New Thing #58: "I'll take "Hodgepodge" for 200, Alex"

Back in the time BLP (before Little People), I used to like watching "Jeopardy" (hey, I've never claimed to be anything but a total nerd) each night. Nowadays, it is a great rarity when I catch it. I don't mind - my life is definitely fuller and better for having less TV in it. One of my favourite categories on there was "Hodgepodge". You just never knew what kind of clue would come up. Such a mystery! Yet the best kind of mystery...one that didn't remain unknown for long.

I am calling today's New Thing "Hodgepodge"...mostly because I didn't really have anything planned. Today was our third day of staying home and keeping things low-key. It was a cold, damp and rainy day out. The LP are on the mend and definitely recovering but I still felt that we needed another day at home, particularly since they are supposed to return to their half-day at daycare tomorrow. I thought of a few things to do but really, I had nothing. So I decided we would just do whatever we felt like doing and leave it at that.

We started out with banana pancakes with strawberries for breakfast. It felt like the kind of day where you have warm, yummy food. Personally, I am not a fan of bananas but the LP absolutely love them. After breakfast, LP1 wanted to go play in her room. So off we went. I closed the door to prevent anyone from wandering out and we spent the next hour playing together.

This is what "hodgepodge" looks like...an utterly destroyed room. We played with puzzles, toys, My Little Ponies, put on fairy costumes and otherwise engaged in a little rah-rah-wreck-the-place.

There's something to said for just engaging in some free play and letting the LP do whatever interested them. LP2 has discovered puzzles. He likes trying to fit the giant baby-friendly pieces into their spots. He is also very interested in eyes right now and takes great delight in poking stuffed animals, our animals and the other people in the house right in the eye. LP1 has a great imagination and likes to play with the My Little Ponies...when she's not wrapping her dolls in blankets and taking them for a walk.

Everyone eventually grew bored with playing in LP1's room and we headed upstairs. Shortly after, Grandpa turned up for a visit, bringing with him coffee, chocolate milk and Timbits. He was greeted with enthusiasm by the LP and it wasn't long before he was being bombarded with requests to play games and give horsey rides. Eventually LP2 fell asleep and went down for what would turn out to be a long nap. LP1 got Grandpa to read her "Fox In Socks", a tongue-twisting book Auntie K and I used to pester him to read us when we were young. This was followed up by what LP1 calls "The Singing Mermaid" ("The Little Mermaid" to you) and then a spot of playing with the trains.

Grandpa joined us for lunch and not long after, LP1 announced she was ready for a nap. I was able to have a brief visit with him before LP2 awoke. Grandpa had errands to run, so he left soon after. LP2 and I read a few stories, watched the "ABC Song" on my favourite educational website and spent some quality time together before he decided that the vacuum cleaner was more fun than I was. I can live with that. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with him.

When LP1 got up from her nap, nobody was in a mood to do anything in particular. I tackled a few domestic duties while they did their thing. It wasn't long before we got into the dinner-bath-bedtime routine. We didn't do anything especially spectacular today but who says every day has to be spectacular? Sometimes it is okay to just have a run-of-the-mill day, especially when you're recovering from a cold. Or so I tell myself, anyway.