Snowy Day Ideas

Man has this been an incredibly hard winter for us here in New England! Amelia and I have been dealing with being stuck indoors for days with no ability to see any friends. No outdoor time means a toddler who is a bit more cranky and bored as well as a mommy who may just go right out of her mind. :) I have been trying to make the best of it and counting down the days until April 1st (because even March is not reliable). Fifty Seven more days by the way!

1. Bake Bake Bake
I know this girl is mine, she loves to bake. If she sees me taking out the measuring cups, she runs for her apron and says, "Bake!"
I have been finding that during baking I need to put a smaller container with spoons in it for Little otherwise I can forget about the measurements in my bowl because she will throw it all out. The BEST baking activity we have done is frosting because I don't have to worry about her eating any raw eggs. And of course Amelia loves it. Frosting is super easy to make too. We recently made peppermint frosting for Daddy's Birthday cake.

 We just recently discovered that we don't always have to bake food as well. Just yesterday we baked some homemade play-dough. I added glitter to it and made it purple. It was very easy and a bit shocking as to how much salt goes into the recipe. We haven't played with it yet. That is the plan for this afternoons snowy indoor activity.

2. Climb til you can't climb anymore
I know how important it is for a toddlers to move their bodies. We can only have so many dance parties! We needed a change so I started to drag out some giant tupperware containers, boxes, and pillows. I have tried to place these items in all kinds of different ways to challenge her body and add some fun to her day. She now requests them when they are not in the room by saying, "Cimb".

3. Have a tea party!
We read a book called "I know a Rhino" by Charles Fuge. It is super cute and the little girl in the story has tea with the Rhino. Amelia picked up on this and now plays with her tea cups and says "sugar". I decided when we were cooped up to let her practice pouring water and gave her a little tea party at the table. It was a hit!

 4. Ride a bike
This was my mom's idea and although it didn't last long it gave us yet another gross motor challenge. Her tricycle is a bit big for her but she was brave and tried it out. I put a rope on it and pulled her through the house. Then of course we had to see if Minnie would enjoy a ride.

 5. Paint
With this freezing weather I could have a warm tub every day so of course I think Amelia would enjoy one too. But before taking a tub we have to get as messy as can be! We have been doing a lot of painting. I miss having all the colors of the rainbow to choose from at work. We make the best of the few we have and she has created some real masterpieces!

6.Create a new toy
We had a great cardboard tube lying around from Daddy's birthday and I created a new ball/car/toy slide. She has really enjoyed it and will put Buzz and Woody down it saying something that sounds like, "And Zoom" for To Infinity "And Beyond!" Too cute.

7. If the snow lets up...Go Outside!
There have been a few days that we have braved the snow to go sledding. It was especially fun at Grandma's and Grandpa's because they have a large yard and some hills. I think she takes after me. She likes to sled as long as she stays in the sled but playing in the snow is really not her thing.

And if the weather doesn't permit outside play...Bring it Inside!
Although a bit confusing Amelia seemed to enjoy bringing the snow indoors. She liked it best when I told her she could taste it. Maybe we will have to make some snowcones soon.

 Until we can have a little more of this...

 I will settle for this...

As long as we are staying happy. I'm trying to talk Amelia into enrolling into college in Hawaii.
This post is brought to you by the website that taught me how to make play-dough...
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Playdough-Play-doh/