Inexpensive Indoor Places to Go

So, it's raining again! You have painted millions of pictures, jumped on all the pillows and pulled out every toy... now what?  Here are some suggestions for inexpensive indoor places to take the kiddos when the park or beach are not an option:

The Airport
Every airport has an observation area. When weather permits we let the kids sit on the hood of the car, but in the rain they play in the car and watch the planes take off and land. The kids like to guess which airline it is.  We alternate between the International Airport and the smaller Executive Airport near our house. The kids love both!

The Library
Most libraries have story time or puppet time during the week and sometimes on evenings/weekends. This is a great way to meet other local parents, and enjoy some book time with the little ones!

Bass Pro Shops
We like to take the train down to Bass Pro Shop and then walk around and look at ALL the stuff. They can sit in the boats, on the ATV's and in the tents. You can stop and get a Coke and fries at the restaurant on your way out and look at the many fish tanks!

Chic Fil A
I'm not a huge fan of fast food, but you can't beat the play area at Chic Fil A! It is always clean, they have healthy choices for kids food and they usually have one night when kids eat free! And, if you go in the morning the place is empty and you can sit and enjoy a coffee in relative peace!

Chuck E Cheese
My kids are in love with Chuck E Cheese. Si doesn't know why she likes it but AJ thinks it is cool so she does too! If you go around 10am on a week day the place is EMPTY! The kids can run free, consume 20 tokens (for $5) and mom can relax!

The Pet Store
Its fun to take the kids to the Pet Store to look at fish, snakes, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, Dogs, etc. Just don't go if you have a soft heart or you may come home with a couple of pets! :)

Toys R Us
Kids can spend hours just looking at toys. And, if you buy a small car or toy on the way out it is an inexpensive day!

Barnes and Noble
The larger stores have a train table and a Lego table so the kiddos can play and look at books.

IKEA
Some of the many reasons to LOVE Ikea!
-Kids that are 40"+ & potty trained can play in the supervisd play area for 30 minutes while you shop.
-On Tuesdays, kids eat free
-If you come at 9:30 you get a HUGE breakfast for $1.99
-If you join their club you get free coffee!

The Mall
Some malls have children's play areas that are a great place to beat the heat or rain and play indoors. We can spend a whole day at the mall between the play area and the Disney Store!


Did I miss a place?

Rainy Day Energy Burner

When it is raining outside (as it has been for a while now) and I am trapped inside with my two tiny Barbadians I have to release the energy some how! Enter- Pillow Jumping!

I grab all the couch cushions and pillows I can find and lay them down flat on the ground. Then I cover them with comforters and blankets to make a large, comfy pit. I put pillows up against any sharp edges that might be near by, then I push the Ottoman up against the pile and let the kids jump! And Jump and Jump!

Usually I turn on some upbeat music and let the kiddos burn all the energy that they can! I have to referee a lot because they think that it would be even more fun to jump on each other! But to avoid any dangerous catastrophes I enforce a strict 'don't jump until the other person is off'' rule. It actually increases the fun because you have to be quick to jump, get up and run around to jump again!

Happy Jumping!

(This is a blurred Si jumping onto our pillow pile)

YUMMY UMMY Pancakes!

These are a family favorite! We especially LOVE the chocolate chip ones... they taste like dessert!

I like to make these one day, cook up a few, put the remaining batter in the fridge and then make the rest on day two- this way we have fresh, yummy pancakes for two days in a row! :) If making blueberry pancakes I use frozen blueberries and add the blueberries right before cooking (so they don't thaw and water overnight).

Enjoy!

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, melted

Optional
1 banana mashed
1 cup of blueberries or 1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions
1. Combine milk and vinegar in a small bowl and let stand five minutes to 'sour'.

2. Combine four, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, flax seed and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into soured milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone. Add banana and chocolate chips or blueberries (if desired).

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray or butter. Pour 1/4 cup full of batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula and cook until browned.

Makes about 6 pancakes.

Garnish
For chocolate chip pancakes we garnish with icing sugar.
For blueberry pancakes we garnish with butter and brown sugar.

Parent-Child Date Night

I read an article last year by Reb Bradley who related child rearing to a tree. He said, essentially, that you can tie apples onto a tree but it doesn’t make it an apple tree. Instead "Luscious fruit will be born from what we put into our children- not from what we tie onto them. As a matter of fact, in no time, the fruit that we put onto our children will rot and fall off.”

I keep this quote in mind daily. I am reminded that the relationship I have with my child is important. I must go after his/her heart in order to impact his/her life and life choices.

It is so easy for me to get sidetracked with day to day living. I am constantly immersed in caring for and watching over my children.

"AJ, don’t put that pillow over your sister’s face.”

"Si, don’t ride your Winnie the Pooh train over your brother.”

“Get your hands out of the toilet!” “Don’t touch the stove!”

My words are usually aimed at the body, and not necessarily intended for the heart.

For that reason, Matt and I find it important to set time aside with each child to really connect. Every week we have date night with a child. Matt takes one and I take the other and then the next week we switch. We are not always consistent, but we aim to get alone time with each child at least once a month.

When Si was little I would stay at home with her. I would give her a bath so she could enjoy having the whole tub to herself (without her brother) and I would sit on the floor next to the tub and talk and play with her. Now we go to the park and blow bubbles or enjoy an M&M ice cream together.

Matt likes to take AJ downtown to look at boats and watch the train. Lately I have been taking AJ to go bowling or ice skating, things he cannot experience with a two year old sister in tow.

Where we go isn't as important as what we do. I don’t use my cell phone. I focus on my child and conversation with them. Last week AJ and I went ice skating and then sat and watched the Zamboni clean the ice. We didn’t talk that much, but we were together and he knew that I was there with him, for him and that I love him.

My children are so precious, and SOOO much work. There are many nights that I long for bed time so that I can have some peace and rest. It is so nice to have a night dedicated to getting out of the daily routine and connecting with the heart of my two year-old and four year-old balls of energy.

Bean Play

About a year ago, my friend got me started on bean play. It is usually good for about 20 minutes of playing time once every couple of weeks!

I start 'bean play' by putting a large sheet underneath their play table (to catch all the stray beans) and then pour out a container of dried beans; kidney, black and garbanzo (nice to have a variety of colors). Then I add an eclectic mix of containers and scoops along with some cars, airplanes, lego, etc. Target dollar bins and the dollar store are great for scoops. I use random tic-tac containers, m&m tubes and any interesting, small container.

Sometimes we try to make shapes out of the beans, but mostly we fill up one container, pour it into another container and repeat.

On occasion, we have built contraptions with lego to carry the beans. It was fun, but made for a lot of extra clean up!

Happy beaning!

Supplies
-beans
-containers
-scoops
-table
-various little toys to drive through the beans

Outside-Inside Box

The standing rule in my house has been that outside items are left outside. The kiddos can find and carry around all the leafs, twigs, rocks, branches, etc. when they are outside, but when we get home, they are to leave them on the mat outside the front door.

Lately there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth as AJ has fallen IN LOVE with a certain rock or leaf and it pains him to leave it outside in the 'cold'. :)

So, I came up with the 'outside-inside box'. I went to IKEA last week and bought two small plastic bins with lids (for $1.50 each). I let the kids paint them and decorate them with stickers this week and now they have a place to store all of their beloved outside treasures!

Hopefully, the box will calm AJ's aching heart and the lid will keep any possible buggies attached to the treasures out of my home!

Dress Up Play

I rarely purchase dress up clothes and, as a result, our dress up box is an eclectic mix of items found around the house.

We have a little bit of everything including: baseball caps, cowboy hats, Star Wars masks, winter hats, winter gloves, Handy Manny gloves, toy cameras, old cell phones (battery removed), random dress up/Halloween costumes, play jewelry, belts, purses, etc.

My kids love to dress up, pack up the purses and pretend that they are getting on an airplane to visit one of my sisters in either Canada or New Zealand. They move around the house from bed to bed (the beds are the airplanes), unpack their belongings, and then load back up to switch planes and continue on their journey.

Recently, a friend gave me the idea of putting a full length mirror out to use during dress up play. The kids love dressing up and dancing around making funny faces in the mirror!

I truly believe that you don't need to spend a ton of money on dress up clothes. All you really need is a little imagination, and a couple extra hats and purses! :)