Cut N' Paste Puzzles with Jayden and Maya

I’m a part of a local mom’s group called the Lollipop League. The group members are from West Orlando, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Clermont. I don’t go on very many play dates because most of the time they are a lot further than I am willing to travel, but I am committed to hosting a play date once every three months. My first one was at a local park and worked out perfectly. I was the queen of play dates. I planned my second one around my church’s yearly pumpkin patch and when we got there, there were no pumpkins, not even a patch. Luckily, there is a park right behind the church and we moved the play date over there. Only two families showed up, one of which decided to leave and I felt really bad about it. My queen status was gone.

So when I got my reminder email saying it was time to host another play date, I was dreading it. But it turned out there was nothing to fear. I decided to do it around one of those obscure holidays that no one celebrates or even knows about. I chose Tuesday, January 29th. It was National Puzzle Day. I was so excited. I called it Cut N’ Paste Puzzles with Maya and Jayden and the event was full by the end of the day. I kept it limited to 5 families since my home is on the smaller side. I found these really cute animal puzzles that were made up of 3 pieces. The directions were to cut out the pieces, glue them onto a sheet of paper, and color. Fun.

So with people coming over, you know what this means! I spent two full days cleaning like a maniac. I mean, I was out of control. It was like spring cleaning. My home seemed to be in disarray. I had gotten rid of all clutter when I had the house on the market. But little by little the kitchen counters were back to being covered with appliances, cereal, bowls, sippy cups, snacks, coupons etc. And my kitchen table now looked like a mini desk with my laptop, bills, newspapers, weeks of inserts and lets not mention the bags. I currently have three bags, one each for Jayden and Maya and one for when I travel with both together. Then there was my purse and the breast pump. All these bags and more seemed to now reside on my kitchen table.

Plus, with two kids I am finding it very difficult to keep up on the detail cleaning. I consider it a success if:
· I get the laundry washed and folded
· I manage to feed, clothe, diaper and bathe the kids
· I keep the sink free and clear of dishes and wipe down the kitchen counters
· I balance the checkbook once a week

It’s a miracle if:
· I fix dinner or work with a new recipe
· Vacuum or any other household chore
· Go out by myself with the kids
· Clean or organize my new piles of junk
· Or work on any item from my now very long to-do list

So, I enlist the help of my dear husband. He tackles the floors and bathroom while I dust, clean the microwave, the stove, the refrigerator and put away all my garbage. I broke a nail so I had to make a mad dash to my nail tech for a repair but then I was home and back at it. And the more I did, the more I found to do. Five minutes before my play date was due to start, I whip out the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and start cleaning all the light switches in my house. Good thing the play date didn’t start 30 minutes later or I’d have taken down all the mini blinds for a long overdue cleaning.

Anyways, three moms and four kids ended up coming over and we had a great time. The kids barely got through the exercise. They were too busy wanting to get back to the toys. Jayden was running from child to child declaring “Mine!”, snatching toys and issuing timeouts! I was so proud. (Not!) The toys from every toy basket were sprinkled all over the house and every once in a while, they would make a pit stop in the kitchen for a snack. Overall, they seemed to have a great time. I was so happy. Here are the moms helping the kids cut out their puzzle pieces.


Hannah was the only one who actually completed her puzzle and colored it. Turned out pretty well. The other kids barely got their pieces glued onto the paper before they darted off in all directions to play.

They had a ball in the kid's room. The rocking horse was a big hit and one little girl, Gabby, decided she had a tummy ache and was going to lye down. Jayden decided to do what I love most and that's the dump the entire contents of his toy basket onto the floor! Luckily, when it was all over, the moms helped me get the toys back in place.

I'm not exactly sure what Maya was thinking, but after she devoured watermelon and turned her shirt from white to pink, she decided to attach her snake plush. That's her in the background busy at work. The other kid is Logan and he was an independant player. He was half mesmerized by the TV and half intrigued by the toy truck.

Turned out pretty well, I'd say!