Lettergirl

Lucky me.

Lucky me:  the apples don't fall far from the tree around here.  Last week I shared my homemade gift for Juliet; this week is her homemade gift to me. 

Apparently she noticed that I would sit down most Sundays to plan our meals for the week.  And apparently she heard the voice in my head saying, "I wish I had a special notebook just for planning the menu!"

The notebook has three sections:  the first has every single day of 2013 written out for me with a blank area for writing my dinner plans.  The second section is for grocery lists--which comes in handy since I shop at six different stores over the course of every month or two.   (Have I ever mentioned how many restricted diets I take into account when planning our meals?)

The last section is for miscellaneous notes, like recipes to try.  Last year I instituted "Taco Tuesday" where we ate a Mexican-inspired dish on Tuesday (which devolved into taco salad every other Tuesday over the summer).  This year the kids voted for International Night.  When I suggested that anyone eating the international meal would be required to present a fact about that country, they didn't even turn me down (although they did ask for a heads up).

So my girl has a lot of creativity in her.  On some level I might have hoped her passion would be more lucrative (as Tina Fey says, "Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance").  But could my heart have been any more full when I woke up to homemade gifts on Christmas morning?

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Every now and then my seven-year-old likes me to write out math problems "for fun."  This morning he turned the tables and wrote out this doozy for me (presumably so I could have fun while he is at school).  Remember to show your work, Mom.  Come to think of it, I would rather work out this problem than finish getting my bookkeeping in order for my accountant.

Back to School.

I am the mom who dreads the first day of school, the end of the summer mayhem, the impending piles of homework.  And yesterday turned out pretty good, actually.  I can feel myself adjusting to the new schedule already, and I dug deep to find a potentially creative solution to a disappointing school issue.  F. is a bright-eyed second grader ("my favorite time of day is 7:00 am") and J. is in her last year at Dowling (5th grade).  We're on our way. 

Towards the end of summer last year, the kids made these clipboards for their homework, permission slips, etc.  They have heavy duty magnets on the back so we can keep them on the fridge.  (Sometimes they get too heavy and slide off, annoying all of us and scratching the door.  Obviously, the best resolution here is less homework.)

Acorns

My little apples don't fall far from the tree!

In honor of my creative kids, I am going to post some acorns -- projects for little ones.  This one was conceived 100% by my oldest, Juliet.  She loves to save old boxes and she loves to recycle them into new things.  She worked feverishly in our craft shop to get this done in time for Mother's Day.  (We call our spare room the craft shop -- it's where the kids have a table and chairs and fully stocked art station.  It is almost as messy as my studio.  Hands down, it is one of our favorite places to be.  Yippee!)  One of my favorite bits is the Laura Ingalls Wilder quote -- a quote lover at age 9!  I have painted quotes on the walls in the hallway by our side door (like this) and J. has been asking me to paint this one, from Little House in the Big Woods.

Save this idea for Father's Day.  And please let me know if you would like more ideas for kids (projects, books, whatever...).