snowed in

Some days after about nine thirty in the morning I look at Halle and think "now what do we do?" In the spring and summer this is my cue to take her to the park or to play outside. But in these cursed Utah winters that is just not an option. Freezing our buns off outside is not my idea of a good time and turning our brains to mush inside watching shows is not my idea of a great time either. On icky cold days we have a few standby activities we love to do inside the house.

Here are our top 10 favorite things to do inside.

1. watercolor and art: Halle loves to color, paint, paste, tracing, etc. Anything art she is all over. She loves to bead pony beads onto pipe cleaner. We make bracelets with them. The pipe cleaner helps the beads stay on because her little mind doesn't yet understand holding a flimsier material up so beads won't fall off. Watercolors are especially her favorite.

2. vacuum monster: We scatter a few of Halle's toys around a room. She has to pick up all her toys and get them to a safe place (bed, couch, chair) while I chase her with the vacuum. Two birds with one stone: entertainment and cleaning.

3. bubbles: Outside or in we love doing bubbles. I know doing bubbles inside freaks some people out, but they are harmless and Halle has turned into a pro bubble blower. And on slightly warmer days it is an easy way to take advantage of the sun and get some vitamin D.

4. blanket caves: We stuff a blanket into couch cushions and over the ottoman (we use beds too) to make a little cave. It is a fun little nook to bring stuffed animals and to eat snacks.

5. craft snacks: Turning snack time into a little project kills some time. Some of our favorites are making snowmen out of banana slices, pretzel sticks, chocolate chips, and apples. We also love making witches brew.

6. dress ups: It is no secret Halle loves to dress up. She gets a kick out of dressing up in my shirts or Wes's shirts with all kinds of shoes. When she dresses up she loves to act out scenes from her favorite movies.

7. gluing silly faces: We make a face on a piece of paper and have little eye, nose, mouth, hair, and earring shapes cut out ready for pasting. Not only does it teach them where the parts of the face go, but they can learn to use their little hands to glue as well.

8. puppet shows: This puppet stage was a gift we received with little finger puppets way before Halle was born. We love making up little stories with the animal puppets.

9. flashlights in a dark room: Halle loves a good scary game and exploring rooms with flashlights is perfect in our dark basement.

10. dance-a-lot robot songs: Halle's favorite part of nursery and joy school is when the kids get up and move. Dancing and making up moves to songs is another one of our favorite indoor activities. The Dance-A-Lot Robot songs found on the Disney channel are perfect for this. You can buy the songs on itunes. Our favorite is the dinosaur song. Disney songs are always a hit as well as pretending we are whales to the song "Baby Beluga" and we can't forget the ever annoying song "Who Let the Dogs Out."