20 Seconds of Courage

Our family loves the movie, “We Bought a Zoo,” with Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson & Thomas Haden Church.

Parent alert: There is a scene in the movie where Damon is arguing with his son in the hallway and he yells, “I still have one who believes in Santa Claus.” I manage to fast forward that part every time.

The film is an uplifting story in which a dad and his two children buy a run down wildlife park and try to help the staff keep the park operating . (Of course, the mom has died in the story – why do Moms always die in these stories?)

One of the things I’ve always said to my kids is, “Anything can happen. You might think you don’t have a shot at winning or completing a goal but anything can happen. When I was younger I was up against a swimmer I had never beaten. Never ever. When the meet official started us, she had a poor start and basically fell into the water. I won the race because she fell into the water. And from that one swim I had the confidence to beat her again.I knew I could do it.  Anything can happen.

While the movie is full of beautiful music, amazing music actually, the main message of the movie is what has really stuck with me.

In the movie Matt Damon is speaking with his son about a situation with a girl but it speaks to so much more than that…. he says,

“Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you, something great will come of it.”

click here for printable

Most often I find the task I’m dreading or procrastinating the most to be manageable once I finally decide to do it. And amazingly, whatever I dreaded wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

I’ll let you in on a little secret.

I am a huge procrastinator when it comes to putting things up for sale on etsy. I have this extreme doubt that no one will think it has any value. No one will think it is any good.

But you know, the moment I summon the courage to put something out there, I feel better.

No, everything doesn’t always sell but I always feel such a sense of accomplishment.

I’ve tried and for me, it’s a much better outcome than wondering what might be if I never try.

*******

Have you always wanted to take a class but were too embarrassed?

Have you always dreamed about accomplishing something but are too scared to take the first step?

Are you worried what someone will say if you tell them something?

All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage

…and something great may come of it…

…because anything can happen.

*Remember to enter the Clever Containers giveaway by 10 pm tonight!

 

A Mary Poppins Carousel Cake

Several months ago Caroline had a Mary Poppins birthday party.

So for a Mary Poppins party we had to have the proper hat...

play a bean bag M.P. toss game

ride wooden “carousel” horses…

play pin the bow tie on the penguin

play in the cardboard chimneys…

and have a Mary Poppins cake.

I started out this cake as I do all cakes – from a box mix.

Frost the cake and set aside.

To create the carousel, I used cake dividers (not sure of their official name but they are placed in between cakes with multiple layers) and ribbon.

First, I attached the bottom of a piece of ribbon with hot glue.

I continued to do this until I had gone completely around the circle.

I then glued another cake divider onto the bottom in order to cover up with glued bottoms.

I then glued a piece of ribbon along the side in order to cover up the opening between the circles.

Next, I glued a candy stick wrapped in ribbon to the center of the top circle.

I then took each ribbon individually and glued it to the center post (candy stick).

I topped the whole thing off with a little white pom pom.

I then attached the “legs” to the structure.

The legs are candy sticks wrapped in ribbon.

For the horses I found a picture online that I liked and printed it out on card stock.

I then cut out the horse and glued it to yet another candy stick.

Three horses late and the cake was done.

Caroline seemed to like it although it’s honestly not one of my better cakes.

Now that she is about to be three and half I’ve finally shared everything from her party.

And if you had any doubt about next years party, Caroline started talking about it roughly 10 seconds after her last guest left.

 

HookingupwithHoH The 36th AVENUE

Call Me Lochte

If you’ve been on the planet anytime within the last 4 months you’ve heard Carly Rae Jepsen’s song, “Call Me Maybe.”

The USA swim team made a version of this song but I think my favorite has to be the following one.

It’s supposed to be from Ryan Lochte’s perspective with lines like, “So call me Lochte,” and “Where you think you’re swimming Mikey?”

http://youtu.be/JZYJa1RowwU

Maybe it’s just because I was a swimmer but I love that.

And just for the record, I’m a Michael Phelps fan.

Don’t really care for Mr. Dental Grills.

Prehistoric Park Videos

When my oldest was little he was fascinated by dinosaurs.

At three, he knew more information about dinosaurs than most adults.

We read so many dinosaur books, I’m fairly sure I could have become a paleontoligist with just a little field work experience.

In fact, one day while reading the newspaper I read about dinosaur tracks discovered 30 minutes from our house. I loaded up my three year old and  ten month old and we went hiking until we found them – the large group standing around them helped us find them 🙂

For Christmas that year we bought him the Prehistoric Park videos .

These are the BEST dinosaur & prehistoric animal DVD”s EVER!

The 6 DVD set  focuses on Nigel Marvin and his travels back in time to capture prehistoric animals and bring them to the future. The concept might sound quirky but these videos are fascinating. They are filled with tons of information and humor.

My 7 year old is now obsessed with these videos and requests them constantly while our three year old daughter loves them too. What about my oldest who’s now ten? Yep, he still sits down and watches them.

If you have a child who is interested in wooly mammoths, saber tooth cats, or dinosaurs you must get these videos immediately. I promise your kids will love them.

Mary Poppins Hat

I’m pretty sure everyone guessed from this clue that we had a Mary Poppins 3rd birthday party.

And if you have a Mary Poppins party, you have to have a Mary Poppins hat.

1 – Go to Target and buy a $1 bin Easter hat.

2- Do nothing with the hat for days since your daughter insists on doing her best Minnie Pearl impression.

3 – Confiscate the hat when she’s not looking

4 – Deny you have any knowledge of the hats whereabouts

5 – Take off pink ribbon

6 – Spray paint it black

7 – Glue on some fake cherries and flowers from the dollar store

8 – Find the hat and present to your Mary Poppins obsessed daughter.

9 – Delight in her joy of wearing the hat and singing,”Let’s Go Fly a Kite.”

I apologize ahead of time for the fact that you will now sing this all day long 🙂

Go here to see the Mary Poppins party activities

Movie Logic

I took my kids and one of their friends to the dollar show on Monday.

It was President’s Day and the place was swamped.

I had to drop the oldest two off and have them stand in line while I parked the car.

Several movies were already sold out so we made contingency plans in case ours was sold out by the time we got to the ticket counter.

“I only want to see Tin Tin if Arthur’s Christmas and the Muppets are sold out.”

“I really want to see the Muppets but will go see Tin Tin as my second choice.”

“I already saw the Muppets and Arthur’s Christmas so I want to see Tin Tin.”

Thankfully we didn’t need to come to a concensus since our movie was still available.

I ushered us all into the building only to find the concession stand line was enormous.

Not really a problem for us until my son’s friend said, “I want to buy something.”

I left the two of them to stand in line together while I found seats with the youngest two.

Thankfully we got great seats and were settled in no time.

But the 9 year olds didn’t come back.

For 30 minutes!

I was starting to get a neck crick and strange stares from the people behind me since I kept turning around to look for the boys.

The theater was packed by now and I was having to fend off desperate moms and grandparents who were looking for extra seats.

Finally they returned when the movie started and I was able to enjoy the movie.

That is until about three fourths of the way through the movie when my daughter had decided she had seen enough and wanted to leave. I was able to use my mom negotiating skills and convince her to sit on my lap for the next 20 minutes. Some talk of candy when we got home might have been whispered several times.

After the movie I got everyone to the car and congratulated myself on a successful outing. We rarely go to the movies so in my mind this was a nice treat, especially getting to bring a friend along.

As we were driving away I heard the friend say, “I wonder why the movies were so crowded today?”

My nine year old volunteered, “Well, it’s Presidents Day and kids don’t have school. Their parents probably took them to the movies because they didn’t know what else to do with them.”

After hearing that I can assure you that I know exactly what my children will be doing on the next school holiday.

It starts with CHORE and end with an S.

Oh, and me?

I’ll be on the couch watching Parenthood reruns.

Car Trip Survival

Here’s how to successfully complete a 10 hour car ride with your 3 children.

Yes. Let them watch movies. Lots and lots of movies.

In my opinion, Redbox movies and their kiosks are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. 

Now I am not a person who advocates letting your children watch tv all day but for car trips I make an exception.

Over Thanksgiving I drove my kids to visit my parents for the week. My husband flew in Thanksgiving morning to make a guest appearance.

Typically, people describe a road trip by the weather, the traffic, or the snacks consumed.

Our trip, however, can be summed up by one word – movies.

I present to you the first journey of our trip…

…and because the first trip was so successful, here’s our return trip.

Happiness, contentment, and serenity (there was a moment of screaming from our two year old when my son put in “The History of Space” DVD but I’ve completely erased it from my memory).

All for the low low price of $10.44 round trip.

It may be $10.44 to Redbox but to me it was priceless.

3D

Most people enjoy 3D movies.

They might describe going to the movies as delightful, desirable, and divine.

After the end of my most recent 3D movie experience, I would not.

I would define my experience as distracted, disruptive, and a deterrent to ever returning.

Let me explain.

Last week my mom and I brought my kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the dollar show.

Besides just being happy about going to the movies, my boys were thrilled it was going to be a 3D experience.

“We get to wear those glasses!”

Once we had settled into our seats and the lights went out I distributed the snacks. I passed out the theater bought ICEES and the smuggled in microwave popcorn (much to the chagrin of my mother).

Discarding her 3D glasses during the opening credits, my daughter was content to watch the movie without them while eating her animal crackers. Once the crackers were gone though she was ready to move.

After attempting to distract her several times and watching her run up and down the aisles, I took her out to explore the lobby.

Thankfully, the movie ended soon afterwards and we were able to scoot back to our seats to collect the rest of the family. As a group we walked to the back of the theater where the glasses recycling container was located.

While holding Caroline, I reached into my bag in order to retrieve our two pairs of 3D glasses. I pulled out 2 pairs of glasses and tossed them into the container.

Within moments I realized my mistake.

I had thrown my sunglasses into the recycle bin.

I ripped off the top of the receptacle and leaned into it but was only able to graze the top layer of glasses with my hand. Due to the dim lighting in the theater I couldn’t determine if any of the pairs I managed to grab were my sunglasses.

However, it was not dark enough to miss the strange stares I was receiving from audience members waiting to turn in their glasses.

Ignoring their stares I decided to drag the container into the hallway.

Once in the hallway, I pushed over the bin causing all the 3D glasses to spill on the floor.

There was a noticeable look of concern from the teenage ushers suddenly walking our way. Avoiding their stares I searched for my sunglasses until my nine year old declared, “I found them.”

I could swear I heard music. It was like the holy grail. Light shone from the heavens onto my son’s extended arm.

Perhaps not. But it sure felt like it.

Much to the delight of the ushers I turned the bin right side up and placed all of the glasses back in. I was going to drag the beast of a container back into the theater but was quickly told, “Thank you Ma’m. We’ve got it from here.”

I’m pretty sure they had already walkie talkied back to the front office about the crazy lady by theater four.

Delightful, desirable, and divine? No.

Difficult, disruptive, and distressing? Yes.

CARS Bingo & Party

When Alex turned 5 four years ago he requested a CARS party.

It was tons of fun and fairly easy to put together.

Since it was a race car party we needed a race track cake. The track is made of black sugar crystals while the side boards are cardboard. We made the “start” and “finish” signs and placed some of his hot wheels on the cake.

Race Car Birthday Cake

The first activity of the party was to take some Crayola Air-Dry Clay and use it to form their own race cars. This activity didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked. Some of the kids were not satisfied with their creations and complained since it didn’t look like Lightning McQueen.

While the clay didn’t go over so well, the bean bag toss was a huge hit. We took a large piece of wood, cut 5 holes in them, and modged podged some large CARS stickers on with various point values underneath. HUGE HIT with the 5 year old crowd.

Creating Cars from Air-Dry Clay
Bean Bag Toss

Another favorite outdoor activity was “The Big Race.” Alex and I decorated 2 diaper boxes and turned them into cars. Alex put race numbers on them as well as headlights and wheels. Two at at a time the kids raced around the yard usually laughing the entire time. The plastic helmets I bought added to the excitement.

“The Big Race”
Little Brother wants to play too

After running around the backyard the kids were ready for an inside activity. I made the CARS Bingo cards, laminated them, and created call cards. I went a little over board and created 15 individual cards. All of the kids loved the bingo game and played several rounds.

CARS Bingo Game
It’s a Printable!

Would you like a copy of the CARS BINGO game?

Please go here & print a copy.

Please consider becoming a follower of Big D and Me if you decide to download the game

Having difficulty downloading? Contact me and I’ll email you a copy.

Todays Creative BlogTuesday To Do Party A Crafty Soiree Weekend Bloggy Reading

Pat Morita Lives in Our House

Meet our little Mr. Miyagi

Let me widen the screen a bit on Mr. Miyagi.

Notice anything?

No?

Let me point something out to you.

fly carolineOur sensei is standing next to her opponent.

Caroline and I were standing by the window looking at trucks outside our house when a fly started to bother us. I walked into the kitchen to grab a towel to swat the fly when I heard a whack, followed by, “I got it.”

A doll, a book, a sword?

No people. She meant she got THE FLY.

I walked back into the room to this.

In all fairness the fly may have been a little slow due to the pest guy spraying the day before but it doesn’t dismiss the fact that my TWO YEAR OLD KILLED A FLY WITH HER HANDS!

All of the waxing and painting I make her do is finally paying off.

Weekend Bloggy Reading