Cabin Fever and Toddler Activities

Thank goodness today was gorgeous and warm!! It actually got to 61. I have been suffering from some major cabin fever. Eden played outside at school and after lunch we played at the park across the street from our house for an hour. It was a bit muddy with some 30 mph winds- but who noticed!? Our sleepy little park was crawling with kids. Since it's a toddler park, most kids are usually really close to Eden's age- SO FUN.

The weather definitely *made* the day, but it was pretty perfect otherwise as well. My insomnia is much better, and although not totally gone, I am getting enough consistent sleep that my tremors have returned to normal and I am not tired during the day. Huge answer to prayer!! This has allowed me to return to my schedule of getting up early, hitting the treadmill, getting ready for the day, and fitting in a quiet time. Eden went to school today, and I celebrated getting up early and working out, by not doing anything! I was a total couch (chair) potato- no dishes or laundry, just some time to plan out a few projects and catch up on blogs. Thomas went with me to pick Eden up from school- a rare treat- and joined us for a lunch of soup at our favorite North Shore coffee shop.
After lunch Eden and I hit up Paper Source and found little chicks. Perfect for a fun activity (pics below). Then home for some fun magnet board play and an hour at the park with 2 cute new friends. I celebrated again at quiet time and did NOTHING. When Eden got up we made a home for our chickies. She played with that until we headed over to a good friend's house for our Tuesday night dinner with our Missional Order from church. At bedtime, Eden sang Jesus loves Mommy this I know... SO SWEET :). My evening is ending with blogging and the latest episode of Project Runway All Stars- anyone else addicted to PR??

Back to the cabin fever, Pinterest has been awesome in helping me stretch myself and have fun activities available to keep Eden (and myself) from going crazy indoors the last couple weeks.


First there were the aqua beads. This is a great sensory activity. I do not recommend this for any kids likely to put them in their mouth. I can't see how they would be much of a choking hazzard as they are slippery like jello, but you never know, and they are marble sized. However, they are non-toxic, re-hydratable (no special storage or care required), and super super fun.

I hid little plastic dinosaurs in the bottom and Eden loved digging for them.
 

This is not a revelation of Pinterest, though I was reminded by a pin how fun "messy" kitchen floor play can be. Eden had a great time exploring which container held more water, etc.

Here's the magnet board mentioned earlier. It's an old toy, but Thomas showed her how to use different shaped magnets from the fridge to create new markings- she is hooked. The below picture is a crocodile eating snow (?).

 And of course there were the little chickies. Here's Eden's picture of them:

And here she is with their new home.

BTW- Thomas' major comps are in 1.5 weeks!! Please pray for him as he prepares for this stressful event. Thanks!