Back in the days before I became a mommy, a rainy day might have meant organizing a closet, catching up on some paperwork or even, dare I say, a day where we would do nothing. Imagine that. A day wasted away while on the couch reading a good book or watching a really bad movie on Lifetime. It would be a peaceful day full of quiet activities and take out food. Life was good.
Image by Jon Person via Flickr
Fast forward to the present and things are not quite as they used to be. Life is still good, but way different. Each day starts out the same with my two little monkeys running around the house playing while we prepare breakfast and figure out how we will spend our time together. Daddy is home with us on the weekends so we try to use that time doing fun things outside the house as a family. On a nice day, we have tons of options but on those gloomy, rainy days, it is time to get creative. Two bored children can be a recipe for disaster. Sometimes getting creative means making a huge mess but if it keeps the peace, I can deal with that. One time I was busy getting some laundry done on a rainy Saturday and when I emerged from the basement my entire living room was transformed into a giant fort. My husband and four year old took every chair, pillow and blanket they could find to construct the massive structure. It was quite impressive and the kids had a blast with daddy pretending to be astronauts who landed on a strange planet. On this planet a mommy martian resided and would occasionally attack the tiny astronauts with her tickle powers. Nothing is better than hearing your children squeal with laughter as you chase them around pretending to want tickle and/or eat them. I sometimes wonder how different the games would have been if we had girls?
The amazing thing about having young children is the fact that you can transform your room into any situation you can imagine with just a few props. My living room has been the moon, a fire truck, a construction site, a train station and sometimes a combination of all of the above. At two and four, I really don’t need “stuff” to entertain them as long as mommy and daddy are willing to get down on the floor with them and create these pretend worlds. Some truly special moments are created during these times but yes, after a day of playing space aliens non-stop sometimes it is nice to make some popcorn and watch a movie as a family. What I mean by “watch” is the kids watch the movie while sleep deprived mommy and daddy take a little nap. We are all together and everyone’s happy. Can’t get better than that.
This post was written by
francine – who has written 12 posts on Label Daddy.
In 2007 Francine left a successful graphic design career to devote her time to raising two beautiful boys as a Blogging WAHM. She found that cutting costs can be as effective as making money, and has replaced her income through freelance work and frugal living. She helps others do the same by sharing her coupon finds, product reviews, and tips for frugal living on her blog, Have Kids Will Coupon.
