We started off our morning with the boys having a picnic breakfast in the living room, and I let them watch 2 episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba. See, I had great intentions, and they were totally happy with that. My intentions were also to say yes more during the day, verses no. But, alas, my mommy brain kicked in and waged a war internally that said I could not allow my kids to watch TV all day. Instead of just saying we were all done with TV, I asked the boys if they wanted to do a craft or play with something. Carter speed raced to the basement stairs, and Pierce was super eager to go downstairs as well. And there went my lazy day. It lasted for a whopping 43 minutes. :)
When we went downstairs, Carter jumped on the tractor and started pretending he was driving everywhere. This was followed by Pierce hanging from the bottom of the swing we have set up and pretending he was a gymnast. I made the mistake of asking if he was a monkey, and his reply was, "No momma. I do flips. I am a gym." OK then. I also figured since I was down there, I may as well do laundry too. Then I got the very stubborn wood stove cleaned and started - it was actually kind of chilly yesterday. Why can I never allow myself a day off? lol
I had a few ideas of various thing I REALLY wanted to try from pinterest. That website is absolutely amazing. There are cheap ideas, expensive ideas, and things I never would have thought of in a million years. For example, we made sun catchers yesterday. Pierce saw the big wooden beads sitting on the craft table, and he really wanted to "do beads." I had purchased clear beads at Michaels the day before to create these sun catchers, and I rationalized that if he was going to play with beads, I was too! Carter is way too young for beads (we are still in the everything in the mouth phase...no matter what it is). Back upstairs we trotted with two containers of beads, lace, ribbon, and a bunch of dried beans for Carter. Pierce started off making a necklace for Mimi (she is always wearing something), Carter was more than thrilled to have a sensory tray again (It is amazing how far he can throw beans), and I grabbed a muffin tin to make these sun catchers. What I did was start out just dumping a bunch of those clear beads into the bottom of the muffin tin. I did not want to spend too much time on them and found myself rushing, just in case it didn't work. Then Pierce decided playing in a bunch of little beads was way more fun than making a necklace, put down his project and came over. Never thought of it as a fine motor skill, but he go to work picking up beads with his finger tips and arranging them in the trays. I mean, making sure there were not too many blues, greens, etc. That is when I realized that if my 2 1/2 year old could take the time to make something thoughtful, then I can too. I mean it is a lazy day, right?
About 30 minutes later, we plopped the tray of beads in the oven, not knowing if this would really work, and off to the deck the boys went. Pierce had grabbed 2 little containers of bubbles for him and Carter, and they sat outside for a good 45 minutes just talking to each other, singing, and blowing bubbles. They did attempt to help me clean before hand, but the wild children were much more suited for outside time. I finally made them come inside due to how cold they were, and to show them the sun catchers. Pierce and I thought they were awesome. Carter wanted to see how they taste. I went downstairs to grab my glue gun and Pierce followed me down asking if I could rebuild his train track so he could have alone time. I know how valuable and precious alone time can be, so of course I helped him out. That also gave Carter and I a chance to play upstairs while I figured out how to fasten the ribbon without it looking too much like a throw together idea.
At this point it was about 11:30 am, so I made the boys some lunch and off Carter went for a nap. I also had the idea of painting with spices yesterday, and had told one of my friends about it. She also has 2 little boys almost the same exact ages as Pierce and Carter. Unknowingly to myself, she had posted something on facebook about doing the same thing. After some messages back and forth, it was decided that she was going to bring her boys over and we were going to make Turkeys out of sticky hand prints covered in spices. This also meant I had to at least clean the bathroom, since everything else was cleaned up after the confetti of beans everywhere. And I may as well steam mop the floors while I am at it. Oh, and don't forget the shower I had not taken all day. :)
I was trying to allow Pierce to be a big kid and not nap, but lay on the couch and watch a movie instead. He picked out Up, but was so squirmy and everywhere, I finally made him go lay down in his room. He needed to rest. I know my child without naps, and it is not pretty. Plus with friends coming over, I was not going to chance an epic meltdown later in the evening.
The kiddos woke up, a lot earlier than I planned, so we went outside to gather things to make a terrarium. They ended up not being the prettiest, since Pierce wanted to grow moss. However, it was cool as he figured out what we needed for things to grow. As soon as we were done with those, our friends showed up and man did the house smell great! The boys did not end up making handprints with the spices, and the two eldest boys refused to mix spices with glue. Carter wanted nothing to do with it - he just wanted to run and play. Eventually Pierce lifted the entire tray of spices onto the deck, so all of the kiddos ended up out there. And hey, while we are out there, lets gut a pumpkin, stuff it with dirt, and see if anything grows. :)
What started off as a lazy day turned into a day where we stayed home. We never went near my car. I think that was the key component to what we have been missing lately, and I think the boys benefited from now being on the go. Instead they were busy in different ways. They actually were able to hang out together and play together. I saw such a soft side of Pierce as he showed Carter how to blow a bubble, as he waited up for him as they were racing cars down the hall, and even when he just snuggled up to me at random points during the day. Carter realized he was tall enough to reach the microwave in his play kitchen, and would smile ear to ear as he touched the button that sounded like popcorn. Maybe I need to rethink my definition of a lazy day, and maybe I don't. It really sunk in just how fast the boys are growing up. I can 100% say I no longer have a toddler and a baby. I have two toddlers, borderline a toddler and preschooler. Where has all of the time gone? However, instead of looking back on the past, I can look forward to the future. A future of fun, excitement, experimental learning, and lots of belly laughs ahead. Maybe a few tears of frustration, and definitely a few tears of pride. I am excited, proud, and relieved to be Pierce and Carter's mom. I would never want it any other way. Ever.
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| Bubble blowing happy brothers. |
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| Draw with spices. |
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| Or eat the spices. :) |
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