A Lot Can Happen in Ten Minutes

I found a blog that quickly has become a favorite.  It's called Seriously A Homemaker and you will be sure to giggle your way through several of her posts.  Plus, her layout is so cute.  I want my blogs to look cute, but I don't know how to do any of that stuff.  People tell me it's "super easy" but they don't understand how technically challenged I am.  For example: last week at the gym I forgot my mp3 player in the spin room.  When I realized what happened I went to the front desk and told the guy, "I need to go back to the spin room because I lost my WALKMAN."  He said, "You lost your what?"

So I'm afraid to do anything other than write and add pictures or the occasional video to my blogs. 

Anyway, the author of this blog has a 10-Minute Challenge this Monday.  What you do is take a mess in your home and, as she writes, "kick its butt" in ten minutes. 

Usually I would put this sort of thing on my "Notes from Naptime" blog, but the thing that I did combines the book Madeline at the White House by John Bemelmans Marciano, an art project, and a little homemaking all in one.  If that's not multi-tasking, I don't know what is.

Jesse brought home a book from Grand Rapids for each of the girls last weekend.  Hadley's was the Madeline book.  I think it is my favorite of all our Madeline books because it's about Washington DC during the Cherry Blossom season.  Last year, Hadley and I went to the Easter Egg Roll and she and I love looking at the pictures of the Egg Roll in Madeline at the White House.  We compare what we did and what Madeline and Co. are doing in the book.

I thought a fun project to go along with this book would be to make our own cherry blossoms.  This idea came from the Queen of Homemaking - Martha Stewart herself. Here's what she suggests. 

I wasn't planning on this project taking 10 minutes.  I figured it'd take 30-45, but the H's weren't super excited about doing this.

"Awwww, Mom!  Not another one of your projects!"

"Just humor her, Harper.  Then maybe we can have some chocolate milk."

You know what Hadley was excited about?  Making this:

We went outside to pick up sticks for our Cherry Blossom project, and in the time it took me to put Harper down for a nap (ten minutes), Hadley made a stick guy. 

Not exactly what I had in mind, but I had to take a picture of it because it is pretty impressive.  Also, Hadley told me the guy is saying, "Hey guys!  Wait for me!"  That's why one of his arms is raised.  I know I'm biased, but I think she's quite possibly the coolest four year old in the world.

Back to the project.

I'm not sure why a stethescope was essential for part of this project, or why Hadley had to wear her ballet outfit for it, but I'm learning that some questions are best left unanswered.

Here's the finished product:

Here's why I think this is a nice "10 Minute Monday" submission.  First, it took 10 minutes.  Second, Hadley, Harper and I created something for our home that makes us happy when we walk into the playroom (despite their lack of enthuiasm while doing the project). Third, I didn't spend one penny on the project.  Sticks? Free. Tissue paper? Leftover from presents that were given to us. Vase? It came with flowers that were sent to us when one of the girls was born.  Most of all, it combines things that I love: trying to bring the stories we read into our everyday lives, making our home a nicer place, and hanging out with the H's. Of course, I also get to blog about it which is a lovely bonus as well.

It seems that a lot of what the blogs I like to read are about is taking something that you have and improving on it - whether that's parenting, homemaking, design, writing, what-have-you.  I like to be a part of that kind of thinking.