Creativity Meltdown

Today I got a reality check. (Yes, I'm venting. Maybe it'll offset all the sappiness of my previous post ;)

Chuck's mom is a very creative person, and was very good at teaching her children to be creative. I've always admired that, and have had a goal to cultivate that in my boys as well. The only problem is, I'm not very crafty. I have neither the talent nor the patience for such things. And currently my life is so consumed with keeping up with housework, I really have no time.

But last week the boys missed out on an invitation to decorate Christmas cookies at a friend's house because they were sick, so I thought I'd make it up to them by having us make our own, and deliver them to neighbors and friends tomorrow.

Overly ambitious, as usual.

So, this morning I got Charlie and Chance to help me make the dough. With Chandler on my hip, we managed to mix it all together, despite the fact that Chance had several time outs for whining and crying about every little thing.

Then we get to the table, where I've taped wax paper down. Which Chance promptly pulls up. I set the dough down. He starts putting his fingers in it. These sorts of things keep occurring until I finally restrict Chance to having to stand by me until I have everything ready. Every time I would get his dough flattened, he'd stick his fingers (or pretzel!) in it, and we'd have to start all over. Anyways, we make it thru that, and thru cutting the cookies. Charlie is actually quite good at it, and did a lot of it without even needing my assistance, which was a pleasant surprise.

I set the cookies in the oven, and Chance continues to whine (this time because he doesn't want to wait for the cookies to bake before he eats them), so I tell him it's time for him to go to bed. I scurry him upstairs, hoping to only take a moment to get him to sleep. And since it's "rest time" and Charlie has been obedient, I tell Charlie he can get some books to read instead of taking a nap. But his reaction is...far from obedient. So, a few spankings later, he and Chance are both in bed, and instructed to take naps. All the while, the cookies are burning in the oven. Lovely.

Up next is icing and sprinkles...I'm not sure I even wanna go there. Ha! Wish me luck. Or at least an extra helping of patience.

And the next time I plan to do something creative with my kids...please remind me of this day. Thanks... :)