Trapped toddler parents of the fabled Winter 2020/2021. Puddle suits at the ready..hello Christmas!

[footprintsintheslow]

New thread as the other one is running out.

A place to find find and share ideas of how to get through these crazy times with lockdowns and babies and toddlers.

New members welcome.

A couple of very successful activities here, totally stolen from you lot! A heart card for granny and toys stuck in the ice on the tuff tray. Sprinkling salt on was fun, then he bashed it all up with a spatula and paddled once it melted.

Mum’s birthday today. She’s in our bubble, but we’re only meeting outdoors whilst DS1 is at preschool. So we spent a very cold couple of hours in their garden this morning! Bring on spring!

DS2 deigned to sleep with me lying down last night (though not in his cot) so I feel like I had actually had some rest!

Here's the photos I forgot to add

These have been really popular with DS today (Mathlink cubes). They were a Christmas gift and I'd put them away as being a bit old for him, but actually he loves them - kept him busy for ages adding different colour cubes together and making some basic shapes!

@jobbyjg. Stealing your 'ice-skaters' for when we re-freeze the tray for tomorrow.

We made Welsh cakes today together and toddler cut up leaves and twigs which she glued on paper. All nice and calm here.

Roll on half term for any teachers or owners of school aged ones, hats off to you. Don’t know how you manage.

Tuff tray is back outside along with some ice skating animals in a bun tray. Bloody genius ideas you lot. Going to be -5 here overnight. Highs of -1 tomorrow. I’m not going out in that! Home day it is.

Had a delivery of a box of wooden dominos yesterday, the ones that you use for a domino rally. They’re a selection of colours so the play possibilities are pretty endless so we’ll get those out. Have also promised that we will make a cake. Mainly cos I want cake.

Made our bird fat balls. Did not use near enough lard so I’ve essentially made greasy bird seed in yoghurt pots as they’re not sticking together in the slightest. Excellent.
I will remake them, with more lard, when DD is at nursery one day 😂

Oh and inset FS to nursery today with a valentines card he’d made for his best friend. He was so cute.

Oh and DD did her first laugh today and I managed to get it on video!

Glad you got your fat balls made MonkeyPuddle even if they weren’t the best! Know how frustrating it is to have ideas you are determined to do but never seem to get there between a baby and a toddler!! I was debating fat balls but we have a sparrowhawk and a buzzard flying round ours frequently, so I am worried it might be a bit of a bloodthirsty display Hope Dd less sicky after your trip to the drs?
We have not done much this week, it’s so cold. We have some paint dabbers (though you could equally cut circles out of sponge) and DD loves painting snow pictures with just a coloured in figure or other printout as a focus and white & glitter paint so thats quite relaxing as she will spend ages on it & I’m not so worried about mess as i would be with red etc paint! Did ice decorations which were surprisingly great for a 5 min project. Also highly recommend a bit of astroturf as a low cost tuff tray mat if you can find some cheap - Dd played with her farm for ages on the “grassed over” tuff tray and it is surprisingly sensory!

Tried DD with a later bedtime..... 4.30am wake up. Got to laugh really.

DH has had to go to work this morning so I'm going to attempt some veg stamps. I've got some unsquishy but sad looking potatoes and apples.

Our tree blew down in the garden last night, luckily it blew into our garden and not through the fence into the neighbours. It managed to miss the decking and the glass table and has just squashed some shrubs. Something was in our favour

Hope the day does not seem too long Motherofmonsters. DD is only 31 months so should still be napping, but when she started refusing the nap we realised no nap is the only way to get a good overnight stretch for us. Now baby DS is teething am sometimes quite pleased when she wakes early just for the company

Proper coffee for you @Motherofmonsters! It’s soul destroying when they bloody wake so early.

That look lovely @Lostthetastefordahlias I would never have thought of doing that with the paintings, logging that in my brain for future use!

DS is currently smashing the shit out of ice again, he bloody loves it. Means I’m just sat here having a brew. His fave thing is freeing the animals so I’ve thrown in bloody loads of them.

Off out to pick up a massive Valentine’s brownie I got for DP and me, half choccy orange and half lotus biscuits, can’t wait to get my laughing gear round it tomorrow.

I used to love those things when I was in primary MessAllOver

Half term here! DH and I have both booked the whole week of work too. We are just going to play with the DC, tidy a bit, and try out a few different parks but honestly it feels like a week somewhere hot and sunny with drinks with umbrellas in them.

Oh @Motherofmonsters sympathies! May I suggest eating all the sugar and caffeine today.

2 nights of prodding ds at 4 worked for a 6.15 wake up, this morning morning came in with me for 20 mins at 3 (think he had a nightmare) then asked to go back to bed and woke at some point around half 6 - he then shouted that the sun was out on the clock we bought so that seems to be positive!

This morning we went to a park and wood walk with my mum and had a hot chocolate in the cold. Tried some glitter glue craft this morning, he had lots of chaotic fun (with me semi jokingly whining to dh that "he's not doing it how I want!" .

We made say dough hearts and a snail in the weeks so they were our canvas

Aaaargh to the non sleepy toddlers! DS2 has seemed to click that if it gets past 3/4 am I will bring him into bed for a quiet life he was shouting last night at 2am "MUMMY AND DADDYS BED!!"

All these ice activities sound fun. I don't think we have a big enough tray to do anything like that :o

DH is doing a big Ikea click and collect later so that will be the rest of our weekend sorted. We have ordered DS2 that play tunnel.

Maybe the children on this thread are getting too much mental stimulation because of all our good ideas .

DS's sleep has gone downhill in the past few weeks too... he's gone from a solid 7.30-7 to 8.30/9 to 6.30am. Not as terrible as some of you are having to deal with but nevertheless painful .

I had to go to Asda this afternoon. It was utter carnage. Almost like the shops were just before lockdown 1.
But I bought myself a choccy bar and ate it in silence in the car. It was absolute heaven.

@meow1989 youre braver than me, glitter doesn’t exist in my house 😂

@BertieBotts I won’t be doing it indoors again, well not til next winter anyway.

@MessAllOver maybe we need to just leave them too it, let them go feral and they might knacker themselves out!

Thank you to whoever suggested the busy books, DS had been playing with the paw patrol one for 2 hours on and off! Can’t believe it. Currently the Gruffalo is laying siege to Adventure Bay.

@BertieBotts I found freezing your in cups or small bowls and letting ds melt them in a large baking tray on a table worked better than the tough tray, might be worth a go?

Our biggest hit today has been a cardboard box and some stickers. DS loved putting them on and DD loved picking them off

Possibly, I don't think we have any large baking trays either. I thought about looking at gardening trays but having just done that big Ikea order I don't really want to spend out on more stuff! Anyway we have enough ice outside :o

He will have to have fun with the tunnel for now. His room is starting to look like an ikea showroom (The graffiti wallpaper is at some point getting changed)

Anyone want a cat? DD was actually sleeping more than 2 hours but the cat decided he wanted to go out and before I woke up enough he banged the doors. He lies on the floor and pushes them with his feet. Obviously he woke them all up. 5am start again Gah

Oooh, we need a picture of the offender @Motherofmonsters. So we can coo over him see how evil he is!

@BertieBotts. Your lucky DS having such a nice space! My DS has the boxroom so it's a bit cramped though we've done our best with it. That room has real potential - love the rug and doll's house.

I agree, cat picture needed please!

Very lazy day today, far too much screen time but the weather is miserable, I'm really feeling down at the minute as well, I'm normally so positive but I think lockdown has finally hit me. Anyway, we've played with play dough and also had the sand out, kitchen utensils worked well with the sand. Reusable stickers on the window and feeding the squirrels nuts, afternoon splash in the bath as well. Prob do some nursery rhymes with pictures later (draw the main elements and dance round with them, eg spider cloud and sun for incey wincey spider etc).

Sorry you're feeling down @PinkDaydreams this lockdown has been the worst so far.

Here is the offending cat, lording it up on my bed

@Motherofmonsters you have made my day with that picture thank you! Gorgeous cat, he's very handsome!