So it’s been a lousy week for going outside. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful that we haven’t had subzero temperatures and two feet of snow. But I still have three young children in the house, and all of that energy has to go SOMEWHERE. I think I’ve mentioned my admiration for Pinterest in the blog before, and when it comes to “indoor winter activities to save mom’s sanity”, there’s a whole lot of suggestions out there. So here’s how my week went down.

 

 

We started the week with an indoor picnic in the living room. It’s a fun idea, and the kids loved it. As it turns out, I prefer sitting in chairs, or a couch, or pretty much anything other than the floor, but it was worth it. With a little help from my Pinterest pals, I came up with a pretty creative indoor obstacle course. This one took a little bit of time and preparation, but it was hilarious to watch the little munchkins racing over furniture, underneath kitchen chairs, and jumping on pillows across the “lava” in the family room. We also had a treasure hunt, numerous dance parties, and built countless forts, which little man would then go all Godzilla on within a matter of minutes.

 

But my favorite part of the week was yesterday, when my oldest daughter and I started some seeds to be ready for spring planting. My oldest is a country girl and loves to be outside. The month of January is especially frustrating for her. So letting her work with soil and plants, even inside, is a great way to make her smile. And we talked about how preparing the seeds now will make it easier for the plants to grow when we are able to plant them in the garden, how planning ahead will make our garden more successful. How we’re able to start plants that might not be available at the nurseries in the spring, so we have more choices in what we want to accomplish when we plan ahead. How we’re saving money because seeds take more work, but less money. I know those lessons might be a little too much for my younger two to take in, but since she’s started full time school, my oldest daughter is making connections that frankly amaze me and leave me writing thank you notes to her teacher. So I was happy for the opportunity to beat the winter blues and start encouraging good habits at the same time. I’m Claire, the Afena blog mom. Thanks for reading.