group momentum helping my cause).

I've recently been getting a bit more frustrated by the whole clean-up regime around our house.  We definitely get resistance!  I admittedly didn't start having Emma regularly participate in clean up until 3.5, at least in an organized manner (she'd certainly do it sometimes, just not every time, or even daily).  Now, we have all three girls doing at least some each days, and sometimes its smooth(ish), other days Not At All.  

But, there is hope! Here are a few things that have helped me here at home (or in the classroom):  

• Have clean-up part of a set daily routine, and really stick to it.  In the past its always been after dinner for us, but recently we've been trying to do it before.  I try to have something fun after clean up to look forward to, as well.  With our new routine change we tend to push the coffee/play table out of the way and use the clean, toy free living room for after dinner physical activities, which they love.


• Have a fun, silly song that you put on EVERY TIME you clean up. That way, you don't have to even say a word, the song is the cue to start.  In my kindergarten classroom it was The Yellow Submarine. It was a pretty hilarious thing to have 16 kids singing along exuberantly while they cleaned!  Even kids that were not that into cleaning couldn't help singing along and joining in once everyone else was. I find music really cues in my kids well, better than words. It works for us really well at bedtime as well (they call it "sleepytime music").


• Make it a game, if you possibly can.  Make it a race, challenge them to find all the X's or Y's, shoot hoops into the tub, whatever you can think of to make it fun.  Sometimes my girls need step by step directions to break down a big clean up task into managable parts.  Sometimes, I just don't have the energy, too.  


• I also have been trying to make clean up time a family work time -- where we are all doing jobs "to help the family". If one (or more) of my girls don't feel like cleaning up toys, I am trying to let that go and let them "help" (ha ha) sweep, wipe down tables/highchairs, organize something, etc. The main thing is that they are participating, as are ALL of us at that time.  


• I also try to narrate out loud about what I am doing, what each family member is doing, and why, so that it eventually sinks in that this is just what we do at this time (and that there is a reason we pick things up or do the work we do).   If someone really isn't willing to participate we let them sit in a chair and watch us, but they don't get to keep on playing. So far this is working, mostly.


• The "connect then correct" concept (from Positive Disipline) is pretty simple but powerful, as well. Getting down at eye level, doing something physical (eye contact, a hand on the shoulder or a quick neck/back rub, sitting on lap, reading a story, cuddling, a hug, or just a moment talking about what's going on and feelings) before telling them what needs to be done can really work wonders (I forget this, constantly).


• Back to the routine thing, having a picture chart of the daily routine can be really helpful too! Some kids really seem to connect well to a visual cue (like others connect to the music/auditory ones) and they LOVE pictures of themselves and their stuff. Taking pictures of them doing each of the steps in the routine, ordering them and pasting them up somewhere, then referring to it can help. My class instructor called this "letting the routine be the boss"

Today, we tried something new. After our success on the light rail a few weeks ago, I thought we'd try riding the bus downtown (sans double stroller).  Its a really short walk from our house to the bus stop, and Lonnie would meet us when we got off the bus.  We'd have lunch with Daddy, check out his office, then catch the return bus to go back home for naps.

In case you think this all sounds fun and lovely, think again. I DO NOT recommend doing this, with 3 kids under four (two not quite two). What was I thinking?

Actually, the ride to our destination was pretty manageable, and after that first trip I was all excited about doing it again. On that ride, I kept Elsie in the Beco on my back the whole time, Emma and Delia sat (or stood in front of me), and the novelty of the bus and excitement of the trip (plus loads of snacks) kept them happy and entertained. Everything was under control, happy, angelic kids, etc.

Lunch was great too. They didn't eat much Pakistani food but hey, I did (yum), and we all had fun. The visit to Lonnie's office was nice too. Finally saw the office he's been in for the last year or so!  Emma enjoyed the view from the windows and Elsie and Delia enjoyed the yoga balls. 

And then.  I put Delia on my back this time (we've been taking turns with who goes in the carrier and that usually works okay), and we walked back down a few blocks to catch the bus. Just missed it, so we had a good 15-20 minute wait until the next one. We walked down a few more blocks, to a stop a little further down the line, to fill up some time. No bus.  Kids getting restless! Rain starting!  No bus!   Finally it came, we said goodbye to Lonnie, got on and grabbed seats right in front.  

Enter atrociousness. The bus was really jerky (I think it was a sub driver that didn't quite know the route) and I couldn't see out as well because we were seated right behind the driver. I had been wearing Delia for awhile at that point, and was hot and tired of her kicking me, and not able to lean back with her in the carrier. I had to cling to things and brace myself and Elsie every time the bus braked, stopped, or turned, and almost immediately felt really nauseous from the motion.

Things really only got worse. I took Delia out of the carrier to see if that would help me feel better (she was starting to fuss, anyway). It did not. I tried to look out the window, breath deeply, but Delia was getting crazy and refusing to sit in the seat (or on me) and Elsie kept sliding off the seat when it jerked around. She was also looking a little sick.... Emma was talking a mile a minute, as usual, loudly. Right now she is in a phase where she wants me to acknowledge Every! Single! Thing! and it is soooooo annoying! I eventually told her I was sick and couldn't talk anymore. We broke out the Krispie treat we'd grabbed from Lonnie's office, and it was all I could do to not lose my lunch as I simultaneously fed them sticky snacks, while trying to keep us all in our seats (which I was not successful at, I eventually let Delia sit on the floor for a bit).

Ordinarily, I think I might have been able to pull out some kind of parenting tricks out of the old hat but when feeling so sick I just couldn't.   I eventually ended up just restraining Delia in my arms as she flopped around and cried and hollered (Elsie was doing some of this too, but not as bad).  I was totally That Mom on the bus with the all the crazy kids. OMG. 40 minutes later, we stepped off the bus and I have never been so thankful to be outside, in fresh air, and HOME. 

I am still recovering now, hours later.  No more bus trips in our near future, at least not further than the library (about a 5 minute ride from our house).  Its quite unfortunate that we are totally out of wine right now because I really needed it today!  

So I am having this issue where my laptop no longer "wakes up" when plugged in after running out of battery. It used to always to that, bringing up everything I had going before it turned off, but now I have to restart it, losing all the open widows, emails and awesome but unsaved blog postings progress. Drat! My husband had a bit of sympathy for me last night, but mostly had the very good point that I do get multiple warnings, over the period of a half hour or so, that this is imminent. So now I am working on both saving my work AND getting my behind off the couch to plug in before all life is extinguished. You'd think I could manage that, no?

So today, and perhaps in the next hour, I hope to get up my post on activity bag playmats that was unfortunately lost due to my laziness last night! But, I also have to get three girls (and myself) dressed, hair and teeth brushed, shoes and coats on, and snacks for later packed. I am excited because later this morning, after we drop Emma at preschool, Elsie and Delia have their first gymnastics class! The are so physical and enthusiastic and brave when it comes to stuff like this (unlike their super cautious big sis at this age), and from what I have seen when they go to the open gym, I think they will have a blast. Its a parent and toddler class, so the trick is how to manage two of them with just me --sometimes at classes like this they do a lot of one on one things where you just have leave one twin sitting there alone while all the other kids and parents are doing something fun. Sad! But, so far this gym has been great, and I know the class is small and the instructors very willing to help, so I'm pretty sure that won't happen.

I'll let you know how it goes! Stay tuned for that playmat post, coming soon!

Oh, activity bags, how I love thee, let me count the ways....

I first discovered the concept of activity bags around the time my twins were born.  We had JUST moved, I was hugely pregnant, on bed-rest for awhile, then tending to two newborns who were nursing around the clock and mostly only sleeping in arms.  I also was trying not to rock my two-year-old's world any more than possible (fat chance!).  

The main concept is that you assemble or make a self-contained activity that fits into a small bag.  When you need a quick (or long) activity to occupy your bored or busy kid, you bust it out!  Some are great for on-the-go, airplane or car rides, at the doctor's office, etc, while others are a bit more messy and best for home.   

So when I happened upon a toddler activity bag exchange with 12 other moms, I jumped at it!  We agreed to some guidelines (one activity had to fit into a gallon ziplock, 12 activities had to fit into a flat rate priority mailing box, we couldn't spend any more than $20 for all the bags combined, etc) and then got to work.  I chose something easy that I knew I could do sitting down -- homemade mini-books and stickers.  Once they were assembled, I sent them off, and in a few weeks I got a box with 12 different activity bags landed on my doorstep.  Jackpot!  

I kept them in a tub by my chair in the living room, and would pull one out whenever Emma needed a new activity.  I made sure to not keep them out all the time, so they stayed "fresh".  It worked so well, I eneded up using the concept with various other of our toys and activities -- I think this probably was what spawned my toy rotation plan a bit later.  

Anyway, recently I offered to make some activity bags for my twins club auction, and also for a friend's toddler.  Many of them are just so easy to assemble!  Others take a bit more work, but if you are doing it in bulk it feels pretty productive.   This time I did 7 bags:  colored pasta beading, colored pasta sorting, mini-books and stickers, lid sorting, playdough, cut and glue collage bag, and mini-playmats with cars and things.  

Here are some details about each bag:

Pasta sort and necklaces: This activity was originally detailed as a guest post on  The Foster Family Blog, but you can also find it here. Easy, and lots of fun!  

Playdough:   Emma and I just whipped up 4 batches of Grandma Cynthia's awesome playdough recipe! I divided each batch in half for two sperate bags, separated the colors in small bags within the larger ones.

World's Best Playdough Recipe

1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Combine in saucepan. Gradually stir in gradually 1 cup water mixed with 2 tablespoons oil and 1teaspoon food coloring. Cook over medium heat until a ball forms. Knead until smooth. Add glitter during kneading, if desired.

Need playdough toys? Try butter knives, chopsticks or straws, dowels for rolling, plastic (or other non-sharp) cookie cutters, muffin tins, measuring cups, potato mashers, garlic press, meat tenderizer/mallet, plastic people or animals, plastic easter eggs...

Mini-books and stickers:  this one is pretty self explanatory.  Kids love little books their size to write and draw in, adding a big assortment of stickers makes it even more fun.  I use plain white paper for the inside of the books, colored construction paper for the outside, staple and cut them in 4-5 different orientations and sizes.  Adding in some short little library pencils (or colored pencils) is great, too.  

Lid Sorting -- Collect those lids!  I collect the plastic and metal lids from tubs, bottles and jars, wash them in the dishwasher and put them in the bag.   Here are some things to do with them:

• Just let them play! Lids can be cookies, pies,
  cakes, plates, or....?
• With younger kids, let them explore while you
  narrate or talk with them about what they are doing, seeing &
  feeling (using words to describe color, size, texture, materials,
  etc)
• Use different sheets of colored paper, bowls or tubs
  to sort the lids. Sort by color, size, words or no words, etc.
• Stack or nest lids by size from big to small
• See if you can find any matches! Collect more lids
  and play a matching game where one person chooses a lid and the other
  finds the match.

Collage Bags -- Another easy one.  I get a few magazines out and cut out tons of images from them -- pictures of food, kids, dogs and animals, toys, anything that catches yours or your kids eye.  In the bag, I add a gluestick, different colors & types of paper or cardboard to glue onto, and whatever else I can find (pompoms, cut ribbons, confetti, etc)

Mini-playmat and toys:  This one is awesome!  So awesome, in fact, I am going to give it its own post tomorrow.  Stay tuned! 

A few other ideas of things I've made, received or seen elsewhere:  mini feltboard and shapes or face parts, cars and fabric & velcro tracks, muffin tin crayons, collections of small things to sort, sandpaper boards & yarn art, dry bean sensory play, I-spy bags, laminated play mail, homemeade picture puzzles, "stained glass" (tissue paper) art, magnet collection, mini "memory" game, clothes pin color matching, lacing cards, beanbag toss....

The list really does go on and on!  There is so much out there, if you just google this type of thing.  And once you are thinking about it, more keep coming to mind!  I'll definitely post more ideas, as we try them.  If you've done this or decide to try some yourself, please come back and let me know what you did and how they worked!  

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Adding an update to a few more awesome activity bag links I have found since posting this article.  Check out Tried & True for some gorgeous pictures of her activity bags (and great links), and My Delicious Ambiguity for a the MOTHERLOAD of "Busy Bag" ideas, including this awesome Linky featuring a whole ton of activity bag posts!  Thanks to these mamas and to all who continue to inspire me -- I am planning a bunch more acitivity bags for my girls very soon!

Today....it snowed!  Pretty much the first time all winter, and just a day or two after we had awesome sunny weather in the 60's.  Emma has been WAITING and WAITING and WAITING for snow (last year we had tons but she hated it then) so she was pretty excited when I pointed out the window.  

It was right during lunch, so instead of heading up to bed we all geared ourselves up (boots, hats, mittens, NOT the short summery skirt Emma was wearing up until then) and went for a walk.  They loved it!  Nothing stuck since the ground was so warm, and it turned to a sprinkle and then disappeared by midway through our little journey down the street and back.  But, with rubber boots on, and puddles and streams of water aplenty on the side of the road, the girls were in heaven.   

Elsie got SOAKED, her pants were literally wet up to her crotch, but they all had a blast.  They actually stayed together pretty well, and I felt fine with the little ones not holding my hand because disappeared street is pretty tame and they stuck to the edges so much thanks to the puddles.  Ha ha!  Emma tends to lead, followed closely by Delia, so if they get too far ahead while Elsie dawdles and lingers I just call for them to stop and they do!  And wait for us to catch up.  Shocking.  

Sadly, no photos of my little puddle jumpers today since my camera battery died.  Ah well.  Now its in the memory books, at least! 

Oh man, these girls are wearing me out.  Its 2:15 and I am getting my first break in hours, and really shouldn't be sitting down because the house is a PIT!

Last night, Elsie and Delia traded off waking up and hollering for me every HOUR from 10:30-3:30.   I ignored them at their usual wakeup time (5:55 on the dot) and they actually went back to sleep, but Emma was ready to get up about 30 minutes later...

This AM Delia pulled my OJ glass off the windowsill (my bad, I shouldn't have left it there, though she does know better at this point) and it shattered into a billion shards of tiny glass mixed with juice all over the living room floor.  Missed the rug, at least, but it was a really unpleasant clean up. 

And obviously ineffective, because I found Elsie's foot bleeding later, and found a tiny shard of glass lodged in her footie pajamas.  She was fine, and none was left in her foot, thank goodness.  I think she picked it up in the kitchen, however, where I rinsed and shook out a rag, so now I have to vacuum the entire downstairs again, WHICH I JUST DID YESTERDAY!!!  OMG.  

I ignored all this and continued with my AM plans today to get gas and go through the car wash at Costco.  Turns out my card was expired, so I had to lug all 3 of them in to renew our membership (I wasn't planning on shopping today--that takes a LOT of planning and snacks with all three of them with me).  Once we were in, I did buy them an ice cream bar that we all enjoyed! 

Which was good, because by the time we got out to the car again, the car wash line was INSANE and there was no chance we could wait that long.  Sad, since the car wash was the main attractions for going all the way over there (Emma was really looking forward to it, as was I!).

So then we went and dropped off some garage sale stuff at a friends and then went to the park, late, but it was already promised and I couldn't back down on another activity.  It was a new park, big, fun and EMPTY!  We had a great time, lots of energy expended by all.  Yay.  

But then, we got home late and hungry, tantrums by 2/3 (thanks to Delia for sparing me, she just waited patiently in her high chair for food), way too much dawdling at lunchtime, yada yada yada.  At least the babies are asleep now, though Emma is clunking around up there and I doubt she will sleep at all.  Even though she does okay at quiet time most days, I really miss her old, reliable naps!  

Okay, rest time is officially over (for me).   Vacuuming to prevent more blood loss first, clearing an expanse of nasty dishes,  second. Mopping, if I have any energy left at all (highly unlikely), last.

Happy weekend!  Hooray!   

Hey, things have been busy this week and I haven't had time or energy to blog.  Whoops!  Since being home from Vancouver (I promise, more pics are on the way) I've been under a deadline for creating some toddler activity bags for an auction and a friend in need.  Its a crafty thing, and fun to do, but I am finding that adding "extra" things to my regular routine is kind of rough!  

When I first started out figuring out how to juggle two and a half month twins and a toddler all day on my own, just getting through the day with my sanity in tact (and all kids fed and changed) was the goal (and NOT always accomplished).  Soon I included that plus decent naps for all. Then, I added keeping up with laundry and daily dishes to the mix.  For a long time, that was it, and it was more than enough!   It has made sense to just gradually add more, once the current routine is working and the kids are a little more self sufficient, able to play on their own, I am a little more rested (ha!), so thats what I've been doing.  

Shopping and cooking weeknight dinners came next (before that Lonnie would cook when he got home) and that was a big thing to tackle, but now feels totally manageable most of the time.   Eventually, I started adding things like organizing and cleaning up toys daily, and tackling housecleaning on my own (until then we had housecleaners come twice a month, which was AWESOME).  I am still working on that one, and sure do miss the cleaners, but the savings is so worth it for us right now.  I feel like I need to come up with a more organized way to tackle housecleaning, but for now its a do whatever is grossing me out today kind of thing.  At some point along the way, I also added outings for me and the kids (at least two or so a week, ideally exercise related) which we all need and enjoy.  

Now, though, I feel like I should be stepping up my game slightly, in order to get some projects done.  Some that really NEED doing, like organizing and purging our stuff, doing some home maintenance stuff or decorating, or possibly, creative projects!  I feel like photography and blogging are definitely creative projects for me now, but they are also a time suck that doesn't always make me feel like I've accomplished much.   

So this week, I've been doing this project for the auction and its been fun!  And I think I will actually get it done without too much stress by tomorrow, too.  But I am not keeping up with everything else (note MOUNTAIN of full laundry baskets sitting in my living room), and am really tired!   I think I need to streamline some things and maybe see if I can get these babies sleeping better at night so I have the energy to get to what I want to do during the day.

I keep imagining how things will be in a year or two, with kids who are (hopefully?) potty trained, maybe able to get their own snacks, able to get their own toys and play independently for longer and longer chunks of time, kids who sleep through the night.  Heaven!  Not that am I am wishing away the baby stage, either!  These are fun ages in many other respects, thats for sure!