How to keep a toddler happy when you're sick
Thank you for all your well wishes. I am feeling a bit better. Perhaps it was a 24-hour flu? One of the hardest things about being sick and a stay at home mama is figuring out how to entertain a very active toddler when I can hardly move.
So what captured her attention for at least ten minutes? Washing her dishes after lunch.
Drinking water from the faucet.
Filling cups of water. (And then dumping the water on the floor.)
Even though she was completely soaked by the end of it, she was happy and self-engaged. The best part was mama got a ten minute rest before having to clean up a dripping toddler and puddles on the floor.
Might have to try that with my little one! She`s very into emptying drawers/cupboards and bookshelves at the moment..that will keep her busy for at least 20 mins! Glad to hear you`re better!
Posted by: Becca | January 30, 2008 at 07:03 AM
How wonderful to live in a place where you can drink the water!
I'm glad you're feeling better!
Posted by: Kim | January 30, 2008 at 07:28 AM
I'm glad you are feeling better! That last picture is really cute :) My little ones love to have the kitchen sink filled with snow and then I add different cups, scoops, spoons to the mix. It keeps them busy when I need a few extra minutes to cook ;)
Posted by: Nicole | January 30, 2008 at 09:43 AM
Glad your feeling better. It is so hard not being able to "take the day off from work" as a mom when you're sick.
My daughter received her new barrette that we ordered from you yesterday and she loved it! Thank you for the beautiful pine cone photo also.
Posted by: Dawn | January 30, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Adorable, as usual!
I'm glad you got a wee bit of rest, although I can empathize with being tempted to just take pictures of your otherwise-occupied child. That's what I end up doing a lot, too. They're engaged on their own? Oh, must take pictures ... instead of resting or doing something on MY own. ;)
Posted by: Grace | January 30, 2008 at 12:18 PM
oh yes, the sink is a daily saviour with our little one too. one time she and i spent a full thirty minutes playing in the sink in the bathroom on a cross-country flight. by the nods of the flight attendants and the folks we were seated around, it was clear that everyone preferred waiting in line for the other bathrooms over listening to the wails of a squirming tot confined to her mama's lap...
so good to hear you're feeling better.
Posted by: cloth.paper.string | January 30, 2008 at 12:25 PM
If you can catch the stom flu through the internet then I think you gave it to me! if not, I suppose it coulda come from the ladies at the office, but still... yesterday I was in bed all day... I didn't even know a person, even a sick person, could sleep so long... hope you're feeling better!
Posted by: kate | January 30, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Water is the great elixr to a happy life with little ones. It gets us through many a cranky spot.
Posted by: Peggy | January 30, 2008 at 02:05 PM
Rice pouring from cup to cup - mine loved that - for like a day.
Posted by: QALBALLAH | January 30, 2008 at 02:14 PM
glad to have wandered this way...beautiful sights.
Posted by: prairie daze | January 30, 2008 at 02:35 PM
Water....there is nothing that entertains them like it.
Those photos are just adorable!
Posted by: miguette | January 30, 2008 at 02:52 PM
water always does the trick! hope you continue to feel better!!!
Posted by: molly | January 30, 2008 at 05:13 PM
Glad you're feeling better. A loves the water too. To mix it up though sometimes we do flour instead of water in a bowl. You've got to be willing to sweep up afterwards but it's great for them to touch it and no choking worries like with beans.
Posted by: Stacey | January 30, 2008 at 05:40 PM
Glad to hear you are feeling better...
Oh, this brought back so many memories!! I used to keep my toddler son busy with the sink for long enough to make dinner. We had a whole set of little toys that he could only use at the sink. I'd add natural dish soap to the water for the bubbles and he loved it!!! In fact, to this day (and he's now 11) he cannot pass a dish-sink full of bubbles without grabbing some!;-)
Posted by: Amber | January 30, 2008 at 09:13 PM
What a helper! I'm glad you're feeling better, too. Being sick at home with kids is the pits.
Cute chair, by the way!
Posted by: amanda | January 30, 2008 at 10:55 PM
So glad you're feeling better! Our little one can also keep busy by bathing her stuffed animals and dolls in the sink. Sooooo much fun, and since it's only water, it's all pretty harmless!
When you get desperate, though, invest in some body crayons.... Highly entertaining, and worth every penny!
Posted by: Sarah | January 31, 2008 at 12:06 AM
These images are so great, so lovely...made me smile!!!!
Posted by: Zee | February 03, 2008 at 10:46 PM