winter activities

Winter can be challenging with energetic children especially when there is a lot of mud outside and not much snow to play with.  Loud noises have always bothered me and now our house at times is so loud, I am sure that it is rocking. On top of that we have hardwood floors just to make things echo.We have someone living in our basement so running downstairs and being crazy far away from me is not an option. So, God has been teaching me a lot through this winter. The biggest problem is my inconsistencies. There are times that I can handle the boys running around me in the kitchen and up and under the kitchen table - in fact I even laugh with them. There are other times, however, that I feel my blood pressure jumping and steam coming out of my ears. I cannot handle the craziness and I just wait until I hear one boy run head first into a piece of furniture or even worse, the corner of a wall. This never fails even when I am yelling "beeee carefullll" as they chase and bang into one another. It is a challenge to find the right balance of letting the boys get rid of all of their wiggles and caring too much about my house. I do not want them growing up and only remembering me saying "No."  When I was growing up my mom let us do anything in the house. She even moved the furniture around so that we could get around without ever touching the floor. But then again, she had four girls. There has to be a difference?! I struggle with finding the right balance. Should I have a rule that does not allow chasing eachother? Should I let them run as much as they want to even though they usually end up getting hurt or breaking something? Is is wrong that I base what I allow them to do, on how I am feeling that day? Finally, is it wrong that in the midst of the craziness I sing "I am slowly going crazy, 6,5,4,3,2,1, switch. Slowly crazy am I going, 1,2,3,4,5,6, switch."  Do you know that song?!
When there are quiet moments I savour them and enjoy watching the boys play together. Here are some indoor winter activities that our family loves to do.


My aunt and uncle gave us a fooze ball table. This has been great and we hear many shouts of glee as the winner scores goals. We have also heard many sighs and protests from the looser of the game but it is all good. They are learning how to play together and how to take loosing.

Reading. What would we do without books? It warms my heart when I catch them reading quietly on the couch. So cozy.

The boys have spent hours playing with this wooden board game. This was a Christmas present from their opa and oma and we have all enjoyed it. Last year we also spent a lot of time playing shuffle board but this year Tyler has made it his duty to wreck each game by taking the pucks and throwing them at his brothers. Shuffle board has remained in the closet this winter but we look forward to playing it again next year.

                   While the other boys play or chase eachother, Tyler finds his own things to do!