Ice Day Activities

This Mama has been going a little stir crazy this past week. We've been stuck in the house for the past 3 days due to a quarter inch thick sheet of ice coating every flat surface. It has caused schools to close for the past 3 days as well, which is absolutely unheard of here in Texas, but this ice just is not melting making the roads too dangerous to drive on. I actually considered going out today, but when I thought of all the bundling of my 2 little ones I'd have to do, I decided against it. Instead, during Quinn's nap today, Aidan and I had a few hours of no screen time.

First, I helped him make Valentine Day cards for his classmates. I cut. He chose colors and glued.

 Then, we made a homemade paper mache mask of his face. This was in interesting project. I coated his face in Vaseline first, then dipped strips of newspaper in my paper mache mixture (1 part flour, 2 parts water if you're curious), and then laid the strips on his face.

 He very patiently allowed me to do this, but the hardest part for him was not talking and keeping his face still, so the strips around his chin and mouth area kept slipping off. It was also taking a lot longer to dry than I anticipated, so I ended up removing the mask from his face and shaping it onto a ball and using play-doh to prop up the nose area. When it dries completely, I'll let him paint the mask and decorate it with feathers and glitter, etc. That's most likely a project for tomorrow since more snow is predicted to fall tonight.

 Our last project of the day consisted of him making a picture with popsicle sticks. Once they were glued down, he used markers and stickers to finish making his picture.

Can you tell what it is? It's a bird house, of course. See the bird on the left side? In the right corner is the bird's bed, pillow, and blankets. Today is the bird's birthday. He's wearing a party hat, there are presents and cake on his bed, and balloons are floating around. And the stickers on the floor...those are the bird's toys. All Aidan's idea. I did help break the sticks though.

By the time all this was finished, Aidan was ready for his nap, which is where he is currently residing, so I'm enjoying the little bit of quiet I have now. Of course, my quiet also includes baby coos and music as Quinn is grinning at himself in a mirror and laying under his play mat.