Winter has come...and seems to never be leaving.

#SMOM
Mar 3, 2019
3 min read

Snow showers almost every day, and a POLAR FREAKING Vortex...all while being forced into hibernation with a toddler...Check out below tips on fun activities to brave the harsh...and seemingly never ending Winter.

It has been wayyyy too long AND wayyyyyyy TOO Cold!

OMG...I have missed blogging, BUT it was not for nothing that I neglected my second baby:-)

To be fair...time has been a commodity...not because I have been extremely busy, BUT because the #minime and I have been limited in times we have been able to leave the house due to the fact that I am a Southern born gal.

While my blood has changed....ya girl DOTH NOT know how to drive in snow lol.

The #Minime and I pretty much hibernate outside of going to work and her daycare.

With that being said, it can be hard to keep a toddler with the learning ability of a genius (check this great article about how brilliant ALL of our children are) entertained, engaged, and SOMEWHAT behaved.

Here are some activities that have carried us through this Chill A(-)F Chicago winter.

1. Story Times

The #Minime LOVES reading books, especially ones that we have read 1627531x and counting:-)

Of course, we love our Barnes & Noble Saturday story time. You can look up the story time theme of the week and there is always an art activity to follow. Additionally, we hang around the kids section reading other books, playing with toys, and just wandering around one of the few places where it is more difficult to break anything;-p

Plus, it is probably nice for the #Minime to have someone else read to her on occasion.

If she is SUPER well behaved...she gets to take home a book!

2. Mall Madness

The living space may be tight in the city, but the malls still provide wide spaces prime for exerting energy.

Depending on how much pent-up energy the little one has...depends on whether or not she can go without her toddler leash lol.

***SN: Could care less about anyone's judgment about me using a leash...not gonna have Netflix making a Part II Documentary of #AbductedInPlainSight featuring yours truly!***

Strange thing...the streets always clear up when Fenty Beauty has a new release or Coach is having a sale:-)

My friend takes her kids to Target to have them run around and play with toys.

3. Puzzles

Dollar Tree has quick, easy, and age appropriate puzzles for toddles AND they are almost guaranteed to have your kid's favorite character and/or current interest.

Mickey Mouse: CHECK
PJ Masks: DOUBLE Check
Peppa Pig: SIGNED, SEALED, AND CHECKED

Seen...purchased...and personally put together.

Melissa and Doug is a fantastic brand that we love. What I love about their puzzles is how they are pretty much puzzles disguised as toys.

4. Pretend

The Good Old Fashioned Imagination Never goes out of Style.

This is actually my fave because you get to truly see how your little one's brain is working and what all they have absorbed from watching you day in and day out.

Our favorite pretend accessories:

Her Kitchen
Baby Stroller
Teepee
Plastic Storage Containers (she discovered this one on her own)
Baby Wipe

Cool and Absolutely Adorable Things the #Minime Does During Pretend Play

Feeds her #JonSnow
Cooks with fake butter-WHICH she also uses as medicine to care for me when I do not feel well lol :-) (little does she know butter is medicine for the soul)
Place items in and out of storage containers...perhaps she has seen me organize a time or eight
She went so cray with the baby wipe that she used it to clean the couch

5. A Little Music and a Little Mess and some movement

Coloring on windows with washable markers, shirtless spaghetti and pizza meals, pajamas all day set to the perfect mix of mild Trap Music and Nursery Rhymes/Disney Tunes...this is one of the ways the #Minime and I like to do Winter.