“The Rice Box: A Love-Hate Relationship”

Several months ago I saw some simple rice boxes in blog land that functioned like a sand box, but used rice instead. It was the middle of January, and we were lucky to get above 10°, so an indoor rice box struck me as pure genius. I mean, rice particles are bigger than sand so surely it would be easier clean-up, right?

I filled it with rice, added dump trucks, funnels, measuring cups and a few buried treasures and excitedly told the kids to go to town. It wasn’t until I assembled the thing, let the kids dig around in it, and then vacuumed up enough rice to feed a third world country that I realized there might be a few drawbacks :)

I let them do this for a few days in a row before I decided “we” (meaning “I”) needed a break from our wondrous indoor rice box. I put it away in the deep dark storage room and we went back to other forms of winter entertainment-- like cartoons. Okay, so we did brain stimulating activities too, but I was really over the rice box.

Just the other day Parker asked about the rice box and I begrudgingly brought it out and let him have it in his room for quiet time on top of a sheet. Meredith woke up from her nap and discovered the joy of dumpling, pouring, sifting, and (of course) throwing rice. It was still a mess, but they stayed glued to that spot for almost TWO hours until Madelyn got home, at which time she joined in the fun too! Thanks to the sheet, we were able to dump the rice back into the box and I only had to vacuum up enough rice to feed a family of four this time.

Then it hit me—it’s 80°, they can take this thing outside! Now we’re all happy with the rice box. I’ve learned two things about the rice box:

1. To use one in the house you have to be a really laid back mom, and apparently I am not.
2. Lucky for my sanity, kids enjoy the novelty of digging around in rice outdoors just as much as they do indoors.

What other novel concepts do any of you have for entertaining kids?

The Mother's Day Birthday Bash

Admittedly, this is not the most sentimental Mother's Day picture that has ever been taken, but it is the one where the kids were the most authentic and had the most fun! It was 2:30 pm and Meredith had not yet had her nap, so the only way she was willing to participate in family picture/torture time was to be bribed with a bowl of "peanups" as she likes to call them.





I was able to edit the "peanups" out of this one.



Her official birthday is tomorrow but we celebrated today since Adam will be working late.



She had a lot of fun opening the first present, which was a little bear puzzle that works like a paper doll. The various pieces can be swapped out to create different outfits and faces. After she got that open she didn't want to open anything else!

I have enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day. Adam and the kids went out yesterday to "see a man about a horse" (do some gift shopping) and I got some time in the afternoon to enjoy an unusually quiet house. I was very impressed that no one slipped up and revealed what they had purchased! They were positively delighted with themselves for keeping the secret from me. This morning Adam made breakfast (which the kids declared to be the best French toast ever).

Since my mom died six years ago Mother's Day has been bittersweet for me. My first Mother's Day as a mother was also my first one without my own mom. In the intervening six years I have learned a bit more about what motherhood really requires, and have come to appreciate a little bit of what it takes to be a successful mother, although I am definitely not naive enough to think I have "arrived"! I increasingly value my own mom each year and the sacrifices that she made to give me the opportunities that she did. I also have a deep sense of gratitude for other mothers who have influenced me and helped shape my understanding of motherhood, not the least of which is my mother-in-law. Every day I live with the product of her nurturing and feel so blessed to be its recipient.

Happy Mother's Day!