Finding Rainy Day Fun in Unusual Places

What to do on a rainy, gloomy day?  I love just staying home and playing, doing crafts, messing around with playdoh, etc., but there are just times where you need to break out of the cabin fever and just get out with your kids. 

We didn't discover this newest place to explore under the most delightful of circumstances -- my husband is in the ER with a bad fever and chest pain.  But while they took him to have a CAT scan, my daughter and I checked out the children's section of the hospital and found a Disney-themed play area, a welcome diversion while we waited. 

I wouldn't have thought of a hospital as somewhere to look for rainy day activities, but it sure did fit the bill.  If you've got a good sized hospital in your area (especially a children's hospital) and you're looking for a new place for fun on a rainy or cold day, check to see if they have a lobby with stuff for kids.

Have you found a great place to have fun indoors when the weather's not great for being outdoors?  Please share!

Kitchen Giveaways Galore

So I've already given you the heads up about The Five Fish's Step 2 Kitchen giveaway in my last post.  Just so happens that there are several other opportunities to win a Step 2 Play Kitchen out there right now from some top mommy bloggers' sites.  You've got to hurry, though, most of them are only open until the end of November or soon thereafter.  

Here's the scoop on each.  Look for their blogs' buttons on the left as well:

First, Our Ordinary Life'sStep 2 Deluxe Kitchen and Give-a-way runs until December 1st.  Our Ordinary Life (Kristen) is a test drive mom for Frigidaire (which by the way, is sponsoring a Creative Kids in the Kitchen contest in conjunction with Step 2) so she knows her kitchens.  Her review of the Step 2 was just as positive as The Five Fish's.

Another great giveaway where you could win the Step 2 Deluxe Kitchen is on Amanda - A Stay at Home Mom's Point of View's blog.  Amanda took some great photos of her kids' kitchen to give you an idea of what the accessories and features look like.  She also remarks about the easy assembly.  Her giveaway runs until Nov. 30th.

Lizzy at Lizzy Dear's Life is holding a Step 2 Lifestyle Party-Time Kitchen Giveaway, also open until December 1st.  Her kids have really enjoyed playing with theirs, and Lizzy says that it's the perfect size for a play kitchen; not too big, not too small. 

Finally, if you're looking to win the granddaddy of all play kitchens, Two of a kind, working on a full house's Step 2 Lifestyle Grand Walk-in Kitchen Review and Giveaway is not to be missed. She takes great photos of the kitchen's amenities and talks about the ways in which her son plays with it.  It keeps him entertained for hours.  Apparently, it's not TOO big, and it even has a slighly squooshy faux hardwood floor.  Can I have that for my kitchen?

These are some great opportunities to win a big Christmas gift for your kiddo(s), but even if you don't win, I hope that you're able to get some great deals to help your gift budget stretch farther.  Check out the rest of Step 2's great toddler toys too!

Fishing for a Great Gift? Catch this Giveaway

Toys that keep your child entertained for hours are worth their weight in gold.  Ones that foster imagination, creative play and allow for several kids to play together are even better.  Another mommy blogger whom I've started following, The Five Fish, recently reviewed such a toy, the Step 2 LifeStyle Deluxe Kitchen.  She should know about the multiple-kid, multiple ages playability of this toy -- she has twin toddlers and a 6-year old who've all loved it.

And, she's giving one of these fab kitchens away, courtesy of Step 2.  Read her review and enter the giveaway for a chance at your child enjoying the cool food & utensil accessories, realistic appliance sounds and lots of storage space for all of his/her culinary creations. . . for free.

Li'l girlie is already interested in kitchen play; she empties out her cupboard in my kitchen daily and one of the few recognizeable-to-the-general-public words is 'bowl'.  She loves bowls, especially the one on our salad spinner.  I could see her going nuts over this kitchen and its play food and dishes, and I'll probably play with it a ton too if we won, truth be told.  I love to cook, and am excited to continue fostering a passion for it in my daughter.

Thanks for giving away one of these awesome toys, Five Fish!   We all love the opportunity to get free cool toys like this for our kids to foster their imaginations.

O-Ball

This is one of those toys that'll last a kid from infancy all the way through their teenage years. It's a few bucks well-spent. My daughter has been playing with her O-ball since she was around 6 months old. Here's what the play has looked like at each stage:

6 months:  Mostly chewing on it and batting at it when I hung it above her with some plastic links.  It was easy for her to grab and shake too.  Daddy also liked mindlessly throwing the ball in the air and catching it repeatedly as he was thinking or talking.  Samantha liked to watch.

Crawling:  it's easy to chase and get a good handhold.  Throwing the ball and giggling when it bounced was popular.

Just starting to walk:  throwing the O-ball down and chasing it.  Liked holding the ball and gnawing on it during diaper changes.  Pointing to the circles in it.  Smooshing the ball down and watching it go back into a ball shape.  This elicited giggles as well.

20 months:  Our new favorite game is 'throw the O-ball in the bushes and take it out'.   The title's pretty self-explanatory.  The O-ball is light enough that the circles catch on the branches for easy spotting and removing of the ball from said bushes by the toddler herself.  :)  One of her buddies likes to play 'ball up', which is basically tossing the O-ball straight up in the air and chasing after it when it lands.  We'll see what other games the kiddos invent as they get older.

What I like most about this ball:

- Very durable.  Its strong, flexible plastic can take a beating from being squooshed, stepped on, and chewed.

- O shapes make easy handholds, especially for kids who are learning to carry things, catch, and throw.

- Very lightweight; if someone gets hit with this ball flying through the air, there's much less chance for injury than many other balls. 

- Interesting shapes and bright colors; visually stimulating for young children (and adults too  ;)  )

Storytime!

Just got back from the storytime at Winter Park Public Library, grateful for the free indoor fun that it offers my active 19-month old and I. To me, a great storytime for this age includes easy-to-follow stories with big pictures, songs, dancing, and hand motions. Sound effects like animal noises and stomping are big winners too. I think the WPPL (Winter Park, FL) dishes these out in the right doses to get toddlers interested and having fun. Plus, there's the big finale of either bubbles or playing with a big basket full of animal puppets. That spells 'instant party' to Samantha.

Yes, I know there are music, movement, and gym classes where kids can learn and explore. I'd love to try one with Samantha sometime. However, for families tightening their budgets or who like the flexibility of only coming when their schedule permits, library storytimes are big winners for interaction with other kids and a variety of learning situations. Not all storytimes are created equally though, so it's worth going to all the storytimes in your area to see which one your child likes the best.

A big bonus is a library that has a play area or cozy reading corner in the childrens' section for pre- or post-storytime activities. It's easy for kids to pick out books from the shelves and want to read with Mommy or Daddy when there's an easy environment to relax in.

Bouncy, pouncy fun

By this time in the summer, it's felt like we've exhausted most of the ideas for fun places to go and things to do where a mom and a toddler won't overheat...and that are really cheap or free. We've loved the pool, splash pads, and the occasional mall playground, but when my friend M told me about an indoor bounce house & inflatable activity play place that had a FREE toddler time, I jumped (ha ha) at the chance to go.

Our 18-month olds were among the youngest kids there, but they loved to bounce and even go on the 16-foot slides with their moms' help. This place, Ipez, lets parents go on the bouncy stuff with their kids to help, and that made it even more fun for Samantha. We loved giggling with delight together as we bounced and pounced around. I loved it too. I've got a lot of kid in me, so I admit, I'll go back, even to just get my own Tigger on.

If you're not from central Florida, look for these kinds of places near you. It's a blast. Any other ideas for summer fun? Please share.

Winging It

Samantha likes to sit on my lap and look at my laptop. Until recently, she's liked watching some educational music videos, but lately she's been fixating on looking at our photos. Today she got really picky about the photos and only wanted to go through the ones of her at the pool, the beach, and the splash pad over and over. Then it got to be the just the pictures where she's wearing her 'flag' swimsuit. Transitioning to another activity got tears each time.

Finally a light bulb lit up in mommy's head. "Sam, do you want to put on your swimsuit?" Instantly her big green eyes were riveted on mine and she frantically signed 'please'..or in actuality 'please, please, please, please'.

One problem: a thunderstorm was headed our way. Think fast, mommy. I grabbed her bucket, shovel and a toy fish, telling Sam we were going to have a fun water adventure. I put on her suit and filled up the tub. She was thrilled to get to splash and play with her pool toys and wear her swimsuit. I squirted her with the shower to pretend we were at the splash pad.

Great fun, and a new activity to add to the rainy day activity repertoire. Wish I could be this good at winging it all the time.