I'm dying in the country. Well, not literally dying. I'm dying of boredom! And so are my kids.
First off, we are not used to cold. And it is COLD outside. That takes the fun away from the swing sets and makes it all but impossible for this Mom to sit and supervise. I end up zoning out and almost passing into a freezing-my-ass-off coma.
And there is nothing to do otherwise. I swear, everyone in this town must spend their summers roaming the cornfields and going to Target. That or underage drinking.
But it's not all small town America's fault. Rio de Janeiro has turned me into a city girl. I enjoy walking everywhere, besides cornfields. I love that I can run down from my apartment and pick up just about anything in less then 10 minutes.
I adore that I do not have to use my car on a daily basis. It makes me tingle that I can go to a multitude of parks, museums, nature walks, malls, movies, or restaurants with little to no effort.
I dig that the beach is so close, that I don't even have to bring chairs if I don't want to, and that there's a guy selling cold beer by 930am.
Ok, am I a city girl or a Rio de Janeiro city girl?
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the country. I really love to get out of the city... for a long weekend. Maybe for 2 weeks. I could even do a month if it's warm.
But 6 weeks in the middle of nowhere, in the cold, is a lot to ask for.
So I will not be moving to the little town in the middle of small town America where my parents live. I will visit. I love a good visit to the Grandma and Grandpa, as do my kids.
However, I do think it may be wise, do to our accustomed body temperatures, to save these special visits until spring.
Win win for all involved.
So any ideas to help me and two active little boys survive?
Send the boys out to make a snowman, or build a snow fort. You stay inside and make milky hot chocolate (NOT Swiss Miss!) with mini-marshmallows.
ReplyDeleteTake a hot bath.
Day two... I have no idea.
Do caipirinhas tast good heated?
Good luck.
road trip! Boston or some close city. Check out activities for kids online and plan a day. There has to be something low budget. I can't even take Green Bay after a couple weeks (city of 300,00), I end up in Milwaukee or Chicago at/with friends.
ReplyDeleteArts and crafts going away presents for your parents by your kids. You could spend a day planning that at least.
When I was in Green Bay I planned a Brazilian going away party for my family and friends. that was super fun to plan and do.
No snow! That's one of the issues. If it were cold and there were snow, they could go and play in it. It's just cold up here.
ReplyDeleteWe're going to take a road trip this weekend. And today, brace yourself, we're going to go take picture portraits. Well, the kids anyway. When in Rome
Hit up the public library. The kids sections are always really good in the US - puzzles, games, etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteSince most Americans are back in school, the librarian will have plenty of time to chase around the kids for you and show them all the books in English they've never seen, while you get to hide in a corner and read grown-up books.
Soon you'll be back home and you can let them loose at the beach! Well that's if it ever stops raining here.
ReplyDeleteOne indoor activity that my son loves is that I buy large sheets of poster-sized white paper at the papelaria and I buy new crayons and pens and we draw detailed cities and airports, it does kill a couple of hours and he loves it. We drew Paris yesterday...it's been so rainy here.
I love the public library idea!
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteIf they like coloring, Barnes and Nobles has some great super large sized coloring books for under 5 dollars.
Give them a box of Crayon and that should get you many hours of free time...if they enjoy coloring off course... :)
Ray
Made by Joel is full of great creative and easy to make ideas for your boys age.
ReplyDeletehttp://madebyjoel.blogspot.com/
From my back pocket:
And messy sensory play is often limited in brazilian life. drawing in shaving cream, chocolate and pistachio pudding as finger paint, a large rubbermaid bin filled with rice and beans or lentils or oatmeal along with a bin of toy animals and cars/cups and really cheap funnels and plastic tubbing are always a hit. Pick up a couple reridgerator boxes at the local appliance store for free and you can make great forts/castles/tunnels to decorate and customize a basement play space
playing of books is also a wonderful winter fun... have your dinner match a book... a teddy bear picnic, green eggs and ham... opposite days, pajama days complete with pillow fights... set up the tent inside, simple flashlights are also an inexpensive way to have hours of fun.
My Nana used to say that if you think about it as making memories it is always more fun and creative. Some stick and some don't but that is part of the fun of it.
Winters take practice... enjoy.
Thanks for the great tips! WE've done basically all of these things, minus the city designing. We did that today. What we haven't done, we will now be doing. A lot of memory making is being done :D
ReplyDeleteToday is warm enough, a nice 42 degrees F to go out to the park. There is sun, thank goodness! Will just stay away from rivers. Don't want to stumble upon florescent water or dead fish.