Rain, Rain Go Away!

I've been asked many times what the kids do when we're stuck in the room due to rain. Creativity spawns from limitations and I'm constantly amazed what activities they can come up with on their own.

Here are some specific things we've done in the past couple of weeks during such times:

1. Games. We play "20 Questions" or "Remember the Road Trips" where we go around and each person says one thing they remember doing in any of the states. Peanut came up with a new idea the other day, "Let's make a list of all the reasons we like it to rain."

2. Books. Peanut and Little Man read to Doodle, and they draw endlessly.

3. Souvenirs. We buy a lot of souvenirs. Little Man will play for hours with his new loot (miner's hat, sticks he's found, whistles, dress-up) and Doodle tries on any new item of clothing repeatedly. She'll also brush anyone's hair at any moment.

4. Animal parties. At home the kids never play with stuffed animals, but for some reason, they're a favorite on the road. Stripe, Little Man's new raccoon, had an unexpected birthday. A full 3 hours in the car were spent making presents for him, writing sweet letters to him and basically planning the party. Once in the hotel room, there was a full-blown celebration. Fawn, Doodle's new animal, felt left out and had her own party the next night after similar preparations.

5. Animal Tragedy. Ailments are created for their animals: Priscilla the Panda broke her spine or Owen the Otter got his ear cut off and was bleeding to death. Then, the kids hide out in the bathroom mixing an elixir and making bandages to cure them.

6. Youtube. AuntNYC was shocked to hear the kids knew the Tom & Jerry cartoon. Yep, I've introduced them, and I allow one cartoon per rainy night. I also let them watch old country music videos when it's raining.