Gratitude Extravaganza-Activity Day Girls

I am involved with the 8-12 year old girls at church. We meet twice a month for "Activity Days".  I am in charge this week and so I am planning a Gratitude Extravaganza.  There will be a craft, a game, and chocolate.


We are going to make these Thankful Corny Poppers.  The idea is that they will pick someone they want to thank and write all the reasons they are thankful for that person on little slips of paper and put them inside a toilet paper tube.  Then we will use yellow streamers and green tissue paper to make it look like corn. I stole the idea from Spoonful-check it out for the full directions When the "thankee" receives it he/she will pull both ends and they will be showered with gratitude. 
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We are also going to make these super cute pilgrim hats from
Oh So Savy Mom

And these Native American Hackey Sacks from DIY Life

So that's my plan. 

 I hope it works as well for a group 15 tween girls as well as one 40 year-old lady.

 

Bracelet Organization

My daughter enjoys jewelry-it makes her happy.  

She has a lot of bracelets that are too bulky to store with the rest of her jewelry and she came up w/ a genius solution all on her own:

She simply hammered some nails into her closet wall.  Then she just looped a group of bracelets together with a rubber band and hung them on the nail.  

Clever? 

I'm not picky about my closet walls, but if you didn't want to put holes in your closet wall, you could hammer nails into a piece of wood as well.

I Ran A Marathon!!!!!!

I did it! I did it! I did it!  

I ran my first (and last) marathon last Saturday, and since about 1:00 Saturday afternoon, I have to exhibit tremendous self control so I don't shout, "I ran a marathon!" every 5 seconds. 

We share our family battle cry of "We do hard things", with my friend Aly's family.   To prove to our kids that moms can do hard things too, we decided to run a marathon. (It has also been awesome over the past few months when our kids have claimed to be too tired to do something, we could always come back with: "You have no reason to be tired I ran X number of miles".)

We are not runners, and would chose "not running" over "running" every day of the week. I may actually be the least athletically inclined person I know and so if I can do it, anyone can do it. 

We followed Hal Higdon's Novice Supreme's 30 week training schedule.   Despite sickness, children's issues, injuries, her Grandpa's funeral, and my rental property disaster, we still managed to log 529.6 miles. 

Running is hard. Running 26.2 is really hard.  In an effort to motivate myself, I dedicated each mile to someone who has inspired me.  I chose to run the marathon, but I have friends that did not choose to have sick kids, cancer, custody disputes,  deployed husbands, difficult adoptions, divorce, etc., but handle all those "hard things" with strength and grace.  Their names covered my arms and gave me strength.

I am so lucky to have some many supportive friends and family members.  I just felt so loved by all the calls, texts, and emails from people showing their support and telling me I was in their prayers. My friend Suzanne (who's emergency surgery prevented her from running a half marathon) even made me a gift bag. My friend Angie bought me my favorite candy bar, a "Take 5" for my post run treat. My parents watched my kids and my mom was so proud of me she couldn't talk about it without crying. I was feeling the love.

We choose to run in Abilene's Marathon For Miracles because it was at the right time, flat, and within driving distance. We didn't realize how small of a race it was.  There was a 5K and a half marathon, but only 28 people actually finished the marathon.  Despite the small number, the support staff was amazing.  They had water/ snack stations every 1.5 miles. It is just plain silly how helpful it is to have random strangers cheer you on.

Our husbands were the best support staff, and because the race was so small, they easily found us several time during the race.  We could hand off sweatshirts as it warmed up. They brought us chapstick and sunglasses when we needed them. They also took pictures (not that we are at our most flattering) and would text updates to those cheering us on at home.  Mostly I just loved seeing them.

Despite not being able the sleep the night before, the first 16 miles weren't too bad.  A big problem was that we had to endure all of our long runs in extreme Texas heat and humidity. Staying hydrated was a huge issue.  When we started our race, it was in the low 40's and so it was difficult to gage how much to drink.  I drank 32 oz before the race and took a drink every 1.5 miles.  I had to go to the bathroom at mile 18.5 and this was a disaster for me.  Even though, I only stopped for maybe 30 seconds, my body started to shut down and decided it was done running for the day. My muscles all started to cease up. My goal was to run every single step, but I was starting to worry that I may not be able to even complete it walking.  

Aly was way ahead and there were no other runners around, so I just kept talking to myself like a crazy person saying: "I do hard things", "I am a robot, the pain doesn't matter", "This will all be a bad memory", "right, left, right, left", "If I stop now, I have to do it again",  "I told everyone I was running a marathon and it would be embarrassing to fail", "I can do anything for an hour", and "I have already run over 550 miles, just a few more". It worked, and I never had to stop and walk. Everything still hurt, but eventually my muscles got a little looser and I was able to run without looking like C-3PO or a zombie.  

Then I saw a hot pink shirt heading my way.  My sweet friend Aly decided that she couldn't cross the finish line with out me and was coming back to get me. 

Seriously the woman chose to go backward for me! 

Running with her again, helped me pick up my pace.  My husband had been waiting at the finish line, but caught a glimpse of my zombie/ C-3P0 impression around mile 21 and was worried about me, so walked back and did the last 1.2 with us.  

We crossed the finish line, claimed our medals and then tried to regain control of our legs.  We both shook uncontrollably from pain and exhaustion.  We finally were able to make it back to the hotel, where I tried to take an ice bath. I was supposed to soak for 20 minutes, but I used up all my willpower during the race and so only managed about 20 seconds.  Those of you that can run a marathon AND take an ice bath are my heros.

It is less than 48 hours since the race,  and honestly with a healthy dose of motrin I feel just as good as I did Friday.

It wasn't pretty, but we did it!!!!!

Captain Literally Costume

The overuse of the word "literally" drives certain of my family members insane, so we enjoy Studio C's Captain Literally way more than we should.  

My youngest wanted to be him for Halloween (It beat his second choice as the pineapple from Psych).

I grabbed a pair of leggings from Wal-mart. I had an old red shirt and I bought some blue spandex for the cape, arm band and "L".

I made most of it up as I went along, but I got the Face mask pattern from Frugal Fun 4 Boys.

BALANCE RESTORED!

What would your High School Self Think of Your Current Facebook Page?

I just finished reading The Future of Us, by Jay Asher. It is set in 1996.  When 2 friends download an AOL CD onto their computer, they gain access to their 2011 Facebook accounts.  They try and change their actions to manipulate their futures.

I found the book completely fine, but I am fascinated by the idea.  I put myself in the mindset of my teenage self and checked out my FB page.  My teenage self would have thought she scored the jackpot.  My kids are adorable and my husband is really hot.

-I would be surprised how athletic my kids are (I can not do anything requiring the smallest amount of coordination).

-I would be shocked that my husband is in the military-after being raised an Army brat, that's something I swore I'd never do.  

-I would like my future and not want to change it but I hope that if my teenage self saw me at 40, she would could deal better with some of my teenage heart aches and other problems.  

-My life is great, but my FB page is probably paints a rosier picture than reality.  I tend to only posts about triumphs, funny stuff, and the occasional minor annoyance.  I don't post about the more mundane parts of being a mom or the times when someone hurts my feelings. 

Your turn.  Pretend you are  your teenage self and go check out your FB page. 

What would your teenage self think of your FB page?

What would surprise your teenage self the most?

If your teenage self saw her future FB page, would she do anything to change it?

Does your FB page paint an accurate picture of your life?

DIY Brain Cap

I am always on the look for cheap and easy Halloween costumes and was thrilled to find the tutorial for this gory brain cap on Make Craft.  

Basically all you need is an old hat and 2 tubes of latex caulk.  I found some at Wal-Mart for $1.29 a piece. We had a hospital gown in the dress up box, so this entire look cost about $2.58.

In case you'd like to make your own, here are some tips:

1. Place the hat on a bowl before you use the caulk. I ignored this step, dropped my first attempt on the counter and had to throw it in the trash:(  Since I only had one old ball cap, I used a straw hat.  It was stiffer and easier to work with, but the brain goes a little further down than I'd like. However, since he is weeks past a hair cut, this worked to our advantage.  If I cut his hair, I plan on trimming an inch or 2 off the bottom before Halloween.

2. It takes forever to dry, so plan ahead and give yourself at least 48 hours drying time.  Mine is still squishy.

3.  It weighs a ton.  I don't think this would be a good a costume for a small kid. (Someone commented on the original post that they used insulation foam-maybe that would be better)

4.  Because the caulk is so heavy, it will look a little melted on the sides.  I had nice neat little brain squiggles, but after gravity took effect, they looked a little saggy.  Maybe I should have used more expensive caulk?

 My kids went to a Halloween party on Saturday night and by accident, they all had a medical theme going. 

 In the family tradition of being-some-obscure-character-so-you-have-to-explain-who-you-are-all-night (see the last 12 year's worth here), my daughter went as the nurse from Granite Flats.  My son's best friend threw on a pair of scrubs as a last minute costume. 

Voila, now they were ready to perform brain surgery in the cul-de-sac.

 In case you were wondering-Nurse from Granite Flats

I wanted to show you his complete look-he was very proud of his R2D2 socks.

Mary Poppins Bookclub

It was my turn to host book club. Since I've never read the books and I am excited about the upcoming movie Saving Mr. Banks, I chose Mary Poppins.  Because I am a big nerd,  I also read Mary Poppins She Wrote by Valerie Lawson.

This is probably book blasphemy, but I really like the movie and Broadway musical better than the book.  The books are more like a collection of adventures then a story with a plot.  One of my book club friends read them allowed to her son and that is probably how they best to be enjoyed.

Mary Poppins She Wrote was really hard for me to get through. So you don't have to suffer through it, here's some things I learned:

She was born Helen Lyndon Goff on 9 August 1899  and died on 23 April 1996.

Much to her chagrin, she was born and raised in Australia, but always took pride in being British. She didn't actually move to England until she was in her 20's.

She fled England during WWII to the safety of the US. 

She was never married, but very likely had a few affairs with both men and women.

Her father was an unsuccessful banker and they often struggled with money and depended on the generosity of relatives.

She supported herself by acting, writing poetry, and as a play critic.

Mary Poppins umbrella is based on a real umbrella- one of the family’s servants-her mother thought it was terribly tacky,but Travers thought it was fabulous.

She had many gurus in her life and had a constant search for peace and truth.

She suffered with both lung and digestive problems.

She never married, but had an adopted son.  He was a twin and never told him anything about his birth family until he actually met his twin when he was 17.

For the film rights, she received $100000 down payment and 5 % if the producer’s growth.  She made millions.

Travers insisted the following be in the film: the tape measure, Mr. Banks in Pajamas, and the fact that she hated tapioca.

Travers wanted all the actors to be British.

She didn’t like how the Banks family was portrayed.  She didn’t want them to be portrayed as unhappy-just out of sorts.

She hated it that Mr. Banks tore up the children’s advertisement in the movie.  She insisted a loving parent doesn't tear up their children's work.

The original movie was to be set in modern times, but Traver's insisted it be set in Edwardian times (I am so glad).

Travers was offended when people called her a children's author and said  that fairy tales had “great things to teach us” and they were “carriers of a very old teaching, a religion, a way of lie, a chart for a man’s journey”.

She heartily approved of Julie Andrews.

Book Club Treats

 Mrs's Cory's Gingerbread stars -recipe HERE

 Mary Poppincorn

Union Jack Fruit Pizza

I just baked a sheet of my favorite sugar cookie dough (recipe HERE).  Then whipped together 1/3 cup sugar, 1 8oz cream cheese and a tsp. of vanilla. Spread on top of cooled cookie and topped w/ fruit.  Please tell me it looks like the British flag.

Here's some discussion question for book club:

1.  What did you like better about the book?

2. What did you like better about the movie?

3. In the original chapter of “Bad Tuesday”, they visited people, but Travers revised it to animals to make it more politically correct. Thoughts?

4. Travers said that she didn't write for children. Thoughts?

5. Is there a chapter that you would have like to seen in the movie?

6. The movie follows more traditional plot lines, the Banks family is in crisis, and Mary Poppins helps them become a stronger family.  The book is more a series of adventures.  Do you think the movie would have been as successful without following traditional plot lines?

7. Travers claimed that fairy tales had “great things to teach us” and they were “carriers of a very old teaching, a religion, a way of lie, a chart for a man’s journey”. 202

8. Travers viewed Mary Poppins as a “conduit..through her people found balance and a sense of their true worth.”  236 Do you agree?

9. Do you think the movie would have been as popular if Mary Poppins was plain and not as beautiful as Julie Andrews?

10.  Disney enlarged the role of Bert, because he didn’t think that Mary Poppins could carry the film all on her own.  Thoughts?

If you love Mary Poppins, check out my daughter's Halloween costume and umbrella tutorial HERE.