Not so crafty

We look happy now, but just wait a few more hours when boredom hits.

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I wish I were a crafty mama, I really wish it were true. Growing up, my great-aunt Vivian would watch my brother and me along with my two cousins every summer and she always had fun projects for us to do . . . painting, crafts, needlework, etc. Even my mom is a terrific sewer, she made my wedding dress for goodness sake! So you would think some of this handiwork would have somehow rubbed off on me (can't you learn how to use a sewing machine from genetics alone?). I do know how to knit and I can fake my way through simple projects if I am super organized, but more often than not, I start a project then never finish it (remember the quilts we started 3 years ago, Mom?).

So now that it's summer, I'm seeing the glassy-eyes of my kids as they walk around with nothing to do, despite the mountain of toys and books we own. Jack did his soccer camp, we've got swim lessons set up all summer and I've even looked into another camp I think Jack would really enjoy, Willowbrook (an art camp, yes I understand the irony). But I need something for when we're hanging out at home with nothing to do but look at each other. I know I don't need to keep them entertained all day, every day (some boredom is good, isn't it?) but I feel guilty when I hear "what do I do now, mom" and I don't have any ideas to give them.
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So my goal, starting today, is to find things that we can do at home that are fun and easy. A mom from my neighborhood playgroup wrote in her blog about this activity, ice treasures. Doesn't this sound fun? So I'm taking inspiration from this and I'll post pictures when we do it. I've even added some other activity blog sites to the right to further my cause in keeping my kids busy and having fun. Hopefully I'll be able to follow through, unlike the not-even-close-to-being-finished quilt sitting in the basement.