I know this make come as a huge shock, but I'm not that into crafts. You might find this hard to believe, but I don't think anyone has described me as being "into crafts". Easily frustrated at moms group board meetings, yes, but Carrie Craft, no. To be honest, my favorite crafts are the ones that are done at my older son's OS) preschool. To clarify, they're my favorite because I'm not involved with the setup, cleanup or the possible temper tantrum when OS decides he's finished with the craft and doesn't want anything to do with it ever again. As such, I'm very particular about what crafts we do. Crayons, markers, and waterpaints are all okay on a daily basis. Anything more is for a special occassion or because I have a wave a mom guilt because I'm not doing enough crafts with my kids. This guilt is usually caused by other moms talking about crafts that they have been doing with their kids. The following is a craft that I really enjoyed doing with OS when he was about 18 months. Warning: there is a bit of preparation.
You need to cut a "vase" out of construction paper. (For the craft challenged you can just cut out a rectangle.) You will also need 6 green pipe cleaners, an ink pad (make sure it's washable) and scotch tape. Finally, you will also need to cut, let me give you a minute to sit down and take a deep breath while keeping in mind that this craft is worth it, large flower heads out of construction paper. You can make them plain circles or you can cut out circles with funky wavy scissors.
Take your child's hand and press it on the ink pad. Then press his hand on one of the "flower heads". Repeat until all 6 flower heads have a handprint on them (I did 3 with one hand and 3 with the other, but symmetry is not actually required). Next make sure you quickly wipe off the child's hands before he wipes them on the dog or a very angry cat. Wiping hands on a sibling may also be a possibility. Babywipes work well.
After the flower heads have dried, attach a pipe cleaner to the back of each with a piece of tape. Attach the other end of the pipe cleaner to the vase. Repeat until you have a vase of flowers. I also glued on a ribbon tied in a bow around the neck of the vase along with a heart doily (don't ask why I have that). I wrote "Happy Valentine's Day" and the year along with OS's name.
Although this project was a bit of a pain (OS was okay with his hands being stamped but some of the other kids who were over our house and did this as part of a, gasp, craft day I hosted didn't like it)and OS had stained hands for a couple of days, it is a really cute idea and I love looking at his little hand prints. A lot of kids gave them to their other parent or grandparent. I selfishly kept it for myself. Actually, what shouldn't I have a cute momento of my son's babyhood?
A. Elliot's Ratings: Ease of setup/cleanup (1-10 with 1 being most difficult): 7 Attention Getting (1-10 with 1 generating least interest; this excludes dogs): 3 Liklihood that child will wipe hands on family pet: 6 Ability to became a great keepsake: 10
This was in response to the CHBM topic: Nifty Valentine's ideas to make with your kids.
Now that my kids are older, it is far more challenging for me to be "crafty" with them given my own inability to do crafts. I am just not that artistic and following instructions doesn't make it easier because I am left handed and most stuff is written from the perspective of a right handed person. I end up getting all tangled up. Same reason I don't do aerobics! My kids like the crafts even if they are hideously ugly because we put the music on and have fun creating together. So that makes it a win/win. I really admire those crafty moms who can make em with beauty and style, but it doesn't get me down that I can't. I realize my own limitations! LOL
I, too, am an "un-crafty" mom. The worst part about it is that I have one friend who is GREAT about doing crafts with her kids. Their playroom looks like a preschool with all of the artwork hanging up.
So thank you for this idea. I think I'll try it tomorrow for what will probably be our first snow day around these parts ;)
I think that women have a hard time saying what they like about themselves. We don't want to come off as sounding conceited or high on ourselves. In fact I would even go say far as to say that asking many woman what they like about themselves make them feel uncomfortable. In our society it's acceptable to make fun of ourselves and to list our faults, but it doesn't seem okay to articulate the qualities that we have that we love. I know it is quite a feet sometimes to think positively about myself.
It is therefore no surprise that when I look at my two sons, I can immediately think of several of my qualities that I do not want them to have. They range from acne in junior high to the way I sometimes feel like a heel when I struggle to manage stress; there's a lot of room for improvement. Yet, when I look at my husband, I can immediately start listing qualities that I hope my boys inherit from him. One thing he does that I love is that he shows a lot of soul in the way he treats everyone with consideration and respect. For example, he always inquires how cashiers, waiters, etc. are doing. If someone does a good job, not only does he compliment that person, but he also goes directly up to that person's manager and tells them how impressed he is by that particular employee. I hope my boys will be like that.
After dabbling my toes into the pool of positive reflection, I was able to think about some of the qualities that I do hope my boys inherit from me. First, I hope they inherit my love for animals. I also hope that they inherit my sense of humor, both because of the way I can have fun in almost any situation and the way that I can use humor to defuse the tension or stress of others (as well as myself). I hope that inherit my drive to get things done, but I have to say I hope they learn how to manage it better than I do. There's a fine line between letting nothing stand in your way, and being obsessive. Mostly though, I hope that they inherit my commitment to imagining what it is like to walk a mile in the shoes of others. I try to be an open-minded, socially responsible person, and I hope my sons will live that way as well. No matter what their beliefs may be, I hope that they will always try to see things from others' perspective. They can disagree, they can be angry, they can even think the other person is completely wrong, but at least if they're trying to see life from another point of view, they can regard that person with compassion if not understanding. That understanding will help them better know their own beliefs and make them more accepting of both themselves and others.
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Walking a mile in someone else's shoes helps keep you on your toes and keeps you from putting your foot in your mouth.
This was in response to the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas question "What parts of yourself do you hope your child gets from you. "
Alex, I think this was a beautiful post and it encapsulates so much about what I like about you and your writing. You hit the nail on the head, and I hope that your kids also inherit your honesty.
And "there's a fine line between letting nothing stand in your way and being obsessive"? Priceless. I'll chuckle over that in a knowing way for days.
Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate your husband's way of complimenting. I try to do that, as well because I know how much I like it when others compliment me. Enjoyed your post. Humor gets us through many a tough situation, huh? :D Have a good week from a fellow Crazy Hip Blog Mama!
I think my favorite childhood Christmas memory has to be the Christmas when I was two weeks away from turning 5. My whole extended family celebrated the start of the Christmas season each year by eating lunch under the giant Christmas tree at Marshall Field's Department Store in downtown Chicago. Afterwards, we would all go see Santa Claus.
This particular year, we walked through the toy department on our way to the "North Pole". Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a display case with a beautiful Sleeping Beauty doll. I rushed over to look at her. I still remember her long blond hair, sparkling tiara and golden dress with sequins. I'm not sure how much time passed, in reality it was probably only a minute, but all of a sudden I realized that my parents weren't there which of course led to major tears. Luckily the display case was right by the cash register. A very nice salesclerk paged my parents for me. By that point I think I was near hysteria. My parents came rushing over to get me and we went to go see Santa. However, I was so upset that I forgot to tell Santa about the beautiful doll I had seen. That led to more tears on the way home.
On Christmas morning I walked down the stairs and there under the tree with the light shining on her sequins was the Sleeping Beauty doll. This is my favorite memory because I remember thinking that Santa had magically read my mind. Even though I forgot to tell him about the doll, he just knew that I wanted her. We have pictures where you can see how truly surprised I am to see her there. I was so excited, but also very exhausted and thus decided that in addition to the doll that Santa Claus had given me, I also needed the dog's box of biscuits that Santa had brought him. There are pictures of me holding the doll in one hand and the box of dog biscuits in the other. The dog is practically sitting on top of me. It's funny that I remember that too: the beautiful doll, the giant box of Alpo dog biscuits and the ensuing nap that followed.
Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
For those of us who didn't get an instruction manual with our babies and for whom parenting hasn't always gone as planned. On a more serious note this blog is about supporting a woman's ability to make her own choices about parenting including the choice, for whatever reason, to bottle feed her babies formula.
Now that my kids are older, it is far more challenging for me to be "crafty" with them given my own inability to do crafts. I am just not that artistic and following instructions doesn't make it easier because I am left handed and most stuff is written from the perspective of a right handed person. I end up getting all tangled up. Same reason I don't do aerobics! My kids like the crafts even if they are hideously ugly because we put the music on and have fun creating together. So that makes it a win/win. I really admire those crafty moms who can make em with beauty and style, but it doesn't get me down that I can't. I realize my own limitations! LOL