DIY Toddler Games & Activities

I spent a lot of time perusing the internet the last week looking for fun things to do with Sweet Pea. Now that she is sitting up by herself I feel like there is so much more we can do! I pinned a ton of ideas on Pinterest so you can find a lot more there, but here are some of the games and activities I made yesterday and today:

Sensory floor

For the sensory floor I just taped a bunch of different stuff to the floor for Sweet Pea to touch. Seen here are tinfoil, wax paper, and a Ziplock bag with about 3 tablespoons of water (which I later added blue food coloring to just to make it look cool). She loved it, especially the bag of water.

Shakers

I have a ton of leftover breastmilk containers. I put a few of them to use as shakers by filling them with rice, beans, marbles, etc. Make sure you hot glue the lids shut!

Pom-pom fun

This may be Sweet Pea's favorite game. I bought a pack of pom-poms at the dollar store and put a few in another empty breastmilk bottle. She had fun shaking them out of the bottle and then putting them back in. To change it up a bit, I gave Sweet Pea an ice cube tray and set her to work "sorting" pom-poms. Fun!

I also bought a few used books on Amazon for $.01. Yes, you read that right: one cent (+$3.99 shipping, but still...). One of them arrived last week and I have really enjoyed reading it. "Baby Days: Activities, Ideas, and Games for Enjoying Daily Life with a Child Under Three" is full of activities divided up by time of day and age of baby. It's funny that I need a book to remind me how fun it is for Sweet Pea to play with a box of tissues, but I do! I get so caught up in the day-to-day routine of taking care of her and myself and I forget all the other things we could be doing. Anyway, I am loving the book. When the others arrive I'll let you know if they are worthwhile.

In the meantime, check out my Activities for Toddlers Pinterest page. There are so many free ideas on the internet from lots creative moms that it's actually a bit overwhelming!

Where have I been?

I can't believe my last post was from June 19! What have I been doing?

I dropped the ball on the photo-a-day thing and haven't been blogging because basically, my husband is out of school for the summer and we have been having a lot of fun outside.

I've also been introduced to Listen Up Vermont where I can check out ebooks on my Nook - I am addicted! In the last two weeks I've read Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mom, The Peach Keeper, and now Emily, Alone. Maine is on deck too! I forgot how much pleasure I get from reading a good book.

I also spent hours reading magazines that have been piling up. I feel terrible if I recycle one without reading it, so this weekend while the Hubs was at deer camp for a work day I read them all. (If I could only convince myself not to also hang on to many of my magazines my house would be a cleaner more organized space! Damn you Atlantic, Vermont Life, Cook's Illustrated and Yankee!

Our garden looks spectacular and will, I hope, stay in good shape while we are in Florida. The deer have let it mostly alone this summer but we've been invaded with flea beetles, then cucumber beetles and potato beetles. We've already been able to eat the lettuce, and some basil and cilantro.

I've been making mental packing lists for weeks now for Florida and need to actually write it down. Flying with Sweet Pea's meds and bottles actually seems pretty easy. I will not be using cloth diapers that week to save my sanity and space in our luggage!

Speaking of Sweet Pea, her first birthday is a little over a month away and I've been working on it too! I can't believe she will be one already! The anniversary of my pre-term labor and bedrest is July 7... that also seems soooo very long ago.

Happy early 4th of July! I hope you all spend some time reading the Declaration of Independence tomorrow!

Cheesy self-portrait during our walk/hike to the abandoned West Wheelock Cemetery

Companion Planting

T'maters were planted Monday

It's a stunning day in the Kingdom and Sweet Pea and I are going to take full advantage of it. After our morning walk with friends it's time to finish the tomato patch.

My tomato and pepper seedlings all died this year so I took a field trip sans baby to Berry Creek Farm Sunday afternoon and picked up 18 tomato plants, 12 pepper plants, and a bunch of flowers for the deck. I got the tomatoes planted Monday just before it rained on Tuesday - perfect timing.

Yesterday I got my basil seeds in the dirt - I am hoping to have 6 plants although I haven't had much success in the past. I've read a lot about companion planting and although Wikipedia says that in blind taste tests people couldn't tell the difference between 'maters planted with basil and 'maters planted without, I'm doing it anyway.

So, after our walk today we will hit up the greenhouse again in search of Marigolds. I like to plant them all throughout my garden, but am going to focus on the tomatoes today. I think 12 plants should do the trick. Once they are planted, the patch should look like this:

The plants won't be THIS close together in real life!

This weekend the Hubs and I are going to plant the rest of the garden - and I will turn 35.  (Next year I'll stop acknowledging my age!)  It will require lots of sunscreen, bug repellant, and patience! What are your plans for the long weekend?