dino soup
Pop quiz! What do motherhood, food poisoning, Key West, birthday parties and lots and lots of moving boxes all have in common?! What's that? Hmm, good guess, but it's actually a trick question; it's really just a laundry list of lame excuses for my radio silence... sorry. It's been a busy few weeks here, seemingly for everyone we know. Must be the changing of the seasons and anticipation of summer. For us, it's the impending move (less than 2 weeks away!! What?! It has been a while, huh?) coupled with a few other distractions that have kept us spinning. Anyway. Enough excuses. I'm here now.
There are countless reasons why I'm bursting with excitement about the house being finished (and a few things that bring a little tear to my eye), but by far the most significant is the desire to get back to my life. It's been really interesting and sometimes refreshing to have something else on which to focus my attention for these (gulp) 8 months, but it's been to the detriment of many other [much more important] things in my life, namely my sweet boys. I'm not proud to admit that taking on what was for big chinks of time a full-time job with no extra childcare left me staring frantically at the computer or on the phone with the contractor while my babies were flailing, sort of desperate for attention. It's tough. I've always had the utmost respect for mamas who are able to divide their brain between work and their children. It's a growing interest of mine to find out more about how some mamas are able to gracefully stoke both passions simultaneously (much more on that coming soon...). I am seemingly not one of those moms. Maybe it takes practice.
So, in a two-fold attempt to entertain my boys and finish what I need to get done, I went to the best place I know to find awesome projects (talk about creative mamas multitasking) and made my guys a Bean Box. I picked up a plastic bin + 2 bags of dry pinto beans. The rest you just make up with whatever you have lying around; spoons, cups, animals, balls, sticks. Both boys love it and it's a great way for me to get dinner cooking or check a few emails [almost] guilt-free while they play contentedly alongside... Today's we had Dino Soup. Recipe to follow. Now hang up + hug your babies. xo
Recipe:
1 plastic tub, cardboard box, mixing bowl or other shallow vessel
2 or more bags of dried beans, we used pinto
Cups
Spoons
Shovels
Animals + dinosaurs
Cars + trucks
Guys
Mix all ingredients well. Leave your need for tidiness and spotless floors behind. Enjoy.
What are some of your favorite activities + projects for kiddos?
