Family Arts & Crafts Night

Boy - did we have fun last night! I bought Kiddo some paints the other day and promised him that some night this week we would sit down and paint. However, I told him the only way I would do this was if Hubby was home to watch Little Bit because I was (and still am) convinced that if she got her hands on any paint, it would be everywhere. So last night, I taped some newsprint on the dining table, put one of my old t-shirts on Kiddo and got him all set up to paint. I'd also bought myself some basic water colors and brushes, so while Kiddo painted, I did to. I haven't painted, drawn or done anything remotely creative in years, so this was probably as much fun for me as it was for Kiddo. Little Bit wanted to paint, but Hubby sat her in her high-chair and handed her a lump of Play-Doh and a couple "implements of destruction" (namely a dull holiday cheese spreader and a plastic baby spoon) so she could do some damage to the blob of blue stuff. Then Hubby sat himself down at the table with us and also got out a lump of Play-Doh (his was red). We all sat at the table and "created" for quite some time and it was so great to have the four of us all doing something together like this. Hubby put on some fun music (XM Kids, channel 116) and we crafted. Little Bit didn't last too long, though, and eventually started hollering, "I wanna paint, too!" She spiraled downward into near-hysterics until Hubby finally gave up and took her away for her bath and an early bedtime. (Note to self: Never wash Little Bit's blankie right before bedtime. It creates havoc and more screaming and there is not a viable substitute for the real thing.) After Kiddo had painted three pictures, he decided he was done, and we tucked him away in bed. He said to me as I was tucking him in, "Mom, I sure am tired tonight!" Good. He was asleep in minutes. Hubby and I watched NCIS (love that show) and then I went to bed at 9PM. I think maybe we need to implement Family Arts & Crafts Night more often. And maybe, just maybe, Little Bit would do OK with paints if we got her some that she could use; some that were created just for toddlers. Gotta think about that one, though. I had a thought to bring my sketchbook in today and scan some of the stuff I've drawn over the last couple of days, but when I ruined a perfectly good sketch of a fireplace by trying to paint over it with my water colors, I thought maybe I ought to practice some more before I shared my work (I use that term loosely) with the masses. Maybe I'll change my mind. TTFN JMS