Thanks for the great feedback about yesterday’s “mother of invention” journal. Today, as I did last Thursday with Lisa Brandt’s terrific book Make the Media Want You, I’d like to take a moment to shine the light on someone’s brilliance.
 
Our little grandbabe Colin, who’ll be four in the fall, has taken to some nocturnal activities. Darn that growing out of the crib stuff! One of his favourite things is to get out of bed and turn on the light so he can read his books. Now, while I’m all for literacy of all ages, it’s not exactly the best thing for him to be doing in the night.
 
So Brooke took his little lamp out of the room (the one we gave them that had been Lauren’s; its base is a blue beehive and Winnie’s digging in). That meant the little man had to go big or go bed…and he went big, starting to reach up to turn on the light switch. What to do? You can’t just unscrew a light bulb or two every night.
 
Using what I think is downright ingenuity, Brooke looked around her tool box and found a butterfly hook that one would usually see on walls where strings from blinds are wound up and out of the way. I can’t imagine what made her try, but it was a perfect fit for a light switch!
 

 

 
Told you she was clever! I told her she should sell them: paint them in ladybug or butterfly colours and let other parents use them as nursery decorations. (She opted not to, so that’s why I’m sharing this idea here for free. But if you make a million dollars off it, be sure to remember where you saw it and share!)
 
Now, feel free to pass this on or give it a try in your home if someone has a habit of turning on lights that shouldn’t be on. I thought it would be great to use if you have a vacation rental or some place where you can’t be around to tell people not to turn off the furnace switch, or not to touch a certain light that has to be left off. It kind of gets the point across, don’t you think?
 
Have a bright day and we’ll be here with you tomorrow. Adventures in the kitchen with a really neat little appie idea that went over huge. It took some work, but I sure wish I’d made more!