Saturday, November 19, 2011

How to Play with RA

I am doing my tap dance of joy (you do realize by now that this tap dance is in my head of course) because I will have my grand baby with us for Turkey Day! Woohoo!

This got me to thinking. There is smoke rising from my brain right now as I begin to think of things I can do with my 2 1/2 year old cutie.  And I wanted to share with you how I will adapt to play with my ra.

Cranking up the brainstorming gears, I decided that first I need to get some toys that I also love as this will help encourage me to play with her but will allow my mind to wonder in joy and excitement. And being that times are economically challenging for the best of us, I decided to try and hit some second hand stores and yard sales.  I am also blessed in that a very close friend of mine has been hunting for me as well and she brought down the mother load of toys (thank you Cathy)!  I have found several toys that I know both Isabel and I will grow to love (I am definitely a kid at heart).

My strategies to make playing easier for me include:

Playing on our living room coffee table. This    way I can sit on the couch while she sits on the floor.  Using our dinning room table as much as possible for activities like playdough, coloring and puzzle time.   Planning any outings earlier in the daytime when my energy seems to be a bit better and ensuring I have plenty of pain medication on hand. I don't plan on doing the driving but rather having my son drive. I have the Children's Museum on our hit list and a local zoo for another morning outing. At the Children's Museum I can sit and watch her play through the various rooms and the local zoo is a small zoo which is much more ra friendly than a large zoo.

I have prepared our camping chairs and I intend to keep one in their car (our camping chairs can be folded up and carried over a shoulder so I have ready seating when I am tuckered out) and one ready for outside play. Did I hear someone say bubbles and chalk art on our driveway!
And I have bought several dvds and books (I just discovered this wonderful series called Fancy Nancy) for those times when my ra keeps me couch bound. I am an avid fan of Disney dvds.
And last, I am planning a girls lunch at Chuck-e-Cheese. This place is a self contained play zone, music entertainment, and pizza joint all in one. She has never been to one yet and I am happy to have her do another first with us.

Now from the pics, can you tell which baby doll is mine? And although my children didn't have The Littlest Pet Shop, I am sooooo looking forward to my playtime with them and My Little Pony.  And yes, of course, I did get a few Barbie Dolls and even a Ken.  And if you are thinking Fisher Price given her age, I was able to get a manger Fisher Price set and a lovely pink dollhouse too. The toilet even flushes on the dollhouse :-)

How do you play with your ra?

For more deep thought....

In my soul, I am still that small child who did not care about anything else but the beautiful colors of a rainbow.  ~Papiha Ghosh


Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.  ~Robert Fulghum

9 comments:

Unknown said...

This is awesome. You are going to have so much fun. I loved playing Little People with my kids. It is one of the toys we saved for when we have little ones in the house.

Since I am having a break from huge amounts of RA symptoms, I still play with my kids by racing them up a flight of stairs or waiting for them to come down the stairs looking for me and go the opposite direction so they end up going in circles trying to catch me. And now that they are older, we enjoy joking a lot which is always fun! Enjoy your little one Deb. Play is so important in our lives.

Anonymous said...

Maybe make a cake or cookies and let her do the decorating of them. Your ideas are absolutely wonderful!! I think you'll do just fine with how your brain is thinking.
Hug
Tammy

Mallory said...

Awesome! I hope you enjoy your time with your grand-daughter! I was a preschool teacher at one time and one of my favortie books to read to them, was Pinkalicious! If you can find it, I'd pick it up. It's so adorable and has all pink colors that are sure to grab her attention. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!! :)

Deb aka AbcsOfra said...

Cathy...I wish I had saved the little people from my children...they are now collectibles (lol). And yes, play is so important!

Tammy... Baking is also on the to do list but my daughter will be handling that department. I am hoping to make a noodle necklace with her too :-)

Mallory...Oh yes! Pinkalicious is just fabulous. I got her two those books and shipped them to her about a month ago. Just an adorable series as well. And you have a wonderful Turkey Day as well!

Theresa said...

I, TOO, will have my first and only granddaughter with me this Thanksgiving....it's just that she's still in her mama's tummy until February! Reading your post makes me anticipate the day she is born with so much JOY I can hardly stand it! Thank you!!

adrienne said...

If you find you need a rest break, having her color you a picture is a good way to occupy her while you sit down and take a few moments of rest. 2-1/2 year olds can run you ragged. My partner is a nanny so we sometimes have little ones hanging around. I find that doing things like looking at family photos, taking a short walk to look at things (fish, leaves, dogs, birds, etc.), and making lemonade are all good things to occupy time. Have a great time with her!

Deb aka AbcsOfra said...

Theresa...congratulations! What a joy!

Adrienne...Thank you for the suggestions. I sooo appreciate it. Yes, they can run one ragged at times. But, her parents will be here also. I can call in the troups when needed :-) I have several photo books that I wrote for her and others written in the past that I plan on reading to her. I am hoping to get more photos to inspire a future photo book :-)

Aviva said...

You're going to have SO much fun! She'll undoubtedly wear you out, but oh, you won't regret a single minute of it!

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