I was lamenting the most recent cancellation on Facebook when a friend of mine suggested I do a blog post on activities to keep kids busy during the unending snow days.
Excuse me while I go laugh my hiney off.
Oh how I wish I was that kind of mom. I actually really truly have guilt about this. Here my kids have been home in the middle of the school year for 7 days straight and we haven't done one real activity. Not one. Something's wrong with that right? I see people like Jill (whose blog I ADORE) and wish I had more creative bones in my body.
But I just don't. Even if I had known that the little snowfall we were supposed to get last Monday night was going to turn into what has so lovingly been dubbed "Snowpocaplypse 2011", I don't think I would have gone out and armed myself with glitter glue, pompoms, felt, pipe cleaners and/or every other crafty thing a person might need. It's just not on my radar. I'm too busy worrying about how we're going to get more milk, whether or not we have enough toilet paper to wipe 6 tushies and why in the world did my dishwasher decided to stop washing NOW?
So I'm trying to come to terms with this. I'm actually feeling a bit vulnerable about it right now, like somehow I'm failing my girls in some way by not being Mommy Stewart. I'm not sure why I got it in my head that in order to be a good mommy one not only has to be able to kiss booboos and cook good food but also must have unending resources in craftiness. Am I holding myself to too high of a standard? If my kids are happy, is it ok that we're not gluing things every day?
I've done plenty of Barbie dressing, game playing and story reading in the last 7 days. I even managed to bake a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls.
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| You know you want'em |
Maybe your friend from Facebook was suggesting that you ask others what they had been doing so that you could do the same and not leading the campaign yourself: )LOL
ReplyDeleteDon't beat yourself up....I'm not a "crafty mommy" either. Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but I just can't get into crafts for the life of me!
ReplyDeletehttp://vandylandmommy.blogspot.com
Those cinnamon rolls look amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe had no school for two days. We don't have television, but we watched movies and played video games for most of it. So you're doing better than I am. I can't imagine I would have convinced my 13 year old to do a craft anyhow...
I think the best mom is the one who is herself and not stressing about what other mom's are doing. You are doing great as the mommy that you are to your children. Creating precious memories with your children, any way that is comfortable for you is going to create a calm, loving and supportive environment. If the girls want to create - then they'll ask.
ReplyDeleteAlso - if the mother guilt gets too bad for you then google some simple craft projects. You'd be amazed at what's out there. :-)
Mmm....cinnamon rolls
ReplyDeleteI would like to be one of those Martha type moms, but my patience level died off around the time I had kid number two so it's not happening. My girls bought a container at walmart last summer full of pom-poms, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and other assorted junk so when they get bored I give them a bottle of glue and tell to get their craft junk out and have at it. I figure the twenty minutes of peace and quiet I get while they're working on it makes up for all the glue I have to scrub off the kitchen table.
You're with them and that is all they need. I wasn't huge on crafts either, but oh gosh my girls were. I filled a basket with crafty things and spread a plastic table cloth on the floor. They crafted their little hearts out. Play-do, store bought or homemade, is wonderful too. But you know, there is nothing at all wrong with boredom and letting them find their own activities.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh! I am SO not a craft girl either. Sometimes I think my kids were deprived, but really, what would they do with sea shell picture frames any way. You are such a gift to them!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for the shout out! Second of all, you certainly don't need to do crafts to be a great mom. You've got 4 kids, I only have 2. I do it because my kids not only love it, but I love it too. If I didn't, I wouldn't do it. There's plenty of things I feel I don't do enough of - like play outside in the snow with my kids. I hate the winter, and if it weren't for daycare my children probably would never see sunlight in the Winter. It doesn't make me a bad mom though, it's just not my thing. You're an amazing mom, please don't ever doubt that. And those cinnamon buns look to.die.for.
ReplyDeleteIt's enough. <3
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