I just might be alone in my thinking, but I tend to consider January through March, “The Gray Months.”  I live in an area with a solid winter.  I enjoy the snow during Christmas, but I wouldn’t mind one bit if it all melted the next day.  The mountains seem to catch the smog making the sky look a dreary gray.  I’m kinda tired of it. 

My kids love to play outside during the other three seasons of the year, and their outdoor adventures seem to occupy them all day.  Winter is different.  I still let them play outside, but that requires 45 minutes of preparation for 30 minutes of play before they come in cold and wet. 

I always have a hard time figuring out what to do with my kids during this time of year.  Today we are crafting.  Coloring, cutting, and taping construction paper.  I am going to be blatantly honest, It is driving me crazy!  I love that my kids are occupied and having a good time, I really do, but the tiny scraps of paper are making me insane! 

I know this post goes against the feel that I am trying to create for this blog, but I want to be honest.  I want to let parents know that while we try to play with our kids and enrich their lives, sometimes it hard.  It isn’t always peaches and cream.  The house doesn’t always look good enough amidst the chaos to host a photo shoot in the living room.  There are times that the kids play and create in peace and harmony, and there are times, like today, when the kids scream and cry when their snowflake doesn’t turn out how they had hoped.  There are times when the things I plan are carried out wonderfully, and there are times when nothing seems to go the way I had pictured it.  I can post all of the easy and fulfilling tutorials and games that I can get  my little hands on, but the fact of the matter is, we all have days.

My only advice, not that I have much to offer, is to keep trying.  Battle through the hard days, then try again the next day.  Hopefully the outcome will be better:).