Play doh

Yesterday we made play doh! It worked really well. I have never done it before, but thought the kids might enjoy something different for a change. I used a recipe that my sister in law had found awhile back, which called for kool aid! Dominic really loved playing with it, and Stella spent most of her time trying to eat it. Luckily, all of the ingredients are edible, but I can't imagine it tasted very good! I have been trying to come up with some new activities for the children, as I have a tendency to get a little stuck in a rut, and offer the same sorts of things on a daily basis. Sometimes, they are pretty happy with just playing with their toys, and I will play with them on and off throughout the day, but sometimes, they need a more planned and structured activity to hold their interest. We often go outside, where they love to play with the water hose and their riding toys. Dominic LOVES his little tractor, and Stella really likes her little pony! One was found at a garage sale and one was for free, and both are apparently the best toys we own! They also sometimes enjoy their wading pool. We do a lot of reading together, and once a week make it to each the library and the park (at least usually). But recently, Peter has started over time at work and so our days have been a bit longer lately. I have found that it is really helpful to have some other activities for the kids, so the day doesn't seem quite as long and repetitive for any of us.
The overtime thing is kind of hard, because I was so spoiled with Peter's original schedule, where he would come home by 5:15 pm, give or take 5 minutes! Now he gets home around 7pm, perhaps even later in the future. I know it is hard on him but he is such a good and dedicated husband/father/worker, that you can hardly tell. However, it does mean that we have a lot less family time during the week days, and pretty much no "us" time during the weeks days either. I have already found all of this to be quite hard, but do a much worse job of hiding it than Peter does.
But rather than focus on the difficulties (small and insignificant as they are), I'd like to close by turning my attention to how thankful I am for my wonderful and loving husband, and amazing children! They are my gifts from Heaven!