Cure for cabin fever

Here are 5 ways we cure cabin fever at the Bradley house. I am so ready for spring! If you have any ideas for cabin fever please let me know! We've used some of these ideas for the last couple of years so they are getting a bit old. Note: we have an un-finished basement which helps with a few of these ideas.

1. Hang swings in your basement.

This horsey swing is from Grandpa Bob, and is wonderful because I don't have to push the swing when the kids want to go swing. They use their hands and feet to get it moving. I have another basic swing hanging that is not pictured. Jake used to spend hours on it, and learned to pump all by himself by the time he was 3 1/2. I bought all the hardware and swing at Lowes. We hung them from the support beam running across the basement ceiling.

2. Moon Sand

I really dis-like moon sand. It is so messy, but so fun to play with! For the winter, I move the sand and water table to be basement and fill it with moon sand. If it gets on the floor, I just vacuum it up with a shop vac. And it will get on the floor. See the note about the un-finished basement.

3. Boxes

Last year, I called Lowes and asked them to save some fridge, stove, washer and dryer boxes for me. They even loaded them in my van for me! To get them through the basement door, I had to break them down, but they can be taped together easily, and some of them I just left. It may look like some homeless live in the basement, but the kids love them, and build all different forts. It's amazing to see what they build. The best part? It' s free!

4. Box playhouse

This box was from our fridge when we moved in, so it didn't have to be broken down. We've had this for 3 years now, and it has held up beautifully. It is an inexpensive alternative to a playhouse. I've tried sprucing it up a bit with left over paint, but didn't finish. I would also like to get around to making curtains for the window. There are christmas lights on the inside, and you can't see them, but I found little wood door knobs at Michael's. If I would spend some more time on this it could really be cute.

5. Swimming

I had to throw this last idea in, even though it doesn't really go with the rest of the basement theme. Spring Arbor College has open swim night Fridays from 6-8pm. We took the boys last Friday and they loved it. They are really getting comfortable in the water since Arizona. They were jumping off the side and Jake was swimming again without water wings. It's really good practice until the summer when he'll start swim lessons. Guess what? It's only $1.00 per person! Cheap entertainment and it gets them out of the house. They have it every Friday and they are begging us to take them again.

*I also take water aerobics at S.A. with a friend on Monday and Wednesdays. It's $2.00, and is from 6-7pm. I love it. It's great exercise, especially for preggo's.