New Year, New...Nahhhhhhh

Is it too early to be making rice krispy treats for the kids? I mean, it is January 4th, after all. All the Christmas goodies are long gone, and the counters seemed kind of bare. I say -- resolutions be gone! Throw them to the birds. Shoo!

I have no New Year's Resolutions (NYR). Kind of feel like you are setting yourself up on that one. I've been there, done that. You know, I'm big into goal-setting, but the pressure of the NYR are so laden with failure out the gate, don't you think? But changing the very core that is me (namely, a pear), that would be extremely difficult. Which isn't to say that change isn't appropriate or needed in some cases, but that added pressure is just something I can live without.

Naturally, I've given some thought to change, or at least resolving to change. There are little things, of course, like making my bed more, but other things are just innate to my personality and frankly, I've come to accept my shortcomings. I'm not perfect, just trying to be, well, most days anyway. Some days I'm just in a bad mood. There's no hope for perfection on those days, much less greasing the wheel of change.

So maybe this year's resolution is not to change, but to continuing putting my best foot forward, 6 out of 7 days or at it's very worst, a score of 4 out of 7. C'mon now, that's above 50%. Which is still a failing grade, so maybe I should up that to 5, which would be passing, at least. Now there's something I can live with, and probably my husband, too. He's at work all the time anyway. The kids, school. I can save up a lot of the good days and log them in the summer when everyone's around. Plus, I'm good at pretending, so some people might think I'm having a great day, when in reality, I've already powered my way through the pan of rice krispy treats.

Today is not that day. I was just cleaning out the fridge and the cupboards, you know, new week, new year...saw some things that needed to be used up. Like a stick of butter. Uh huh. Yup, that's it. The truth. The wonderful crunchy, buttery, simple, anyone can make 'em truth. I've sampled but not cut into the pan. (In addition, I sipped a Diet Coke while I sampled, so that alone negates the sample). That can wait til after dinner. Mostly its for the smile on my kids faces. Cuz if I were to resolve anything, it would be to initiate even more smiles from my children's faces. If there's anything that can improve the ratio of happy days, that would be it.

So onto a New Year. I like beginnings. January is like throwing a dryer sheet into your month. All fresh and clean smelling. So here's to a New Year. And Bounce dryer sheets.

It's All in the DNA

Or so they say. But this creativity couldn't be flowing out of my DNA. Must be from my husband's genes. I'm not very creative...artistically speaking, anyway. But this is Lindsay and her science project. DNA. They have to create a family. They could make a poster board. They could have done it with a partner or even as a group. But not my Lindsay. She had her own ideas. A diorama. Something simple. Or not. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures...but this thing was seriously thought out. Thank goodness we didn't throw out the Polly's with the little food and mustard and ketchup bottles, or the cup the mom is holding. Notice the ants travelling to their ant hill. Or the butterfly on the rock amidst the flower patch. Or the leaves laying on the grass. The styrofoam ball...cut in half, painted black, and now a BBQ.

Seriously, was I EVER this creative? (See, Grapefruit, the fun doesn't necessarily end when they get to middle school!)

Anyway, I don't know what the teacher is gonna think, but I'm blown away the creativity that flows through these kids. She's been working on this on and off for the entire Christmas break.


Here's a top down view of the BBQ, the tire swing (a plumber's rubber ring), the kite, etc.

I love it when school projects become passion. The learning is just so much more fun!