Things to Do - A Week Of Rain

It rained all last week. Constantly. A sunless week. Navigating the rain proved tricky at first, especially with kindergarten beginning. Since we walk F to school now, I had to master three raincoats, three umbrellas, and three wet little people. Though at first we felt like hostages to the weather, eventually we all adapted. The girls road bikes through the drizzle while T and I splashed in puddles. Dan continued to ride his bike to work, arriving home soaked but happy.

On Friday morning, while both girls attended school, T and I explored the trail next to Long Branch Nature Center and watched newly-formed waterfalls cascade down the hills. Despite the downpour, T turned to me and said "I like this mommy. I don't want to go home." And neither did I. The world always looks so beautiful in the rain, you notice the oddest little things - different shades of green, the reflection of rocks on the pavement, the sound of trees.

During law school I lived in London for a semester and last week brought back memories of that time, how it felt to carry an umbrella everywhere, sometimes showing up at places soaked to the bone. It felt oddly good. And the pubs always seemed more special, more intimate, when you knew there was a storm outside. Some days it seemed like the weather created instant friendships, as we'd stay to drink a little longer, hoping the downpour would end.

Thursday night I met a new friend out for drinks and we had a great time talking and watching the rain fall outside the restaurant. We discussed how nice it would be to have a monthly gathering of area bloggers. Anyone interested? Let me know. Rain or shine, it would be nice to meet some of you in person.

Happy Monday everyone! I'll have pics from our vacation on Mackinac Island up tomorrow.

Things to Do - Smell Flowers and Play in Rain

Even though I'm a stay-at-home mom, I'm actually quite awful at staying home with my kids. I'm always jealous of parents who can spend the whole day in the house and have a wonderful time (and a little awestruck by them). It's not that I don't try, but after a few hours the mess starts to drive me crazy, as does the destruction, the noise, and the inability to sit on a couch and read a book. Thus, we're always going places. Which is fun. But lately I'm trying to remind myself how fun it can be just to relax and look around and watch my children's minds at work - changing blocks into neighborhoods, throwing a birthday party for a stuffed animal, dancing to the Yo Gabba Gabba album. Or just smelling/attacking flowers and playing in the rain. Because some days you don't need to go anywhere. Really. Or so I keep trying to tell myself.

What about everyone else? What are the best ways to stay at home with kids and still relax? Any suggestions?

Have a great weekend! See you on Monday!

Things to Make - Goo

My daughters' preschool offers wonderful science classes once a month. The results of which are often quite interesting. For example, after one class my oldest daughter came home talking about a "wonderful machine" that can make feet bigger. And, "can we get one so I can have REALLY big feet all the time?" It took over a month for me to figure out she was talking about a magnifying glass (I now read the class's take-home summaries for parents much more closely). Further, once at a dinner party she explained gravity to everyone present (and did a much better job then I could ever do). But her favorite lesson of all was about the distinction between liquids and solids, when they made goo. For those who've never played with goo, it's sort of like play dough, but it can be poured like a liquid. Not only is goo fascinating to play with (for both children and adults) it is incredibly easy to make. Thus, goo has quickly become THE rainy day activity in our house, as pictured above (though we don't usually add paper towels into the mix). Warning, it is messy, but clean up is easy with soap and water.

Goo

1. empty some cornstarch into a bowl (about half a box)
2. SLOWLY add water. if you add too much water the goo turns completely into a liquid, which is not what you want. so keep adding a little bit of water at a time and slowly mix with a spoon or your hands until it becomes "gooey" (for lack of a better word)
3. add food coloring to make it more fun. this can also be a good opportunity to teach kids about the color wheel (yellow and blue make green, etc.)

So have fun!! What about everyone else? What's your favorite rainy day activity?

For more on the company that offers preschool science classes, click here - http://thescienceseed.webs.com/