BEANS, BEADS, AND BIKES

The kids desperately needed something different to do today, and I desperately needed a little "quiet" time and ability to put my leg up (Why does it feel just as bad now as it did two weeks ago? Shouldn't it be getting BETTER?) Phase 1: dried beans in a kiddie pool (which was quiet in the sense that they played PERFECTLY together, no fighting or arguing, no whining to mama, no asking me to go sit in the beans with them - but wasn't really quiet, since dried beans make a LOT of noise when scooped and dumped).

We hadn't played with the beans since the time I spent over an hour sweeping and vacuuming up beans from all over the sunroom, then still found them for weeks later tucked into random places... But this mama wasn't as worried about messes today as she was self-led play. And Christina's post about Will's bean bin during the hurricane reminded me about the tubs of beans safely tucked away in our Harry Potter Closet. So we put a spin on the bin and stuck the beans in the smaller of our two kiddie pools. 

This activity kept the kids entertained for almost an hour.

Then James requested Batman (two episodes, so about an hour's worth). Though Cora went back and forth between reading and playing solo in the bean pool.

About a half hour before lunch, James returned to the pool with some new toys.

I'd say that's a pretty good duration of self-led play. 

I was able to enjoy my coffee and read up on Barefoot running.

After lunch and nap, I figured we needed a change of pace. Phase 2: Jay set up the larger kiddie pool outside with fresh water and the slide, and I put the Water Beads I'd been growing overnight into their sensory table. The kids hadn't played with water beads in FOREVER, so they were beyond fascinated (and highly occupied) with them and pretty much ignored the pool, even though they were in their swimsuits.

(The flask is plastic, don't worry)

(Bubble wands made good water bead containers too)

(Lemonade break - a special treat for the holiday)

(They got in the pool briefly to cool off, though even with the offer to help each other not be scared to go down the slide, they both faltered and retreated once they got to the top. SO WEIRD how kids' fears come and go and come and go...)

Finally, Phase 3: bikes. This really didn't last very long. The kids wanted to go back inside to play some more with the bean pool. I guess they were just really into scooping and dumping today...

 Which was awesome. Until Cora peed in it (Why? I have no idea. She was accident free for ALL FIVE of her days with me, and hadn't had any accidents at school or the babysitter either. Maybe something to do with *likely* peeing in her swimsuit outside, *likely* in the pool? Even though I had JUST taken her potty.) Luckily, Jay took a break from homework and took care of the clean up (never fear, all beans were hosed off then "baked" in the oven to dry and further clean them). Then he kept the kids busy while I cooked dinner, and handled bath and bedtime. He could tell mama needed a break!

And then I had a large glass of wine after dinner. And all was well. 

Goodnight :-)