Craftiness

I am extremely blessed to be a stay-at-home-mom. But recently I found myself stuck in a rut. And this particular rut was the "lack of creativity when it comes to activities with my kids" rut. I was bored. They were bored. It was getting old fast. So, nearly a month ago, in a desperate attempt to claw my way out of the rut, I grabbed a flyer at the local mall promoting free kids art classes. And when we got home, it nearly ended up in the trash, but was saved by the nagging reminder of boredom in the back of my brain.

So now I had a way out of the boredom. I just had to get myself on the right path to reach my destination. In an attempt to chain myself to the train going that direction, I called my sis-in-love, Katie (who also conveniently is an elementary art teacher) and asked her if she would join us for Kyra's first "art class". She agreed and unknowingly locked the chain around me and threw away the key. We were getting out of our rut. We were trying something new. We were going to "Mommy and Me Sea Turtles" art class.

And it was a success. Despite the craziness that was Kylie without a nap. Despite the fact that the "teacher" nearly gave my twenty-something-year-old sister-in-love a stroke because she didn't really have a clue how to teach kids under age 5. Despite the fact that I carried two "turtles" made out of egg cartons around the mall for an hour so they could dry. It was awesome. We did something new and interesting and FREE.

And since that first introduction to the quaint little art class at the mall the experience has gotten better and better. Better because we have gone the last two weeks with our friends Foster and Rowan. Better because we discovered story time at Borders is right after the art class. Better because the Chick-fil-a cow visits story time and gives out goodies like balloons and crayons and FREE KIDS MEALS. Better because we immediately enjoy our free kids meals and then exchange the toy for free ice cream. Better because this week the free ice cream was 4 times the size it is supposed to be. Better because we're out of the rut. We may be getting into a new one, but at least this one involves crayons, paint, friends, cows, chicken nuggets, and ice cream.