Days of Play--Family Knots

Get all family members into a circle.  Put your hands in the center and grab someone else's hands.  You should be in a knot.  Now, untie yourselves.  This is a great activity to practice listening, following directions, and teamwork.

On the downside, this isn't great to do with small children.  Check out some previous posts if you'd like ideas of something to do with small children.


Bubbles
Indoor rafting
Color Hunt

MIA

Reagan is MIA this week.

Actually, she's at WYLDlife camp with a whole bunch of awesome middle school aged kids and she's having too much fun to blog.

Not that she doesn't love blogging or the people who read her random thoughts.  

To be continued in one week ....

Date Night {OUT}--Bar Games

Grab your guy and head to a local bar--a place that's a real {safe} dive.

Order a beer (if you drink) or a soda (if you don't) and challenge your fella to a couple of bar games. Shoot a round of pool or play darts.

If you are like me, this will be a stretch since I'm not into the bar scene. But sometimes getting out of my comfort zone is the best idea ever. So indulge yourself in some peanut on the floor, country music on the juke box, rack 'em up, fun!

Source

Things I Love: Grass

Freshly cut grass, that is.

To me nothing says, "Welcome, Summer" quite like the sound of a lawn mower and the delicious mix of gasoline and newly cut grass.

Of course I'm horribly allergic to all things that grow but I like to stand on the deck, soak in the smell, and let it take me back to the days of Uncle Don mowing his huge yard while Jennifer and I read Christopher Pike novels on blankets in the sun.

Mmmm.  Grass.

What's a smell that you love?

What I Think About: When the Young Die

When I was nearly five I met a girl named Jina.  Nearly three decades later she is still among my closest friends.  As often happens with friends, I became close to Jina's brother, Jeremy.  He was sort of the big brother I never had (he even did irritating things like whipping me with wet towels and hanging me upside down). I love it when that happens--when you get two friends for the price of one.  How precious is that!?!

Jeremy--not quite 35--died early on Tuesday from a massive heart attack.

Not believing what I was seeing on Facebook, I called Jina and she confirmed what I had been reading.  Jeremy was dead.

I couldn't believe it.  I can't believe it.

Those words are foreign on my tongue.  How can I grasp this awful truth--that sometimes, the good--the young--the fathers to young daughters ... die?

It was uncomfortable talking on the phone to my oldest friend.  What could I say?  Words are junk in moments like these.  Comfort impossible.  Hope feels like an illusion--both to offer and receive.  So I said all I could say--that I was heartbroken and loved and her.

What I wanted to scream--to her, to the neighbors, to the wall was, "IT IS NOT FAIR WHEN THE YOUNG DIE!"

Today as I mulled over my memories of Jeremy I thought about death.  Everyone tells us not to fear death but how do you not?  Even if you have hope and faith, how can you not fear death?

I remember reading once--I think in a John Eldredge book--about death and how it is nearly impossible for Christians to reconcile death because we were never meant to experience death.  We were the eternal people.  Life eternal was ours but we traded it.

One bite of an apple later and death is all around us and who can be comforted?  Sure we move on and it gets easier but every now and then it hits--that memory that makes you laugh so hard you cry; that burning ache caused by loss; the empty chair at the dinner table.

Death haunts us even when we hope in the future.

When the young die, people--myself included--question God.  Why Jeremy?  Why so young? What now? Where is the redemption in this?  Why, God?  Why?

I don't have the answers.  I probably never will.

What I think about when the young die is that God is still God and God is still good.  Though I burn with hurt and anger, I will stand on this Rock.  I will believe in Him if I feel it or not.  I will not be shaken. 

Thanks to Shell at Things I Can't Say for hosting my random (sometimes depressing) thoughts.

Less and More

Less paper work

More ice cream

Less people

More bike rides

Less commitments

More walks

More swimming

More S'mores

More BBQs

Less rushing

More stargazing

Less snow shoveling

More laughter 

Or what I like to call

Summer

Wedding Gear

So, as of tomorrow afternoon I will officially have a new sister!  My brother-in-law is getting married and I can hardly wait to have a sister-in-law on my husbands side of the family.

HAPPY DANCE

Anyhow, I've been agonizing what to wear to the wedding.  This isn't going to be royal so no ridiculous hats are needed (thank goodness!).

Here's what I'm thinking ...

Rehearsal Dinner

Day Dresses by Mossimo
Clutches by Forever 21

Actual Wedding

Black Dresses by Calvin Klein
Platforms by Forever 21

Sunday Brunch

Tanks by Banana Republic
Wallets by Forever 21

Yes.  I'm going to wear black to the wedding.  Black is classic.  I am not mourning.  I'm celebrating a deep, deep love between newlyweds and Little Black Dresses.

Things I Love: My Million Dollar Jeans

Every girl should have a pair of million dollar jeans.

Of course I don't necessarily mean a pair of outrageously expensive jeans.

I mean jeans that make you feel like a million bucks.

Jeans that fit your legs and your hips and your derriere so well it seems as though the jeans were literally made for you.

When I know I have a tough day ahead, I put on my million dollar jeans and somehow, just the comfortable feel of slipping into a pair of jeans that melt against me gives me courage to face a day.

So thank you, American Eagle Boyfriend 77 jeans for hugging my curves, boosting my bum, and making me look hot--even if I'm only in my slippers and a t-shirt.

Tell me about your million dollar jeans!

What I Think About: Selling My Children

You know, I would never put a "For Sale" sign on my kids and put them in the front yard to be purchased by the highest bidder.

Even though they can be cranky and sassy and down right disobedient, I love them.  They are mine.  I'm gonna keep them. 

But sometimes when I let my children watch TV, I sort of feel like I'm putting my kids--or at least their minds--up for sale.

Have you noticed how grossly advertisements target children--even babies--through commercials and product placement?  It's actually quite disgusting to me.

I mean, do my children really need Sketcher Twinkle Toes to go to school?  Does a Happy Meal actually make them happy?  Does M.E. need that Easy Bake Oven to make her a successful professional and will that Thomas the Train engine ensure Paxton will be a man's-man engineer?

I think not but millions of children don't understand the hidden messages and context of commercials.

I'm prone to taking a pretty critical look at "stuff" like this and I'm not exactly pleased with what my research is showing me.

For example:

• Companies spend $17 billion dollars marketing items toward children in hope of producing life-long consumer loyalty.
• Children under the age of 12 influence $500 billion dollars in materialistic purchases each year.
• Children 2-11 see 25,000 commercials per year (which affects point 2).
• Many advertisements promote sexual stereotypes (girls should be sexy and cook; boys build with Legos) and violence.
• 63% of parents believe that their children's self-worth is defined by what they own.

Now many of you will say this is all harmless.  But really, think about this.  Why would companies spend BILLIONS of dollars trying to attract our children if that money didn't make a difference?

The short answer: They wouldn't!

Whether you want to believe it or not, these ads have an affect on buying habits, values, and even self-worth (you should see the data of eating disorders being linked to perceived beauty ideals promoted through TV shows, movies, magazines ....{Shudder}...).

Have you ever seen a toddler scream to buy a box of Mac-n-Cheese because Woody is on it?  The child doesn't know what s/he is buying but still "needs" it because Woody is selling it. 
Does your child need this brand or that character for the start of a new school year?
Has your 5 year old told you she needs to diet to be skinny like Ariel?

These ads--these "harmless" product placements in TV shows---they matter.  They affect our children whether we want them to or not.

What I think is that every time we turn on the TV, we put our kids up for sale!

Want to stop selling your children?  Get the facts.  Get resources.  Get involved.

Start here at the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood.  <---click that link.  I double dog dare ya!

Thanks for hosting, Shell!

Days of Play: Goodbye School

M.E.'s last official day of preschool is Wednesday.

I'm a little emotional. :(

Moving on.

Today for our special time, M.E. and I are going to pick out a nice book to donate to her (soon to be former) classroom.  This just feels like the gift that keeps on giving.

If your child is in school, let me encourage you to do the same.

Go to a bookstore and purchase an age appropriate book.

Write the date and a brief note of thanks to the teacher on the inside of the book.

Let your child color the inside cover to "personalize" the gift.

Wrap it up and give it to your teacher (though you might want to read it first!).

Confession

Deep down in side, I'm a girl who likes comics and super heroes.  Give me action!

This actually works out really well for Matt and I because we can go to these movies together and both have fun.  He's not suffering through a chick-flick and I'm not pretending to think Between Two Ferns is funny.

On Saturday night my sister and I went to the movies (can I hear a WooHoo!) and saw this preview.



Kill me now for two reasons:
1. It's another X-Men movie and I love X-Men!
2. James McAvoy is Professor X. Have I ever mentioned that in the scheme of celebrities I love, there's Robert Downey Jr. and then there's James McAvoy? You ladies can keep Gerard Butler and George Clooney--these are my fellas!

Anyhow, I confess to loving Marvel Comics and James McAvoy.

Phew. My conscience is clear now.

Date Night {OUT}: Progressive Dinner

I love progressive dinners!

Here's the main concept: you eat a different course at different restaurants/houses.  That's it!

This date can be done two ways: solo or with a group of friends. Read on!

SOLO:

If it's just going to be you and your husband, map out some restaurants you'd like to eat at.  Go to restaurant #1 for an appetizer.  Go to restaurant #2 for soup or salad. Go to restaurant #3 for a main course.  Go to restaurant #4 for dessert.  Go to restaurant #5 for drinks/hot drinks.

You can choose to do this fast food style to keep it fast and cheap OR make a night of it and go to sit down restaurants.  Sure your servers might think you are nuts but leave a good tip and they'll forgive you!

GROUP DATE:
Get together 3-5 other couples.  On five slips of paper, write down a course (appetizer, soup/salad, main, dessert, drinks).  On another five slips of paper, write down a theme.  For examples, you could do countries (US, Mexico, France, Italy, China) or colors (red, white, black, yellow, green).  Put the slips in two different bowls.

Now, have one person from each couple grab a slip from each bowl to let them know what course/theme to follow.  For example, you could have to make a Italian dessert or a red main course.  Encourage couples to go ALL OUT decorating in their theme.

Finally, schedule times to be at each others homes.  For example, start appetizers at 430.  Move to soup house at 5:15, etc.  Whoever has the final course should prepare games for people to play or provide another form of entertainment.

Things I Love: Making Stuff

My friend Sarah is hosting a sewing night for our mom's group.  It's not until June but I'm already scoping out a few projects I would mind whipping up while chatting with the ladies.

Here are some of my top picks!

Summer Flower Tee (which Disney promises is FAST to make.  I like fast).

Photo from Ruffles and Stuff

I'm thinking navy shirt with white and red flower?  Or maybe white shirt with green flower?  What say you?

Then there are these No-Sew Flowers.  Cute, aren't they?  I like the idea of adding them to shirts, shoes, headbands ... really, you cover up a lot of stains with these cuties.  But then again, these are NO SEW--is that against the rule on sewing night?

Photo from Ruffles and Stuff

One Pearl Button posted a tutorial knock off of this Anthropologie shirt.  I like it.  And I like that if and when I screw it up I will be at Sarah's house and she can save me, or--er, the shirt I mean.

Photo Source One Pearl Button

Finally, there is this cute scalloped skirt.  I love it.  Problem is, I'm not sure if I can pull it off in one night.  But maybe I could leave it with the directions and Sarah could finish it.  Maybe not!

Photo Source Ameroonie Designs

So much to make, so little talent time. 

What's your vote?  What should I make on our lady's sewing night?

What I Think About: Beauty from Ashes

Regret.

The R word.

{shudder}

I'm kind of over the good old days of cliche songs and sayings telling us to live with no regrets.

Can anyone do that?  SHOULD anyone do that?

Last Monday I had a blue day for reasons I'm simply too proud to admit.  While I was feeling sorry for myself the worst thing happened--like it always does.

I started to drudge up old regrets.  Not just the "I wishes" but the "I wished I hadn'ts." The list of my regrets grew.  And Grew. AND GREW and by about 8:30 I was on the phone with my sister--nearly crying (which should *really* say something!).

I felt like the worst kind of human possible.

Untrustworthy. Unlovable.  Unworthy.

And no amount of "live in the moment" crap could make me feel better.

I just had to navigate my feelings.

Thoreau said, "Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest.  To regret deeply is to live afresh."

Tend our regrets and sorrows?  Regretting deeply refreshens us?

It's so counter-intuitive.  I mean, it just feels easier to ignore our regrets.  To push past them with an "I can't change the past attitude" feels doable.

But then they come back. On dark days when we are alone and ashamed.  Our regrets come back and they haunt us--when we don't handle them.

I know the Biblical accounts of regrets and how God casts our sin far from us (Psalms 103:11-12) but we can never fully do that.  We can't pretend to have no regrets.

So what if there was a change in perspective?

What if we did tend our regrets?

What if we faced them head on?

What if we felt our way through them--the shame, the pain, the dishonor?

What if we didn't beat ourselves up for shortcomings but we used them--like a mirror--to see exactly why we need Christ?

Why we need forgiveness? 

To see exactly what. grace. looks. like?

What if we let our regrets send us running to the throne room in loving humility to be comforted?

What if our regrets were simply a matter of perspective and instead of letting them paralyze us with fear or self-loathing, what if we simply accepted them, learned from them, and lived from them?

Wouldn't that be living proof that He makes all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28)?  Even our regrets.

What I think is that regrets can have a terrible hold over us.  They can keep us living in guilt and fear.  But I also think, when we work through them, our regrets can restore, rebuild, and redeem us--beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:1-4).

Thanks, Shell, for hosting this post at Things I Can't Say!

Days of Play: Gettin' Around

Nothing is so lovely as a child blowing the puff-ball seeds of a dandelion into the air. 

M.E. did just this as we walked from the library to our car last week.  And then she asked what the puffy things were.  I told her they were seeds and that by blowing on them, she was helping to plant more dandelions (sorry to those of you who hate dandelions). 

It dawned on me that I should show M.E. how plants can be spread by humans, animals, insects, the wind, etc.

To do this, I put a big puffy sock on the OUTSIDE of her shoe (and one on the outside of her brother's because he was insistent) and we went for a brief walk in the little field outside of our house.

When we came back in, I took the socks off and set them on the table (which, by the way, I 409ed before we ate there).  We looked at all the weird pokey things attached to the sock.  I was able to point out things that were seeds (I think) and was able to tell her that insects like bees help pollinate plants because the seeds stick to their legs like they stuck to her socks.

She found this very fascinating for about five minutes.  {Sigh}

Oh well, hopefully this will fun lesson will stick with her in the future.

If you want to do this--get a sock, go for a walk, have a talk.  The End.

F All Y'All! {This is Christian--Trust me}

Okay I first saw this on another blog and it is so funny.

It's pretty naughty but worth a Monday laugh.  I could use a Monday laugh.

Fashion Friday--Hide Your Tummy!

Whether you are generally slender with some leftover "mom tummy" or you are a bit on the heavy side all over, there are ways to hide your tummy.

Be advised, however, that this is all just an optical illusion.  If you really want to look like you don't have a big tummy, you'll need to work that sucker off.  And for that I suggest Elise Gulan's Straight to the Core 10 minute ab video!

But in the mean time,  create the appearance of a smaller tummy by defining your waist with structured clothing.

1. Get the girls up where they belong.  A good bra might cost but will help ease back discomfort, stop bra straps from falling (or crawling) and will help define your bust v. your waist.  It the girls are sitting on your belly button (and you aren't a size 40 DDDD) it's time for a new bra!

2.  Define the smallest part of your waist (generally up higher than the belly button--sometimes right below the breasts) with a wide belt.  Pick a belt made of elastic because it will stay put better than a leather one.  And avoid skinny belts which may actually emphasize your tummy.  Please know you can belt anything--a cardigan, a dress, a white button down top, a blouse, a tunic ...

Shortsleeve Tops by Amy Byer
Belts by Forever 21

3.  Get a structured jacket or blazer.  Okay, this isn't dreamy for summer (except for cool summer nights) but this holds true the whole rest of the year. Get a blazer that fits well and you will instantly look slender!

Jackets by Old Navy
Jackets by Ann Taylor

4. Wear jeans that are slightly higher in rise.  Note: the band should still be BELOW the belly button but should be a few inches above the pelvic bone.  If pants are too low, hello muffin top!  But pants that are too high (the dreaded mom jeans) make your arse look huge and turn your extra tummy into a "front butt."  Not flattering.  Remember this rule: a bit higher but below the button.

5. Opt of empire waist clothing.  This naturally defines the smallest part of your body (waist) and flows elegantly over that which you wish to hide (without making it look like you are actually hiding something).

Plus Dresses by Calvin Klein
Black Dresses at Last Call by Neiman Marcus

WARNING
Avoid clothing that is the wrong size.  Too tight pants=muffin top.  Too big pants=look heavier.  Too tight shirt=too much information.  Too big shirt (especially if it is boxy)=an upper half that looks bigger than it really is.


For more information, watch what style gurus Clinton and Stacy have to say by clicking this link.

What I Think About: Slut Walks

Have you heard of slut walks? 

Essentially, a woman in Toronto was raped and one of Toronto's finest said that women probably wouldn't get raped if they didn't dress like sluts.

Classic.  Blame the victim.

Spoken like a true man (expect that all the "real" men I know would call that line a crock of crap!)

So women in Toronto and the US are putting on "Slut Walks" to bring awareness to the oppressive and hypocritical nature of the word "slut" and challenge the belief that a woman who shows a bit too much skin is "asking" to be raped.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about dressing nicely and modestly. 

If you remember I did a post a while black on Little Black Dress Disasters where I sound off on why I hate "slutty" LBDs.  I don't want women to show too much to cover up for a lack of self-esteem.  However much I disdain these little dresses I simply cannot subscribe to any rule that says a girl who wears barely-there dresses deserves to be sexually assaulted.  Such clothing might make a girl lose a man's respect but it shouldn't cause her to lose her safety!

Confidence makes me sexy--not my lack of clothing. 

However, not every woman gets this memo.

From the time we are little girls we are getting "roped" into the man's world of what women "should" look like.  There are bikinis and thongs for toddlers.  Huge chested "Angels" on pink billboards beckon our men to crave those airbrushed bodies.  Even our beloved princesses are scantily clad sex symbols asking to be loved because of their looks and NOT their characters. (P.S. I go on a princess tirade here).

It appears we first make sluts and then punish them.

Men want to see skin.  They want to see sex.  But if a woman buys into that lie (or has the audacity to grow breasts in 5th grade) she is labeled a slut.  And sluts get what they deserve when the dress EXACTLY the way billion-dollar campaign advertisements tell them to?

I'm calling FOUL!

Women are molested, and raped, and abused for many reasons and there is NOT. ONE. REASON. THAT. JUSTIFIES. THE. PERPETRATOR'S. ACTIONS.

EVER!

I want women to feel safe and secure in who they are.  I want them to feel sexy and empowered in jeans and yoga pants.  I don't want women to EVER feel like they have to wear daisy-duke shorts and barely-there tops to be valued by men.  However, if women want to dress like that, they should still be safe to walk about freely without "asking" to be raped.


So what I think about Slut Walks is that if one comes to a town near me--I'm signing up!  You'll see me there in my normal clothing (plus some awesome stilettos) supporting the right of women to be safe regardless of what they are wearing.


Thanks to Shell at Things I Can't Say for hosting my random Wednesday rants!

Days of Play: It's Classified

When M.E. did her kindergarten screening she was encouraged to classify items.  Luckily, she was able to do it with ease.  I like to thank my intense OCD organizing bone for this.  She's been able to tell fairy shoes from Barbie shoes for about three years.

Anyhow, I got inspired to do a classification game with my children.

First, I got all of my shoes and put them into a massive heap on the living room floor.

Can I take a minute hear to say that I do not have a shoe problem.  Shoes have a Reagan problem.

Moving on.

When the shoes were good and mixed up, I had Paxton and M.E. put them into "groups" or classifications.  We did this several times.  One time we classified by color.  Another time by pattern.  Another time by "type" (ballet flat, boots, etc.).  It was pretty entertaining to watch my kids toting shoes and grouping them.

And now I feel pretty good about M.E.'s ability to learn about animal taxonomies.

Happy playing!

Unnecessary Censorship

Need a good laugh this Monday morning?

Then watch this video.



How's that for a dirty mind?!?!

Happy Monday!