Recently I asked on Facebook for some ideas about indoor activities for almost-3-year-olds. Sometimes during the summer in Vegas, you just gotta treat it like the winter elsewhere… there’s no way you’re playing outside because the weather just isn’t cooperating. And my kid would probably be perfectly content playing on the iPad all day. But I don’t want her to be on it all day.

I admit, I do let her use the iPad. Apparently if you cop to that online you’re a crummy parent. She loves the show Go Diego Go. (Seriously, it’s a fantastic little kid show!) She could watch it for hours and because she watches the show she was this precocious little 2-year-old at the zoo recently saying things like:

• “Panda bears have very sharp teeth and eat bamboo.”
• “That ape is going to pick up bugs and eat them.”
• “Stomp your feet like a tapir!”

Do all the little animals factoids she’s picked up have any use? I don’t know… maybe someday they will. But I do need to try to temper the iPad use a little bit. Recently I signed her up for Koala Crate (the littler kid version of Kiwi Crate), and our first box should arrive next week. So next weekend is when we’ll open it up, I’ll share what we got in the crate after that… but I’m hoping it contains some fun activities that we can do inside and aren’t super messy. I’m always glad that I send her to school because I just don’t think she would have painted as much as she has if I didn’t. I can’t see myself busting out paints and gearing up for a big mess here at home for just the two of us.

JadeTheBoxer had to go to the vet a week ago; she was moving very slowly, having trouble walking/going up the stairs/squatting to pee… I was concerned she had serious intestinal trouble again like she did four years ago. It was very similar behavior to that incident. But the doctor checked her out and thought it’s more of a compressed disc in her lower back/hips. She was put on some anti-inflammatories and restricted movement for a few days and now she’s eating and moving again. Hopefully everything is all good; she goes in for a re-check next week. #AwesomeA was very upset that the vet didn’t give Jade a sticker though. “She will get a sticker from a doctor!” So that was remedied.

Today I am taking the day off work. I have vacation days to burn up before June 30 so I don’t lose them. I took last Friday off too… I could get used to having an entire day off to myself every week. It’s not likely, but it is delightful. My kid woke up super early this morning so I couldn’t get out to run. But I had the time to do a run inside (too hot outside if you wait until after 7 AM to start) on the Zero Runner. And I did three different workouts using apps in conjunction before/after my run. And then I could take a shower. And then watch @Midnight on Hulu while typing this blog post. And I’ll still have time to do whatever I want. 8 hours a week just for me, it is deliriously amazing! I’ve just had a lot of anxiety and stress and anger built up inside this week… this is helping settle my brain some.

June 21 is International Yoga Day… I need to do yoga that day. (Hmmm… maybe I’ll do some yoga today too, in my leftover hours just for me! ME ME ME!) I didn’t know about this holiday before I was sent these energy mists from Balanced Guru.

 

They come in different scents derived from essential oils and designed to stimulate different chakras (Fearless, Guilt-Free, Empowering, Full of Love, Truthful, Intuition and Understanding) when spritzed around you. I don’t know if they invoke any improvements to those particular areas for me, but they make a nice air freshener!

What would you do if you had 8 hours of time to yourself? Do you believe a scent can make you more fearless? Any suggestions for rainy day/snowy day activities that we can do indoors during the hot summer months?