Project Time!

Bunny making

Glueing beads on a shamrock

Let me just be clear on one thing I HATE spring. Yes, even more than winter. Spring makes me feel manic-depressive. It's the only season where you can have a day that is 55 and sunny and you are so happy you just want to cry. The trees look like they just might burst with buds, your walking in something other than boots, and you think those quacks might just have something with the whole "new life, rebirth" bullshit. And then BAM! the next day it's 35 and the trees are heavy with snow and you're in the DEAD of winter again. All your hopes smashed and you go running back inside, ready to crawl under the covers, mad that you actually let yourself believe it might be spring. I like consistency. I like to know what to expect. I don't like spring. There's nothing certain about it.

This isn't a new revelation for me. Spring has never been my favorite time of year for many reasons. Here in the Woodlands, we have the extra benefit of receiving very little sun, which means our neighborhood retains the lovely mud-stained snow for 6-8 weeks longer than anywhere else. Nothing is more depressing than driving back home to see brown and white - blah! No birds twittering or flowers sprouting here, folks!

Plus I'm bored. There I said it. I've been stuck in my house all winter long and I don't think "cabin fever" is quite the phase to describe it. That would be a gross understatement. The baby keeps us stowed away inside most of the day since he's napping or eating solids or nursing. The times I do leave the house it's out of sheer necessity. Someone's gotta pick up Cal from preschool right? And actually, I'm so happy that I DO have a reason to get out at 11am everyday so that I at least force myself to look presentable on a daily basis. This helps keep me sane.

You'd think my house would be spotless since I'm in it all the time. What else am I doing right? Not so. It makes it worse that we're here all time. The kids have started to become creative with their "play". Now I think it might be a game...like who can make the biggest mess the fastest. I've taken to "project time" to keep them and ME busy. The key is to have said project involve glue. It's the only way to keep little boys occupied with art for longer than 5 minutes. I stock up on glue of all kinds - glitter glue, glue sticks, Elmer's glue, whatever, they LOVE glue. If they empty half the bottle in one puddle on a piece of construction paper? Awesome. It took at least 10 mins to squeeze that much out. Most times I can convince them to then stick something in the glue so that might take another 5. Last week was shamrocks, this week is bunnies and eggs, and next week we're doing some Passover crafts. Lots O Fun.

So while spring might have sprung, let's just hope that like our projects it STICKS.