Just a little visual reminder of the warm weather we have to look forward to...a picture of Parker in his mini-pool last May! The scowl is deceiving; he ended up enjoying the water...I promise!And then...we got our electric/natural gas bill the other day....goodness gracious...it was just *astronomical*! I'm embarrassed to even say what it was. I really have no idea what we're doing wrong. We have 826 sq. feet of house that we live in right now...so really not that much to heat. We have great windows, I keep the blinds shut, we don't even heat our bedroom...what to do, what to do? I've even tried to keep the heat lower during the day but since Parker and I are home much of the day, I try to keep it fairly comfortable. Okay, so I admit that I'm a cold person and I really enjoy a warm house....but I don't think I'm extreme. Does anyone have any ideas? We really need help on this one!
And what about some ideas for indoor activities to do with Parker? We have a lot of fun most of the day until about 4pm and then he gets crazy because he has so much energy to burn! He really lost it yesterday and decided he needed to jump off a chair in the kitchen...head first! And his goose egg on the other side of his forehead was just going away--what a shame:)
Posts
10 comments:
I can totally relate to this. It is freezing here and we just got 7 inches of snow. It is too much work to take 3 kids anywhere.
I always keep our blinds open to let the sun in, it makes a huge difference for us.
Ideas for play - playdoh, playing w/pans (noisy, but they love it), coloring, puzzles, blocks, a bubble bath, fill the kitchen sink w/dishes and let him pretend to wash, color wonder finger paints. Just some things that come to mind. Hope that helps.
And I thought it was just my boys that go NUTS at that same hour, 4pm all the way through making dinner and until they eat.
They are basically bored I guess. After Christmas and having new things to play with like color wonder markers/paper(I agree, that's some good stuff) puzzles, swords ; )they were sooo quiet in the evening. Now the noise is on the rise again.
Sorry, I'm in the same boat and don't have any entertaining ideas!
Man, it is cold there! The only idea I have for keeping more heat in is a rolled up towel pressed up against the bottom of your outside doors. I remember we had a stuffed cat with an extra l o n g tail just to do that job back when we lived in Ballard. Sounds like your doing all that you can though!
Try and stay warm!!
Love, Aleah
Hi Amy! I was just visiting from Munchkin Land's blog. I love how she posts all the baby and pregnancy updates. I'm the crazy one expecting our fourth child :)
I hear you on entertaining during the winter! It is a challenge! We live in NC now so it's not so cold, but last year we lived in Indiana and doing anything with three kids in the snow was so very hard! I remember the boys' energy skyrocketing too. My husband made them a bunk bed with a climbing wall & a slide to help get rid of some of that energy indoors. Making forts is good too. Pulling a mattress or couch cushions onto the floor and pretending it's a trampoline is fun for them. Even just playing in the bath or kitchen sink can entertain them for quite awhile. Though unfortunately those are all activities that require supervision but that's all I can think of right now. Oh and having a sibling to play with helps too - I suppose your on your way to that already, even though it'll be awhile before they can play together!
I hear you! At school, the kids can only have in-door recess due to the freezing temperatures! I can't wait for the warm weather! Can't wait to hang out!
Love ya!
I can relate to. We had to defrost our car today...in California! We started turning on the heat every other day. Kind of different, but it helps me be more selective about when I use the heat. Haven't received our bill yet, but am hoping it has made a difference. Of course, you could always do what we did last week...take a trip to Florida where you don't need the heat!
Believe it or not, I can totally relate! We've had a ton of snow on the ground for a WEEK now, which is so crazy for over here! Its way too cold to take Audrey on walks, not to mention too hard to push the stroller with all the snow and ice!
My only kind of saving grace has been that she has a cold, so she hasn't really wanted to go out much. But we have still been getting cabin fever, especially like you said, around 4:00. One of my friends calls that hour "the witching hour" b/c all kids tend to go crazy around that time :)
All this to say, I'm not sure what advice to give you...have you tried playdough? Audrey is just now getting into it and it kept her happy for 45 MINUTES yesterday! Actually, I think I am going to email you, b/c I just thought of a couple more ideas and this comment is turning into a book!
Love you!
P.S. Your last post about Parker and Elmo was so cute! He is going to be such a great big brother :)
Oh, I understand about the cold. We live in a valley between the mountains where it gets down to -7 at night, and maybe 5 during the day. We keep our curtains open for the warmth of the sun, the heat down in rooms we don't use, and that's about all we can do. I'm not much help, am I?
Our little boy loved forts when he was a baby - actually, he still does. A few chairs with a large blanket draped over the top, or (if you're feeling energetic) moving two couches back to back with a few feet inbetween. Throw his pillow and a flashlight and some books and some goldfish to munch on, and he might be a happy camper!
I do NOT miss the days of the Gas bill arriving in our mailbox. (One of the *small* joys of living at home again.) I will be keeping you guys in my prayers and thoughts. Let me know if you get any wonderful ideas about how to keep gas bill costs down...
hey amy! we're back from china. Give me a call when you have a chance, i'd love to pop over and see you ! im at pembertons 927-6780.
totally hear you about the heat issues! in china, everyone wears at least 3 layers of clothes even the babies! so, anyway, i think that is really uncomfortable, but since i've broken down and started wearing 2 pairs of long underwear and pants on top and 3-4 sweaters/shirts, it has really made a difference! its crazy and i feel very unattrative, but hey, nice to be warm :)
see you soon ? love, gina
Post a Comment