It’s been pretty cold lately, for Atlanta standards anyway.  And early this week was pretty rainy as well, so our usual routine around here has been a little thrown off. We normally enjoy walks around the neighborhood or some time on the playground since afternoons are almost always warm enough for that.

As I type this, it’s in the 30’s though, and I know some of you reading this from somewhere else might laugh as I say that because we southerners are definitely wimps when it comes to getting out in the chilly air.  My wimpy-ness aside, spending less time outside can leave mom and baby feeling pretty crazy sometimes. He’s getting to the age where he’s learning the meaning of the word boredom, and sometimes I am not quite sure what to do to quell the restlessness.

We still abide by the no television rule around here, and I’m not going to lie that it gets harder these days as he gets more active and as the weather is less friendly for backyard entertainment.  It’s not that I’m pretentious or all I-am-a-better-parent-than-you about it, it’s just that I’ve probably read too many things about the negative effects of television on little ones his age, and we’ve survived this long without it being a part of our routine, so we’re going to keep truckin’ with that standard for as long as we can.

So what’s a mom to do? Spend $1.70 at Target and try our hand at play dough.  He did try to eat it at the beginning, but once he understood the tactile fun and squishiness of it, he realized it’s more fun to play with than to eat.

So that’s how my week was saved with under two dollars. If only all problems were that simple.

I know this isn’t a novel idea or anything, but to me, it is.  I forget that he is getting old enough for these things, and my baby is more little boy everyday.  I’m thinking I might start mixing my own dough soon since there are quite a few recipes out there, and that’s probably even cheaper than the store-bought route.  I’ve also seen other examples of sensory play and crafts I might want to tackle next.

So something simple saved the day here.  What saves your sanity at your house? Blocks, coloring books, stickers?  Relatives are asking for Christmas requests and I’d love to know what to tell them.