Keeping Busy on Cold Days

Does anyone else feel like a total crazy person when you have to be inside all day with a toddler!?!? There's no way it's just me, right? Last week we had this unusually warm spurt for February weather in Pennsylvania. It was crazy warm. Like, June and T.J. were wearing shorts warm. Like, we played with bubbles and went for walks all hours of the day warm. And it spoiled us all!

It's cold now, like normal winter weather, and we're stuck inside all over again. My neighbor/friend Kim text me and was like "I know its only been a week, but I can't think of anything to do with Clara now that outside isn't an option." 😂 But... f'rills.

So, June and I have been stretching everyday things -- like brushing our teeth and reading books --  into much longer activities. For as creative as I can be, playtime with June is not something that I'd say comes naturally to me. That's T.J.'s department. I will make the house out of cardboard, and then T.J. and June will play in it. #teamwork

But I'm getting better. Learning to play with June in ways that come more naturally to me, and show myself some grace when I literally can't think of a single. thing. we could do.

June loves to read books, so one of my favorite things to do is pile all of her favorite books onto our bed and let her "read them" to me. 😂 Which sound a lot like, "Apple. Fall. Boom. Ohhhhh. Tacos. Dog. Click, clack Moooooooo!"

We've also been brushing our teeth together, simply for something to do. June has learned to climb up and sit on the back of the toilet, so she can reach the sink. We wet our toothbrushes together, put on the toothpaste (her favorite part) and "brush, brush, brush!" for like 15 minutes. She's also learned to "spit" in the sink, mimicking me when I brush, and it's so funny. She's not even spitting anything out, just making a spit sound in the general direction of the sink!

Also, note her "crazy eyes" below. 😂 She does it all the time now!

Too often I can be someone who thinks "This shouldn't take so long!" or "This is a waste of time." But, being a parent has gotten me (honestly: forced me) to slow down, and not feel like I need to be in a hurry all the time. On these cold winter days I literally have no where else I need to be, so brushing our teeth for 15 minutes is a perfect use of our time. 💕 Or when she wants to sit on her changing table and count her toes 800 times in a row, I don't feel like I should be doing something else anymore. This is it! This is life and parenting and it's awesome. Highly repetitive at this age, but awesome nonetheless. 😉

June and I also spend lots of time playing with the kitchen she got for Christmas. She pretends to cook eggs for me, and often serves them with mustard and a stick of butter. She'll place things in her microwave and then go "beep beep!" when they're "done cooking." It's so fun to watch her play and mimic what I do in the kitchen - which I assure you isn't serving eggs with mustard and a side of butter. 😂

The other thing we do is use our bathtub like a ball pit! T.J. ordered a bag of cheap "ball pit" balls from Amazon last year and they're so much fun. (They're easy to clean up and store in a big trash bag too!)

I let June play in our bathtub a lot, especially when I'm getting ready. It keeps her in one place, where she can still be in the room with me, but not near my makeup or hot curling iron! She loves to point out all of the colors of the balls and play with her trains and cars along the edge of the tub. And I love watching her play, while I paint my nails or pluck my eyebrows for the first time in 3 months. 😳

(Notice the cat toys that are mixed in with all of her toys below. 😹)

Hopefully there aren't too many weeks left of this cold windy weather, and before we know it we'll be outside again, playing on the front porch, and sippin' iced coffee in the sun. 

What are some of your current activities for toddlers when it's too cold to be outside? I'd love to know!

This post was sponsored by Primary -- an amazing clothing company for kids featuring brilliant basics that play well together. While this post was sponsored, all opinions are my own. There isn't a day that goes by where June isn't wearing an item from Primary. We really do love, and wear, their stuff all the time! 😍