Catching up

I've been blog hopping with the Ultimate Blog Party, but now I have to say I'm a bit pooped with it all! Not because there are bad blogs, just MANY blogs to see and check out! It's been fun, but I'm also in a time of needing to balance* this whole internet + real life thing. I mean, the kids, they hafta eat I hear. However, Hunny has been brilliant in this hellish interim time that I've been sick, so I've been lying low and being a little more still than normal this past week in vain hopes of getting better. [Insert imaginary whine HERE about how much I hate being sick. Because surely an adult woman doesn't complain, especially when she's being taken care of hand and foot?!?]
*Regarding balance: Hunny said something today that I thought was quite profound. We were discussing a blog post I'd read that asked for tips on keeping communication alive in marriage while during the parenting-of-littles stage, and I asked him what advice he'd give. He basically said something to the tune of "yeah, communicating is really important," but then he referenced something I said in another bout of me complaining a conversation about needing to find balance. He said it's not actually about finding balance (apparently, it's over-rated anyway), but rather, it's about finding the happy median. Hmmm..... that makes so much more sense when I think about that. We are in a season of two-under-two-with-one-on-the-way, and there are days (and weeks) that I feel completely overwhelmed with just the everdayness of it all: the laundry that never ceases, the kitchen that won't clean itself, and of course trying to maintain some semblance of peace and order in the home. I've felt pulled and pitted, always thinking in terms of "can't," "not yet," or even "won't" when I need to be thinking in terms of what I CAN do now, which is finding a place that is "good enough" for NOW and be in the moment. I was talking the other day to a friend about being intentional, and I really need to think (and pray!) more about how I can be intentional in each of my relationships right now.
Which brings me to why I'm posting tonight at 11:30 pm. :) I was mindlessly browsing through some Montessori blogs tonight (hello-I cleaned up my Internet sidebar and re-found all these awesome sites!) and this one caught my attention. The idea of making an activity box of things for Bear and I (and even Bunkin) to do together is BRILLIANT, I say! Why did I never think of this before? So often I muddle through my day, admittedly spending way too much time on the computer, and at the end I'm left wondering what the heck I even did all day, let alone how did I spend quality time with Bear. This is why I was even perusing my Montessori blogs; I was looking for age-appropriate activities to start incorporating into our days as well as begin honing in on some ways we can apply a little Montessori-inspired activities for home preschool. The making of our Activity Box is going to be an activity itself, but some of the other ideas that I pulled from that list are:
(disclaimer: I'll paste permalinks later; I'm just trying to get this info down, but most of them are on her list)
-tissue paper candle holder
-bird seed pine cone treats
-stamps/nature stamping
-petting zoo visit or feed the ducks or pet store
-make wool felt balls
-marbleized paper
-dye white flowers
-draw with washable markers and spray with a water bottle
-bake
-glue cotton balls to paper plates
-make ziploc icecream
-make playdough
I'll also put in some Montessori activities for more structured playtime, and of course I'll add those as I read more. Bear is such a routine kid that I think once he gets used to activity time, he'll love it so much. We've never really done this at home, and I'm very excited. I've just got to figure out how to occupy Bunkin while we do some of the not-so-appropriate for his age activities.
Ok, it's officially midnight, and I actually need to be awake early in the morning. Sigh. I'll post more about our activity box and fix the permalinks later. For now, though, I'm going to be praying through being intentional and trying to complain less!