You guys, there are so many things I’m bad at: cooking (why does it take so long, yet last for such a short time?!?), putting together Ikea furniture, Physics (ohmygawd, I hate Physics and, based on the number of things that fall on my head in a week, it hates me), dancing (although not for lack of trying), keeping my car clean, remembering words, showering… The list goes on.

But, it has recently come to my attention that I am also good at a couple of things: the hand jive (which I was surprised to find not everyone knows), finding new ways to wear gold shoes, parallel parking (omg, it would blow your mind the small spaces I can fit my big ole car into), and coming up with easy ways to have fun with my kids.

See, I’m your gal if you need someone to entertain a roomful of kids for 5 minutes while you run to the car (dance like robots, play the quiet game, hide in a closet to scare the crap of you when you get back) or for 45 minutes on a park bench while you take a meeting (put band-aids over every inch of their body, pretend to be statues and see if you can get birds to land on you, play “Red Light, Green Light”). Lately, I’ve realized I’ve earned this ability – my years of working and volunteering with kids coupled with my acting background and general lack of inhibitions has lead me to this place.

A place where I see packing supplies and think, “Oh, I could so smash those over my kids’ heads.”

So, I’m thrilled to introduce a new series on the blog today: 5 Minute Fun, which will be short, easy ways to connect with your kids that don’t take much planning or money. They’re ideas you can do right now without adding stress or extra to dos to your list, and also give you a big bang for your buck.

Because while there is a ton I have to learn about parenting, I do know one thing for sure: Your kids are always ready to have fun with you. In fact, that’s probably all they ever want – to laugh and giggle and connect with you right now. And I don’t think it has to be a big deal – you don’t need the right toys or even the right time.

Right now with what you have on hand is perfect, I promise.

So if you do happen to get an order from Amazon today and have extra packing supplies on hand, may I recommend smashing them on your head? It’s a bit of a clean-up, but the amount of surprised faces and giggles makes it worth it. Plus, it’s strangely satisfying to break things for no reason…

Don’t have packing supplies around?
How about wadding up paper and having an indoor snowball fight? Or hitting each other over the head (gently, of course) with pillows and pretending to fall down? Or have another good idea? Let me know in the comments! xx.