Finally, a day of sunshine! I was planning on sharing another project to keep the kids busy this summer but that will have to wait! The girls and I met some friends at Ottawa Farms in Bloomingdale today and picked blackberries.  It is so much fun- you’re spending quality time with your kids and you have something to show for it afterwards (unlike going to the movies). In our case, we had ten pounds of blackberries and three pounds of discounted blueberries (the blueberries were overripe and only $1.50 a pound.

I love to have a well stocked art closet for my kids! My advice would be to start small.
Originally, I repurposed an over-the-door shoe organizer into a craft materials holder. I place
items that all three of my kids can use (8, 7 and 3) in the lower pockets. Materials that are
geared more for the older kids are placed in higher pockets (scissors, glitter glue, etc) Stocking
up on supplies during the Back to School sales (usually after the 4th of July) is the way to go! I

On Monday my daughter and I spent some quality one-on-one time together since she did not have school but my two sons did. My daughter, age 6, is my firstborn. She has the longest school day and is the most independent and best at amusing herself. Therefore, sometimes I worry that she gets overlooked due to the higher attention needs/demands of her younger brothers. So I really treasure the times when I can spend time just with her.