mommyfabulist: Two easy-peasy, no-plan toddler activities

If you haven't noticed, I'm all about keeping my daughter busy so I can ~~stalk on Facebook and blogs~~ get important things done around the house. I also have a hard time planning ahead. Or getting things finished. I would really like to, but my brain just doesn't function unless I am in the throws of sheer panic.

Thank you Hyperbole and a Half, for perfectly describing me.

Since I don't want my daughter to suffer because of my insanity, I have a collection of fast, easy, no-plan activities that she loves. Here are two:

1. Box guitar

I saw this fancy-shmancy one on Pinterest (of course- I have no original ideas.) I don't have time to paint on a cardboard box- or rather I do, but I would rather read, take a bath, or pretty much do any other activity. So here is my creation!

Yes, it is just a tiny shoebox with rubber bands on it!! I know! Totally awesome and it took me literally less than one minute to put it together. And the little pete played with it for about 30 minutes to begin with and then kept coming back to it all day. I put it away for 3 days, got it out and then she played with it again! SCORE!

2. Pom pom play

Those little multi-colored fuzzy pom poms are worth 20 times their weight in gold (because they weigh next to nothing- duh.) We have an old sour cream container with holes cut out of the top that my daughter will push the pom poms into- and that is REALLY fun, but I discovered this new one the other day by accident. She dumped the container of pom poms all over the floor (shocking, I know). I had some tongs sitting on the edge of the counter and some miscellaneous boxes waiting to go to the garage. (You can see where I'm going with this, can't you?) I showed my daughter how to use the tongs to pick up the pom poms and viola! Busy, busy girl for a VERY long time.