Weather Schmeather and Mommylife

Water Sensory Play

Oh how I love thee – sunny, warm, beautiful day – I’m in such a better mood when the weather is cooperating with my life. Yes, I said it – if only the weather would please consult me and see what kind of day I want to have with my littles and then deliver my request. I love when the weather is warm for trips to the playgrounds and strolls outside. Then, if I could just request a nice, hot day when we want to venture to the pool, and if it’s not asking too much I would request a rainy day for when I need to “catch up” but please no rain on those days I’m bustling the kids in and out of the car and I’m loaded down with grocery bags. And, I would request a good ‘ol snow day every once in a while so we could sip hot chocolate, go sledding, and capture some of those cherished photos with the white, enchanting background.

So here we are approaching summer and I’m truly grateful for nice weather. Sunny days allow me to get outside with the kids and it’s so much easier to burn some of the never-ending energy. We take adventure walks to the playground, sometimes we search for dinosaurs, and my son is a collector of all things random in nature so we might collect rocks one day and dandelions the next. But, the great thing is – this is all completely cost-free and low stress on this momma.

We live in a two-story condo and where we enjoy some of the perks of not maintaining a yard and the convenience of walking to a nearby town center – there are also many space constraints and the lack of a backyard means getting creative to get outside. We have located nearly every playground in the area and we also frequent the larger grassy areas in the community.

I’ve also learned to get creative with our driveway and single-car garage. Here is the latest creation – alternative water table. We have very limited storage so we are careful what we buy since we have to find a place for it. I will share some of my small space storage secrets another day. So, I grabbed two buckets and a random assortment of water toys and let my son have at it. Sometimes, I put up a gate (as seen in the picture) to keep balls from rolling down the driveway and into the sewer – lesson learned one to many times. Even with the gate, I have a 2.5 year old boy who will still intentionally  accidentally throw things so he can laugh at his mommy chasing after them.

And just for giggles, here’s a word of caution – keep your phone far, far away so it doesn’t become part of the water sensory play. I sat my phone down (which I use to take pictures) and my toddler threw it in the bucket right before my eyes. This was actually one time that he acted from innocence and I was able to grab it very quickly so our water play had a happy ending. The joy of motherhood is endless!

With Love, Erin