A Day In the Life and Colored Rice

As a teacher, I got to experience the best of both worlds: working mom and SAHM. I was a SAHM for 9 weeks in the summer with my son, Derek.  After having our second child, Brooke, in April, I am now officially a SAHM.  Derek still went to daycare part-time until mid-June and is now home with me ALL.THE.TIME.  Love him!  But he is three. And a boy. An active boy. Who doesn’t nap.  So I like to come up with fun activities to keep him entertained. 

In a previous post, I talked about the calendar I made for him that keeps his activities straight.  We don’t have an activity everyday, but it is nice for him to count down to soccer or to a beach trip.  On the days that we don’t have something planned outside of the home, I try to plan fun things to do at home.  Especially on days that are 100 degrees with a heat index of 105! (Like the past two days).

Today.  A day in the life of a SAHM with a 3 year old and a 2 month old.

My day began at 6:15am.  Today I managed to shower, take Brooke to the doctor (Bryan met us there) do 3 loads of laundry, fold 6 loads of laundry (I had 3 sitting there from about a week ago), play with Derek, cook with Derek, consol a screaming baby after getting shots, make dinner, and begin reorganizing my craft room (furniture moved and floors cleaned).  Now I just want some ice cream and we are out!

Colord Rice Sensory Box

I found this on Pinterest after my friend posted about it on Facebook (what would we do without social media?)  I made the rice yesterday but did not follow the exact directions on the website.  Fun for indoor play on a super hot day like today!

 http://shareandremember.blogspot.com/2011/06/rainbow-rice-garden-sensory-play.html

Here is what I did…

1. I got a 10 lb bag of white rice (store brand was about $7)

2. I put 4 cups in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and added 3 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol and one small bottle of food coloring (you know the kind you buy in a 4 pack at the grocery store?)

3. I sealed the bag (well, I thought I did, the yellow and the blue not so much, there was some spillage on the kitchen floor) and mixed it all together. 

4. I lined baking sheets with foil and spread the rice on the sheets. I put them outside in the sun to dry (it was 100 degrees out so this didn’t take long).

5. After they were dry, I put the colored rice into piles in a large plastic tote.  This way Derek would see all of the colors and he would get to mix them up.

I was able to make 5 different colors with just a little rice leftover.  I added dinosaurs and cups to the rice and he played with it for over an hour!

S’mores Croissants

http://homemade.tipjunkie.com/smore-croissants-edible-gifts/

use crescent rolls and add chocolate chips and mini marshmallows then bake!

Next time I will add more chocolate!

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

http://realmomkitchen.com/9318/oven-baked-chicken-fajitas/

I managed to get Brooke to sit in the bouncer and fall asleep long enough to prepare dinner.  I put it in the refrigerator so that if I was occupied when it was time to cook it, Bryan could put it in the oven or I could manage to do it quickly.  It was very good and very easy to prepare.  Even Derek ate it! (He’s pretty picky but he ate it wrapped up in a tortilla!)

If only I could be this productive everyday!