Finding creative ways to keep my daughter (who has a bleeding disorder) safe while providing enough stimulation for my son whom is a toddler can be frustrating at times . . . but Family Fun Days have become an amazing way for the family to get together and enjoy each others company, while trying to forget about all the craziness.
Our Family Fun Days vary from week to week depending on the weather, schedules, money and so forth but each week I try to plan something . . . whether it be a cooking project, an art project, cozying up in the bed and watching a kids movie, visiting a local hot spot, or even a special lunch followed by a trip to the park . . . just something out of the ordinary that we do with the kids and give them our undivided attention.
Summer Time and the Fall are obviously our more active months out doors. We typically try and do something "special" and outside once a week, during these months and take advantage of everything our local counties have to offer. When it's hot we always migrate towards any local body of water- whether its a trip to the the California Coast, or a local river, lake or waterhole we are there. Swimming is a great way for the family to spend time together in a safe environment where we know Scarlett can"t get physically hurt too much. The fair circuit is something we try to hit up all summer long and has become a favorite part of the season. The kids love to go on the rides and look at the animals and it's usually a cheap way to go, especially if you pay attention to discount days for kids. We are also fortunate enough to live in Sonoma County which hosts more than a dozen pumpkin patch farms in the Fall within a 10 mile driving distance to almost any town. . . . We take advantage of these free excursions in the fall, picking out pumpkins, zig zagging through corn mazes, going on pony rides and playing in jumpy houses ( the scarier of the activities, Scarlett usually can only go in a jumpy house when there aren't a lot of kids and we watch her like a hawk with constant reminders to jump away from other children so she doesn't get her head bumped)!!
The Winter months and going into Spring when we have a lot of rain can be a bit more challenging to find activities to do. But I'm a true believer in trying to let your kid just be a kid . . . So these are the days I try to remember just throwing on your rain boots and heading out to play in the rain is Family Fun Day enough for the kids. We are fortunate to live only 45 miles North of San Francisco which has a plethora of museums and historical landmarks to fill a whole year. About once a month or at least every other month we try to plan a trip to one of the local zoo's, museums, or amusement parks. Christmas or Birthday presents over the last few years have involved yearly passes to 6 flags, the Oakland Zoo or the Discovery Museum, so we always had a free, safe, fun place to take the kids. Usually enough pre planning is involved into any day trips that we rarely feel unprepared if anything were to happen to Scarlett and we know we are within driving distance of her hematologist.I've also tried to find other means for Scarlett to explore being active and learning what she likes without putting her in danger. We are lucky enough to have found a local gymnastics class geared towards younger children that I can go and supervise her at that has minimal situations where she could get hurt. The coach deals with each child individually and he is aware of her bleeding disorder and works with us on keeping her safe while building up her muscle strength and improving her gross motor skills. We call these days Scarlett Days and she feels like it's a special day devoted to just her where I can give her my undivided attention.
When the Dr's first told me that Scarlett couldn't play any contact sports I felt like she was going to be such a bored child with not a lot of options to keep her busy. . . but upon changing my way of thinking and not worrying so much about her becoming an athlete, I've found there are countless other ways to keep her busy and active without putting her in potential life threatening situations. I think we will look into dance, singing, and dramatics next. . .
We all live a very crazy and chaotic life and I feel like for the most part my family is on high alert and pretty busy on an average day. Our Family Fun Days are a great time to remember to stop and smell the roses for a bit . . . And truly enjoy time with my family. We are living in a society where phones and iPads are always being used during conversations or time spent with our children and I try really hard to put my phone away on these days and just enjoy the view. Just sitting back and watching our children play is a luxury few of us encounter these days and I force myself to do so more and more these days. I'm reminded too often that life is short and I would hate to look back and think I missed out on something important because I was too busy checking my phone or stressing about the small stuff. Cherish these moments with your children, cause they will go by fast!
Written by,
Kari Peepe
©KariPeepe/atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com
For more stories on raising children, when one of them has a bleeding disorder please check out:
- Raising Siblings, when one of them has a special disorder: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2013/11/raising-siblings-when-one-of-them-has.html
- A Mother's Guilt: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-mother-guilt.html
- It Takes a Village: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2013/12/it-takes-village.html
- My little prince, (the non bleeder): http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-little-prince.html
- My son bites Scarlett: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/02/no-no-bite.html
- Another Day of Being Riddled w/Guilt: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/04/another-day-of-being-riddled-with-guilt.html
- The What if's: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-what-ifs-of-life-with-bleeding.html
- A local flood, fills us with fear: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/12/flooded-with-fear.html
- Call me paranoid, but this is the parent I've become: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/12/call-me-paranoid-but.html
- Scarlett learns to give back: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-gift-of-giving.html
- Scarlett learns to advocate: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2015/10/proudest-momma-on-blockmy-little.html
- Becoming her own protector: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2015/10/infusing-loveher-own-protector.html
Written by,
Kari Peepe
©KariPeepe/atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com
For more stories on raising children, when one of them has a bleeding disorder please check out:
- Raising Siblings, when one of them has a special disorder: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2013/11/raising-siblings-when-one-of-them-has.html
- A Mother's Guilt: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-mother-guilt.html
- It Takes a Village: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2013/12/it-takes-village.html
- My little prince, (the non bleeder): http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-little-prince.html
- My son bites Scarlett: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/02/no-no-bite.html
- Another Day of Being Riddled w/Guilt: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/04/another-day-of-being-riddled-with-guilt.html
- The What if's: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-what-ifs-of-life-with-bleeding.html
- A local flood, fills us with fear: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/12/flooded-with-fear.html
- Call me paranoid, but this is the parent I've become: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2014/12/call-me-paranoid-but.html
- Scarlett learns to give back: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-gift-of-giving.html
- Scarlett learns to advocate: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2015/10/proudest-momma-on-blockmy-little.html
- Becoming her own protector: http://atouchofscarlett.blogspot.com/2015/10/infusing-loveher-own-protector.html
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