"To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another."
Author: Katherine Patterson
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Halloween Costumes
As a practical parent, I bought my now nearly 3 year old a costume for 2012 on clearance after Halloween 2011. When I selected a clearance costume I shied away from any "trendy" costumes - no characters in case they "went out of style" before this Halloween. I bought an airplane costume thinking that airplanes must always be cool.
Two weeks ago people began asking my son what he was going to be for Halloween. Instead of replying with airplane, my son said, "a witch". At first I responded with, "No you are going to be an airplane." My thought was that he would eventually change his mind and decide the plane costume was for him.
Needless to say, we are now just days away from Halloween and my son insists that he is going to be a witch. So I am scurrying around attempting to find a witch costume for my boy and that is proving to be a difficult feat.
Apparently witch costumes have morphed from being a black dress, hat and broom into pink and purple tutus with flowers on the hats. When did witches become frilly? In my quest to find what I thought was a simple costume has turned into a baffling mystery to me. What is a Candy Corn Witch? A Princess Witch? Prior to this quest the only non-scary witch I was familiar with was Glenda the Good Witch of the North from The Wizard of Oz.
I have no problem with my son dressing as a witch for Halloween. And I understand that if he is a witch he will likely need to wear a costume that is labeled as a girls' costume. But I do draw the line at him dressing in a tutu to be a witch.
While I was able to find a plain black witch dress that will work as his costume, I remain baffled by the difficulty in finding a traditional witch costume. What happened to the simplicity of traditional costumes? I cannot answer that question but I can make some predictions about future Halloweens. I predict that at some point my son will want to be something complicated and non-traditional in the years to come. I also predict that when his complicated non-traditional request appears, the only costumes I will be able to find will be the simple traditional costumes. Isn't that always the way it works?
Two weeks ago people began asking my son what he was going to be for Halloween. Instead of replying with airplane, my son said, "a witch". At first I responded with, "No you are going to be an airplane." My thought was that he would eventually change his mind and decide the plane costume was for him.
Needless to say, we are now just days away from Halloween and my son insists that he is going to be a witch. So I am scurrying around attempting to find a witch costume for my boy and that is proving to be a difficult feat.
Apparently witch costumes have morphed from being a black dress, hat and broom into pink and purple tutus with flowers on the hats. When did witches become frilly? In my quest to find what I thought was a simple costume has turned into a baffling mystery to me. What is a Candy Corn Witch? A Princess Witch? Prior to this quest the only non-scary witch I was familiar with was Glenda the Good Witch of the North from The Wizard of Oz.
I have no problem with my son dressing as a witch for Halloween. And I understand that if he is a witch he will likely need to wear a costume that is labeled as a girls' costume. But I do draw the line at him dressing in a tutu to be a witch.
While I was able to find a plain black witch dress that will work as his costume, I remain baffled by the difficulty in finding a traditional witch costume. What happened to the simplicity of traditional costumes? I cannot answer that question but I can make some predictions about future Halloweens. I predict that at some point my son will want to be something complicated and non-traditional in the years to come. I also predict that when his complicated non-traditional request appears, the only costumes I will be able to find will be the simple traditional costumes. Isn't that always the way it works?
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Wisdom Wednesday
"Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching."
~Thomas Jefferson
And even if the world isn't watching, odds are your children are watching!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Fall Fun
Fall is here in full swing. The leaves are displaying in the beautiful colors only autumn can produce.
With Halloween quickly approaching, we went out and got our pumpkins to decorate today. We chose to purchase our pumpkins from a youth fund raiser at a local church.
With two toddlers I determined that doing something other than carving them would be more meaningful for my boys. My first thought was paint but then I quickly realized if I purchased water based paint (for easier clean up) the paint would likely be ruined by October 31st if there was any rain.
In an effort to allow my children maximum creativity for our project, I purchased some glow in the dark transfers. The transfers were touted to be easy for kids to apply. The application of the transfers were similar to applying temporary tattoos. Cut the picture you want, peel off the plastic cover, place on the pumpkin face down and press with a wet rag or sponge.
The instructions were simple enough and in concept they were extremely easy. In practice, transferring these pictures to the pumpkins was much more difficult than I was led to believe.
The pictures did not stick to the pumpkins very well - and what did stick was very wrinkled and distorted. My kiddos had a blast selecting their decorations for the pumpkins but were upset that they came out "broken" on the pumpkins. Despite the difficulty our pumpkins look scary and for Halloween, that was our ultimate goal!
With Halloween quickly approaching, we went out and got our pumpkins to decorate today. We chose to purchase our pumpkins from a youth fund raiser at a local church.
With two toddlers I determined that doing something other than carving them would be more meaningful for my boys. My first thought was paint but then I quickly realized if I purchased water based paint (for easier clean up) the paint would likely be ruined by October 31st if there was any rain.
In an effort to allow my children maximum creativity for our project, I purchased some glow in the dark transfers. The transfers were touted to be easy for kids to apply. The application of the transfers were similar to applying temporary tattoos. Cut the picture you want, peel off the plastic cover, place on the pumpkin face down and press with a wet rag or sponge.
The instructions were simple enough and in concept they were extremely easy. In practice, transferring these pictures to the pumpkins was much more difficult than I was led to believe.
The pictures did not stick to the pumpkins very well - and what did stick was very wrinkled and distorted. My kiddos had a blast selecting their decorations for the pumpkins but were upset that they came out "broken" on the pumpkins. Despite the difficulty our pumpkins look scary and for Halloween, that was our ultimate goal!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Here Kiddie, Kiddie, Kiddie
Recently I took my children to the zoo. The temperature was ideal, the sun was shining, and the zoo animals were active - a glorious day! There were even very few visitors so we weren't fighting crowd either.
Often when I visit a zoo or amusement park setting I wind up practically following the same people the entire time I am there. They are people I don't know at all but somehow, as if planned, no matter how many bathroom breaks, detours or snack breaks we take - the same people are standing right in front of us.
On my most recent zoo adventure, we followed a family from exhibit to exhibit - despite my efforts to separate our paths.
The family we were unintentionally following was utilizing a child leash on their child - who was at least 4 or 5 years old.
I recognize that what I am about to say may fly in the face of some of my readers - but what is up with a child leash? What is the purpose of the leash?
There are several reasons I am opposed to the child leash. While I realize as people we are animals, children are not dogs - why would you treat your flesh and blood the same way you would your beloved pet?
Is the purpose to help protect your child from being kidnapped because he or she won't be far enough away from you to be abducted by a stranger? If that is the case, know that this is typically the thing many parents fear the most. However, you can rest a little easier knowing that according to Gavin de Becker in Protecting the Gift, "A child is vastly more likely to have a heart attack, and child heart attacks are so rare that most parents (correctly) never even consider the risk."
Is the purpose to teach your child to stay near you? I personally find that setting rules for my child and consistently enforcing the rules with my children a far more positive and effective method for teaching my child to stay near me.
I respect that parents have the right to choose the products they use on their children and if you are the parent that chooses to utilize the leash - I respect your choice. But as a mom, I choose not to use a leash and choose to actively parent my child rather than relying on tools I would consider archaic and demeaning.
What do you think?
Often when I visit a zoo or amusement park setting I wind up practically following the same people the entire time I am there. They are people I don't know at all but somehow, as if planned, no matter how many bathroom breaks, detours or snack breaks we take - the same people are standing right in front of us.
On my most recent zoo adventure, we followed a family from exhibit to exhibit - despite my efforts to separate our paths.
The family we were unintentionally following was utilizing a child leash on their child - who was at least 4 or 5 years old.
I recognize that what I am about to say may fly in the face of some of my readers - but what is up with a child leash? What is the purpose of the leash?
There are several reasons I am opposed to the child leash. While I realize as people we are animals, children are not dogs - why would you treat your flesh and blood the same way you would your beloved pet?
Is the purpose to help protect your child from being kidnapped because he or she won't be far enough away from you to be abducted by a stranger? If that is the case, know that this is typically the thing many parents fear the most. However, you can rest a little easier knowing that according to Gavin de Becker in Protecting the Gift, "A child is vastly more likely to have a heart attack, and child heart attacks are so rare that most parents (correctly) never even consider the risk."
Is the purpose to teach your child to stay near you? I personally find that setting rules for my child and consistently enforcing the rules with my children a far more positive and effective method for teaching my child to stay near me.
I respect that parents have the right to choose the products they use on their children and if you are the parent that chooses to utilize the leash - I respect your choice. But as a mom, I choose not to use a leash and choose to actively parent my child rather than relying on tools I would consider archaic and demeaning.
What do you think?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Wisdom Wednesday
"Ultimately, our goal is not merely that children survive, but that they thrive."
Gavin de Becker, Protecting the Gift
Friday, October 5, 2012
Making Memories
Recently my family and I spent two fantastic weeks at Walt Disney World in Florida; half the time I spent working and the other half making memories with my children and husband.
Walt Disney World is known for its exceptional service – Fortune 100 companies attend programs to learn the business behind the magic. My children had an amazing time interacting with Disney's cast members and felt like they were kings of the world while we were there.
One thing Disney knows is that people will pay more if they perceive value in their investment. As a result, a Disney vacation is very pricey. Here are a few cost saving tips that we utilized:
Walt Disney World is known for its exceptional service – Fortune 100 companies attend programs to learn the business behind the magic. My children had an amazing time interacting with Disney's cast members and felt like they were kings of the world while we were there.
One thing Disney knows is that people will pay more if they perceive value in their investment. As a result, a Disney vacation is very pricey. Here are a few cost saving tips that we utilized:
- We brought freeze dried fruits and vegetables to rehydrate in the hotel room and enjoy
- We brought instant oatmeal and used the in-room coffee pot to cook the oatmeal
- The Swan Hotel has character dining - it's buffet style complete with a children's buffet. The Garden Grove has great service and the characters circulate the restaurant and visit your table.
- The Electric Umbrella in Future World at EPCOT allows you to refill your drinks at the self-service fountain which gives you more bang for your buck
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Wisdom Wednesday
"Who takes the child by the hand, takes the mother by the heart."
-German Proverb
When your children are not with you - your heart is out walking around without you and doesn't return to you until your children are back in the safety of your arms!
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