BEEing A Mom: Rainy Days

My family and I awoke this morning to a cold and rainy day. What should Hayden and I do today? I wondered as I peered outside. It was too frigid and wet for outdoor activities. Hayden watched a few cartoons on PBS this morning, but I did not want us to sit in front of the TV all day. So together we discovered five simple activities perfect for a rainy (or snowy) day.

#1: Drinking Hot Cocoa



As I sat at my desk working earlier this morning, I heard Hayden enter my office. I glanced up at him and laughed at the sight before me. In his mismatched pajamas, he stood in front of me wearing his red Lightning McQueen baseball cap and Batman clogs, twirling an open umbrella above his head.

"I wanna go outside in the rain," he said under the canopy of the umbrella.

Grinning, I led him to the back door and allowed him to stand out on the deck with his umbrella for a few moments. I listened as the rain pitter-pattered on his umbrella and our wooden deck, then shivered from a cold breeze pushing through the open door into my living room where I stood. Seconds later, Hayden cried, "I'm cold. I wanna go in."

I reached out onto the deck to retrieve his umbrella and then guided him into the living room and closed the door.

"How about some hot cocoa?" I asked.

He nodded. Minutes later, he sipped on a cup of hot chocolate with a big smile on his face. It's amazing how hot cocoa on chilly day can solve almost any problem!

#2: Making A Mailbox

Remember when I mentioned in an earlier post that I am not a "crafty" mama? I must admit I had so much fun with last week's craft I decided to try another. Today we made a custom mailbox for Hayden.

Using a shoebox, I helped Hayden decorate it with an assortment of scrapbooking paper. We cut a long rectangular hole on top to insert mail and added a flag with a giraffe on the side. Placing my hand over his, we spelled his name and "mailbox" on a piece of paper and glued it to the front. I hope to fill his mailbox at least once a week with something special, like stickers and a letter to him.
#3: Baking Cookies

After lunch, we mixed batter for oatmeal cookies. Hayden enjoyed dumping the ingredients in the mixing bowl, turning the mixer on and off, sampling the cookie dough, and dropping the cookies on the baking sheet. Ten minutes later, I served him one of his specially made cookies with a cup of cold milk. Life is good! :-)



#4: Reading Books

On any day, reading a stack of books with Hayden is such a joy. And today was no different. We sat in our reading chair in our den, and I read a few books to him.

Each summer we participate in our library's reading program. If we read for at least eight hours, Hayden receives a free book of his choice from the library. I decided I would like to continue recording our reading habits, and for every eight hours we read, I thought it would be a treat to go to the bookstore and select a book to add to our own home library. So today I created a "pirate" themed recording sheet and attached it to the bulletin board. I anticipate we will be visiting the bookstore soon to select our first book.

#5: Taking A Nap

After a morning and afternoon filled with activities, Hayden and I lay down for a nap. Oh how cozy it was to curl up with him and a blanket for a snooze on a cold and wet day. Hayden slept for about three hours.

I have come to love a rainy day every so often because it allows me to slow down and spend some quality one-on-one time with my little boy. And by doing this, I'm truly savoring the sweetness of life!

BEEing A Mom: Bumblebee Rocks

I have a confession: I'm not a "crafty" mama. I wish I were. I admire the creative and cute crafts I find on websites and in books and magazines. But often I read the craft's directions and either don't understand how to complete them or think they will require more effort than I'm willing to devote to them. I usually opt to take Hayden to the zoo or a museum rather than work on a craft. This is where Hayden's preschool teacher, Miss Ashlee, has been a blessing. Each day Miss Ashlee coordinates a craft for the kids in the class. So I'm reassured I'm not depriving Hayden of opportunities to explore his artistic abilities.

But every once and a while, I have a moment when I desire to tackle a craft. This morning I had one of those moments.

After breakfast, I thumbed through a couple of my preschool books until I finally found instructions on a craft I thought I could complete with Hayden. The craft: making bumblebees out of rocks. I quickly perused the directions and thought, "I can do this."

Minutes later, we embarked on an adventure behind our house to find flat rocks to be used as the bumblebees' bodies. After collecting several rocks, we laid them out on the patio table. As I reread the craft's directions, I struggled to understand what to do after cleaning and drying the rocks. The book did not include any pictures, and as I much I tried, I could not comprehend what to do next.

So in a rare moment for me, I decided we would abandon the book and make the bumblebee rocks using our own creativity and the supplies we had on hand. For the next hour, Hayden and I shared a delightful time together painting rocks and putting the finishing touches on them.


And even though our masterpieces may not be worthy of being included in a book or magazine, we were thrilled about how they turned out.


Throughout the afternoon, Hayden discovered many creative ways to play with the bumblebee rocks. My favorite was a new twist to the game of "tag." In our living room, we took turns being the tagger with the bee. My son made the sound of a bee buzzing as he chased me around the coffee table until he finally caught up with me and rather than "tagging" me, he used the bee to "sting" me.

Perhaps I will try to be a "crafty" mama a little more often now!