One of my priorities as a stay-at-home mama is making the very most of my time with Gracen.  Now, I don’t necessarily mean that we’re always on elaborate outings and doing involved, pre-planned projects… I just mean that during her awake time, I try my very best to spend my time with her. For me, that’s the reason I’m at home right now. Her. So things like blogging, reading and returning emails, checking Faceboook / Twitter / Pinterest, doing major housecleaning, working on Littlest Lulu orders, and making phone calls wait until she’s in bed for the night or get done during her nap times (as much as humanly possible, at least). While she’s awake, my goal is to be actively present. Sometimes we do pre-planned activities or go on elaborate adventures, and sometimes we do low-key things around our house, yard, and neighbourhood… We read stories, do puzzles, play games, explore our backyard, do art projects, visit libraries, go to the pool, visit places around the city, have play dates, go for walks, and check out playgrounds. But as much as possible, we spend time together. Of course, there are things that just need to get done – shopping for groceries, doing errands, washing dishes, and cooking for example.  Although Grae often helps me cook and do dishes, she’s very good about playing independently during these times too, which, in my opinion, is an important skill for all kids to have.

Anyways, late last night we found out we’d be having some visitors this afternoon, which was great. But when I woke up and took a look around my house only to find that it was a DIS.AS.TER, I realized that there was simply not enough time to make the house presentable and shower and get myself ready for the day during Grae’s noonish nap. (Side note: How does this happen?! I think we’re relatively tidy people and I’m the clean-as-you-go type, yet every now and then, I find myself amidst a MESS! I know that some moms would say ‘Who cares about what the house looks like when you have guests over – you’re a busy mom of a toddler!’ and I’m working on getting {closer} to that point, but I’m just not there yet…) Knowing that I’d have to spend part of my day doing things I’d normally do while Miss G slept, I decided that we’d put together something fun to keep her happy and engaged while I zoomed around the house tucking things away, sweeping floors, and tackling dust bunnies. 

With the help of a blanket, a flat sheet, a handful of clothespins, and a few strips of duct tape (because what isn’t duct tape good for, really?), we whipped up a little bedroom fort, fit for a queen.

Once we had it set up, we collected a few things from around the house to ‘furnish’ it with…  Throw cushions, a tea set, mini books, the Hello Kitty family, and some drawing goodies all found a home in Grae’s fort.

We played together for a little while, and then I got busy cleaning while Grae enjoyed her new space.  While it wasn’t the perfect solution, it certainly helped. I got what I needed to get done done, she had a fun morning despite the fact that Mama was a little less present than usual, and we had a great afternoon visit with our guests.

It’s amazing what a sheet-turned-canopy can do, isn’t it?

♥