No Break Time

So, being away from family I really miss my break time.  When Claire and I have nothing to do (that is code for "Claire has energy, mom is lazy and not in the mood to think of something creative) we used to go play with Jessica or my mom (this also allowed talking to an adult in the middle of the day...yeah, that was nice).  Now, I can't be lazy (unless I want to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for the bazillionth time...I've counted, we're pretty close to a bazillion). I also can't get much done around the house because Claire doesn't like me to be boring.  As a matter of fact.  I was shocked when we were at the park and I wanted to talk to a friend, so I told Claire, "Mommy just really wants to be boring okay?  I'll sit right here and watch you."  and she let me be boring.  If it looked like I was having fun, she would point at me and say, "Be boring!"  It was hilarious.  Anyway, normally she has to show me all the cool stuff she has/makes/sees.  Some of you may be saying, let her play outside. HA! She won't play outside by herself. I open the door for her, and she whines for me to go outside.  This gets me upset that she's whining and I really don't want to go outside now because I don't want her to think her whining is what would make me go outside. So now what?  Well, we can only take so many baths so we aren't bath painting on a daily basis.  Besides, that would start to get old and I wouldn't have it as my magic pixie dust anymore.  I really don't want to just sit her in front of the TV.  But I really really really just want to make my kitchen something I can stand to look at (so this eliminates any activities away from home)! I have found some ways that work: play dough and beans (mind you, I still don't have very long because she is always excited to show me something or have me "eat" what she has made, but if I can manage to work without drawing attention to myself, she can play for quite a while).

She helped me make the play dough which was really fun.  She only stirred for like, I don't know, 10 seconds, then I got to take over.  She did like kneading the dough, though...it was warm and squishy.  We actually made the play dough about 2 weeks ago, but it is still perfect dough. The recipe said it can last up to 6 months. I'll keep you posted on that.

The beans was more of a compromise.  We don't have a sand box; I didn't want to drive to the beach because Nathan was going to be home soon so we wouldn't have had much time anyway; but Claire got sand toys for her birthday and wanted to play with them.  So I opened a bag of beans and let her shovel them around to different containers to her heart's content.  I told her to keep the beans on her tray and to pick up any beans that fell on the floor (mainly so she wouldn't just dump them on the floor).  She does really well with keeping the beans contained and she LOVES to play with her beans.   She asks to play with them almost daily...no, I think daily. She still hasn't quite figured out the implications of bigger and smaller, though. She will pour the beans from a bigger container into a smaller container and just keep pouring even when the container is full...and now over flowing...and now I step in and say, "Oops, pick them up."  I need to get her more beans! I'm thinking of coloring some rice and throwing that in as an option.

 

We do still take a lot of baths, and I still like to stay in the bathroom or just make quick trips to put something away or grab something, but this actually a break time for me.  She will play quite contentedly in the tub singing, and talking to her toys, and asking me what number she is holding, etc.  But, this is a time where I can do my makeup (if it's a morning bath), or just veg on pinterest or facebook, or play a mindless game on my ipod. However, I do spend a bit of time blowing bubbles, or helping her paint when we get that out.  But she is just fun in the tub.  Sometimes I wonder if she is extra imaginative in there because it's always been a Claire play Mom just be life guard time.

 



In case you were worried that I don't take her to the beach because of my earlier comments, that's not true.  However, it's not always a perfect day.  We did have one day where the planets aligned ever so nicely this week.  The weather was nice and we had the opportunity.  Yes, she is wearing a long sleeve shirt.  It was chillier in the morning. No she is not wearing a swim suit.  Trust me, if you had your choice between a heated pool and freezing cold ocean water, you'd choose heated pool too.  She likes to play in the sand and watch the waves.  But if the water even looks like it will touch her feet, she runs.  It's quite fun to watch actually.

Extra silliness is stored inside until Daddy comes home.  She loves to be silly with him.  She really likes to steal his candy.  The best is Fun Dip because it makes her tongue change colors (Nathan is still a germ-o-phobe, fun dip comes with 2 sticks).

I also like when Nathan comes home.  Sometimes (emphasis there, he is seriously busy that I feel bad to leave) I get to go do something for myself like a girls night, exercise, or get my hair done!  I really wanted something new with my hair.  I was sick of it long because it was getting in the way if I left it down, so it was constantly up. And I'm not really good with hair, so I rotated through like 5 hair styles.  My hair was long enough that I was able to donate to Locks of Love.  I was really excited about that.  I am also pleased with the final product.

And this, well, this is just funny cause it's true.  I laughed when I saw it because Nathan is always asking where things are (or putting things away in the wrong spot). I just chuckle about it.

 

Have a marvelous week! Sorry that I was 2 days late on this post.  I'll try to get it together. :)