Happy Friday! This painting above was not done by me, though I wish it was. It’s one of the countless charming things about Seattle. One minute you’re rounding the corner onto an unfamiliar street, then the next minute you’re met with an expertly painted elephant (Bell Boy? Doorman?) on the side of a building. And the trunk is a drain pipe! People’s creativity always amaze me. I wish I knew who the artist is so I can credit him/her properly.
It’s been a productive week! I met my first big book deadline for cover art sketches and now I’m gearing up for the next book deadline. I’m scouring the web for time management tips because the deadlines are multiplying and my tried-n-true methods are coming up a bit short.
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It’s interesting to see how your child handles situations involving money/gifts/rewards. Have you ever heard of the marshmallow project? It was a psychological experiment conducted in the 1960s to test whether children’s ability to delay gratification correlated with future success. The test has been reproduced numerous times since with hilarious results (here’s a cute video).
When K got four teeth pulled last week, I was curious whether she would try to get a bulk sum at once, or would parcel it out with the tooth fairy. It turns out she’s more of a delayed gratification kind of gal and put one tooth per night under her pillow. For her final tooth, we had some detailed correspondence:
Yes, K actually gave the tooth fairy money. She was pre-paying for toys, though she was willing to donate the cash ($1.36) for other purposes. This made me want to leave her extra toys. She’s either destined to be voted Forbe’s most powerful woman, or will lead an altruistic life of abject poverty having given all her funds away for tchotchkes. The tooth fairy left a note as requested, though she forgot to leave a time stamp, which was what K wanted for some reason:
K received a vintage-looking whistle, a lime-shaped bar of soap (she’s weirdly obsessed with soaps), and these fancy mints for her last tooth. By the way, the reason K wanted the tooth fairy to give M the money is because he’s frequently lamenting that we have none.
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Weekend time! Have a lovely one, and see you on Monday!
Trying something new:
K is going skateboarding
Kinda sorta scared*
*We live close to a gigantic skate park, and they have lessons for kids. K and her friend are going to give it a shot on Sunday. I’m not embarrassed to say that I’m an overprotective mother – the girl hardly has any more teeth to lose!