An Evening with the Kids: Making It Interesting

The kids came home early from school and school had already been called off for the next day. Snow was up to 4 inches and it didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. For those of you who think nothing of 4 inches of snow, this is quasi city living where school superintendents are pressured into calling off school just so they aren't blamed for forcing anyone to drive in adverse weather.  

With weather that bad, I wasn't going to be doing much work myself. Why would I? That's the benefit of being a mother and my own boss at the same time. So, I had a night with the kids in store. I was looking forward to it, but I had to pull out all the stops to make it quality time. I think a growing trend has been to slow down and enjoy the quality of life we have built for ourselves. The thing is that once we slowed down, we had no idea what to do. Here are a few things my kids and I came up with that night!  

Of course it was still early in the day, so the first matter of business was to get the kids into plenty of layers so that we could all go outside. Making snow angels, snowmen, and snowballs was on the agenda. You can't have a snow outing without some decorations. Then, you can't wrap it up until you've had a no holds barred snowball fight. It makes you thirsty for hot cocoa.

I had the kids walk in the backdoor, strip down to their long johns and march upstairs to change while I made hot cocoa. Most people don't know it, but a smidgen of salt actually brings the flavor to the surface. Try it next time! By the time the kids were in warm, dry clothes, I had the fire burning in the fireplace and steaming cups of hot cocoa for the three of us.  

We sat in front of the fireplace laughing about our snowball fight and how many times we had fallen on our bums. The fire made the ends of our fingers tingle as they warmed, but we felt completely warm deep down to our bones. It was the fireplace that gave us our next idea.

We just so happened to have a half a bag of marshmallows left over from the holidays. We went back outside to find our sticks, but it didn't take long. Before long, we each had a nice sized stick with a sharp point widdled into it. Our blankets stretched across the floor, we sat in front of the fireplace and toasted marshmallows. The fireplace turned into a campfire in our imaginations. That's where we got another great idea.

The coffee table was pushed into the foyer and a few chairs were moved to make room for the tent where we were going to sleep for the night. We slipped into our sleeping bags and watched a DVD while the crackling fireplace lulled us to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night with one of my children curled up in my left arm and the other child behind me resting her head on my right side. We were as close as we have ever been!

On any particular night, quality time can be arranged. Life gets in our way, but it doesn't have to be that way every day. And the best thing about it all is that you don't have to make great elaborate plans. When you make them simple, you have more time to enjoy each other!  

Our Ventless Gel Fireplace was basically the center of everything we did that night. You may not have a fireplace and you may have forgotten how great such an addition can be. If you don't have a fireplace, check out Ventless Gel Fireplaces. The cost effective alternative to wood burning, Ventless Gel Fireplaces are your answer when you want to add a touch of class to any special moment.