I'm not sure if it's the fact that my summer time is dwindling down or if the heat outside has just forced me to get more creative indoors, but during last few weeks my creative wheels have been turning.
I've admitted before that I have a slight addiction to Pinterest. And I'm not like some people who can pin it for later. Sometimes, well, oftentimes, when I pin something, especially for Gracie, I kind of obsess about it. Like think about it instead of falling asleep. Dumb stuff will keep running through my mind... like what color of glitter we should put in our shaker bottle or how can I mass produce puréed pears to sweeten baked goods. I'm kind of nuts! But anyway, Gracie and I have had some indoor fun recently and I want to post about it so I can remember these ideas for the future.
We involved Daddy in making a shaker bottle and he seemed to enjoy it! G and Daddy put all sorts of stuff into an empty vinegar bottle. Then we added water and hot glued the lid in tightly. Daddy had to get his pliers out to make sure the cap was on tightly... I think he was really making sure his 'man-card' hadn't expired!
I also made a little quiet game for fine motor skill building and for play during church. I just repurposed a throw away food storage container by cutting holes in the lid and covering the rough edges with tape. Gracie is still working on building the skills necessary to put the pom-pons through the holes. Right now it's a good lesson in perseverance and frustration control. She wants to succeed, but wants to give up at the same time. It's good for her to struggle a bit.
Then today I whipped up a batch of finger paint. It's not edible exactly, but since it's made with cornstarch, sugar, salt, water, and food coloring, I didn't worry about Gracie taste testing. I tried it and it tasted like poo. We went outside after the sun had gone down a bit and Gracie was hesitant. That's one really fun thing about being a Mom. I love exposing her to new experiences that she has no clue about. Once we got started, Gracie had a good time. The barking dogs in the neighborhood were probably equally as interesting as the finger paint, but I could have guessed my animal-loving daughter would pause painting to bark back. We each made several pictures and selected two of Gracie's best to display on the fridge. She stopped to admire them a few times tonight. Super sweet! The culminating activity was a Momma & Gracie bubble bath in Momma's tub to soak the paint off. Again, probably equally as cool as the finger painting. Oh and Gracie also tasted the paint and she agreed... poo!
I'm so sad that our summer time together is dwindling, but I'm really happy to be going part-time this year. I think having more balance in our lives will help all of us to feel a little more connected and a little less rushed with out time together. My goal is to continue to do creative things with Gracie, Kyle, and Kia throughout the school year. I want to have plenty of down time together, but a few organized hands-on activities will help keep our time together fresh and fun! I'll keep you posted!
