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!
I’m going to send this post to my mom because I think it will make her reminisce about my tooth fairy days =)
Aw, that’s so sweet Sonya! I got very emotional reading K’s little note, and I’m sure your mom felt the same about yours 🙂
What a happy picture to finish the week with! Thank you for sharing! It reminds me a bit of Babar the elephant. I am happy to hear that your week was so productive, one deadline down, yay! Unfortunately no tips on time management here, I work best on the last minute and under pressure….not very smart. K amazes me yet again and I don´t think you are overprotective at all, skating would scare me, too!
I loved reading Babar books growing up! Yes, one deadline down, multiple to go!! I’ve been investigating Evernote, and I think I may have found a goldmine there. I had totally dismissed it before but now I’m seeing its potential!
How amazing is the elephant.. And oh my god how cute is K’s letter. How sweet is she thinking of her dad?
Nice way to end the working week.
Doesn’t it almost break your heart that she wanted the tooth fairy to give the money to M? And that elephant totally made my week! Thanks, Stephanie!
We are planning to take our 5 and 3 year old rollerskating this weekend. Rollerskating. On an inside, flat rink with adjustable wheel speed, and I’m nervous about them getting hurt! You are perfectly withing the parameters of legitimate protectiveness. We moms have a special pass for unreasonable fear of bodily injury. That said, I’m sure she will be just fine. 🙂
You’re right, Amber! She was completely fine and it was so much fun to watch her try this totally new, totally physically challenging thing. Hope you had a great time rollerskating – that sounds like something we need to try too 🙂
Let her fly! She’s obviously a very thoughtful, clever kid. Judging these kind of physical risks now is so valuable a lesson. Plus, skateboarding is pretty cool.
When my son was 1 year old my husband and I swore he wouldn’t make it to ten without a broken bone! He’s halfway and is proving to be quite cautious, which has surprised us both. Definitely takes after me in that regard.
Skateboarding is way cool! It turned out to be a fantastic experience and we’ll be going back for more. Isn’t it funny how personalities emerge? I always thought K would be a lot more reckless, but she’s quite cautious too. I, on the other hand, appear to be reserved and cautious, but have been known to be surprisingly reckless.
oh, how I love K’s little note! You are keeping that for posterity, aren’t you?! Such a treasure. And love how it shows her innate generosity and concern (for Daddy’s dire financial situation).
Best of luck to her tomorrow on her maiden skateboarding voyage! I would say that starting with lessons is a perfect way to introduce her – gives her the opportunity to learn and you the peace in knowing she is less likely to be injured:)
Oh yes, the note is safely tucked away for safekeeping. As I tried to slyly tug it out from under her pillow, I caught the words and stopped to read mid-tug. She grunted and almost woke up so it’s a good thing she didn’t see!
The skateboarding lesson was amazing! She had a blast 🙂
That elephant is so cute! Wish I had fun artwork like that where I live. K is just too funny! I love her note to the tooth fairy. So sweet that she wants to use her money to help out her dad or offer it back to the tooth fairy. What a kind soul! Good luck tomorrow at the skate park!
Thank you, Meghan! I was bowled over by K’s generous spirit too. Of course, I found it hilarious that she included $1.36.
Love it! My daughter gave the tooth fairy money last week as well. What thoughtful girls we have 🙂