I have another teenager in the house and I can't believe it! My middle son turned 13 on the day of my sister's wedding last weekend and was served birthday cake by a lady in white.
I always say that time flies and when I look at my kids I realize that is so true. How can this much time have passed so quickly? I hate to say it, but all those who doled out advice about "cherish all these moments because they will be grown before you know it" were right!
13 years ago we had the sweetest baby who came into this world with a mighty bellow - no sweet baby cries for him! He roared into the room with a great wail then settled in to be a kind, gentle boy. He has always been the kind of kid to think of others, give up the best seat if his brother was crying, hand someone else the larger piece of cake...
These days he is always the smallest kid in the room with the biggest heart. He loves his sports and plays like a giant on the field:
And on the mat:
And with his stick:
And patiently waits for his delayed growth spurt to hit while keeping his sense of humor:
My boy is small but mighty and we love him so much...
Things travel like wildfire in the land of Facebook. The latest is "Can We Bring it Down a Notch?" , a mom begging other mothers of the world to bring down their celebrations of holidays.
The author, Kristen Howerton, complained that there is too much hoopla (did anyone else just hear Spongebob when you read that word?) surrounding the small non-holiday-holidays like St. Patrick's day for her to keep up with in her home.
I'm going to admit it...I'm one of those moms. I "do it up" whenever I can - the leprechauns trash the house and leave chocolate coins, the Elf makes it's rounds every December, I have mailboxes filled with notes and surprises on Valentines Day, the tooth fairy leaves elaborately folded dollar bills filled with fairy dust under pillows...
Why do I go to all the trouble? Is it to make other mothers of the world feel inadequate? Is it to create work for myself? Is it because I'm bored?
I do it because I'm a junky. My drug of choice is elusive and strong. It's WONDER.
Seeing wonder on my kids' faces is priceless and addictive. I've seen it when I take them to Disney, but I have also seen it when they find an elf sleeping in a tissue box after a rough night with a head cold. It's rare and beautiful and I'm hooked.
Childhood is so fleeting, as I look at my 11, 12, and 15 year old I know it is gone in the blink of an eye. I have worked hard to create circumstances to create wonder, I had to get one more hit. I am hooked on trying to create traditions and memories for my kids. I want them to feel things, I want to experience surprise and delight and wonder. I can't apologize for that, I'm an addict.
They don't believe in all that "hoopla" anymore, but I still do it because now that wonder has evolved into tradition. It is our common family "thing". It's the knowing smile, the wink, the eye roll, the "you remembered" I get when they see the elf dangling from a wrecking ball (ala Miley Cyrus).
We just recently spent $300+ transferring all our VHS home videos to CD so I could relive their moments of wonder and they are so priceless to me. I still cry when I hear an exclamation of surprise or wide eyes of wonder. I move close to the TV and soak it in, I remember, I smile, I cry. I feel their childhood slipping through my fingers like sand, I'm grabbing at it trying to hold on for a few more precious seconds.
I didn't always feel this way when I was in the thick of it with potty training, spoon feeding, and sleepless nights but I tried to hold on to even those moments when I realized how fast time was passing. I'm no expert, but my best parenting advice is to just be present in all the moments of childhood, the good the bad and the poopy. Try to create memories and moments you can pull out of your pocket when you need them 10, 20 years down the road when you need a "hit".
At a cookie exchange this week, one of my friends began to shush anyone discussing presents of any kind because her preschooler was in the next room and, in her home, Santa brings all gifts. I asked her "You don't get your kids anything from you?!?" and she said she didn't and then the conversation switched to each of our family's traditions regarding the Big Guy in Red...
I guess I was always too selfish to give Santa all the credit for everything on Christmas, so I limited him to 2 gifts (I blogged about this a few years ago here: Santa's Sack - this title received many many gross inappropriate "sack" comments, I should have known...)
Anyway, it's Feedback Friday and almost Christmas, so....
Our ski slope officially closed for the season last week and we said goodbye in the usual way with a fun spring ski and goodbye party! Though the snow gets slushy, it's always fun to ski in shorts and t-shirts near the end of the season:
We started our week with a football game on a waterlogged field covered in 2 inches of snow.
Then carved our wicked pumpkins:
Showed them off:
Then became zombies! Who knew getting run over by a car would ruin these convicts' lives?!?
Did you know you can't dress as anything bloody or scary for the school parade? Some quick thinking the morning of the parade produced yet another crazy costume:
I needed a big way to organize my three boy's schedules...and I'm not good at remembering to look at a calendar...and I'm cheap.
Enter "Chalkboard" Contact Paper! An in-your-face calendar right on the wall of my office that I can customize and can't help but see when I leave the room.
I attached my Contact Paper directly to my wall and drew a calendar grid using a Liquid Chalk Marker, leaving room on the one side for notes. Each month, just wipe with a damp cloth and begin again.
Mark in your dates and fill in with what you need to remember - Easy Peasy! My PTO will be so happy I remember to attend their meetings each month!
For 2 bucks you can buy a bucket of fish at one of our favorite spots in the Florida Keys - Robbie's Marina in Islamorada.
Why would you want to buy a bucket of fish, you ask? To feed the giant tarpon, of course!
Everyone's goal is to become brave enough to do this (I cringed the whole time I was waiting to catch this photo!):
While your kids are feeding the fish, you can relax on the dock with an ice cold Red Stripe from the cooler (I swear The Big Guy has some sort of built in beer radar - he was on this beer like white on rice while I was left holding a bucket of dead fish. Dude.) Here's The Big Guy doing just that:
Relax in one of the worn Fish Fighting Chairs (for deep sea fishing) mounted around the edge of the dock:
And enjoy the view:
The Big Guy and I first visited here 15+ years ago when it was still a Keys secret (I have more gray hair and Big Guy has less hair since then!). Robbie has expanded since that time (tour buses were pulling up!) but somehow managed to keep the rustic charm of that old marina we first visited so many years ago. Now, we get to share it with our kids!
If you ever find yourself driving the Keys, stop off at Mile Marker 77.5 and visit Robbie. You won't be sorry!
Want to watch for yourself? Just like many other establishments in the Florida Keys, Robbie's has a live webcam. Check it out HERE!
A few weeks ago, Kimba shared a blogger who created an amazing Photo Wall in her home. I loved it, I wanted it, I obsessed over it! Could I, regular mommy with a Nikon Coolpix camera, create a wall with amazing photos that could remotely compare to that of this amazing photographer?
I spent a lot of time choosing the best photos from my collection. They had to meet the following criteria...
They couldn't have been cropped or overly zoomed - I was looking for nice, close photos that would be super crisp when blown up.
They had to be interesting.
They had to really show the personality of each of us, not just "pretty pictures".
They had to spark a memory of a fun time or place.
I chose my 9 photos and then loaded them to Picnik where I cropped them square (1980 x 1980).
Next, I used the editing capabilities to brighten colors and adjust contrast. Some photos I made black and white and others I boosted the color using the "cross-process" effect to create a more interesting look. Just experiment!
Finally, I created the black "frame" around each photo using the "vignette" button. I was careful to choose a size and strength number I liked to create the effect I was looking for, and wrote down the number so I wouldn't forget. I used a value of 50 for "size" and 70 for "strength":
Make sure to use these values for each photo so they look uniform when hung together.
I knew I didn't have room in my home (or good enough photos) for the HUGE (stunning) 20x20 inch photos from the inspiration project, but I did have room (and money) for a collection of 10x10 inch photos. I taped off a square 34x34 inches just to be sure. I laid out my photos to arrange them:
Then, I hung my frames, with stick-on hangers, 2 inches apart using a crazy yardstick and level system to make sure everything was level and even.
If you have read this blog for awhile, you know I always return from these trips with an awards presentation and this year is no different. This year we reluctantly moved on from Disney and decided to give Universal a go. It's no Disney, but on the "up" side, we only saw 2 Pet Children (my kids have a game of counting them and yelling "Look at that kid on a leash!") and only one pair of Sketchers Shape Ups (sorry, they are my pet peeve)!
Favorite Park:
Hands down Universal Studios (vs. Universal's Islands of Adventure). This park was not as maddeningly crowded as Islands of Adventure and has lots of fun rides and shows for the kids. My 52 inch 8 year old could ride everything and we played there 2 days in a row from 9 am-7 pm. The kids cried to leave Islands of Adventure by noon because the over crowding made it frustrating and not very fun.
Laugh Until You Cry Award:
The Big Guy got dragged out of the crowd during a hip hop dance show and pulled on-stage. Hip hop and Big Guy don't mix! We joke that he is all about A.M. talk radio and country music, but he was a good sport. The guys running the show dubbed him "White Chocolate", the best nickname of our whole vacation!
If you aren't easily sickened by bad, constantly moving home videos you can check out the movie my son made on his Flip camera:
Creepiest Park "Character":
This dude outside The Mummy ride freaked me out! Let's just say he was no Mickey Mouse - he would sneak up behind you and wait quietly until you turned around and your heart stopped. He never cracked a smile and stared at you in a most disturbing way. I think he was trying to hypnotize me! Liked the ride - not the creepy guy!
The Most Brilliant Yet Most Frustrating Park Attraction:
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is amazing, realistic, fantastic...and utterly frustrating because of the crowds. This attraction exploded once it opened and interest hasn't died down yet. The entire area is constantly over capacity and park staff stands at the entrance turning guests away. They give you a slip of paper with a time to return so they can control the crowds. Ride wait times for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey were 115 minutes 30 minutes after the parks opened.
I'll post some tips for visiting Universal Studios next week and tell you how we were able to avoid these crowds.
Worst Luck for a Patient Photographer:
See this car full of people riding The Hulk? Well, I sat on a bridge with my too short younger boys waiting for The Big Guy and Firstborn to ride. I had a perfect view of this loop and took photos of the 6 trains that passed around the time they were to be riding to be sure I got them. Well, this was the train they were on and believe it or not, they are seated in the second row! The only row obstructed from view in all 6 photos! BAH!
Most Distracting Park Creature:
My two youngest boys were Ob. Sessed. with capturing one of the many lizards around the park. It held us up in line, it held us up while walking, it interrupted meals, it ruined photos. You can see my oldest son is just OVER it in this picture!
Nicest Surprise:
Poseidon's Fury was situated right outside Harry Potter and we ducked in to escape the crowds not knowing what to expect. The line was looonnnggg and we almost left several times, but I'm so glad we stuck it out! It was surprising and entertaining and well worth the wait...and I might have crapped my pants a few times during the show. Bonus!
Favorite (and only) Family Photo:
Yes, we are the sort of cheese balls that buy those photos they bring to your table at the Hard Rock Cafe. It's the only family photo we have! The Big Guy had sneaked off to buy beer rather than riding several rides (it was St. Patty's Day), so he is red faced and buzzed, I'm worn out and I had no idea my oldest was making that face until they brought the picture around!
I have to take a little bloggy break to brag about my boy! He participated in his first snowboard cross race this weekend and took 2nd place overall in his category (15 years old and under)! He's 9 years old - woot!
Thanks for listening to my mommy bragging...you understand, right?
Winter is winding down and so are the fun ideas to entertain the kids. I thought I'd pull together some of my fun lunch ideas from over the years to help with the cabin fever!
Right around Christmas time my kids spotted a "Find It" Game at Target they were begging for.
I saw on opportunity for a fun project! We began by having a scavenger hunt for lots of tiny, random toys.
Next, we dyed rice three colors for the filler. (If I could give any advice, it would be to make this from Acini de Pepe pasta rather than rice as the little balls would be more like the actual game. I didn't think of this until after the game was constructed and the dying process for pasta is exactly the same.)
Simply place white rice or pasta into a jar and cover with ordinary rubbing alcohol. Add food coloring and shake. Leave overnight or to desired tint. Strain the rice and lay out to dry on a paper towel. (laugh when your kids start crying because it smells "like a shot at the doctor's office!")
Mix dried rice and little toys in a bowl.
Add the whole mixture to some kind of clear tube. We used an empty ornament container, but a tennis ball tube would work as well. (And, I'm pretty sure someone linked up an idea like this on Tutorial Tuesday on time using a ziploc baggie.)
To make it more like a game, keep track of all the objects in the tube and type up and cut out cards on the computer. They can draw a card and look for that object!
Come on back tomorrow on Tutorial Tuesday to link up your own tutorials!
