Where Have All the Leaves Gone?

My toddler is in complete denial about the end of summer. He asks every.single.day whether it's a "long sleeve day" or a "short sleeve day" even though the answer has been "long sleeve day" for at least three weeks consistently now. So, in rebellion, he asks me to roll his sleeves up. When he puts his pajamas on at night he pulls the pantlegs up to his knees, presumably turning them into shorts. The footie pajamas are never chosen. The winter jacket is refused mighily.

Who can blame him, really? Even though I go on and on (and on) at length about how great Fall and Winter are, do I really mean, "Oh, I know, I'd rather be in shorts and tee shirts, too. Sucks, doesn't it? It'll be a long, cold time before we see shorts again!"


Well, I at least partly believe in the joy of the season. I do admit that Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite holidays, and it's a known fact that I could spend the entire season locked indoors fattening up anyone who comes near with all the baked goods I'd happily crank out. And the holiday decorating and crafting? Absolutely my favorite. Going outside in the cold? Not so much.

Last weekend I braved the cold (okay, more like slightly cool) weather to take my Wee Pumpkin out for a "nature walk." Unlike his boy counterparts the world over who LOVE to play outside regardless of the weather, this boy has wanted to be inside playing for MONTHS. I had to talk him into going, mostly, I think, because of the wardrobe requirements (hat, mittens, jacket, pants pulled down from their position around his knees).


Once we got there, and I helped him see the fun in being outside, he got it. I ventured off the nature trail, overturning logs, peeling bark off decaying trees, examined mushrooms -- basically acted like some other person -- until he started to follow suit. And you know what? I think he liked it! He and I started to notice things, like the fact that not a single leaf had managed to cling to a single tree after our crazy wind storms of a few weeks back. Or how old stumps get soft and squishy and you can leave your footprint in them if you step down hard enough.

I'm glad we broke the ice and got outside. I'm glad we braved the winter gear. Because if I'm stuck inside with this child until next April, I may just go insane.

Have you gotten outside lately?

Happy Bunny Day!

Happy Easter everyone. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We did!

Be Out There

Here's a scary thought. According to some research from the University of Michigan, kids today spend an average 4 - 7 minutes outside per day. That's basically a walk to and from the car and maybe to and from the bus to school. Ugh! The National Wildlife Federation has reacted to the facts with a new campaign, called Be Out There, which encourages parents to get their kids outside through tips, ideas and activities for kids. Check out the Be Out There website. If you're committed to getting your kids outdoors, take the Be Out There Resolution.

I spent lots of quality time outdoors with my family, ice skating on a little pond in our backyard and eating wild onions out of the woods next to our house. We made about 1,000 snowmen and spent many weekends on the dock at our cabin. Now that I have my own kiddo, I am going to have to get out of my "city mouse" mode a little more and get him out fishing, camping and exploring the outdoors. I'm looking forward to the ideas from NWF and putting them to use!

What were your favorite outdoor memories as a kid? Any you can't wait to share with your kids?

Bottlecap Game

Our friends in Iowa got us this awesome John Deere bottle opener that we installed in our kitchen. It even has a little basket that catches your bottle caps. The other great thing about it is that with all those bottle caps in easy toddler reach, we are forced to find something to do with them.

Thus the bottlecap game. You may be more familiar with a game played at babyshowers (or at least one I was at) where you put a clothespin between your knees and try to drop it into a Mason jar. In this version, we got a little stool out and dropped the bottle caps into a little container. I didn't have a Mason jar handy, but any glass or cup will really work. We had lots of fun playing this game, and I love how there's virtually no supplies (unless you consider garbage to be a supply), preparation and almost no clean up. What's more, your kiddo can play it right in the kitchen while you're getting dinner on the table.

Got any good games going at your house lately?

The Verdict: Toddler Butter Making

A few days back I posted some ideas for keeping your wee ones busy during these long, cold months. I have been working on testing each of them out. First up was making butter. I remembered making butter I think back in fourth grade back at old Frank Allis Elementary School when one of our classmate's mom's came in to teach us how it was done in the old days, so I was naturally inclined to want to try it again.

My tot's interest came from the book Thomas and the MIlkshake Muddle that he checked out from the library. I don't want to ruin any big surprises if you've got this one ready to read on your bookshelf or anything, but in the book Thomas ruins all the milk from the dairy by driving too fast and shaking it into a butter state. Now, if I were conducting a Myth Busters-style experiment, I would have insisted we get our butts on a train and see how fast it'd have to go to turn milk into butter. I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure Thomas would have to have been going mach 80 million over gravel to make this possible.

For our non-scientific activity, we simply poured a little heavy cream into some clean baby food jars and shook (and shook. and shook.) until the watery part separated away and left behind some yummy butter. Of course we had to peek a few times first, and taste test a little.

Here's the verdict. My kiddo is 2. He liked this activity for about the first 4 minutes of shaking it. He liked the part where we strained out the watery stuff. He liked tasting. But the hard-core shakin' your booty part, not so much. Even though we set this activity to music, it still did not hold his attention the whole time. But it was fun, and we did get some tasty butter out of it! Mmmm, butter. I'd definitely recommend it, maybe for older kids. With older kids you could even try some butter varieties like garlic or honey!

If you try it, be sure to post your results!

Toddler Indoor Activities

In winter, I vacillate between being so eager for spring I can hardly stand it and reveling in all the indoor fun I’m “forced” to succumb to, like baking, making and reinventing my surroundings. This winter is a little different, having just moved, but essentially it’s the same. The most different part, really, is that whereas last year our little one was just learning to walk and hardly spoke any words at all, this year he is a fully formed person who wants to play, explore, learn and chatter from one end of the house to the other. Coming up with activities that we all enjoy is a formidable task. And learning how to break the activity into very small chunks so as to keep the attention of a toddler, a must!

Since many of my friends are also “trapped” indoors with toddlers this winter, I decided to compile a little repository of fun indoor activities to do with a toddler in the winter, or really whenever inclement weather keeps you inside the house. These are just things that appealed to me personally – but by all means there are many more ideas out there. I just happen to gravitate toward creative or crafty projects or things to do in the kitchen.

I’d love to hear what others are doing to maintain their sanity this season. Aside from indoor play gyms and the like, what are you doing with your shorties right now?

Teach your kids to make pasta

Making butter with kids

Make your own lollipops

Making Pine Cone Bird Feeders

Making Homemade Finger Paint

Cork Race Game

5 Instruments to Make with Kids