Apple craft

It's not often that I peruse the Martha Stewart website and I can't even tell you why I ended up there today but I landed on a craft page that works perfectly for my over-abundant supply of apples from our orchard that are now going rotten on the kitchen counter and my endless-energy toddler who loves to paint. It's a fun way to decorate any plain old piece of paper or canvas bag and I immediately thought of my eco-friendly canvas shopping bags hanging in the pantry when I saw this. The best part is that no one will know my apples are actually half rotten and their wrinkly skins might even make this a little more Van Gogh interesting! I'll have to post pics of our little crafting time later today when they're finished. Until then, for all you crafty types I heartily suggest a quick look at the Martha Stewart website for other cute ideas: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/3-tiny-creatures-costumes?page=4&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/baby-costumes#slide_9

And here's the finished product! I can't wait to show it off when I bag my groceries.

Prescient drawing

A few days ago Ben called me into the living room to show me Gi's newest artwork. They had been scribbling on a notepad together and she started drawing a picture of me. When she was done, he asked her what the picture was about and she told him it was "Mommy and baby X" (name of baby withheld because we are letting it be a surprise to our families).

She has been making faces for weeks, big round circles with two dots for eyes, a curve for a nose and smile, and squiggles for hair. That was what I was expecting to see again when I walked into the living room. Instead, I found this prescient drawing. A complete figure in profile, eyes, nose and mouth then complete with big belly and what can be seen as a uterus and baby inside. Kids can be so intuitive! And I am so proud of her budding artistic abilities. Most kids don't draw faces and recognizable real-life scenes until 3 years old. So, yeah, I'm bragging but I'm allowed to do a little bragging about my kid once in awhile.