Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Everyday Creativity, Everyday Moms

Creative ways to recycle and make fun toys without spending any money while increasing your childrens' skills and imagination.
This is an egg carton split in half and used for sorting garden finds. Or fruit loops. Or sometimes it is a light saber. Or a bridge. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
My main goal is to create. To paint and write. My other main goal is to raise my kids to be happy and strong. Sometimes I feel like those two goals are at cross purposes. I get frustrated when I am with my kids because I am not writing. I feel guilty when I am working on my art because I am not doing what I should with the kids. I have the feeling that these two goals should feed each other, but I get wrapped up in the mundanity of life and lose the connection.

How do I bridge the gap? I think the answer is mindful living. Spirituality. Zen. Find the creativity in daily life. Find the beautiful in the mundane. Find how life and art intersect. Redefine what it means to be creative and take stock of all those moments in the day when we are CREATING something new... an idea, a meal, a photo, a game, a song, an interpretation, a painting, a story.Creative ways to get your child to eat something green.
Do not be fooled. This is not spinach. This is dinosaur food. And it's much better for dinosaurs than the grass some confused Dinomen eat when they have no dinosaur food. *note. His tshirt actually says "DINOMAN." This is how you know he is a dinosaur.
I am going to be looking into my daily life as mom to find ways where my creativity comes out to make life better and happier for my kids. And that will make my life better and happier, because if I realize the creativity and beauty and zen in my daily life with my kids, I won't always be moaning, "but I can't sit on the floor and watch the rain fall with you, I HAVE THINGS TO DO!!!!!!!" I am working on it.


Creative ways to try to get back into baking and make mama eat breakfast while simultaneously entertaining two small kids and giving them a treat.
This is a box mix blueberry muffin. I know, nothing great, full of processed stuff, but I haven't baked anything from scratch in forever. This was easy. And I felt free to be creative with the instructions on the box, using my half empty tub of sourcream, a pinch more salt, and a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar on the top. They came out great, so we had a mini tea/muffin party. Yum yum. And the kids like to watch the eggs break and love to help stir and also to watch the muffins get puffy in the oven.
Okay, so stay tuned into more of my adventures in daily creativity and zen living. I will have more to say on this topic.


3 comments:

  1. Wow, I just had a thought, i want to use egg cartons to separate paints in for painting. Great ideas!

    The dinosaur photo is priceless, what an amazing kid.

    I love these ideas, there just has to be a way to balance out the desires in your heart. Both are so worthy and noble and important. As you learn how to make these two seemingly different things meet in harmony, I am grateful that you get to go on this journey before I do so I can learn and take from your example.

    Thanks Warrior Girl!

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  2. Our house is crazy with egg cartons. Those are THE BEST items for just about anything! One day, we were studying insects. We used lines of three "holes" and some pipe cleaners, labeled the head, thorax, and abdomen and called it science!

    You are such a good mom... your kids will have the best memories for years to come. And maybe one day, they will be collecting egg cartons, if their kids are lucky!

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  3. A friend of ours got her daughter to start eating fresh greens by telling her it's "organic chewing gum." Now if that isn't a stretch I don't know what is! But hey, it worked!

    Mayla just made a beautiful toothbrush holder out of an egg carton, and then gave it to her sister to sleep with telling her that she could open it and make wishes into it. Very versatile things, those carons!

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