I know for me rainy days can sometimes be a blessing and relaxing! I love curling up with a good book or finding my favorite movies on TV. The gloomier the better!
But for kiddos!? Not so much! Spring/Summer time can be tough to keep these little ones from going crazy with all the back and forth weather. I know here in Michigan it’s 80 degrees one day and then 40 degrees the next!
So I’m sharing 7 rainy day activities that kids will love!
Build An Indoor Fort.
My son is obsessed with this lately. He loves building blanket forts and playing with his toys in them. For older kids it’s fun to build one and read in them or even play games or watch a movie on a tablet. So many possibilities!
Paper Airplanes/ Crafting.
Who doesn’t love making paper airplanes? You can either have a paper airplane toss or even make those paper footballs and click field goals. Anything paper crafting is so fun for all ages!
Board Games.
Always a classic. My kids are still very young but I always say I can’t wait for the days until we can have family board game nights! Something I always enjoyed as a child and even as an adult.
Play-Doh or Sensory Bins.
This is geared more towards the toddler age like my son but play-doh and sensory bins can keep him busy for a while! Kinetic sand is always fun as well.
Library Day.
If you must get out and about, I think the library or a bookstore is such a great rainy day activity! Nothing better then finding a good book to bring home and read the rest of the day! Plus sometimes your local library has fun things going on.
Indoor Bowling.
So fun! If you have some plastic cups laying around and a ball you are good to go! I love bowling in general and bowling toys or making your own are so fun.
Baking.
I love baking and I plan to get my kids involved when it comes to baking and cooking as much as possible! It keeps you busy, plus it’s just fun and the outcome is delicious of course.
I hope these ideas help you for the next rainy day coming your way this Spring.
What are some of your favorite rainy day activities?
Although you still have your occasional date nights, Valentines Day sure does change once you become a parent.
The best part though? It’s still so much fun, but instead of romantic quiet dinners as a couple, it can become a loud family date night.
I’m here to give some great ideas to celebrate Valentines Day as a family. It is after all, a day full of love and what better way to spend it than with ALL the people you love the most?
Let’s check out some fun ideas for the family below 👇
Ice skating/ roller skating night out.
How fun does this sound? Ice skating is such a fun winter activity in general but I feel like it, along with roller skating if that’s what you prefer could be such a fun Valentines family date. I wish my kids were just a bit older so we could do this as a family this year!
Family game night.
These are always my favorite type of nights. Game nights are so fun for any type of night but it would be a great Valentines Day family date! Order a heart shaped pizza to go with it and you’re all set.
Movie night in or movie at the theatre.
There are finally good movies coming out again and movie nights are such a great classic family night idea.
A trip to the bookstore.
Grab a hot chocolate, a heart shaped treat and hit the book store! Pick out a good book and have a cozy family reading night.
Family karaoke night.
Along with game night, I think karaoke is so much fun even if I do have a terrible voice. Get creative and have fun! I’m sure the kids will love it as much as you do.
There is so much you can do to have a great Valentine’s Day while including the kiddo’s.
I hope some of these ideas helped you out and as always, thanks for reading!
With a busy bee of a toddler running around at all times, books and coloring are so important to have accessible when it’s time for some down time.
Redfin reached out to us and asked to write a short piece describing an at home learning area that would work well.
You can read the full article here but I thought it would make a fun post to show you the little nook my toddler has for all his fun activities.
When it comes to at home learning or activity areas it’s so important to have everything open and easily accessible because I feel like it makes less of a mess. That way your kids will see it automatically and be able to grab what they need.
I love using little bins for crayons, art stuff and activity books. I use this cute personalized basket for my toddler’s things.
Another great tip is storage cubes! I feel like they are so great for toy organizing, book organizing or even learning and school organizing.
Adding pops of colors with books and crayons are always great to keep your kids engaged.
I like to keep our seasonal or favorite books on this bench ottoman and a couple inside it as well for easy reading access since majority of our time is spent in our main living area.
Also it’s a great place to store toys away and still have your living space look nice!
So many fun ideas you can do for a little learning nook but these are some of my favorites!
What type of areas do you have for your children when it comes to their learning and activities?
Becoming a mom was the best/scariest experience! Being a first time mom myself I know just how scary it can be not knowing anything.
I’m here to give you a few tips today on the mistakes I’ve made as a new mom in hopes it will help all you other mamas out there!
Moms supporting moms is my favorite thing!
Believing everything you hear.
I can’t even tell you how much advice you will get while you are pregnant or a brand new mom.
Some of it is fantastic but then there’s the horror stories and the snarky comments.
Trust me when I say, you just can’t believe everything you hear. Every parent has a different experience with parenthood. Every birth is different.
Most of your anxiety comes from listening to others and your own mind so relax mama, you’ll be fine!
Not napping while the baby naps.
I was notorious for this. I felt like I needed to get EVERYTHING done while the baby napped but you don’t.
You really, really don’t!
Take that nap, or just take time for yourself when your baby naps. It’s so important and you will appreciate it in the long run!
Comparing your baby or yourself to others.
Just don’t do it. Nothing good will come of it. Each baby goes at its own pace and that’s perfectly fine. Just because your friends baby is walking at 8 months, doesn’t mean your baby won’t be up and running around soon!
So many women I know were having babies when I had my son and I felt myself comparing and it was the worst thing I could ever do.
Just because one mom looks like a superhero by getting everything done, doesn’t mean she’s not exhausted and feeling as defeated as you are at times.
Don’t compare!
Ignoring your spouse.
I feel like the easiest thing as a new mom is to get wrapped up in the baby, it’s just the most natural reaction to motherhood.
But don’t get so wrapped up that you ignore your spouse, the one who helped create this beautiful tiny human. Yess they might seem annoying because they get out of the house daily or get to sleep more but they are feeling overwhelmed too so lean on each other.
Communicate and be kind to each other.
Take time for yourself.
Even if it’s just an hour at your favorite store or 30 minutes reading a book. Or even a nice long hot shower.
Do it.
Take time for yourself as much as you can to recharge, to clear your mind, to breath.
You’ll be a better mom, you’ll feel better and you just need to do it.
Ask for help.
As much as you want to, you can’t do everything. It’s impossible.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Having a support system will be the best thing for you and your family.
Whether it’s meals being dropped off or maybe just an extra hand with laundry or dishes. The best thing I ever learned as a first time mom is definitely not to be afraid to ask for help when you need it!
I hope this helped you out mamas! And if you are a seasoned mom please feel free to leave advice in the comments below!
Always love hearing others experiences since everyone’s is always so different ❤️
Those fluffy sugarcoated marshmallows are good for more than just eating! Today we made ‘Peep Play-Doh’! I have seen this idea going around on Instagram.
My girls said it felt more like Peep slime, rather than Play-Doh.
I’m going to share the recipe with you today. It is super simple and so easy. A great activity to do with your kids with Easter right around the corner.
All you need is three simple ingredients. Peeps, shortening and flour.
Just add five peeps to a microwave safe bowl.
Add 3 tbs of flour, and 1 tbs of shortening.
Put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
When it comes out, stir with a spoon. The mixture is super hot, so make sure your kiddos don’t do that part!
When the mixture is all stirred, knead the dough on a hard surface for a few minutes. It might be sticky at first, but it gets better as you knead the dough!
My girls are a little older, so they were able to do most of this activity on their own.
This would be a wonderful craft or activity to do on or before the holiday. Even if you don’t celebrate Easter you could always just make this for fun!
Do you like peeps?! I’m not not a huge fan of them, but I love sugar so I eat them anyways.
Let us know if you try it, and make sure to follow our social pages for more fun activities!
Spring is upon us and with that comes Spring break!
Even though my son and daughter are still toddler’s, I still think of Spring as the start of fun activities school aged or not.
We can finally get outside and play. Bring on the mud and grass stained clothes because I am so ready!
Today I thought I would share some great Spring break activities that you can do as a family, that still is a little more social distanced.
1. Break out the bubbles.
Just like bubble wrap, I feel like you’re never too old for bubbles! Bubbles are such a great inexpensive activity. You can make big bubbles, get a bubble machine or make some fun in a bin with bubbles and water. Definitely a great outdoor activity for the kids.
2. Take a day trip.
I love making a day out of a fun activity. We recently went to an indoor water park and my son had a blast. Even a trip to your local library or just finding in town activities to do are great as well!
3. Have a family movie night.
You can never go wrong with a movie night. One of my favorite things to do. Make some popcorn, set up a snack bar or ice cream station. Make some homemade icee’s. So much fun can come from a movie night.
4. Paint a masterpiece.
Painting is such a great activity no matter what age! Get creative with it and there’s so many things you could come up with! Or grab your chalk and head outside to chalk paint.
5. Have an outside adventure.
Check out your favorite trail, rock hunt at the beach, ride bikes, go rollerblading. Head to the park. Outside adventures are what I’m most excited about as the days get longer and hopefully warmer.
6. Sensory bins.
There is so much you can do with sensory bins and they are a hit at any age as well! I have lots of water bin ideas in mind for my son this Spring.
7. Fly a kite.
Spring is so perfect for kite flying! It can still be windy so get to the park and run around with a kite!
Let’s make this Spring a great one and enjoy it as much as we can! I know we all and definitely our kids need it!
What’s your favorite thing about Spring? Mine would be everything blooming and the excitement that Summer is coming.
It’s been hard being cooped up in the house. I went back to work Monday (BLAH!), and I miss being home with my girls and hubs.
During the time of self-isolation, I indulged (as I’m sure we all did) in some major sweets! My go-to: EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH!
Just admit it! Your favorite part about making chocolate chip cookies is the cookie dough. I know that’s mine.
My oldest daughter loves to bake, but she’s been a little preoccupied with Pokemon to want to help in the kitchen. It’s my littlest daughter who has been helping me make it. She claims she is the “Secret Ingredient”! So sweet!
The very first time I made it, I wanted chocolate chip cookies SO BAD, but we were out of eggs! During this time, it isn’t so easy just running to the store, so in comes this recipe.
We made quite a few successful batches, but there were some fails as well. I’m going to give you some of the tips I found along the way!
First things first, did you know you shouldn’t eat raw flour?! It should be cooked before you indulge in this snack. I simple pop my flour into the microwave for 60 seconds. Maybe more or less depending on your microwave, I stop around 30 seconds, and whisk it around, otherwise it’ll clump together. I then let it cool. It worked better when it wasn’t as hot!
Second, don’t be a #hotmessmom like me and forget to pull out the butter. It should be at room temp. If you do end up forgetting, just soften it in the microwave!
Third, I say vanilla is “optional” because I ran out after my second batch, and no one really noticed a difference. I thought it was richer with it, but again it’s “optional”. Don’t make your hubs go out and get it if you’re out!
Last but not least, chocolate chip to dough ratio is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL! I LOVE to have chocolate chips in every dough bite, BUT my hubs just wants to eat the dough and no chocolate. Weird, I know!
Sooo, Without further ado, I present my recipe for EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH!
INGREDIENTS:
1 c. unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 c. brown sugar
¼ c. granulated sugar
2 t
1 tsp. Salt
2 c. all-purpose flour
1-2 tbsp. Milk
1-? C. chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
“Cook” or heat up your flour. The internal temp should be 165 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together on low to medium speed, butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. It should be creamy, and a light brown color. YUM! Beat in the salt, and the vanilla (if you have it!)
Beat in flour until combined. I add about ½ a cup at time so it doesn’t explode everywhere! It will start to come together. SLOWLY add your milk a little at a time. Fold in your chocolate chips with a spatula.
ENJOY!
This is honestly such a quick and easy recipe!
I hope you enjoy this treat as much. Let me know if you end up making it!
Quirky Workin' Mom's 