Walking Backwards

If it doesn't stop raining soon my son is going to explode. Doesn't mother nature know not to mess with the outdoor activities of a two year-old boy? I can't believe how long we have been trapped in this house. I am at the end of my creative rope here trying to figure out stuff for him to do. I was so thankful to take him to preschool today, even though I dread it most of the time, just for the change in scenery. The ride there was so awful that I wouldn't have braved it if there wasn't a school potluck today (I'm a sucker for other peoples' cooking). We did get a short respite today, we were granted about three hours of sunlight. Nicholas decided that this would be the best time to take his nap, though. I just feel so badly for him. He loves to run around and play outside and I haven't been able to let him for over a week now. Here is a list of some of the things that we have ended up doing to fight boredom:

- I filled up a bunch of paper grocery bags with crumpled newsprint and taped two of them together to close them off. I have over a dozen of them now. We spend several hours on Monday stacking them, jumping on them, and kicking them around.

- We have spend hours on the pbs.org kid's website. Nico is particularly enthralled with the Booh*Bah page. I found myself laughing at the Clifford game where, if you match the balloon colors that people are holding, Clifford licks that person's backside. I know, my son is more mature than I am sometimes.

- I have read Nicholas close to fifty books (this is no exaggeration).

- I let Nicholas draw on my stomach with washable markers. About an hour later I found that he had snuck them off of the counter and had colored all over himself (again).

- We have reviewed every photo album in the house a dozen times. His favorite is our Christmas album from last year. He likes to go through it and scream out the names of the toys in the pictures. I think he had forgotten where all of his playthings had come from.

- I, unintentionally, taught my son the word "damnit." Remember always to check behind you before swearing at your computer, who knows what little impressionable minds will choose to remember. He now has taken to hitting something on its side and saying "damnit" when ever it doesn't work the way it is supposed to. If anyone has any advice on how to make this stop, let me know.

- We have gone through more art supplies than a public middle school in Texas is granted for the year.

- I have willing volunteered to baby-sit several children Nicholas' age so that he can have someone around the house play with. This back-fired in a way I should have expected. Instead of having one stir-crazy toddler in the house, I had two crazy little boys egging each other on and generally causing chaos for over three hours.

I am hoping for child-raising enlightenment to strike me. The streak of bad weather has sadly fallen during one of our TV turnoff weeks this year. At least that is keeping me from having to watch Tele*tubbies or Blue's*Clues all day long. I am now regretting not taking the time to read more than one preschool activity book. I know now that this is a test that I am going to have to study for in the future.