I’m feeling sick and blah this week. In the absence of any creative thought on my end, I’m going to tip my hat to two creative ideas I gleaned from others.

The first belongs to my husband. I have never denied that he is the more crafty and domestic partner in this union. I have made strides in the past year, meaning I can now actually cook a meal without severing a limb, but he remains the more natural kitchen connoisseur.

So it comes as no surprise that when he whipped up a little vinaigrette salad dressing one evening not too long ago, he concocted this gem of a container by repurposing an old baby bottle.

Clever, no? The only adjustment needed was to cut a slightly bigger hole in the nipple.

I got the heebie jeebies just typing the words “cut” and “nipple” in the same sentence. Never ever cut your own nipples. Only bottles.

I realize it’s possible this ingenius creation has already been plastered all over Pinterest by a bunch of people who make cat sweaters, but I’m not going to bother checking because he came up with it on his own and I don’t want to poop on his parade. Also, lazy.

****

Number two came from my sister, and is an idea for entertaining family when you are stuck together in close quarters over the holidays.

Historically my family resorts to aggressive card-playing during holidays and vacations. Our favorite is a game called Nerts. My mom cheats a lot, but other than that, it’s mostly fun and pleasant.

However it can be hard to play cards once you have kids. They tend to require attention and feeding that can interrupt your concentration and ruin everything.

This year we tried a new activity – playing the Just Dance Wii game. My sister played this with her in-laws two years ago over Christmas, and it entertained multiple generations for days on end.

My parents happen to have a Wii Fit, which they bought last year to help them get in shape (let’s laugh about this for 10 more minutes, please), so we dusted that puppy off, popped in Just Dance, and dropped it like it was hot for hours.

Of course my 15-year-old nephew dominated every dance-off, but I enjoyed the opportunity to practice my running man and learn some new moves that I can break out when I’m hammered at a wedding sometime soon.

If you’re looking to shake things up for family entertainment over Christmas, you may want to give it a try. Be warned that possible side effects include your husband practicing his new hip-hop moves while listening to Christmas music. But I have actually found this to be EXTREMELY awesome to behold, and would suggest that this alone is worth the investment.

Apologies I have been terrible at keeping up on my Friday Faves. I might need to switch it to Monday…have I mentioned that Friday is one of the days I have both children home all day? What the hell was I thinking? These were a few of my favorite reads this week.

My daughter loves to draw, and she just recently started drawing people. Some of those creatures look straight out of a horror movie. I love this post by Scary Mommy, which shows a bunch of not-so-flattering portraits children have drawn of their mothers.

Before we had kids my husband and I used to enjoy spending Thanksgiving in Vancouver, Canada. We would shop, eat sushi, and enjoy a lazy four-day weekend in a fun city. This great post by Wendi Aarons reminded me how much I loved those atypical turkey day celebrations.

This post by Brad the Dad is an older one, but someone shared it on Twitter this week and I agree it’s a fabulous piece of writing that made me smile.

My oldest daughter starts kindergarten next year, so last week I went to hear a few local educators discuss how to prepare your child, what to look for in a school, etc. All in all it was fairly helpful, but there were a few interesting things I took away from it.

First, parents of pre-K kids are some of the most neurotic people on earth. I include myself here. It’s so overwhelming to think about your little baby entering a public school where there are so many unknowns she will encounter – like FIFTH GRADERS. Holy shite. I could practically see the beads of sweat rolling down the brows in the room.

One of the parents in the crowd expressed concern that her daughter is shy, so kindergarten feels like she is “throwing her to the wolves.”

All of the teachers reassured her that her daughter will not be alone – that for every one shy (or active, or silly) kid, there will be at least four others like her, to whom she will relate. I found that comforting.

But one of the teachers suggested that the mother avoid calling her daughter “shy.” She noted that the word tends to have a negative connotation, and that society so often tends to celebrate only the kids who are more outgoing or extroverted as the ideal, which can be damaging and misguided.

She recommended a book titled, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, and said it was required reading for some in her field. Have you heard of it?

I haven’t read the book yet but I already love that it exists. Despite being an outspoken goof at home, I was often considered shy in school. I definitely have the introvert gene. During my career it was sometimes a challenge to find what felt like a natural fit for my personality within a leadership position. Leaders are supposed to be loud. Or so it can seem.

But it also resonated with me as a parent of two daughters who already seem to have fairly different personalities. My youngest is only 10-months-old, but lately I swear everyone who knows them both has remarked how she seems to be so much quieter than her sister.

Granted, my oldest daughter can be a spitfire and at times anyone would pale in volume. But there is no denying that #2 appears to be a bit more subdued and mellow. I love the contrast and find myself enjoying their respective traits that much more because of it.

But if indeed my youngest turns out to be more quiet or introverted, I can imagine people will continue to make that observation and comparison often. Sometimes to her face.

Knowing that I never liked the “shy” label, I wouldn’t really want to put that on her. Nor would I want my oldest to be constantly told that she’s “the loud one.” I would instead prefer they be referred to as The First Sisters to Ever Jointly Hold the Office of President of the United States. Is that so hard?

I look forward to reading the book – as a parent, as someone who will likely return to the workforce someday, and as a means to justify my frequent desire to curl up in bed alone and tune out the rest of the world. Leave me alone! I’m introverting!