Thursday, October 7, 2010

"Home Is..." by Bloom Guest Dana

We are continually amazed at the creations and projects Dana shares over at her fantastic blog, MADE. Remember the awesome wreath tutorial she shared with us here at Bloom last fall? This woman has creativity aplenty! We are so happy to have her back today as part of our "Home Is..." series talking about the little people she shares her home with and one of their favorite afternoon rituals...

Hello Bloom! And thank you for having me. It always feels like home when I stop by your lovely blog. And if I had to finish the phrase "home is____" I could probably come up with 100 fill in the blanks, depending on the day and my mood. So I'll try to dig deeper here.

For a mom that loves to sew and be creative, I have a confession: I do not like doing crafts with my kids. There, I've said it. And it's true. I hate setting everything up, breaking up petty fights, watching the mess get everywhere, and then cleaning it all up 10 minutes later when the kids are bored with the project. That's what preschool is for right? That being said, there are times I feel guilty for not doing more craft projects with my kids. We moms can be hard on ourselves. So whenever I start to feel like me and the kids need more one-on-one time, this is our cure-all medicine:
It works every time. I know it sounds so simple and obvious. But we all have fun and for some reason, I can easily do this for an hour over some of the other kid-activities Lucy requests.

It usually starts in the afternoon when someone wakes up from a nap and mom walks away from the computer.
Before Owen was born, it was just me and Lucy acting silly on the bed. But with two monkeys now, the laughter is more contagious and lively.
The kids jump on my Queen-size bed, we laugh, they sing songs, they say silly things,
they get tickled, we shout "timber!" and watch each other fall down like trees, and at some point,
everyone tires out.
And then they request silly faces.
It's so much fun and actually, relaxing. And I feel like a better a mom because I acted like a kid with my kids, in a way that was actually interesting for all of us.
So to phrase the saying properly, on many afternoons at our place, "home is: monkeys jumping on the bed."
I'm so blessed that these monkeys are mine.



For previous "Home Is..." posts, click here.

9 comments:

Twins Squared said...

So Sweet! Thanks for the reminder to play and be silly with my "monkeys"!

Jonesy said...

Dana--Thanks for starting the "I Hate Doing Crafts With My Kids" Club. I'm TOTALLY with you there!!! What a brilliant idea to just do something as simple as jump on the bed for a little one-on-one time. I think I'll toss the laundry to the corner so we have a bed to jump on! ;)

Amy A said...

haha! Glad I'm not alone in the hating to do crafts with my kids lol! Great idea, I'm gonna try being a monkey today :)

Joan said...

SUCH darling pictures, Dana! It is so true that our children richly relish when Mom acts silly and speaks there language of entertainment and fun.
Ps: you have two beautiful monkeys btw :)

bdaiss said...

So with you on this one! We love our monkeys and totally allow jumping on the bed!

bethanndodd said...

I second the "I hate doing crafts with my kids". I even make them play with playdoh outside (horrible, i know). I am totally going to get my monkeys jumping soon! Thanks for sharing!

Amanda Fetters said...

Yes. YES! I am not a kid crafting kind of person - I agree with you all the way - and I am all about pre-school. Yay to monkeys jumping on the bed!

Aaron and Kristi said...

You're such a great mom, Dana!!! You are always inspiring me with your craftiness, now with a reminder to have fun with my kids too! Thanks!!!!

Delia said...

That was so sweet Dana! I think it is good for our kids to see us acting like kids too.