Tag: crafts

Memory Board

Marie Haigh3 Comments

Long have I wanted a memory board to hang Elly’s craft projects on. But all the ones I saw at a store or even at my best friend’s house were so small. At best, they could hold 5 crafts. Elly makes 5 crafts in a day. I would need to buy several memory boards to hold a weeks worth of artwork.

So, instead I made a gigantic memory board.

It measures 2.5 feet by 4.5 feet.

Not only is it big enough to hold all the artwork Elly can crank out, it should hold all our Christmas cards saving me from the white trash approach of taping them to a door with masking tape. You know, the approach I went with last year.

I made the memory board out of a plywood board which oddly enough came with the house, home decorator fabric, batting, duct tape and push pins. The push pins were a beast to push into the plywood and after so many curse words were muttered, I went in search of my glue gun. Tacking the ribbon down was a breeze with the gun.

It took me a few days to convince Elly to add any of her artwork to the memory board. Artwork is supposed to hang on the refrigerator.

Excuses for No Preschool

Marie HaighLeave a comment

Elly turned 3 in February.

In September, most children her age will head off to preschool for at least 2 days a week. Elly will not.

I could come up with a few excuses to justify my decision, but the main reason is because I want her home with me for 1 more year. This is my time with her. Starting at age 4, she will be going to school for the next 13 years. If we count the college years, then she will go to school for 17-21 years depending on how much education she needs for her career. One year less won’t stunt her growth and it would mean the world to me.

But back to those excuses. You do want to hear them, don’t you? Of course you do.

Like most parents, I think my child is wicked smart. Either that or I am losing brain cells by the fist fulls because I have already lost arguments to Elly.

Thanks to the Moms Club, socialization is not an issue. Almost on a daily basis, Elly meets and hangs out with kids her age. She even has 2 best friends and none of them are family. The only best friend I had at her age was my older sister.

Elly has been exposed to every craft supply I can get my hands on. During the winter months when it is too cold to go outside, we make a lot of crafts. Other moms that have watched me buy supplies at Target and AC Moore have expressed amazement because they don’t have the patience for such messes. Thankfully, Elly’s favorite crafts are not overly messy: sculpting and painting. Though I just introduced her to pottery. It truly looked like a bomb had gone off when we were finished. Thus, I have deemed it an outdoor only craft.

We don’t sit at home. Yes, Elly is her father’s daughter and loves to play video games, but I do not.

When she is with me, very few video games are played. Instead, I keep her busy. We go to the zoo, the library, the local playgrounds, and anything else I can find. Idleness is the devil’s playground. It is also a fast ticket to madness for any mom.

They are pretty good excuses, no? Still that is exactly what they are: excuses. I just want one more year to spend every day with my little girl. She is growing up too fast as it is.

Just today, she told me that she wanted to go to school. I explained that she would indeed go to school in another year. Then, she asked if moms could go too. I said no. “I would miss you”, said Elly. Me too.