There are a few places I indulge…things I buy that are luxury items for someone like me who usually only makes a purchase if it’s on sale (and hopefully I have a coupon too). Among these indulgences are scones and non-fat venti cafe mochas at Starbucks, BabyLegs for Miss G (that’s an addiction I’ll delve into further at some later date), and stuff from The Land of Nod. You know, that cute little side store of Crate and Barrel that sells everything from these handy dandy and adorable book shelves (the girls each have one in their room) to fun & educational games with funky artwork. On a recent visit I picked up some clips for wall art (I got em 50%0ff at $5.95, now they’re even cheaper – go buy some!) While there, I noticed this really cool wallpaper that A.J. would just love. I mean seriously, the girl is a Doodlin’ Fiend and goes through piles of “dry paper” (what she calls blank paper for some reason) every day. Luckily, I practice being green by hoarding all the paper leftover from various speech tournaments and recycle them into hours of art entertainment. I thought it was a great idea, and cute to boot…but wasn’t too keen on the $40 price tag, esp since this was not pre-pasted wall paper. Ever use that stuff? Me neither. FOR GOOD REASON.
I didn’t want to deprive my child of the joys the freedom and liberty to color on the wall would give her, nor did I want to deprive myself of the “free” time it would buy me while she was occupied doodling flowers, rainbows, and the Scooby Doo gang (complete with Shaggy’s sgraggly goatee, btw).
So instead of dropping the $40 for the wallpaper, and at least another $20 or so for paste and tools (not to mention the time and frustration of hanging the stuff) I made a quick run to my local smiley faced superstore and bought a pack of white poster board and some sharpies. Once home, it took me about 5 minutes to scribble some frames onto the poster boards (this was actually quite fun, if you want to know).
I tacked them up to the side of our island with some wall putty. 
After a few minutes of doodling, I was rewarded with a giant hug and a “this is awesome Mama!”
And that is worth a heckuvvalot more than $40.
Melonie Johnson 