Art for Scouts

I decided to pawn off my week of leading a Cub Scout meeting by kicking off their pursuit of the Artist badge and immediately passing the baton to Jim Mott, a local "celebrity" of sorts and a friend of the hubby.

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He shared his adventures and some of his paintings with the kids. Beautiful scenes -- some painted in our own backyard. (Well, just up the street.) Unbelievable talent. And friendly to boot.

I hope to check out his show at the Mercer Gallery this weekend. Thank you Jim!

Ring in the Season

Long weekend. Fabulous meal. Awesome family. So much to be thankful for.

Caught up on missed episodes of Glee. (Mr. Schuester. Hot.) Watched the parade. Watched The Longest Day (which is strangely compelling for nine year old boys and painfully boring for eight year old boys--what a difference a year makes). Played basement soccer. A little driveway hockey. Played Life. Star Wars Monopoly. Connect Four. Had my girlfriend across the street over for wine. Avoided the Black Friday shopping stupidity. Decorated the house and tree. Helped Son #2 make a gingerbread house. And now, excitedly, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

(This list reads just like my diary in the fourth grade except that every entry that summer said pretty much the same thing, "Played kickball." And then I listed every player: Misty, Alexis, Rich, Mary, Sallie, Chris, Christine, Dave, John, James, etc. Fascinating stuff.)

Anyhoo, isn't this Kate Spade ring perfect for the holidays?

I'd be the envy of everyone. Everyone!

Pulling Teeth

Next in the long list of activities we have to strong arm our kids to do (e.g., brush teeth, do homework, clean up toys, take shower), comes Son #1's reluctance to write thank you notes for all of his birthday gifts.

Son #1 (whining): I'm tooooooo tired.
Me: You're not too tired to play with your Legos; you're just too tired to thank your Aunt and Uncle for them. They'll think you're ungrateful.
Son #1 (whining more loudly): I'm not ungrateful. I'm just tired right now.

Son #2 (picking up a copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid): It's easy. You just fill in the blanks.

"Dear Aunt Loretta: Thank you so much for the awesome pants! How did you know I wanted that for Christmas? I love the way the pants look on my legs! All my friends will be so jealous that I have my very own pants. Thank you for making this the best Christmas ever!"

So darned charming, right? And that Jeff Kinney is onto something. I'm looking forward to getting some form letters in the mail tonight.

Just kidding. He can't get off the hook that easily.

Let's Say Thanks

Back at my desk after a fabulous weekend in NYC. No time to write about it yet but I thought I would pass along this site where you can write a thank you note to a soldier who is currently serving in Iraq and it will be printed/sent for free.

The cards are designed by kids and they're really sweet.