Share the Love!

Share the love this Valentine’s Day! Click the graphic for more info from Etsy.com!
What a lovely idea!

Hearts and hugs all around….

xo
Bek

Creativity… A most excellent clever resource!

Amazing site on creativity…

Great brainstorming, creativity, thinking, teamwork tools….

I think this will help not only me, but also help teach kid some new problem solving skills….

Enjoy!: CreatingMinds.Org

xo

bek

Me.

Me.

Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBek

This is me.

Today, and most days, my burst of energy is around 11am for around 45 minutes. Boyo is usually in school and misses it, he tends to see me at my lowest level of energy (he says “Mama’s energy is blinking red”…Lately everything relates to RockBand it seems…) and he’ll hang out with me in a temporary fort under the blankets and we have this funny little dialog back and forth before the bald guy comes and retrieves him and I hang out, sometimes plugged into the wall so my newest ‘betes gadget can recharge, usually with an earplug in my hand and sometimes crying because I just don’t have the energy these days to get much done and I’m so frustrated and it has moved beyond accepting that I need to adjust my expectations for the day into the endless frustration that getting out of bed in the morning exhausts me so much that I almost don’t make it out the bedroom door.

But I do what I can. I have learned to bring some work to bed with me. I am the queen of containers with little compartments. And I work on working smarter and putting systems into place so I have less to worry about and more time with my little guy.

Kiddo tells me “and then you’ll rest and your energy will be back in the green and you’ll be so happy to play again”…

If only a nap would move my energy I’d be soooooo grateful.

Anyway.
While I was resting today he went to his “office” (his room is set up Montessori style, in little compartments/rooms with 3 foot high walls) and made this for me. I think this is the first thing he has drawn specifically for me. I know this is some sort of a breakthrough, but I can’t get past the tears.

And then I have to explain to him why mama cries when she’s happy…
All of this is so confusing, but he just grabs me a wet wipe and orders me to blow my nose. Which makes me cry harder.

All I know for certain is that I am loved. Really, truly, purely loved.

The Art….

The book….

Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBek

222 pages of my work…

222 pages of bright and candy colored macro shots….

I did this as a reminder of how far I have come and also as a gift for my dad to share with him how far I have come in the past year…

I this because on the really hard days when it seems like nobody is making progress anywhere I can look at this and say holy crap, this is where I spent the last year….

Feels good. Off to work on the subjects for volume 2.

School Glue is Too Fast For Us….

OK. So eventually you have to let little kids use elmer’s (or other brand) white glue in the squeezy bottle, right?   Child cannot glue with gluesticks alone…

BUT the problem with anything that isn’t a complete solid and it’s interaction with younger kids, is that the combination of boundless enthusiasm combined with the sheer joy of “more” usually leads to a puddle of glue that frequently drowns whatever they were trying to glue and if on paper, can form a soggy, rippy, drippy mess…

For kids who will only sit and glue for a little while I have a suggestion… I tried this on a whim yesterday and so far so good…

Try putting your squeezy bottle of white school glue in the fridge- even 30 minutes works… I may start storing one in there to see how it “keeps” over time…

The cold thickens the consistency of the glue just enough that, when squeezed, it comes out slowly…

This effect seems to wear off (keep in mind we live in Florida and it is hot hot hot here) after a short while (I stopped trying it after 20 minutes because not only do I have a 4 year old, I have the attention span of one…) but lasts long enough that junior can glue a little bit without needing triple tarp protection and the vigilant hovering of the mama….