Task 1: Learn How to Use a Potter's Wheel

I have officially completed the first of my 35 tasks of 2014; I learned how to use a potter's wheel.  Little Man and I went to a family open studio time at Burlington City Arts and learned how to use a potter's wheel.  I hate to admit it, but my 5 year old who does not like to get his hands dirty, is a far better potter then I.  He knows it too!  I had to let go of my first failed attempt and the second one, although not perfect, is a keeper, at least for memory sake. Of course I blame the first failed attempt on the 5 year old who kept telling me I should let him finish it because it would turn out better.  I am glad this made my list of goals for the year; we had a blast, and are planning on going back in the near future.  I just hope the other 34 tasks are as much fun as this one. 

Sometimes I Wonder

Sometimes I wonder if trying to save money at the expense of time is worth it.  Let me explain.  I get my hair cut and highlighted at a cosmetology school.  It is significantly cheaper than going to a salon, and let's face it; they are being graded on your hair, they are not going to mess up.  In fact, I would say I have had less hair disasters at the school than I have at an actual salon.  The cost of this; it takes significantly longer to get my hair done.  A simple cut can turn into a lesson plan, or teachable moment.  Don't get me wrong, I love teachable moments (I am a teacher), but every time I get my hair cut! It is a bit much.  However, $10 for a good hair cut vs. $30+  for a hair cut is a big difference.  Some days it might be worth it. 

Much More Exciting

The further into motherhood I get, the more exciting and interesting my life has become.  This is not necessarily because I am doing anything different, but because I have a little person to share things with.  To watch a child's reaction to something they find fascinating, interesting, or just plain cool is amazing.  To see them discover something for the first time is one of the most amazing gifts.  There are days I would rather watch his reaction to a performance or demonstration then actually watch it myself.  It is a lot more fun that way.

 

Lately we have had several of these occurrences as Little Man is getting older and can tolerate staying out later every once in a while and has a much longer attention span.   For starters, we took him to First Night this New Years.  Almost everything we did was interesting and exciting to him (except for maybe walking around in the cold from building to building).  We rode a shuttle in; this was very exciting.  We went to a pottery studio, and while he had no interest in creating his own pot, he sat watching someone else create a cup and later a vase for a solid 45 minutes on two different occasions (he made us go back later).  We went to see Circus Smirkus and he was thrilled to death by the clowns and acrobats.  The we finished out the evening with two different performances by people that he knew.  The entire evening was amazing and one with reactions and excitement on his face that I will never forget.

 

This past week we once again had another incredible night on a whim.  It was too icy to run outside and I had resigned to running on the treadmill after Little Man was snug in bed.  This opened up my evening and when I noticed that there was an early basketball game and a Celebrate the Arts night at the school I teach at, I decided to pick up Little Man and bring him back.  This was his first basketball game and he really got into it.  He was their biggest fan and moved himself to the bottom bleacher to he could be closer to the action.  He was into it.  Afterwords we wandered around the halls checking out all the amazing artwork students had created.  When we arrived at the engineering classroom, I thought we were going to be stuck there forever.  Things I would not have thought would have been remotely interesting to a 5 year old held him completely captive.  Of course, when I finally did manage to pull him away, we quickly found the cafeteria where the rest of the engineering students has planted themselves.  At that point, I resigned to a shorter run and let him sit and stare for a while.  They had made robots for a competition they had just competed in and were demonstrating the series of tasks that needed to be performed at said competition.  He sat so still watching that several people almost tripped over him.  It was amazing. I can't wait for our next big adventure.