After writing my last post, it was clear to me that I have let this winter, the exhaustion of raising a toddler while pregnant, numerous colds and illnesses, and an extreme lack of sunlight get to me. That’s not to say I don’t have those feelings, but they are on they negative end of the spectrum for me and unfortunately have been surfacing more and more recently as the cold weather dragged on…and on…and on…there is a note at the bottom of this post discussing those feelings a little more clearly as they have been the subject of much discussion around here lately. And luckily the weather is now gorgeous and the job description of the stay at home mom has become totally different than the winter version. But that won’t stop me from sharing what we did for out last week of winter, just in case another bout of crap comes for me or any of you…

I realized that the previous post has very little to do with actually “Embracing the Inner Housewife,” as its title suggests. Instead, it reflects my seeming inability to do so. So last week I decided to suck it up and see what would happen if I tried to be more active with Sam, both indoors and out, no matter how much energy it might take or how much clean up would result. And I have to say, it was a much better week. Not all of the activities we did were great, nor will they all be repeated any time soon, but having more to do really helped us both through yet another crappy weather week. So here are a few suggestions I have for those of you biting your nails waiting for the sun to emerge as you stare at your toddler for the 8th hour that day and proceed to push that train around the track the 6,787th time.

Monday - Dough: I’ve talked about Sam’s love for playdoh before. Honestly though, there came a time when I just couldn’t take it anymore because it ALWAYS resulted in some sort of tantrum. And as I’m sure you are all aware there is a level of clean up that is somewhat trying - picking up those little pieces off the floor when you are large and pregnant is not fun. So this week we made some cloud dough, which has a different consistency than playdoh. It’s lighter and more elastic so little pieces are not an issue. It is a bit oily, so I recommend keeping this activity limited to a table for a quicker clean up.

Sam LOVED this stuff. We made it together so he could play with the flour and the food coloring, and then once it was done he experimented with it for at least an hour. Yes, my almost 2 year old did an activity non-train related for an HOUR. He loved mushing it around, rolling it with a rolling pin, raking it with a fork, and stamping it with a cup, as well as ripping pieces off and hiding them inside the big blob so that he could try and locate them again. This activity was a keeper. And here’s the recipe in case you’d like to try it out.

Cloud Dough:

3 cups flour
1/2 cup oil
about 1/2 cup water

Knead the ingredients together and add coloring if desired.

Tuesday - the Mall: Would you like to know who is at the mall on weekday mornings? Moms. It’s ALL moms with strollers. And now I can see why. The mall is filled with activities for toddlers and you can have fun with them WITHOUT EVER ENTERING A STORE. I spent not a penny…well, that’s not true. I took a whole stack of pennies for Sam to throw in the fountain so really this trip probably cost me around 43 cents. In addition to watching the fountain and throwing coins, we rode the escalator and Sam thoroughly enjoyed running his stroller around obstacles such as benches and planters. Those are things you can do in just about any mall anywhere. Additionally, this mall happens to have a carousel, which rocks, and this amazing and wonderful thing called Reactrix, which seems to be some sort of ad network, but this one was only an ad for Reactrix itself. It’s an interactive projection that is spread across the floor and it responds to your steps when you walk on it. So envision looking down at something like a tv screen displayed on the floor of the mall, and it has fish swimming around in water. When you step on it near the fish they swim away from you. Or there is a soccer ball in the middle of a field with two goals at each end. You then walk up and “kick” the ball around, to each other, and into the goal to score points. Or there is a group of chicks and you try and round them up to the center where the mama chicken sits. It is awesome. I have no idea if this thing is good when it is just an ad for coke or visa, but the product itself is cool and a toddler’s dream. Sam played on it and ran himself ragged for about half an hour and was then joined by a few other kids. So if you are out shopping with your kid and you see a weird moving image projected on the floor, go and check it out.

Wednesday - Playgroup: I got our butts in gear and actually made it to a playgroup. Enough said.

Thursday - The Child led Walk: I believe Maria Montessori talks about the importance of walking with your child and letting them lead, no matter how long this activity may take. It is important to let them explore at their own pace and let go of the sense of needing to “get somewhere.” Whenever the weather has permitted I’ve tried to do this with Sam and it has been very rewarding…usually. Sometimes we end up far from the house and he refuses to walk back, resulting in me having to carry him, sometimes while screaming (him, not me…usually…), all the way back to our building. Or perhaps it gets too cold too fast but he does not yet want to go inside. Those times suck. I’m not going to lie. But usually it’s nice to walk with him and explore those little things I often don’t see. On this particular day the main event was hitting a puddle with a stick he had found. In case you are not aware, there are many ways to hit a puddle: you can slap it, swat it from side to side, or slide into it with the mud that surrounds it. Sam explored them all and was downright jolly about it. And other than some muddy shoes and immediately dumping our pants into the laundry this is a pretty quick clean up activity.

Friday - Fingerpainting: Well, it was fun while it lasted. Sam loved the colors and mushing them around to make everything a nice shade of brown. I think the main problem here was that I started to get worried about the mess as he started to stray from the table. He wasn’t really done painting yet but it was not keeping him totally occupied either. We also began to battle about whether or not he could have more paint over and over again, even though he already had plenty, and then it was just unpleasant. You can see it: kid covered with paint and becoming increasingly more distracted and on the brink of a tantrum because you won’t load up the plate of paint again. And so, the clean up, which would be difficult anyway, is now rendered horrendous because he’s writhing around and doesn’t want to wash his hands. Don’t know that I loved this one, but the pictures before the meltdown sure are cute.

Bonus activity - Bubbles: Easy, fun, and fascinating - blow some bubbles in the kitchen. Then have your child wipe up the residue from the floor by sliding around in their socks. Sounds good to me. You can even sit, that’s right, SIT DOWN while you blow bubbles for your kid. Wow!

I do want to say one thing about my last post, for those of you still reading. I wasn’t being totally articulate, and after having more time to think I believe I’ve narrowed down the real problem. I do not believe my college education was useless; it shaped who I am today whether I am directly using a degree or not. I think more than anything that the fact that many of us went to college, chose majors, and started careers is solid proof that we really did at some point have our own interests and pursuits. It’s what all moms/parents must deal with to some extent (college or not) - that loss of identity. It’s just hard to go through each and every day and feel like there is nothing that is your own anymore, nothing that resembles what your path once was, no time for yourself. And due to some recent changes in bedtime as a result of the time change and a child who will only let mommy put him to bed, what little time I had each day seems to have disappeared. Not to mention the fact that pregnancy really does take a lot out of you so nap time, for example, which long ago was a time to pursue my own interests (like blogging) is now spent just trying to rest up for the remainder of the day. I know you all understand my feelings because of your comments. I too don’t even know what I want to to with my time anymore and feel like I need to make a list of things I enjoy or to find something that is all mine, only mine. And I too don’t remember what that might be because I feel like I need the time to sit down and just think about what I want, and I don’t even have the time to figure it out.

I can say though, that making an effort to improve on the things I feel I lack as a mom does make it feel better. I don’t know any more about what I want for myself or where I am going, but I do know that Sam and I had a good time this week and, more importantly, I didn’t feel like I was doing a bad job…at least not as much as usual. That makes a big, BIG difference since parenting Sam right now is my job and the most important thing.

Labels: Mommyhood, Recipes, Toddler