Rainy Day and Lazy Evening Activities (For Grown Ups)

We were incredibly lucky over the Bank Holiday weekend to have sunshine, actual real British sunshine. There were even talks of people getting their first t shirt tan lines thanks to these rarely seen rays. As a family we took full advantage, getting out and about, visiting the local car boot sale and parks and I even managed to squeeze in an afternoon of gardening. The kids played out, the little one blowed bubbles in the garden and we even managed to get some laundry line-dried.

Unfortunately this type of weather is rare at best so we always have rainy day activities planned as a back up to keep the kids happy and occupied. We also have activities for us growns up for when the kids are busy, out and about without us, (or one of us) and for those long evenings indoors after they go to bed when the garden is too wet or cold to sit out in and enjoy. What do you consider your rainy day / indoor activities?

Reading
I’m rarely without a book or an e book to hand. Lately I’m enjoying easier reads peppered with the odd hardcore read that keeps you gripped until the last page. I really must visit the library more as in theory it is cheaper than buying e books but of course only if I remember to return them in time so I don’t get hefty fines!!

Browsing
As silly as it sounds there are times when I just enjoy a good old fashioned browse around the internet. I work online so you’d think I’d get fed up of it however work tools, word docs and similar are simply not the same as looking at pretty stuff on Pinterest, reading blogs around my interests, and just generally catching up on social media in a non work-related manner.

Gaming
I blame Roy for this one. Years and years ago (before the kids) he got me hooked on online gaming; one game in particular really called Star Wars Galaxies. I haven’t played in years yet last week he badgered me into trying it again and I love it! Thankfully it’s one of those things where you can just walk away and come back to whenever you like which is essential when you have kids in the house. Being something of a Star Wars / sci-fi and fantasy geek anyway this is my kinda rainy day / evening in activity.

Cookery
Believe it or not I actually find cookery really quite relaxing. I enjoying messing around with new recipes, batch cooking for the freezer and generally just experimenting when it’s quiet and I’m not cooking to a deadline. I recently relinquished my rather large cookery book stash to the charity shop after copying down a few old favourites as the be honest all the recipes I’ll ever need are online these days. As much as I love to cook I really do not like bakingm isn’t that strange?!

Movies / TV
We rarely go to the pictures however Roy and I do love a good movie or TV series and so we record them on Sky+ or add them to our list on Netflix and every now and then we call Date Night. Date Night is the night we enjoy a quiet night in, just the two of us, doing what we enjoy. The kids go to bed and then we have a special meal (steak next time) and snuggle up together to enjoy our favourite shows. Simple but perfect for a lazy night in.

What do you like to do when you have some rare free time to yourself at home? Once upon a time I used to enjoy cross-stitch however I haven’t felt the urge recently. I’ve friends who are a whizz with the crochet needles and enjoy knitting and what not but I’m not that creative or craft driven.

I’ve told you mine, now you tell me yours 🙂

Quick and fun water activities for toddlers

Thanks to Helen Lindop for today’s guest post! Helen is mum to two toddlers and blogs about running a business around a young family at businessplusbaby.com. She’s also just started a new blog at toddlerstuff.wordpress.com.

My toddlers are fascinated by water – pouring, stirring, splashing and even throwing it! Getting the paddling pool out is great fun, but sometimes the weather just isn’t warm enough or you don’t have the time to set it all up then dry up afterwards.

So here are some quick and easy water activities that can be done outside even on cooler days. Just put on waterproof clothing and wellies if it’s too chilly for a swimsuit.

1. Bucket of bubbles

This one keeps my toddlers amused for ages. Get a clean bucket (adult-sized) and half-fill with water. Add a good squirt of washing-up liquid and stir the water vigorously with a whisk (or something similar) until the bubbles are coming up to the top of the bucket. Then add cups, bottles, spoons, funnels, watering cans and any other containers you can find. My two and three-year-olds love scooping up bubbles, pouring them, trailing them across the ground and making me ‘cups of tea’!

2. Water containers

Fill a few bowls and buckets with water and place them around the garden. Add some cups, pans and bottles and your toddler will carry cups of water from one to the other. You could even put a few spots of food colouring in the buckets.

We found a short section of clean plastic guttering that was left over from some repairs on our house. The kids loved propping up one end of the guttering then pouring water, leaves and small toys down the little river they’d created. (Just make sure there are no sharp edges on the guttering.)

3. Water painting

Give your toddler a bucket of water and a clean paintbrush (the type you’d use for decorating your house), then let them ‘paint’ paths, fences, walls or anything else they fancy.

There’s nothing to clean up because it’s only water. This is one of the few activities where the play area might even be cleaner after the kids have finished than it was when they started!

4. Dolly’s laundrette

Have a pint-sized wash-day with a bowl of bubbly water and dolly clothes. Give your toddler some pegs and a washing line to hang the clothes on afterwards.

5. The bath

If the weather is just too cold, give your toddler an extra-long bath-time instead so you can both stay warm!