Seeking inspiration…

As you know, Mary is tired this week. Tired, tired, tired. I have all sorts of terrific post ideas in my head. Well, I’m sure they’re in there, because lord only knows they’re not appearing on this screen. And stuff has been happening. Lots of stuff. Stuff is always happening around here. I recall laughing at least six times this morning, but can I remember why?

No, I can not. Because I am tired, tired, tired.

Which has me wondering if I’m scaring the children by bursting into sudden, unexplained fits of laughter at irregular intervals. Maybe that’s why they’ve been so exceedingly well-behaved today…

Poor little buggers.

I cannot tell you what happened this morning, so I will tell you about my plans. Or my plans to make plans. Because really, I’m too tired to plan this week. But I am planning to!!

I have gotten so far as to gather some Christmas craft supplies. See?

I know just what I’m going to do with some of that stuff. The egg cartons? Cut them into cups, smoosh squares of tin foil around each one, poke a thread through the top, and Christmas bells! Easy. I have four egg cartons so far. That’s one dozen bells for each of the three-year-olds, and a cup or two for the one-year-olds to gnaw on and leave in sodden lumps on the dining table.

At the left, you can see two variation of the pipecleaner candycane, which they can do. The older kids can push beads onto pipecleaners. The younger two can moosh pipecleaners in their pudgy hands prior to stuffing them in their mouths.

On the blue plate are my faves, the foamy stickers. No idea what I’ll do with those. Nor the glitter (in the white box), or the metallic, 10-cm twist ties. The Christmas balls are entirely shatterproof. When you press them, they bend.

The silver doilies are going to be angels, of course.

What else?

Brainstorm with me, oh parents-of-teenies. What would you do with these things? More to the point, what would you like to see coming home from daycare with your kid?

Take as a given that I have all the accessories: scissors, hole punch, tape (masking, scotch, and duct), glue (sticks, white, and hot melt), string… I also have the standard craft supplies: construction paper in a rainbow of colours, white paper, crayons, markers, foam sheets, stickers, toilet paper tubes, envelopes, card stock… If it’s basic and I don’t have it, it’s likely only because we’ve run out, and I’m totally prepared to buy more.

Help my weary brain. What can I do with this stuff?