Zen and the Art of Motherhood

I am trying to get a little more Zen about the SAHM thing. It’s self preservation on one hand; and on the other, it’s better for the kids. I updated my resume, and I’m still pursuiing the work avenues I want to pursue, but I have to let myself off the hook. Otherwise, no one will be happy.

One successful way of “zenning” has been to clean. I have recently discovered another: arts and crafts. Or, in Monkey speak, “arts and craps.” Priceless.

Given a pair of scissors, some stick glue, some shapes I cut out for her, and even some glitter glue, Monkey can amuse herself for up to half an hour. It’s wonderful!

I also helped her make a card for her cousin’s birthday:

And some Halloween decorations:

And then I one-upped myself. I took it upon myself to design certain elements of Monkey’s Halloween costume. For example, her wand and her tiara:

I learned a couple of things along the way. First off, do the outline last, because you’re just going to mess it up. Also, work from left to right. (Or if you’re left-handed, right to left.)
Finally, symmetry looks better:

Another Zen technique for me: home improvement. I spray painted a wicker basket my mother-in-law offered to me and turned it into a toy box. I am so ridiculously proud of this:

I have also ordered blinds for the front room (I guess what you would call the family room) — kindly financed by Nanny; thank you, Nanny. I have picked out paint colors for the family room and our entrance way, and DearDR is going to paint this weekend. The girls and I are headed north to escape the fumes and hang out with Nonna and Pap-pap. I will be posting before and after pics.

Because I’m kind of impressed with myself right now.