Unplanned Time "In"

On Tuesday as we got into the car to take Ellie to school, I realized the car was dead. (The kids love to play with the lights and I forgot to check that they were off) Luckily school is only about a half mile away, so I got out the stroller for Jonah and the two big kids walked. Usually I would have been really frustrated that Ellie was going to be late, that the kids were walking slow, that our errands would have to be postponed, etc., but I decided that it didn't really matter too much. I mean, it's preschool, and being late one day is not going to be a problem. Besides, it was a beautiful morning. So the kids and I walked Ellie to school, and had a great time. (It did take almost an hour round trip because Nathan has short little legs... But that's ok!) On the way back Nathan told me everything inside his cute little brain, and pointed to anything remotely interesting for a 2-year-old boy.

When we got home we decided to make cinnamon sugar popcorn.

And I let the boys lick all of the sugar out of the bowl. They LOVED that!

Then we did puzzles and just hung out until Sam brought Ellie home after school and jumped the car for us. I was surprised at how well the boys cooperated doing the puzzle together. Usually Ellie takes over and tells everyone what they need to do.

I really enjoyed this time with my boys, even if it wasn't what I originally had planned for the morning! I think we will be having more "time in" while Ellie is in school instead of always running errands!