Skip to main content

Bean Box!

We have all been on Spring Break this past week which has been a VERY welcome event.  Unfortunately, after the first day of sunshine (into which we crammed a zoo trip, park visit, walk, and tricycle ride) we have had rain, rain, rain.  And Miss Leah tends to get ants in her pants when trapped in the house for too long.  Her what-should-I-not-play-with sensor goes into red alert and she becomes quite impossible.  So, while Ryan had baseball practice Leah and I visited the library, the chocolate cafe with the indoor cocoa tree themed playhouse, Target, the Farmer's Market, and other assorted indoor venues.  However, I decided we needed to come up with something to entertain our busy girl at home.

And so, we took one last trip to the dollar store and the Bean Box was born.  Take one long, shallow Tupperware box.  Fill it with dried kidney and pinto beans.  Add tumblers, shovels, sand molds, spoons, measuring cups, etc. and you have a toddler magnet.  Leah played with those beans for 45 minutes straight and was very enthused about it.  There were lots of shrieks and giggles and babbling.  She did really well at keeping the beans in the box too, which was a pleasant surprise.  When I said it was time to clean up the bean box so we could have lunch she had a total meltdown.  She stubbornly tried every trick in the book in order to convince me that it was play time, not lunch time: limp noodle, stiff-as-a-board, rolling on the floor, pounding her little fists on the box, yelling "Noooooooo!  No! No! No!" saying please in sign language, crawling onto my lap and looking cute, crying so hard no sound came out, crying so high stray dogs showed up in the front yard...  She'll soon learn that she can't out-stubborn the Queen of Stubborn.  Eventually, she scarfed down some ravioli, peas, and milk in 2 minutes flat and returned to the bean box saying, "Muh? Muh?"  (More? More?)  

In conclusion, the bean box is both a smashing success and a potential point of contention...




I found this cool sand mill at Target.  The Beans are a little big, so we tried Lentils.  Awesome!


Comments

Anonymous said…
Such fun and smart thinking for a rainy day/week! Love you all and miss you already.
Jenny said…
Nikki, you are so creative. I hope when my kid is getting stir crazy I have the presence of mind to make something like a bean box... or to call you.

Popular posts from this blog

A Very Belated Welcome to Baby James Lawrence

Ok. So, I haven't updated the blog in QUITE some time.  And I have received subtle and not-so-subtle hints that certain loved ones far away would like an update!  I will work on uploading some recent pictures and events! I feel it is only fair to give James a dedicated post, as I never posted pics here when our sweet new little guy was first born.  As you can imagine, life has been a bit crazy around here.  The good kind of crazy...  But crazy. James was born 11/27/15 - almost a whole month earlier than his due date!  He was 6 pounds, 10 ounces.  He had a little stay in the NICU while his lungs strengthened and healed, and then we brought him home in time for Christmas.  His first name, James, is Ryan's dad's name (and Ryan's middle name.)  His middle name, Lawrence, was my Grandpa's name.  He has two awesome patron saints and namesakes!  He is now almost 6 months, is rolling, babbling, laughing, and starting to eat...

Happy Birthday to Grammy!

We started off our summer a few weeks ago visiting Grammy B (B for Barbara!) at her house to celebrate her birthday.  The kiddos had fun visiting with Uncle Max and Uncle Gus and the boys got to dig through their old Legos which was awesome.  Aunt Teresa and Cousin Gracie came too - what fun to see the cousins play!  We went to the park and the splash pad, and also attempted a hike at a state park near by.  Happy Birthday Mom/Grammy!  We love ya!

Sam's Blog Debut

The Coronavirus pandemic has us hunkering down at home like many people around the country, and we are working to make the best of it!  The kids miss their friends at school and are disappointed about various things that have been cancelled or put on hold indefinitely, however there we are enjoying the time together as a family.  The days are full of extra stories, games, puzzles, bike rides, and walks.  We have started a few activities as part of our "school at home" routine and figured that resurrecting the blog might be a fun way to share what the kids are up to. But first, since the last time I wrote on the blog James was just learning how to crawl, and now James is a 4-year-old big brother, we figured we should officially introduce Mr. Samuel Drexel on the blog!  Sam is 9 months old now and he is lots of fun.  The kids have figured out a few ways to get him belly laughing in recent days.  We all laugh when he crawls after a pilates ball and pounces...