Doing stuff with the kids

Today or maybe in the last day or two, I've been wanting to DO stuff with the kids at home, instead of the usual "let them play on their own" while I tidy or email or cook.

I think it's the holidays. I'm in Christmas shopping and organizing mode, especially looking ahead to "Journey Week" coming up with dress rehearsals and performances to make our lives pretty busy. It's also Angela, who led the boys in a "craft" at playdate a couple weeks ago and I was impressed that she did activities with Christopher at home (she admitted she just started with that one so far). I've seen gingerbread houses at other friends' houses and with Family Fun magazine staring at me every day from the coffee table, it seemed like such a fun time of the year to get Tobey "doing" things.

But today, in wanting to make holiday wrapping paper with Tobey, I realized how much of our day is just getting through the day and how little time there was to sit and do something special together.

- In the morning, it's about getting up, dressed, breakfast packed and to the Y. Kids are definitely playing on their own if they're not actively getting ready for the day.
- When we come home from the Y, Eli naps, I eat breakfast and (well, just today) made a bunch of phone calls for appts while Tobey watched Charlie Brown Christmas.
- When Eli woke up, we played on the bed a little but then it was pack it up for a trip to Safeway.
- While at Safeway, I should be more interactive but since the placenta previa days, I've used the toddler car shopping carts which means the boys play in the car while I wander around Safeway in a shopping trance. Maybe I should nix the car cart and let both kids involved in the shopping more, as if the 1+ hour I was in Safeway today wasn't long enough.
- After Safeway, the boys helped put groceries away (both of them get into it, very cute) and then it's naptime.
- I could have played with Eli a little when Tobey went down for nap but today it was answering calls and thinking about MY lunch (it was past 3PM). Actually, the boys already got to nap late because Sunnyvale dude came to measure our buckled sidewalk, very exciting for Tobey as he watched through the front window.
- Finally, after Tobey woke up, I got us ready for stamping wrapping paper. And then before the first stamp falls, Eli wakes up. I actually ignored Eli crying in his crib for 10 minutes so that Tobey and I could stamp 2 ft. of wrapping paper.
- Tonight was a little unusual in that we shopped for a new cell phone for my parents and ate out so as soon as we came home, it was time to go to bed.

Fifteen minutes of purposeful "activity" time -- that's all there was today. (And no special activity for Eli besides 10 minutes of building Legos before Tobey woke up this morning.) I felt a little bad about that so when Tobey asked for a little extra playtime before bed, I sat down to play with him instead of squeeze in my 10 minutes of Internet.

I know I need to be more mindful of creating these "activity" or even just interactive opportunities for the kids (or for Eli, reading 15 minutes a day), but on a day like today, it wasn't easy. I just hope the kids aren't hampered by this. I mean for now, it's just fun activities but when they get to school, it will be about helping with homework or enrichment activities to keep their brains going. I hope I will make the time for them by then, starting now.