Jackie O & the Pinterest Problem

You know when you get one of those day-dreamy mental pictures of what having kids might be like?

Image from Life.com via Pinterest

When this image popped up in my Pinterest feed the other day, I couldn't help but laugh; this is one of the most idyllic - and fraudulent - depictions of that sort of mental confection I've seen. Camelot indeed.

Don't get me wrong - like any girl young lady thirtysomething person worth her pearls, I 'ship at the altar of our former First Lady & High Priestess of Prep here. The thing is, this image of a woman perfectly coiffed, calmly working on her Art whilst her equally well-turned out daughter quietly paints in the background, is . . . um . . . not something this mother of a young toddler boy / wildebeest recognizes, though I confess I envisioned scenes like this PK ("pre-kid", natch).

Seized by a case of the Pinterest - you swear that sort of thing could never happen to a nice, Nordstrom-loving girl like you - in the past week I somehow decided the wee CEO and I were going to get artistic. Crafty, even, and not in my usual diabolical sense.  There were trips to multiple craft and home improvement stores involved. I was going to foster my child's creativity! Weave a magical, stimulating home environment in which his budding young creative mind could thrive! Exclamation point!

Readers, I am not proud. This is coming from the blogger who used to believe in "homemade" only to the extent I could buy an item lovingly made in someone else's home. Somehow this all feels like the inaugural tumble down the slippery slope to a minivan and mom jeans.

Speaking of broken dreams, here's how our decidedly non-Jackie O salon du toddler art is going so far:

- Crayons eaten by dog, as fed to him by toddler (3)
- Dogs now sick from crayon ingestion (1)
- Marker stains on hardwood floors despite fraudulent "washable" claim (3)
- Crayons stuffed under the couch (6)
- Child prodigy drawings produced, thus assuring early admission to HarvarYaleOxforPrinceton (0)
- Child drawings produced of any sort whatsoever (0)
- Half-completed gallery walls, as designed by yours truly (1) (photos to come, like it or not!) (not)

Um, yeah. So I may shelve the crayons for a few months until Master P shows more of an interest in, you know, drawing with them.  I am, however, going to persist in finishing off the few playroom crafts I've started, if only to show that I can - and, truth be told, because I'm secretly enjoying it. EEK.

Beware the Pinterest, kids; as far as I know, there's no cure for it yet. Or is there - what would Jackie O do?