Last Half of a Normal Month

It feels so strange to write about March; looking back on it from where we all currently sit. Who would have known then what we know now? Even looking through the pictures to upload, it seems so much further in the past than just 4-6 weeks. I am reminded of when I would go on long hikes in Colorado, and be only about halfway through and so tired - dreaming of seeing the car in the parking lot. I'd think to myself, so rationally, "Well, you have no choice but to keep walking." It applies here as well, so we will just keep walking!

We kicked off the month with a trip to the lake! It was supposed to be warm that day (warm for early March in Michigan) and the beach is dog friendly, so we shipped out. It was cold AF once we got there, but thank goodness the sun came out strong and it was only mildly chilly. It turned out to be a really awesome day with great memories.

St Patrick's Day wasn't as grand as it has been in the past, but I tried my best to make something of it for the kiddos. Colin's teacher challenged him to make a leprechaun trap, then that pesky little Mick caused some trouble while they were sleeping. I did my best with what I had and they seemed to enjoy it! 

Colin's classmates issued challenges to each other during the month of March - this was a fun way to keep them connected while also giving them something to do. Here are a few that Colin chose to complete.

This month is sometimes the hardest - spring is just starting to peek through but winter still rears her ugly head as if never wanting to be forgotten. It is much warmer than it was, but still not warm enough to go without a hat/jacket/gloves combo. Luckily the kids (especially Colin) don't seem to mind the cold so they never put up any real fights. Just don't mention "Frozen" to Blair or she'll be frozen staring at the TV!

I took the kids to a bike path to stretch our wheels, which turned out to be not a great idea - too much foot traffic and serious bikers whizzing by! But whatever my kids are f'n cute.

I took the whole gang our for a hike at a nearby nature preserve - they even snuck in a little snoozer halfway through! 

We've had a couple fires, some picnics, lots of basketball and CHALK. 

We went on a hike and picked up some garbage - which turned into Colin challenging his preschool friends to pick up some of their own garbage! 

This picture - about 3 minutes after I took it the kids complained so much that we ended up heading back home.

Yeah. It snowed. 

Magnatiles and...CHALK.

On a rainy day, the kids went out and brought worms from the street onto the driveway to save them from being runover. Couldn't resist puddle jumping either.

Some DIY kites and a bike ride to round it out. 

We tried to get outside as much as possible this month, especially after the Stay-at-Home orders were issued but sometimes Mother Nature just wasn't playing along. I went HARD for the indoor activities - even made myself a list of 25 new activities to do each day. Here are some of the great ones!

Blair LOVES to paint...for 5 minutes.

 

 Melted crayon art!

I froze some toys in ice cubes and the kids had to free them!

Bubble wrap painting! This was not as much of a cleanup nightmare as I thought it would be!

I had the kids make these handprint hugs and sent them to our family! 

Masking tape spider webs. Throw cotton balls and make them stick like bugs! 

(disclaimer: do not put this across a main walkway)

 Pool noodle shoot! 

I mixed some green food coloring into some pancake batter and had the kids make their own GERM pancakes! 

Colin's teacher challenged them to build something - and we took it one step further and had a volcano ruin their creations!  

 A mom in Colin's preschool shared her homemade playdoh recipe so we took an afternoon to do this. It is so smooth and easy, and it smells great because the recipe includes Kool-Aid!

Window painting - I definitely thought this would be messier but to my relief the kids kept it pretty localized and it kept them busy for an HOUR.

Using every last ounce of energy I had for the month, I made a scavenger hunt for the kids. Each envelope had a piece of a rainbow for them to glue together once all the clues were found. Colin loved it!

When the Governor announced school would be closed until April 13th, I had a full on crazy mom attack. I was freaking out, and when I freak out I unnecessarily clean. I also panicked because I had no idea how I was going to entertain them all day without GOING anywhere, so bought a whole lotta stuff on Amazon. What I didn't expect was what the kids were doing while I was freaking out...Colin made his bed and Blair picked up all her books. Not sure how they knew how much that would mean to me, but it made me feel like everything was going to be okay.

When Blair naps, Colin and I have 30-60min for just us; we can play a game, or do some educational worksheets, or a mix of both (like Go Fish or Dominoes). I am trying not to force anything educational, but try to work with him if that's what he chooses.

Blair is just chirping along as usual. She still loves reading, but that has been eclipsed by her new favorite pastime - singing. Loud & confident. Blair without a doubt prefers to play on her own, and she's developing a cute little imagination - watching her use her toys to have conversations is too cute. But, she never forgets her favorite furry friend...

Stay tuned for our state of mind in the April blog!