Jareth's Harry Potter Themed 11th Birthday Party

It's no secret that I am raising little nerds to carry on the mantle, just as my mother and grandmother did before me. Dudes, I am a legit third generation Trekkie and proud of it. So there was never any doubt when I looked at my son and suggested that he have a Harry Potter/Hogwarts themed birthday party the year he would be receiving his letter to Hogwarts. My heart smiled bright when he enthusiastically agreed. What followed was straight out of my best dreams!

To prepare we watched all of the Harry Potter movies, starting on Dec 29th, a day after ABC Family aired the first movie for their final marathon before turning the series over to HBO. We ended the marathon with the last 3 movies back-to-back on Jan 3rd thanks to HBO Now. I cried, Jareth cuddled with me and rubbed my back, everyone had a great time.

At this point I had already been planning the party, but had to get down to business of actually doing things. So things were ordered on Amazon Prime, Walmart was raided for crafts, and invites were printed off. Because Jareth is a New Year baby, we always wait for school to be back in session before throwing the party so that he can invite classmates. This year, twice as many kids as usual attended and it was a blast!

Oh, before I talk about the party, I want to celebrate my little man. When I suggested that Jareth throw a party centered around an orphan hero, I went ahead and threw out the idea that he pick a charity, to give to those in need, in kind of memory of Harry and his second chance and becoming something great despite his beginning. It took Jareth a week to decide before he smiled, agreed, and listened to the charities I had to suggest. His birthday was then dedicated to New Leash On Life which takes in dogs facing termination and pairs them with inmates seeking a second chance. We were thrilled to get to raise money for them.

So, leading up to the big day I asked Jareth to take the Buzzfeed Sorting Quiz, to find out his Hogwarts house. But then I wouldn't tell him which house he was in. Because I wanted to sort him. Sadly the Sorting Hat was not to be, along with the Dementor Pinata. But Jareth was ok with their absences. As the kids arrived I had the ones who didn't know where they belonged take the quiz on my phone and I wrote down their houses and glued pins on the ties. Finally we were ready!

Before a student can attend Hogwarts they need a few things. So the kids had to pick out their wands:

And choose the animal they would be taking with them:

Then we had the kids line up and I got to call out their houses. At that point I had an adult from each house standing there to pin a tie on the kid now in their house. I got to pin one new Hufflepuff! We are besties now!

My sister, Vicky. is a Gryffindor. She was over the moon that her nephew is now part of the house she loves so much!

Then, CAKE!

We also played Pin the Nose on Voldemort, but I failed to get a picture. Our one Slytherin, pinned by her very proud Slytherin mother, won the game, despite taping the nose on sideways. It was very comical.

I think of it as a person win, not only because everyone had fun, but because EVERYONE had fun. I did a job well enough that my Harry Potter fanatic of a sister, who got me into the series way back in the day, was loving it. And my non-Potter fans, the kids I thought would remain muggles agreed to take the test and join in the fun. I was very rewarded by that since one of them turned out to be my Hufflepuff. I hope they take that excitement home and discover the magical wizarding world themselves. 

It's been a while since I sat down after a party and felt more giddy than drained, but this was one such day. When everyone had left and I had cleaning to do, I just couldn't stop grinning. That's something amazing for me these days. And I love being able to share it all with Jareth. Livia, who is only 5, is eagerly awaiting her own Hogwarts party. And so am I!

New Year, New Plans

How many of us have made New Year's Resolutions that don't go anywhere? Plans to do things like eat better, work out more, clean out the negative, and then two months into the year they are gone, forgotten, labeled as actually unobtainable and why did we even bother? I did it every year until about 2014 when I decided that I would give myself 1 thing to change and that would be it. In 2015 the only changes I made were lists in my journal: a spot to list what I was reading, a line for what I was thankful for each day, what I thought of the new movie I watched. Things I could write or not write but that I saw daily because of my journal. I still didn't stick to these things through the year, but when 2016 rolled around I put all the same captions in my journal and tried to fill them all in once more. Because these are little things, notes about my daily life that I feel that I can admit to. I won't be able to work out every day because I don't always have the energy. I can't say I will eat healthier because there are days that I don't eat at all. I don't make resolutions because when my depression hits and I don't want to do anything at all, I feel like more of a failure for not doing something I told myself would stick this time around. But I can give myself permission to leave a page blank in my journal because that is my safe space. I make resolutions that I tell myself I am allowed to stutter on because I can always try again tomorrow. Because I am trying to give myself a little slack.

This year is more of the same. My main personal resolution is giving myself a set of goals for each day, things that I want to get done before I go to sleep that night. Most importantly they are things I believe are possible to manage in the day to day, like finish reading the book I have been working on for two weeks and only have 10 pages left. Write that blog post about said book. Do that load of laundry all the way through so nothing wrinkles. And more than likely there will be days that "Get out of bed" is the top goal. Because I give myself permission to have off days, to struggle, and to make getting to a better place a top priority and something to acknowledge. Daily goals rather than something I am expected to do every day for the next year.

My other big goal for the year is pictures. I read in Health Magazine that the University of California did a study on taking pictures: smiling selfies, things that made them happy, or something to make someone else smile. After taking the photos the students felt happier. And I thought, that's easy! I take pictures, I love taking pictures, I wish I took more pictures! And I want to do this. So over on my Instagram (had it, never, ever used it) I am going to take a picture every day that fills this study, and maybe, for a few moments every day I can be a little happier. Feel free to come follow me @mommachristy2 to see what makes me happy and share your own pictures. I am using the label #happypics for this series.

I also have smaller goals that I would like to manage this year, things I can do sporadically enough that maybe I can manage them. Like writing letters to people I don't get to see, because it's great to know someone is thinking of you and everyone gets a little excited these days when they get snail mail! And I want to write daily again, even if it's just an outline for a story idea I may never get around to, it will get my creativity working. And blogging! I am going to try to post on this blog more. 2016 saw 58 new posts on my book review blog and nothing here since March. I want to change that since so much of my world revolves around me as a parent.

What will I be posting here? What do you have to look forward to in my parenting adventure?

Once a month my family and I will be cooking up a new recipe for our family night. All four of us in the kitchen, trying our hand at creating something new together. It should be interesting, to say the least! I will try to have pictures along with these posts.
We will also be trying to do something of a service project once a month. Whether it is helping out at a local shelter or taking dog food up to Noah's Ark. We want to teach our children to pass on the love, and we think this would be a great way to start. I don't love the idea of sharing these projects because it feels like bragging about what we are doing. BUT I want you all to see what they kids do, what they learn from these events, and maybe give you an idea of something to do with your own kids. So I'll be sharing these days as well.
We also ambitiously plan to have a family night out once a month. Maybe discover new things in our area through changing our nights up. So pictures and notes about the places we go will definitely be shared.

It seems like we have a lot planned for this new year, and maybe we won't stick with it all, but I look forward to trying. This year is going to be about getting back to our happy place as a family and for me as an individual. I invite you all to join me on the journey!

Our first #Happypics of the New Year! The birthday boy is ten!

• 1like
• 0comments

An Epic Nerf Battle!

On Saturday March 12th, we got the awesome opportunity to participate in one amazing event!

Jared Guynes is a resident of North Texas who saw the damage done in December 2015 to the Garland and Rowlett neighborhoods by a particularly bad tornado and decided to help out where he could. He had been trying to get together enough people for a couple years to break a world record and then he thought, why not do this record thing and help my friends and family with their problem at the same time. So he worked tirelessly for months, pulled in all the right people, and organized the World's Largest Nerf Gun Battle.

Hosted at the Dallas Cowboy's AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the event was attended by over two thousand people. Let me give you the numbers right quick:

Verified Participants in the Battle: 2,289

Verified Guns Used in the Battle: 4,394

Guns Donated to local Children's Shelter: 112

Donations to Tornado Relief Funds: *Yet to be completely counted*

This was a huge event in so many ways! 

My friends and I saw the event and thought, this is awesome, we want our kids to have a chance to break a world record. We did not expect this. Not only did we break a record that is going to be really hard to beat again, we made an impact. Thousands of dollars are going to go to helping people rebuild their lives. Over a hundred guns went to kids that probably don't have much to their name. We made some awesome new friends. And it has inspired us to get together our own group for a Nerf Club so that we can continue meeting up and having battles. Plus, I went to an even with way too many people, got down on the turf amidst these strangers, and so did not have a single panic attack as my son continually got lost in the crowd, so there's my personal win!

A huge shout out to Jared for doing this. For the people getting the donations. For the families that got to experience it. For everything!

Here are my pictures of the event. Although I am sad to say my phone died early on and I didn't get as much as I wanted. But here is the Facebook Page of the group if you want to check out other's pictures of the event. 

I will also be posting a separate post when we get Jareth his Guinness World Record certificate. So check back for that!

 Pre-Game Carb Loading at CiCi's!

A Little Target Practice!

People Getting Ready for the Battle in the Parking Lot.

AT&T Stadium!

 Loki Made An Appearance! 

Getting Geared Up!

 A YouTube-r There for the Event. This is Kolton.

Obstacle Set-up on the Field!

T-Rex showed up!

 So. Many. People!

Making Our Way Down To The Field.

Waiting for the start of the Main Battle.

This was part of the group picture that you can't see us in.

The Guinness World Record Official!

After the Main Battle. So many bullets!

Kid's Only Battle.

There were more battles. The Rival Only. The Elite (Or traditional guns) Only. The Jolt (Single shooters) Only. Someone from our group participated in each one, and actually I think Jenn was in all of them! 

At 10 we started to pack up our guns and get out of there. And it wasn't until the next day that I saw the announcement. We broke the current record! We will get our official certificate soon, one with Jareth's name on it so he can hang it on the wall to show off. We did this! And it was one of the greatest things we have done. Now I just have to find something similar for Livia to participate since we elected to have her stay with Gamaw for the night. If you hear of another record to be broken, let us know!

My Mother's Day Gift to Myself

Mother's Day is that one day a year that we are kinda forced to pay attention to our mothers, give them a little appreciation for something they do all year without a second thought. We buy cards and little gifts, inadequate tokens to show how much we love them and are thankful that they agreed to go through the horrors of childbirth only to then spend the next (at least) eighteen years raising us. Sometimes it is the only time that some of us stop and appreciate all they do. I fully believe that this day does not do mothers justice! It is both necessary (we really do need to stop and realize what others do for us every now and then) and insufficient (seriously, for all mom's do, one day is so not cutting it). And I say all this from the point of view of a daughter.

As a mother I really do like having a day that my husband forces my kids to be nice for as long as he can. I love that all my non-mother friends tag me in their little posts, reminding me that they are ok with my endless posts about my children that clog up their newsfeed throughout the year. I like getting the phone calls the next day from my two best friend to tell me what their kids did for them and my other best friend (who is not a mom) to tell me what her and her siblings did for the woman I see as a long distance mother myself. I adore the cute little videos that try to capture what a mother is and all they do, the ones that make everyone cry, almost making me as a very emotional mother seem normal with my constant tears. And I thoroughly enjoy the almost painful laugh I get at the yearly vids of men going through that labor simulator (thanks Try Guys)!

But what about the rest of the year? The other 364 days when we are up early to get everyone else ready for their day. I don't get my first cup of coffee until I have been up for an hour, what about you? Or that constant cycle of cleaning because no one is capable of cleaning up after themselves? The late nights and long days? The taxi service and chef's kitchen? I've poured and set out snacks for five other boys running through my house because Jareth invited them over. Birthday planning, dinner hosting, lunch packing, two-cart grocery shopping! Chocolate covered cherry secret moments and laughter filled truffle time. Morning cuddles with a full bed of two kids, two dogs, and a husband still asleep enough to think he gets to stay in bed. Random hugs. Yelling matches. Spankings and temper tantrums and "it's not fair"s. Begging for this toy or that snack. Only Mom can hold me because I am sick, clingy, and want only her. Mom does it this way. Mom said I could. When will Mom be home? All of this comes with being a Mom and we do it all on demand because we have to.  And that's all ok!

The thing is, being a Mom is pretty tiring. It's hard. It's stressful. And sometimes I really mess it up. There are days when I barely roll out of bed, only doing so because if I don't there is no one else to get Jareth up for school. When my husband stays the night with a buddy so the drive to work is a little shorter and he can get a little more sleep, Livia and I spend the whole day in bed watching YouTube. Some days I wake him up an hour early because I really don't think I can handle the kids by myself any longer. I don't cook very often, partly because I can't and partly because when I can the smallest negative comment says to me that I can't do anything right. I hate playdough because the colors mix and it sticks and my OCD just can't take it (Livia is 3 and loves it and I am just now fighting myself to let her play with it). Jareth could make his own lunches when he was 5 because there were mornings I couldn't get myself to do it for him. Livia eats pepperonis every day for lunch, because she loves them and because they are easy to serve. Wild Banshee Wednesdays originally started because I needed a day to turn the music up too loud and drown out the outside world and push myself to play with my son. Jareth asks for hugs, waiting a moment for me to turn and open my arms, because he knows I don't always like to be touched and I have to prepare myself. I cried the day Jareth turned to me and said "Mommy, I love your laugh, it's pretty. I don't think you have laughed all day. I am glad you did now."

Why am I telling you how bad I can get? Because it is ok. This is my Mother's Day gift to myself: being ok with the bad moments. I am allowing myself to have off days. I want you to know that I know I am not perfect and I am coming to terms with that. I have my issues, I am dealing with them, and that's just how it is. And it's really ok if you are the same way. It's going to be just fine if you can't handle everything all the time. The thing about Mother's Day, we aren't being reminded to love our mothers, we are being reminded to let them know that we do. My kids love me through the hard times. Livia sits with me all day in bed, rubbing my ear, giving me a hug or cuddle, and still wants me to spend the day with her again tomorrow. Jareth curls up on the couch with me, asks how I am doing, and watches my show because he gets it. My husband goes without a little sleep, helps a lot more than he should, and makes sure to give me an extra tight hug when he can. If they are ok with me, the three people that matter the most, than I need to be ok with me, too.

So today don't forget to tell your Mom that you love her, that she rocks, that she is the coolest Mom ever! And if you're a mom, take it easy for a day! I get that you probably can't have the Hallmark Day of Relaxation, but you can take a breath, give yourself a thumbs up, and remind yourself that you rock! Being a mom is tough, you can't call in sick, you can't take a personal day, but you can allow yourself some slack on the whole being perfect thing. Share my gift with me, be ok with being just ok. You're doing a great job!

So what did you get or do today? Let me know that you are ok!

Happy Mother's Day

While I was silent

On Friday, April 17th, I participated in the Day of Silence. It is a youth movement meant to draw attention to those that feel they must remain silent about their sexuality, as well as their allies. I'm not considered "youth" any more but I thought I would partake in the day since I was unable to when I was in fact in high school. I was surprised to find that a number of things came to light for me.

1. The first thing I had to do was explain to my kids what I was doing and why, the night before. My 3 yr old had no clue what was going on, not fully, but she still told me she would help me be quiet (which has now been added to one of the cutest phrases I have heard from her lips). My 8 yr old was excited by the thought behind the day. Suddenly he wanted to participate because he felt that the way his classmates pick on him is bullying and feels the need to draw their attention to it. I talked him down, but on Monday we will be asking his teacher if she will be willing to allow him to have a DoS on Friday. We are asking because he is young, it will be difficult, we don't want to disrupt the class, and well, we want to give her a heads up. Of course if he does this it will be for bullying and harrassment in general, not simply the LGBTQA+ cause, although that is what caught his attention.

2. It's easy to ignore most people, to not respond, to get them to understand things with hand gestures and simply pointing. Not a 3 yr old, who surprisingly remembered what was going on and was soon ok with me not talking. But this meant me having to do a lot more for her since I couldn't simply tell her to do it herself or go get Daddy. I must also say, it was one day when I was extremely glad I took the time to teach my kids some sign language when they were little.
Anyway, it was very hard not to randomly blurt out how cute she was, how silly she was acting, how much I love her. While today was about bullying, I couldn't help but think about the number of voices permanently silenced due to suicide. How many mothers out there don't get to say these same things to their own children because they were taken from them when they could no longer bare the harrassment? I nearly cried a few times just staring at my daughter. I'm sure it is something that will stick with me for a while.

3. Which leads me to my own mother. Nearly every morning she sends me a sweet little text sayign "Good morning. How are you doing?" It is a bright spot in my day. Today the text read "I know you can't speak, but I wanted to say hi." It put a huge smile on my face. My mother is a Christian, a very sweet, loving, Christ-like Christian. Something I have found is rare. She has one daughter that is openly pagan and another that is openly gay. And she texts them every morning asking how they are, sending a little support my way when I choose to back a cause she may not feel fully comfortable with. Because she is amazing. I have found a small group of people who are the same and I have pulled them in close over the years, so happy to have found them after too many years of being tormented for my beliefs. Today reminded me that there are those out there willing to overlook the differences and offer kindness.

4. And thus that last little hit home for me. I was bullied for much of my life. Even back when I still practiced Christianity, I was in a bigger school system where I was in fact in the minority for my beliefs. I was looked down on and laughed at. When I found my way to Paganism we were in the process of moving to a small town that currently has 6 churches for the small population to choose from. Once more I was the minority, the outcast, the one on the recieving end of the notion that we should "just string 'em up and let them burn." I hate to admit but while dealing with the slurs and comments I didn't pay any attention as my sister came out gay. I can only hope her popularity saved her from the worst of it.
When Facebook first started, back when you actually needed and .edu email to log in, I was still trying to get to know my new college acquantances. I told my roommate I was pagan before moving day so she could leave if she wanted, she asked that I hide my books until after her parents left. I did. I told my Welcome group that it meant I was polythiestic and got all kinds of excited at the World Cultures reading list for it's diversity, but I rarely talked to all but one of the other members as soon as it stopped being mandatory. After a heated debate the second semester about boundries involved in religion, conversion, caring for others souls, some stopped talking to me completely. So I always watched my posts on FB. Years later I found that I hesitated before every repost, wondering if someone would be offended o disgusted. I reread every update for any signs of my beliefs, knowing I had friends and family that disagreed or even worse, didn't know. It wasn't until my stepmom informed me that her father, the preacher, already knew about my religion, after we had gotten back from staying with him on vacation where he never said a word and was so sweet to me. Holy crap, I could say what I wanted because those that mattered no longer cared!
I was silent for too many years, unable to voice my real opinions and beliefs! Suddenly I could say what I wanted. So I started doing that. I repost little link about Pagan Pride Day. I "like" that article about dealing with depression and mental health. I shared that video about the couples behind an X-Ray kissing. I am not in your face pagan and I don't have only gay friends. But I am me and I no longer hide that.
So today when I couldn't get on Facebook and point out how I am reminded of why I worship the Sun when I am lucky enough to catch a sunrise like this morning, I was very caught off gaurd and a little anxious. I simply couldn't imagine having to go back to being silent about who I am. So why must our youth feel they have to be silent?

Think about all the voices you don't hear.

Thank you to everyone that respected my decision to partake in this event. Thank you to everyone who has made sure that I do not have to be silent the other 364 days of the year. Thank you to everyone who has spoken out about bullying and harrassment for whatever cause. 

I hope you feel you can speak up. Remember, you can always talk to me.

National Suicide Prevention Week

"You're young, healthy, have a beautiful son, no bills, and no job. What do you have to be depressed about?" Those words were spoken by someone who, while he loved me, had no real understanding about depression. And they are words that have stuck with me over the years since they were first said. He was right. At the time I had everything I could ask for (no job was because I wanted to be at home with my son instead) and by all intents and purposes I should have been very happy with life. Yet I found it hard to get out of bed in the morning, spent most of my day curled around myself in a chair, only hugged my young son when I couldn't help it, and disappeared into my room whenever I could. I knew the symptoms well because I had gone through the same thing many times over the years, but it didn't mean that I had any idea of how to really handle it.
I consider myself very lucky when it comes to depression. While I have had several bouts with it they have been fairly short ordeals, the last one lasting only two weeks before I was able to recover myself. As I deal with it I find it easier for me to hang on to the world, able to go about my day to day life with very little effect from a sour mood. I have a very mild case. And with a family to think about I know that this is a blessing.
That was not the case when I was younger. When my parents got divorced I moved with my father to a very small town in Texas. I was fortunate enough to find a small group of friends that would become vital to my struggle until graduation five years later. I had a very support father that encouraged me to be who I wanted to be. Again, I was blessed. This did not stop people from making fun of and bullying me for most of that time. I was very different from nearly everyone at the school. My choosing to study paganism led to a lot of pain on my end. It was tough. I entertained thoughts of suicide on numerous occasions. Luckily I am too much of a wimp to go through with anything and I had one friend in particular that understood what I was going through and helped keep me sane, because she had been there too.
All of this has made me a much stronger person today. And as a mother it has prepared me for what I may face with my children one day. I am very blessed to have made it this far and discovered what I have.

Not everyone is so lucky. There are so many people out there suffering in silence. Some even suffering out loud that still feel utterly alone. Too many people do not have the resources and support they think they need to make it out the other end.

September 8th through the 12th is National Suicide Prevention Week. As part of an effort to reach out to those who may think they have no other choice, I am going to participate in the campaign started by the non-profit organization "To Write Love On Her Arm" (TWLOHA) for this year. The theme, as you can see, is "No One Else Can Play Your Part." As part of this I am going to find a reason I am special for each day of this week, I challenge you to do the same! Why can no one else be you? What is your reason for staying?

I also want to encourage everyone to follow TWLOHA on Facebook and/or Twitter. Each day they post someone else's statement along with posts from their blog. They also give people resources and ways to help others. No matter what your connection to depression and suicide is, they will point you in the direction you need.

Maybe together we can help the growing number of people who battle depression find a safe place they can turn to. Those of us that have the ability to stand up need to do so for those that can't. Put a smile on your face when you go out because maybe it will brighten up someone's day enough to make it to tomorrow. Stop your harsh words before they are said because you don't know the battle that person has been facing up to that point. Open your mind to the possibility that diversity is a blessing, not something to single someone out on belittle them for. And always remember that no one can play your part, not in your story of the story of others. Make that part memorable and beautiful!

Resources and Links -
To Write Love On Her Arm
TWLOHA Blog
Find Help

Why TWLOHA?
I use this particular group because they offered help when I needed it. I have "OneLove" tattooed on my arm because of them, but with my own personal take. There are, however, many more groups out there. I encourage those that need it to find the group that will help them most with their struggle. All that is important is finding the support you need!

Monday - 
No One Else Can Play My Part because no one else can understand them like I can!

Tuesday - No One Else Can Play My Part because I think I give the kids I watch something special. There have been many and they have all been great! These are my current ones: Landen and Hunter.

Wednesday -

Our Summer To-Do List

This summer our family is trying to focus more on each other and quality time. In such a fast paced world where kids are at the mercy of their parents' work schedules, I don't think children get the attention they deserve. The husband and I are trying to hive our two memories they will cherish. So here is our list of things we want to try and fit in this summer. Don't let the high number of items on the list put you off; some of these things can be done together and some don't take any time at all. Most of them are also budget friendly, with only a handful of them actually costing much. And we are spreading those things out a bit.
We challenge you to complete the list with us! And we hope your summer is as fun as we plan ours to be! Don't forget to follow us as we check things off the list and discover all the ways we managed to fit everything in one summer!
 NOTE: The list will be completed from May 30th - August 26th, our official summer vacation. This list was made from 2 lists found on Pinterest.com. They can be found at The Crafting Chicks and The Freckled Fox.
NOTE2: We may not get to the whole list! And while we tried to do it all as a family, due to scheduling (and the nature of the item) a couple had to be done without one parent or the other.

Summer List

1. Go to the drive-in movie                                       51. Participate in a library storytime

2. Watch Fireworks                                                 52. Visit a state landmark

3. Go to an aquarium                                                53. Build sandcastles

4. Ride on a ferris wheel                                           54. Play a game of charades

5. Go to the beach                                                   55. Go bowling

6. Make homemade popsicles                                  56. Go to a farmer's market

7. Build a blanket fort                                               57. Paint rocks

8. Jump through sprinklers                                        58. Go to the lake

9. Have a bonfire                                                      59. Make Tie-Die t-shirts

10. Go on a roadtrip                                                 60. Make homemade ice cream

11. Sing loudly with the car windows down               61. Play night games

12. Go running at sunset                                            62. Go to a dollar movie

13. Read a book in the sun                                        63. Play mini golf

14. Have breakfast in bed                                         64. Run in a family race

15. Eat sno-cones                                                     65. Go to a baseball game

16. Have a scavenger/treasure hunt                           66. Have a dance party

17. Make s'mores                                                     67. Have a girls camping trip

18. Have a silly string fight                                         68. Have a paper airplane contest

19. Go swimming                                                      69. Go berry picking

20. Visit the museum                                                 70. Go on a boat

21. Ride bikes                                                          71. Bake and decorate a cake

22. Go thrifting                                                          72. Bake mini pies

23. Go on a hike                                                       73. Have a water balloon fight

24. Sleep on the trampoline truck bed under the stars 

25. Visit the zoo                                                        74. Have a marshmallow fight

26. Have a movie series marathon                             75. Do a kid's service project

27. Go to the park concerts                                       76. Go stargazing

28. Have a picnic                                                       77. Go to the park

29. Play frisbee                                                          78. Play jax

30. Have a water fight                                                79. Paint your own pottery

31. Do finger painting                                                 80. Play boardgames

32. Go boating/kayaking                                            81. Go to a festival

33. Blow bubbles                                                       82. Visit a historical site

34. Random Acts of Kindness                                    83. Leave nice notes on cars

35. Frozen yogurt                                                      84. Make Jell-O Jigglers

36. Play Freeze Tag                                                   85. Make a Flat Stanley

37. Wash car in swimsuits                                           86. Go fishing

38. Taco truck                                                           87. Have a teddybear picnic

39. Have a BBQ                                                        88. Plant something

40. Go swimming at 5 different water parks                89. Go to a garage sale

41. Host a puppet show                                             90. Play Hide-n-seek

42. Visit a waterfall                                                     91. Start a grateful jar

43. Do a Home Depot kids Workshop                       92. Go to a rodeo

44. Do a backyard campout                                       93. Make suckers

45. Make sidewalk chalk masterpieces                       94. Go to a carnival

46. Play frisbee golf                                                   95. Have a read-a-thon

47. Dance in the rain                                                  96. Fly a kite

48. Do a MadLibs                                                     97. Have a gaming party

49. Pick Wildflowers                                                 98. Go camping

50. Eat at a popular restaurant found on Yelp or Urban Spoon

A big "Thank You" goes out to my step-mom, the amazing De Vickery, who sat down and helped me figure out which of these things would be possible with where we live! Check her out over at Two Traveling Greyhounds. She is having her own summer fun!

Why I Am Letting My 7 yr old On Facebook

My son says some pretty crazy things. A lot of my own Facebook posts are his quotes, our conversations, or descriptions of his latest ideas and adventures. Many times I have been told to make a group for everyone to read and share their own stories of my son's antics. But I am a writer with two blogs and my own Facebook page, keeping up with yet another page was not going to make the project fun for me. Then I realized, my son is seven years old! Perfectly capable of writing his own updates and sharing his favorite YouTube videos with family he doesn't see often enough. So why couldn't he have his own Facebook page to update as he wanted and see what those family members posted in return. Facebook has serious privacy settings for a reason, although no one uses them these days, and they make it pretty hard for outsiders to see a person's content (yes I have tried to stalk people and run into those said walls). And right now my son is used to my constant monitoring, hovering over his shoulder as he plays Wild Krats games on my laptop. Until he is much older he won't know the privacy of his own computer, and right now he doesn't contest that rule. So why wait until he is thirteen, stubborn, wanting to post what is cool, avoiding his parents, and most likely to get into trouble. No. Instead I will give him an account that only I know the password to. Warn him that everyone in the family can see whatever he says. And get him used to behaving appropriately on the internet which so many young people abuse these days.

And why is this concept such a bad thing? What happened to expecting more from our children and teaching them responsibility and consequence? My son will one day be a contributing member of society, I think now is an excellent time to begin instilling in him the morals and values to make him someone I will be proud of.

So I am stepping out of society's comfort zone to try to help the next generation. If I am wrong, expect a letter of apology on here in ten years. But then I don't see others apologizing for some of the teens I see these days. Parenting is a trial and error experiment with much higher stakes than some would like to admit. I am hoping to change the world through my kids. Just wish me luck.

My Daughter Turned Me Into A Girl

I am the oldest of 3 girls. While my mother had a full time job and was involved in church activities a lot of the time, she was still there to talk to me about what being a girl meant, all the fun little details we dread. But as things turned out I spent a lot more time with my father and his car club, which I believe influenced me to be more of a tomboy. I wore a lot of baggy clothes because I wasn't happy with my body type, I found male super heroes to have more interesting stories, and the only women that I really liked wore trying to fit into a man's world i.e. Xena, Dana Scully, Captain Janeway, and Captian Samantha Carter (don't get me wrong, I also saw them as strong women just making it in general, but the pant suites didn't help). I always got along a lot better with the boys in the neighborhood, never having more than two female friends at a time until High School. It wasn't until I began dating the man that would be my husband that I even began to start thinking of myself as a real girl. Suddenly someone was interested in my looks! My dad was shocked at the tight jeans hidden under the hockey jersey. Makeup didn't come into play but once every three years for very special occasions; Senior Prom, the night he proposed, my wedding!

So when I found out that we were going to have a little girl the second time around, I cried. Sure I can pass it off as I was just happy to know what gender this little creature we had waited so long for was. But the truth is, I was terrified! What if she liked dresses? Better call up my friends for makeup advice! Worse: What if her dream is to be a ballerina or cheerleader!? I had no idea what I was doing! The most I did for date night was paint my nails, throw on a skirt that I felt nearly naked in, and put on a little eye makeup. I do feel at home in heals, but that has always been more for showing off and hiding my height issues.

I remember barely being pregnant and going into Toys'R'Us for a gift for a friend's daughter. My husband left me to look at another Nerf gun for my son, an aisle I feel totally at home in. But I had to find a gift! So I stood in the little girl's aisle, looking at all this pink! I literally began to have a panic attack. My husband came back to find me sitting on the floor, staring at five different stuffed dolls wide eyed and non-responsive. I admit, I over reacted, but I couldn't help it, girls terrify me!

How does someone like me make it through being a mom to a little girl? I had the right little girl! My daughter loves to tackle her brother, and I am not talking about just running at him, she actually looks like a little football player charging a guy! She runs down the toy aisle at a store and her eye is first caught by the fighter planes painted camo meant to attract boys! Her favorite thing to do to me is to run up and burp in my face or fart on my lap while we snuggle! She is the product of a house that is used to being centered around a boy. But you know what she wanted for her second birthday? Little Mermaid. Nothing else would do! While she is running around the house in her big brother's baggy athletic shorts, she has on her little princess dress heals. Every night after a bath to get all the mud off, she selects a new pair of earrings to wear the next day. My daughter is a perfect mix of attitudes that catches me off guard, makes me laugh, and comforts me.

Every Saturday we sit down and paint our nails because she just loves switching colors. I am slowly learning new ways to do my long hair so that when she gets older I will know it all. I pick out cute outfits for her every day and it has rubbed off onto me picking out stylish clothes for myself, when I can afford it.

But she hasn't just made it so that I embrace the little girly things I shunned when I was younger. She has made me comfortable in my own skin. I am working on getting fit, not so that she can see me skinny, but so that she can see me happy. I don't want a six pack of abs, I just want to smile when I have to put on a bathing suite. Her fascination at "that time of the month" makes me realize it is something that is perfectly common and sets me out as a healthy woman in my prime. The way she watches me with her brother and the other kids I watch fascinates me as she passes it onto her babies and makes me proud of my job, something others seem to take for granted. And the way she is delighted in the bits of my religion she sees renews my own delight in worshiping a female figure.

No longer am I terrified of her getting older and girlier. Instead I am eager to show her what all I know and have learned over the years. A whole world of wonder awaits a young girl, and I get the pleasure of introducing my daughter to it with pleasure! Yeah, society has made it difficult on being a woman in today's world, but if mother's can stop listening to what society thinks a woman she be and just lived how they were happy, girls would be in much better places as they grew up, just my humble opinion.

So I look forward to the challenge of raising a little girl. I hope other mothers are just as excited! Has having a girl made you different? I want to know! Or have you always been into the girl scene and have had a boy? I bet it is just as challenging for you. Let me know!