This morning, I noticed that one of our apples in the bowl was looking a little rough. I decided that our learning activity today (he paints on Mondays) would include an apple stamp made from the bad apple.  I scrolled through some ideas on Pinterest and saw this gem.  Isn't that smart?!  So, I sliced our apple like that one above to give him a handle to hold. After I got him all set up at the table, I drew a tree on the paper, and we talked a little bit about what kinds of fruit grow on trees, what colors we might see on apples (he was determined that purple was one of them, haha!), and where the apples grow (on the branches, but sometimes they fall to the ground before people pick them).  Then, I showed him how to use the apple stamp and let him get to work while I fixed lunch. He had fun mixing colors and decorating the tree, and I had fun watching him get so excited about something so simple. Sweet boy told me the finished product was "pwetty," and I agreed....

I'm not a fan of messes. Of dirt or mud. Of paint. Of Cheerios covering my kitchen floor. Pretty much anything that has to be cleaned up, I have little interest in dealing with.  At. All.  As a pre-k and kindergarten teacher, I dealt with messes all of the time. It forced me out of my cleanliness-comfort-zone, if you will. Paint and glitter and marker marks and paper and activity center toys. All over the place just waiting to be cleaned up or put back in their places.  When I married The Husband, I found that I had to deal with other kinds of messes. I think most ladies know where this is going. Socks and underwear left in odd places. Dirty dishes left in the sink (I'm ok with this now) or on the table. Towels and wash cloths left on the floor (he's much better about this one. Well, towels, anyway.).  Then, we started having children. The messes continued. Cloth diapers and spit-up and bibs (and children) covered in food. With Jack now using th...