I have really been enjoying the Mothers and Daughters in Touch course that Eden and I have been taking on Wednesday evenings. I saw a video today and it reminded me of our class last week on body image. This video is not unlike the message in the Dove Videos on body image. It does a speed enhanced video of a model preparing for a photo shoot. It is so sad to think that they take a beautiful young lady, like the model in the video, and distort everything thing to create a photo that it completely unrealistic. Check out Body Evolution below to see how dramatically photo shop can alter an image. What message does it give our daughters?
What You Didn’t Know About Barbie?
This video also reminded me of some of the facts that our facilitator shared about Barbie. I was able to find an article on dailymail.co.uk which highlighted many disturbing facts about Barbie’s body and how impossible it would be for a woman to ever have her proportions. (I believe that the original source may have been rehabs.com and I have referenced it below.) Here are some highlights from the Daily Mail article:
Did you know that in real life Barbie would have a 16″ waist and that only 1 in 2.4 billion would have the same waist size and likely be suffering from a severe eating disorder?
Did you know that her 16″ waist would be 6″ thinner than her head?
Did you know that Barbie would be forced to walk on all fours because her 3.5″ wrists and her 6″ ankles couldn’t support her own body weight?
Did you know that only 1 woman in a crowd of 638,531 people would have hips equal in size to that of Barbie’s 29″ hips?
Did you know that you would have to search through a crowd of well over 3 million to find a human being with the same waist to hip ratio as Barbie?
This quote was taken from an incredible article written on rehabs.com:
The Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders has calculated how much an average healthy woman’s body would have to change in order for her to have the proportions of a Barbie doll.
They found that women would have to grow two feet taller, extend their neck length by 3.2 inches, gain 5 inches in chest size, and lose 6 inches in waist circumference. No woman could ever hope to achieve such impossible dimensions, and yet young girls are shown that this is a body to emulate.
The rehabs.com article also states that 42% of girls between the ages of 6 and 10 wish they were thinner and many are beginning to diet before they can even spell the word. Check-out their Barbie Infographic below and click on the image to visit the site to read the article and check-out the other charts and tables.
If you visit the site, click on the View Barbie Infographic button.
I know many of us grew-up playing with Barbies and I am in no way saying “ban the Barbies”. Eden was never really into Barbies, but definitely received a few new ones as gifts, as well as a whole set that was passed on to her from her older cousins. We ended up garage selling them as she was never really into dolls of any sort. Having said that, I did not discourage Barbies or her playing with them at the time. I knew that Barbie portrayed the image of what many esteem to be “perfection”, but had no idea what a “fraud” that image was until recently. I believe that knowledge is power and perhaps this knowledge will enable you to make informed choices for the little girls in your life. At the very least, it is interesting information to share with young girls, so that they know the truth behind the doll. Who knew??
Three cheers to all of the women and young girls who love themselves for who they are and are completely comfortable in their own skin!
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Tim bought two smaller pumpkins so that the kids could each do their own this year. Shay wasn’t interested, so Eden and I set to work and came up with these designs. This is the first pumpkin she cleaned and carved all by herself. Great job!
I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to try it on our pumpkin.
The word “Boo” is carved to the left of the ghost.
This is the very first pumpkin Eden ever did totally on her own. She did a great job!
Dirty Laundry Costume:
We were talking at work the other day and I was reminded of one student’s costume from last year’s Halloween Parade. He dressed-up as “dirty laundry”. We have been struggling to agree on a costume for Shay, but when I suggested this idea, he thought “dirty laundry” might be fun. Personally, I was pulling for the Girl Guide costume, but he wouldn’t bite.
For this costume, I took one of our older (broken) laundry baskets and cut the bottom of it out. (My husband thought this was a great idea, as I actually might break down and go and buy a new one to replace the broken one we’ve been using for what seems like forever.) Here is a list of what we used to pull together this costume. It could seriously be done in under an hour. I lucked out and had everything I needed at home with the exception of the old soap container.
one laundry basket with the bottom removed
grey pipe insulation to set along the inside of the cut basket (meant to provide extra comfort) I have an extra piece, but wanted to show the sharp edge.
Here is a shot of the bottom of the basket with pipe insulation installed around the hole for a more comfortable fit.
two pieces of fabric scraps (or something similar) to tie to the basket and lay across the shoulders to support the basket
one hoody with various articles of clothing pinned or stitched all over it randomly
one bedsheet (We included a bedsheet in the basket because it is large and yet very light to carry around.)
one large plastic empty laundry detergent container (I messaged a few friends and my neighbor had one we could use – Yay Jen!) Cut the container below the handle to open up the tops, so that candy can be dropped in through the opening.
one empty stain remover bottle, hung and glue gunned to the edge of the basket
various clothes pinned to the sheet (to avoid losing them)
dirt or dark face paint to add to the “dirty” effect
“Dirty Laundry” sign, if you wish
Here is a trial fitting, minus the face paint to make Shay look “dirty”. You can see how much fun he is having getting suited-up!
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Eden loves Halloween and this year we decided to make her a Pippi Longstocking costume. She was really excited, but worried that most of her peers would not know who Pippi was. Unfortunately, this story book heroine is unknown by most children today. I absolutely loved Pippi Longstocking when I was a kid. In fact, I’d like to believe it was her fault that I spent so many hours of my childhood in time-out chairs or sitting in the hallway at school. (Believe me I was not always the “goodie two-shoes” you think I am.) Perhaps she didn’t make the best “role model”, but I loved the way she was able to outsmart adults. I was indeed quite a “prankster” (brat may be more accurate), but sadly, my parents and teachers didn’t find my behaviour all that amusing.
I found this original trailer for the Pippi Longstocking movie and couldn’t help but think about how much times have changed. I look at Pippi’s pranks and antics and they really don’t seem that funny anymore. It reminds me of the times in which I’ve tried to share some of my favourite childhood family movies with my own kids only to have them complain and show no interest. It seems that kids are so accustomed to dynamic special effects and fast paced story lines, that the old movies don’t have nearly the impact they had when they were first released when I was a kid. It is a bit sad to think how spoiled we are by technology and how entertainment has become so complex. We have a cupboard full of board games that often go unused. I often ask the kids if they’d like to play (I LOVE board games) and most often they have no interest. I think of the hours of fun that we spent playing cards or board games and honestly can’t understand why my children aren’t interested. It seems like entertainment has to involve video making, cameras, computers, iPods or video games in order to pass the kid test these days.
If you were a fellow Pippi fan, you might enjoy this trip down memory lane.
Pippi Longstocking Costume
The great thing about a Pippi Longstocking costume is that it pretty much consists of regular clothes. The key is putting all fashion sense to the wind as she always had a collection of mismatched outfits. We decided to go for her classic look with a red and white striped top with a denim jumper. We found a t-shirt and a pair of denim overalls at the thrift store. I cut-off the “legs” of the overalls and converted it into an overall jumper dress. I also added a patch from my denim scrap collection. I cut up an old t-shirt and added a ruffle layer that extends below the bottom of the skirt to extend the length and give the dress more of a layered look. We decided to buy Eden a pair of fall lace-up fashion boots that she could use for the costume and wear throughout the fall. We found these at Target as well as some knee-high patterned socks that were on clearance for $1.50 per pair. The socks can also be worn after. We also bought some orange hairspray to finish the look. This costume cost us less than $16 (not including the new boots and socks that Eden will continue to wear after Halloween). We dumped the pennies out of the big metal pail that they were in and this will be what she’ll collect her candy in. She will also carry her sock monkey (that I made her last Halloween to go with her Sock Monkey Costume) in lieu of Pippi’s pet monkey, Mr. Nilsson. For her braids, we simply opened up a wire coat hanger, and rounded the center around the top of her head and left the ends sticking out the sides to be shaped after the braids were done.
We trimmed the ends of the wire with tin snips and sprayed her hair once the braids were in. (I added a little blob of hot glue to the ends of the hanger so that they weren’t so sharp.) This costume required minimal sewing and was among the easier ones to pull together. Eden had a Girl Guide Halloween party on Monday, so I have a picture of her all dressed-up, pre-Halloween. Shay won’t have a final fitting until tomorrow, so we’ll have to share his costume then.
Halloween Costume Ideas
For other costume ideas, check out my previous Halloween Post. You might enjoy the video of Shay as Sesame Street’s “The Count“, if you missed the original post.
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I must admit that in the past, I have been guilty of being a bit of a Halloween Scrooge. As mentioned in a previous post, I was never a big fan of Halloween. My own children did not participate until my daughter was in school. My opinion was mostly a product of my bad childhood experiences with Halloween. I spent most Halloweens terrified of the older kids in town and all of their “pranks”. The combination of scary masks and burning hay bales in the streets of town pretty much did me in. As an adult, I had my previous experiences coupled with my desire to keep candy and treats away from my toddlers, so we just avoided it. When we did begin to participate, I refused to handout candy – the thought of giving candy to such small children literally made me cringe. How can that be a good idea?I was adamant and found other options to drop in their bags. So, when kids would drop by our house, they would get a mini-playdough, small toy, pencil or at the very least a sugar-free snack. I did this for several years, but my husband “laid down the law” and told me that “our house would get egged” if I continued down this path and that I’dbe cleaning it up. Yikes! My kids also began to complain and said that playdough was for little kids, so a few years ago, I broke down and joined the masses and began to handout the sugary treats that all kids are seeking on Halloween night. Oh well, a battle not really worth fighting, I guess. I thought this Crest commercial was hilarious and pretty much put me in my place.
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When I was a child, there was very little extra money and although we had a camera similar to the one in the photo, we often didn’t have film on hand or money to process the pictures that were taken. As I grew up, I found that I had a very poor memory of my childhood. There were (and still are) countless times when we are engaged in conversation about the past and I literally have no recollection of the event. I really don’t know why this is or if perhaps it is even normal, but I have always felt that my long-term memory was not as good as my peers. As a young adult, my parents moved from our family home in the “country” to the city. Of course this meant doing a lot of sorting and purging. My mom was by know means a hoarder, but we always had one room that was stacked with boxes of “stuff”. We lived in a heritage home and the basement was not suitable for storage and so for us, one of the bedrooms became the “dumping” ground. I hated that room and perhaps that is what shaped me into the organized person that I am today. Sometimes, I think we grow-up reflecting on our parents and upbringing and making specific decisions about how we are going to do certain things different or “better”. Such was the case for me when it came to organization and specifically family photos. When my parents were preparing to move, I found a bag full of old “film” in one of the boxes. I took the film in to a processing lab, but all of the film was damaged and we were unable to have it processed and printed. I am not sure if my lack of childhood memories is due to the absence of pictures or not, but I certainly feel that a photo captures a moment and provides an anchor that helps to engrave that memory in our hearts and minds. My parents loved me very much, of that I am certain, but I can honestly say that my memories are random and vague at best. I remember only one birthday. I don’t know how old I was (maybe 12 or 14?) and my only memory is of the cake because it looked so pretty with strawberries carefully sliced on the top of it. I remember coming downstairs late at night one December evening and catching my mom with fabric spread out on the floor making what would later become the quilt I got for Christmas that year. I remember the one doll I got when I was quite small and a clock radio cassette player I received as a young teen. I am grateful for the few photos that I do have, but regret the absence of “proof” from my childhood. I can’t imagine that I didn’t have a birthday party, and yet remember none.
So, you can see why for me scrapbooking is more than a hobby, it is something that I deem essential and am passionate about. I want to take those memories and create anchors on which my own children can track the milestones of their lives.
Setting Up a Manageable System for Scrapbooking Your Family Memories
I am not perfect, but definitely have the attitude that if you are going to do something, do it with excellence or why bother. So, when I was embarking on this new hobby a few years after Eden was born, I knew that I would need to have a plan in order for me to stay on top of my “scrapbooking” projects. Here is what I do, to keep it fun and less overwhelming.
1. I have one 12″ X 12″ scrapbook for each of my children and both follow the exact same format:
A title page consisting of the birth announcement
One two page NEWBORN lay-out (both pages when the book is open) This highlights their birth and our time in the hospital, really just the first few days of life. It also includes a few pregnancy photos.
One two page layout of 0 to 6 months.
One two page layout of 7 to 12 months.
One two page layout of their FIRST BIRTHDAY party.
One two page layout of them as a ONE year old.
One two page layout of their SECOND BIRTHDAY party.
One two page layout of them as a TWO year old.
The title page from Shay’s album.
A sample layout from Eden’s album, capturing her life when she was 4.
A sample birthday layout from Shay’s album.
This process will continue until they are 18. There are no “events” captured in these books. I reserve it for single snapshots of the milestones, people who are important to them (pictures of them with mom, dad, brother/sister, cousins, aunts, grandparents, special friends, etc.) as well as important events and FIRSTS. So for example, it may contain only one photo of Christmas from that specific year or one photo from a piano recital. The concept of the ONE year lay-outs is to highlight what was important to them at that time in their lives. What I love about this set-up is that I really only have two lay-outs to do per child per year. Four lay-outs that I must commit to in order to stay on top of their books. This helps me to stay motivated and creative without it becoming a daunting task on my “to do” list.
Side note: Make sure you journal. Journaling may seem like it is not important, but in order to truly capture the moment it is important to write a little about it. When I look through my older layouts, I can see that I kept journaling to a minimum. I often just included titles and dates on my photos, but over time, I saw the value and began to write more. I sometimes type my journal entries, but often print them myself. Having lost my mom, I know how much a sample of her writing on an old recipe means to me. Including your own writing is like signing it “made with love, by my own hands just for you”. I just really feel that journaling is important and needs to be included.
2. I have created one 12″ X 12″ album that is solely for Christmas. I have a title page at the front of the book and then do one two page lay-out per year. I love this book because it captures the people most important in our lives and shows how everyone has grown and changed over the course of a year. Again, one lay-out per year is very manageable for me.
The title page of our Christmas Album.
A sample layout from our Christmas Album.
3. When the kids started school, I also began a school album. I actually have both kids in the same album. Basically, I do a two page lay-out for every grade they are in. The photos include field trips, their teachers, concerts, assembly performances, awards, etc. I am not sure if I will continue this after grade 6 or not. I may just restrict it to memories from their elementary school days. This adds two more lay-outs to the list, making it a total of SEVEN lay-outs that I am absolutely committed to staying on top of. Luckily, the kids’ birthdays are six months apart, so it isn’t too difficult for me to pull this off.
This is a sample layout from the kid’s School Album.
4. In addition to the above, I do have a few other albums that I putter at. I consider them “extras” and do them just for fun.
Special Events album – I have only one album that I use to capture entire events. For me, this is just too much to commit to. I have a list of lay-outs that I think would be fun to do ~ some day. I don’t worry about these and only do them when I feel inspired.
School Album – I think I figured out that I have now taught well over 700 children in my years as a teacher. A few years ago, I pulled together a very simple album with my staff and class pictures from over the years. This is pretty easy to keep current as there are very few photos to add and the embellishments are kept very simple.
This is a sample from my special events album. This layout features Eden’s First Lemonade Stand!
I know so many scrapbookers that try to do it all! They try to scrapbook every thing. This just doesn’t work for me. I am too busy and too much of a perfectionist. I would constantly feel like I was behind and this would totally block my creativity and remove the fun. I really enjoy scrapbooking, but never want it to become so overwhelming that I resent it or the time that it requires. My best advice is keep it simple and manageable. One more tip ~ don’t scrapbook family vacations. We are so fortunately that we can drag our photos into photo books and order very professional looking photo books with a few clicks of the mouse. For family vacations or big events, go with the online photo book option. I love that I can journal right in the book and have the whole trip captured within a few hours. The books are generally well made and you can even order multiple copies, if so desired.
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If your house is like mine, you have been spending the last few weeks trying to decide on Halloween costumes and pull together everything you need to make it just right. Eden decided on a costume quite a while ago, so we have most of the things we need for her Pippi Longstocking costume, but Shay just made his final decision yesterday. I will share their costumes in a future post, but thought that some of you might still be scrambling to find the perfect outfit. This recent viral video captures the perfect toddler costume – a “stick man”. It is too cute!
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Both of my kids loved to draw and paint when they were small and I had a hard time tossing the hundreds of projects they made. When Eden was small, I thought it would be best to start a little “portfolio” to track her developing skills as an “artist” and her beginning writing skills. This allowed me to pick some of the best samples of her work and let go of the realms of other art projects without feeling guilty. Of course, I have done the same thing for Shay.
I titled the pieces when applicable and tried to date their work as they did it. I used an inexpensive 12″ X 12″ scrapbooking album. The cover of the books are canvas, but covered with a clear protective layer, so I was able to slide in my own title page for their art portfolios. The kids made handprints and I incorporated them into the title page on the cover. The books are post-bound albums and allow for expansion of the book and page additions. The layouts are very simple with just a hint of embellishment to bring the art piece to life. I used black pages for both books, as the art shows up so well against the black.
Art Portfolio Covers
What I really love is how the collections also reflect their interests and the stages that the kids went through. As they have gotten older, they spend much less time independently drawing and painting. When they do, they have more stamina and will often produce one or two pieces rather than the 20 that might have been produced in one sitting when they were smaller. I have also added some of their school art projects as well. I am a little behind and have a stack of papers to go through and add to their art portfolios, but I have purposely kept the embellishments to a minimum and the layouts simple, so I can usually do an entire year for both kids in one day. Maybe updating the books will be a Christmas holiday project??
Art Portfolio Gallery
Here is a gallery of snapshots from their art portfolios. I just took a few random shots to give you an idea of how to go about making your own. I have a wavy cutting tool from Creative Memories and use that a lot to dress up a page with very little effort. Another favourite embellishing tool is coloured tape. I can add it to a plain page and give it a lift without spending much time on a layout. I have arranged their books in chronological order to reflect their growth and development. You can also see how some pictures were cut out and mounted on cardstock to help them standout on a page. The key to keeping this manageable is keeping it very simple. I can literally do a layout in about 15 minutes (or less if I am “0n a roll”). The simple design of the pages means you can rattle off many layouts at one time. The other key to success, is filing and dating the work, so that it can easily be sorted when you go to work on it. When the kids were younger, I had to commit time about 3 to 4 times per year because of the amount they produced and how much their skills changed in a very short period of time. Now, I set-out approximately one day per year to update their art portfolios and find that the amount of work is still manageable. Click the images to enlarge. Again, each single page is 12″ X 12″ in size, so a double page layout is 24″ across.
I also wanted to include samples of their first attempts at writing independently. This is Shay’s dolphin picure and writing, made a few months before his fourth birthday.
Eden went through a stage in which she made a small sketch in the middle of a piece of photopcopy paper. I decided to cut them out into circular shapes and mount them. This allowed me to display several in one layout.
Edens’ book is on top and Shay’s is on the bottom. You can see that he was hooked on Star Wars during this time period. He would make hundred’s of paper characters and play for hours!
Again, Eden’s book is on the top and Shay’s is on the bottom. The large sun is part of the layout.
Shay’s pirate layout
You can see the year and her age on this layout. She is a January birthday, so it makes sense to include both.
This is an example of how coloured tape can be used to dress up a page with little effort.
You will also notice that I have labelled some of the items in the pictures and have even made short “journal” entries where applicable. In some cases, I wanted to explain a situation, phase or particular interest at that given time. Journaling helps to capture the entire memory.
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Hip Hip Hooray! The Jets won last night and it looks like Jacob Trouba will be fine following that scary crash into the boards in last night’s game against St. Louis Blues.
I thought I would make this post while Jets fan are still on a high from our win last night.
Hockey Party Invitations
I have a membership with Smilebox. Smilebox is a great online tool for making wonderful e-cards and digital scrapbooking projects. For Shay’s hockey themed birthday party, I thought it would be cool to make the invitation in the format of a Sport Illustrated magazine cover. Basically, I used the Smilebox template, personalized the information and then emailed out the invitations for this party. Here is a screen shot of the invitation.
Your invitations should include the date, location, drop-off and pick-up times, and RSVP information. Also, be sure to include information such as: what to bring or wear to the party and mention if lunch or dinner will be served. The invitations should be sent out 2 to 3 weeks prior to the party.
Hockey Party Decorations
For this party, Shay really wanted to play floor hockey with his buddies. We rented a room in a community center for around $75 (I think). I remember it being quite inexpensive and we had full use of the kitchen that had a window opening into the party room. It was a perfect set-up and kept my house in tact. This also meant that decorations were kept to a minimum as we had to haul everything there. I made the standard homemade birthday banner and decorated the plain white tablecloth so that it looked similar to a sheet of hockey ice with the line and Jets logo in the center. I used store-bought Jets plates and napkins as well. I also bought a little triangular Jets banner to put around the table at the entry. This table held the cake, vintage jersey Jets cookies and the loot bags. Of course, we invited the boys to wear Jerseys or hockey t-shirts if they wanted to.
Hockey Banner
Entry Table
Hockey Rink Table
Hockey Party Activities and Games
This was the simplest party ever. Seriously, my husband played floor hockey with the boys for the entire time. We literally had to cut them off, so that we had time for cake and gifts at the end. The community club provided the nets, sticks and pucks and set-up benches as “boards” at our request. It was awesome! I relaxed with my friend and daughter. Unfortunately, the three of us ate most of the snacks on the table, as the boys had no interest in stopping to snack.
We used benches for the boards.
Food and Snacks
I knew the boys would be kept busy playing hockey, so we kept the food to a minimum. I did buy a few frozen pizzas to cooked in the community center oven, but when the oven was preheating there was lots of smoke and a few flames as a previous user had obviously spilled something over and it had not been cleaned. We decided to forgo the pizza plan and in the end we were pressed for time without it as the boys had so much fun they were more interested in playing hockey that having a pizza snack. It was a mid afternoon party, so I wasn’t concerned about them missing a meal or anything so we just skipped it. At the time, it seemed like a better option than burning the community club down! We had snacks and drinks out on the table throughout, so the boys could munch throughout the party and stay hydrated. We served the cake and ice cream near the end, before opening presents. We used plain navy blue cups for the pop, but I had painted white numbers on each cup. The numbers corresponded with those worn by some of the most popular Jets players. So, they kept track of their drinks by remember the Jets number they picked.
Hockey Rink Birthday Cake
I love baking a cake or cupcakes from scratch and then decorating them to match our theme. I have never taken a cake decorating course, so my cakes are far from perfect, but I have lots of fun looking at different theme cakes online and then coming up with my own variations. Obviously, some turn out better than others. We almost always serve ice cream with our cake. For this hockey rink cake, I added bristle board “boards” and used coloured tape for the lines. I used a layer of buttercream icing and then fondant on top. Shay had a mini table hockey type of game and I was able to easily snap the nets off of it, wash them and then set them on the cake for the party. (They snapped back on the game just as easily after.)
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Hockey Themed Loot Bags
I picked-up red gift bags from the dollar store and made a little thank you tag for each bag in the form of hockey skates. The bags were filled with the following:
a current copy of the Scholastic Hockey News magazine
Each guest also took one of the homemade vintage Jets jersey cookies with them on the way out
loot bags
Thank you skate tag
bookmark
vintage Winnipeg Jets jersey cookies
Timing for the Event
I generally keep our parties to 2 hours. The boys played hockey for about an hour and 15 minutes and then stopped for cake and presents at the end. The timing was perfect and I knew that if we had extra time, they could always pick-up the sticks and continue to play until they were picked-up. If booking outside of the home, be sure to check on rental prices and allow yourself time for set-up before and clean-up at the end. The community club we rented charged us for two hours, but allowed a half hour extra before and after for decorating and tidying.
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Thanksgiving weekend is here and many are preparing to have family and friends over to celebrate in the spirit of thanksgiving. Several years ago, I saw this Martha Stewart idea for a “Thankful” tablecloth. If I remember correctly, she recommended using a painter’s drop cloth and I wish I had taken her advice. I had some muslin on hand at the time and decided to go ahead and use it instead. It works okay, but is very wrinkly after being washed and difficult to press. In the original idea, she suggested using fabric paint and having everyone add something that they are thankful for. I thought it was a brilliant idea and we started our own “thankful” tablecloth. It is a great family tradition and nice to look back and see what we wrote in previous years. We actually write the year and our name beside each entry. Our cloth isn’t very “pretty”, but it holds lots of great memories. There are other great examples of how this type of tablecloth can be made to look a bit more formal . I wanted ours to reflect our family, values and the stages we were at in each given year.
Things to Consider:
Here are a few things that you should consider, if you would like to begin this family tradition and start your own tablecloth:
Use a heavier fabric that washes well and will not be a nightmare to press (or purchase an actual tablecloth to use). It is worth spending a little more if you intend to use this for years to come. In order to stand the test of time, get a good quality fabric to work with.
Don’t use fabric paint, use fabric markers. I used fabric paint and wish I would have used markers. With fabric paint there is often more dimension in the application and therefore, you need ample dry time. You may even get little puckers in your cloth when it dries. It also makes it difficult to press the tablecloth. The other issue with fabric paint is that it is messy and difficult for most people, especially children, to print neatly. Stick with fabric markers.
Some people suggest using regular Sharpie markers, but in my experience, they can bleed and cause a big mess. I think there are tricks to avoiding that, but I just wouldn’t risk it.
Take some time to plan how you want this to look. I am a perfectionist and generally would want something like this to have perfect printing that is all done by the same person. I like uniformity and the idea of having many colours does not appeal to me. However, for this project, I really wanted to have everyone’s individual “mark” on the cloth with each person’s handwriting and thoughts. So, for me, controlling the colour is what kept it somewhat uniform.
Other Examples:
Made by one person, great design and uniform look (bluecricketdesign.net)
A mixture of colours and much more random. (christyrobbins.blogspot.com)
I like the fact that there is one colour of pen used. (asundayafternoon.com)
Give Thanks!
Traditionally, my immediate family has not always had a big Thanksgiving dinner. My dad often goes “home” to the home town where I was raised and spends the weekend with his siblings and their families. We used to go “home” as well, but find it difficult with the kid’s activities and such now. My brother’s family works shift work as does my husband, so it is very difficult to find a time that works. We often make a turkey so that we can enjoy the leftovers (and have an easy week of cooking) in September because it is so busy around our house. Regardless of whether we are hosting a big turkey dinner or not, it is great to take out the tablecloth and take time to formally give thanks.
Having said that, we work really hard to instill a spirit of Thanksgiving every day of the year. There are so many people who are less fortunate than we are. I am so thankful that I don’t have a family member battling cancer – I’ve been there and it is not an easy road to travel. Everyday, I feel so fortunate to have a healthy family and great friends. It is easy to get caught up in thoughts about what we want or don’t have and unfortunately it is sometimes the news of someone else’s loss or difficulties that brings us back to reality and helps us to “get real” and recognize what is important in life and to just be thankful!
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As a parent of children involved in various activities and sports, it is often difficult to know how or what to say to best support your kids. You want to encourage them and guide them so that they can improve, but without being critical and making them feel as though their efforts are not good enough.
Pursuing Excellence
I grew-up in a family/community where hard work, determination, perseverance and strong work ethic were common place. I remember being conscientious and responsible from a very early age. In fact, to this day I have two recurring nightmares: one about being late for work and the other about forgetting to hand in a University paper on time and it being discovered that I am a fraud and really don’t have a University degree at all! So for me, it is difficult to understand why anyone would complete a task, pursue an interest or play a sport without trying their very best. Not striving for perfection necessarily, but working hard and giving it everything you’ve got in the pursuit of excellence. As a teacher and parent, I have always told my students/kids….don’t ask me “Is this good enough?” – if you have to ask me that, then it’s not. You should complete every task to the best of your abilities and only when you have done so, is it “good enough”.
Having said this, you can see how it is difficult for me to connect with my kids about their interests and activities without conveying a message of “it’s not good enough”. I really have to think about what I am going to say and how I am going to say it, for I know one of my greatest weaknesses is saying too much. I am great at picking out the highlights and complementing them on their effort, but it is difficult for me not to follow it with….”next time you could try to….” It is in my nature to want to teach and help my children to reach their true potential, but is our advice what our kids really need to hear? My cousin Elsie shared this awesome article called “6 Words You Should Say Today”. The article suggests that the words that have the most profound impact on kids are simply:
I love to watch you play!
My Revelation: There’s No Denying It!
No coaching at the end, no words of advice, just simply – I love to watch you play. When I read this article, it really resonated with me because I have used these words many times with my daughter Eden when she plays piano.
I do not have a musical bone in my body and get stressed when asked to publicly clap to the beat. I do love to dance with my kindergarteners and in fact will sing my heart out when in their company. They are five years old, think I rule the earth and they don’t seem to notice that I am not great at singing or dancing. We have fun learning together and that’s all that matters.
However, when it comes to knowing and understanding music, I am completely illiterate. I am unable to help Eden with her lessons and homework and have no words of wisdom to offer her. I can not read a single note of music and am in awe of her ability to pick it up so quickly and figure out songs by ear. She is the expert, not I. I simply “love to hear her play“. So when she practises and plays, my comments are always positive, uplifting and simple, for there is no advice I can offer. I wonder if this is what draws her to piano and music. It is her talent, her interest and her area of expertise. There is no criticism, no judgement. When engrossed in her music, she displays an aura of confidence. She loves to practise and play and never needs to be reminded. She is completely relaxed and at peace when at the piano. It is like her “safe” place. I have never stopped to think about any of this before, but as I was writing this post, I realized so much about her and can’t help but wonder if her passion for music is not somehow connected to the fact that it is something that is completely hers to excel at. I am sure to the trained ear, there are many areas where she could improve, but fortunately for her, no one at our house has the wisdom to offer any tips ~ we simply “love to hear her play“.
Eden at her 2013 piano recital.
I played high school volleyball and continue to play most Thursday evenings. I encouraged Eden to get involved in mini-volleyball in grade 4 and she seemed to really enjoy it and continued for 2 seasons. However, there were times when she would make comments about not wanting to go or that she didn’t actually like it. Of course, being a volleyball player, I always had lots of tips and suggestions on how she might improve her skills. Many times I offered to go outside to “volley” together. She always said “no, she didn’t feel like it.” This year, she quit and decided to take up dance. Hmmm, I am not much of an expert at that either….unless of course you count “Tooty-Ta” – I rock at that dance!
It’s pretty hard to swallow, but also difficult to deny. Did I drive her away from volleyball with my “support”? I am guessing the answer is “yes”. It makes me feel sad that I might have made her feel bad about herself, even with the best of intentions. The lesson to take away is this, saying less is worth far more. Although hard, I will try to bite my tongue and save the tips and critiquing for the coaching staff ~ and just let my kids know how much I love to watch them play!
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This video also reminded me of some of the facts that our facilitator shared about Barbie. I was able to find an article on dailymail.co.uk which highlighted many disturbing facts about Barbie’s body and how impossible it would be for a woman to ever have her proportions. (I believe that the original source may have been rehabs.com and I have referenced it below.) Here are some highlights from the Daily Mail article:
