In the house day - don't go cra-zay

I had the supreme honor of being alone in the house with the boys all day this weekend.  The girls were all gone, and it was just us guys.  Only one problem - raining downpour kept us inside for most of the time.  So what do you do when you can't send them outside, and they're too young to play by themselves downstairs?

They played in their room for awhile, but that only goes so far.  Then you suddenly have drag races up and down the kitchen floor, or sledding on a blanket down the stairs.  That can only go so far until you have visions in your head of bloody noses and cracked skulls.  So what do you do?  Get them engaged in an activity of course!

Cookies are always great, because the batter isn't as messy as cupcakes, and they are ALWAYS interested in the prospect of a sugary snack (we do oatmeal to make me feel better - the fiber takes away the calories).

That took up a good 30 to 45 minutes.  Then we played in a make-shift fort of blankets and chairs.  That took us another half an hour.  But I needed to get some work done too, so I shifted gears and tried to get them into a game WITHOUT me.

I tried three things, and only one worked.  If you have any other rainy day suggestions, let me know!  Here was my scientific observations.

1 - Drawing was okay for awhile, but then they wanted help making things they didn't know how to make.  A good learning experience for them - but I didn't get any free time.

2- The Harry Potter diorama was a failure to launch.  My own fault I'm sure.

3- The hide and go seek scavenger hunt was a winner.  Hide a bunch of stuff around the house, and set them to find it.  They lose points if they ask me for help.  Bought me a good 30 minutes.  And who could ask for more than that? :)