"Not My Speed"

A few months ago I was talking to some other women, trying to figure out what this whole "Pinterest" business was.  I was lovingly told, "It's not your speed."  The women who I was talking to are all very talented and were sharing pinterest ideas they had done to create cute, crafty items for their homes.  And granted, that is definitely not my speed.  I don't consider myself talented at all in that area.  I don't really sew or do crafts or anything at all particularly "cute." James even once told me (also in a very loving way) that I needed to be more "wifey." Cute, crafty, talented, and "wifey" are all terms I would NOT use to describe myself.  So in that respect, Pinterest is definitely "not my speed."

However, the more I heard about it, the more I realized that Pinterest is really just a visual book-marking tool.  A place to save websites you've been to - except with a picture so you could see exactly what it was you wanted to remember.  And since I decided that there were other websites out there that I had a habit of bookmarking, like recipes for example, I could use Pinterest too, even if I'm not cute and crafty.  So I finally succumbed a month or two ago and got myself a Pinterest account.

I have since discovered the other, addictive aspect of Pinterest - the part where you see what other people have pinned and have to sit for hours checking out websites and ideas and pinning them all yourself.  And I have decided that Pinterest is EXACTLY my speed.  Since loading the dishwasher leaves my pregnant self feeling like I've ran a marathon and I have to rest for 20 minutes after doing nothing more than getting dressed in the morning, sitting on the computer for hours is exactly my speed. 

And I've discovered that I can be cute and crafty - with a little inspiration.  I may not have the ideas myself, but I can copy someone else's idea with moderate success.  I've found many recipes that I want to try - and James told me again today how delicious last night's dinner was - and it was a Pinterest idea.  But more than anything, I think I use Pinterest to find ideas of things to do with Enzo.  I think it must be a way to sooth my guilt at being such a bad mom lately.  I definitely take it personally, and as a bad sign, that my child is addicted to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He asks for it as soon as he wakes up, he wants to watch it every time he eats a meal, and many tantrums are thrown on a regular basis when I won't let him watch it.  I hate that fact - but it's a reality that letting him watch TV much more than is good for him is about all I can do these days. 

Even before my Pinterest addiction, and my self-imposed pregnancy couch-rest, I decided that I needed to be a better mommy.  I need to treat being a stay-at-home mom like the full time job that it is.  I think I need to spend as much time preparing to spend time teaching and playing with my son as I did teaching other people's children when I was working.  And Pinterest has been a great place for me to find ideas on how to do that.

So this post is to make myself feel better about all of the time I spend on the couch - and show some of the things that I have done with Enzo the last month or two - with some help from Pinterest. 

(Please forgive the video quality - my phone camera isn't the best.)

Matching Colors (He doesn't know the names of all the colors yet, but he can match them):

Window finger painting:

Sensory Bin (searching for treasure):

Art projects:

Sophia and Maggie even got in on the fun:

Rainbow cupcakes:

Sophia was the only one with any interest in decorating before devouring.

Painting in the bathtub:

And a non-Pinterest idea, but one that Enzo LOVES, is his boats/water table:

 He even found Uncle Matt's conditioner to add some fun to the water.

So, I haven't been a total waste of a mom the paste few months.  I've even done a few other projects that could be considered "cute and crafty" or "wifey" or however you want to look at it - some for Enzo's big boy bedroom, and some for baby girl, that I will hopefully post about soon. (Don't hold your breath, we all know how great I am at keeping up on blog posts.)