motherhood // curing cabin fever

although there's no snow on the ground we have been getting a bit of cabin fever over here.  anyone else?  i mean, there are only so many frozen elsa puzzles one can do in a day.  sometimes when it is frigid outside it can be hard to come up with ideas to do with little babes.  one night in bed i started jotting down a list of things to get us out of our funk.  just a simple list of ideas when my mind gets foggy with the winter blues.  it's good to have lists like that on hand, an easy way to get motivated when your body suggests otherwise.  this list contains things to do both in and out of the home.  sometimes we need slow days where we don't get out of our jammies, and there are a few things on this list for that.  and they there are days that getting out of the house is a priority.  it is sometimes difficult for me to get all packed up before leaving the house with little ones, but after i do i am so thankful for it.  the fresh air combined with human interaction, it's kind of essential.  here are some ways we are curing our cabin fever this winter season.

1. go to your supermarket and get a big bundle of flowers.  those cheap carnations will do just the trick.  let one of your kids pick out the color, stella loved doing this.  toss them about your home in a frenzy, placing them in unexpected places like the bathroom or on a window sill.  do not go shy when it comes to flowering up your mantle.  go crazy.  your heart will thank you.

2. meet a playdate at a local nursery and pick out a few new plant babies to take home.  spend as much time as you can there, smelling the greenery and soaking up that fresh oxygen.  go ahead and pretend it's summer for a half and hour.  pick out an inexpensive plant to take care of with your toddler.

3. bundle up and get your buns to the park!  it might be freezing out but if you fill your thermous with hot coffee and put five layers on your babies you'd be surprised at how long you can survive on the playground.  we have a little park within walking distance and sometimes just walking there, swinging for ten minutes, and walking back does the job.

4. make a new music playlist or go thrift some new albums from the second hand store.  put them on first thing when you wake up, even before you make coffee.  music has such a special way of uplifting us and it's such a fun way to start the day.  lately we've been listening to the misterwives and stevie wonder.

5. diffuse your oils!  i am so serious, you guys.  diffusing oils such as grapefruit and orange and lemon and joy have been major sources of happiness for me.  you cannot go wrong when diffusing something citrus.  and whenever we need to freshen things up, we diffuse purification.  i have been diffusing oils everyday and it really has made a difference.

6. get together with other mamas you love spending time with and eat goat cheese together.  or whatever you feel like eating, but goat cheese is always a good place to start.  your babies can come along and mess up the house while you eat and chat.  so good for the soul, mama play dates are.

7. put your babes in a bubble bath.  turn up the music and let them play and play until they want out.  we do this day time bathing about once a week as fun activity.  sometimes, i'll take in a big stack of books and read to them while they play.  it is a great way to get them relaxed before nap time, too.

8.  have an indoor picnic.  this is a fun one to do with stella while theo is napping.  we will set out a blanket and sip juice out of little saucers and eat toast and jam.  albeit, it's no outdoor picnic, but still fun nonetheless and changes up our routine a bit.

9. go to the library.  this is another outing we make at least once a week.  we stock up on new books to read and spend time discovering new authors.  now that we've been going to awhile the kids know our routine, which is nice.  we also make it for story time here and there which theodore enjoys immensely.  your local library should have an hour for little ones, check out their web page for some fun ideas!

10. spend the day crafting.  this one takes heaps of patience because we all know doing crafts with little ones is not the easiest endeavor, but the gigantic mess is always SO worth it.  some of our favorite carats include watercolor painting, making play dough, making cards for friends, and tracing objects found around the house.

i would really love to hear some of your ideas on how to cure cabin fever!  thanks, friends. :)

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