We have groovy modern windows in our otherwise decrepit old house, and one of the perks is that I can open them from the top. It’s perfect for harvesting icicles. We lay out a towel and I give each girl the longest icicle I can reach, then go downstairs. When they yell for another one they know that I’ll inspect first, and if there’s a drip of water anywhere, the icicle shop will close. This beats the heck out of walking through the parking lot and having to stop eight times to tell J to stop pulling ice off of the bottoms of strange people’s dirty cars.
Another good icy activity for very little kids is giving them a little bit of water in one of those aluminum pans or perhaps a storage container that’s not too precious to you, and then let them dump in sequins or buttons or whatever doohickeys are collecting in the bottom of your junk drawer or toy box. You can even let them squirt in some food coloring if you are mess-tolerant. Then put it outside, let it freeze, and you’ve got a fabulous ice collage. If you want, you can make a loop with yarn or ribbon by putting the two ends into the water, and then you’ve got a sun catcher that you can hang outside. Come to think of it, I bet you could make a bird feeder that way, too. If you didn’t already have a gloppy jam-and-pine-cone one from nursery school like we do.
I like the weekends because I feel like I’ve got you covered from Friday to Sunday, so I can try to come up with more info. on all of the special topics that I aspire to cover: sledding hills, outdoor ice skating, volunteering with kids, & teensy-weensy baby activities. I’d actually planned to regale you with hilariously humiliating tales of my early motherhood so that new mothers who are home feeling pathetic would feel less-so, but I’m rethinking it: this whole out-in-public thing takes a bit of acclimating. But meanwhile, if you have ideas to share on any of the other topics, send me an email, wouldja?
HollowSquirrel
Katie, we just returned from a most fantastic 5th birthday party up in Malta at TreePaad. You must bring the girls up to check it out. I’m not sure the cost (since it was covered for the party), but it’s a GREAT outing. We didn’t play LaserTag, but we played games in the arcade (takes tokens and all the games worked, unlike some arcades around here). They have a huge 2 story climbing/sliding/shooting balls area that was great fun for adults and kids. My 20 month old enjoyed all the areas, even the kiddie area with lots of cool, clean climbing/tumbling mats and a train table. The place also serves food (the pizza was actually nummy– I even asked where they got it) and the toys that you can score with the tickets were pretty decent comparatively! They also feature a build-a-friend station and many side rooms for birthday parties. I promise it’s worth the drive up to Malta. Oh, and did I mention they will even do adult parties with alcohol?