I AM LATE TO THE INSTAGRAM PARTY. Actually, I have followed Instagram for the last year, but never shared a photo on the site. I simply lurked on my friends and saw the fun things in their everyday life. Recently I purchased a new iphone and I now use Instagram on a regular basis. So this is my week in snapshot moments. Above you see Grace’s feet with leftover polish and summer sandals after a ballet class…and if you’ve ever had a daughter in those classes then you know about those funky tights you have to purchase. Below is my lunch one day. I was actually semi-healthy:

On Saturday I attended the Atlanta Baby & Child Expo which my friend @stressfreebaby held at the Fabulous Fox Theatre’s Ballroom.

But I mostly hung out at the admission table helping collect tickets and money. I had a blast with these ladies (@stacieinatlanta and @mami2mommy) and wish I had taken more photos.

Please note that I made French Onion Soup one night and it was very popular…

And William has won and lost tournament games this week. Tomorrow night we go for Game #3 of the playoffs.  

And this girl had a fever virus this week. She goes back to school tomorrow and has her field day on Friday. I just hope she saves some energy for this weekend’s ballet recital. She was well enough to make her usual requests today. That’s a good sign.

Hope you’ve had a good Wednesday. Talk to you tomorrow after I send everyone to school!

IT HAD BEEN IN MY NETFLIX INSTANT QUE FOR OVER A MONTH. For a month I had attempted to watch the documentary called “Being Elmo” because it looked interesting. Each time I was met with resistance from my ten year old son. William would declare that anything with Elmo would not be appropriate for his mature age. He would bolster himself up, making me miss the toddler who once ran this house like a speedway. I tried to explain that the movie was about more than just ‘kid stuff’, but he was having none of my mother logic.

About two weeks ago William came down with the strep virus and became my daytime buddy while he recovered. It was just the two of us as his fever fought the battle. By day 3 he was looking for books to read and television to watch. I decided that I would take a morning off and sit with him for a movie. We browsed our selection and I finally convinced William to take a look at the documentary. From the moment  it began, he was hooked on the human story of Kevin Clash. Several times he rewound the film to look at a detail or discuss a development in the story as it unfolded.

When “Being Elmo” finished William immediately began looking for the movies which Kevin Clash had considered pivotal in his learning or career. These were the movies which were visions of the talented Jim Henson, and each represented technical innovations or breakthroughs in special effects and storytelling. William first watched Labyrinth, which was released in 1986. He then moved onto The Storyteller and The Storyteller: Greek Myths. He became more and more engrossed in the beauty of storytelling and the technical skill which make this appear seamless.

Fast forward a week later. William is back to himself. I was still smiling about the connections he made as a result of Kevin Clash’s determination and thirst for learning. We visited the High Museum in Atlanta for a parenting blogger event. My kids got tired of waiting for me so they went around introducing themselves at the various tables and asking a million questions. As I finally made my way to the table hosted by the Center for Puppetry Arts, I heard William excitedly discussing “Being Elmo” and Kevin Clash by name with the staff member.

I was rendered speechless. It was obvious he had been mulling things over in his mind since those sick days and had come up with his own conclusions about the human journey and opportunities made for a young man, not unlike himself. The movie is not at all about Elmo, but about making a dream happen with hard work.

To say I recommend this movie is an understatement. It’s inspiring to see a body of work displayed with the long journey required. It’s important to show this to our children.
{I would only caution those with small children to consider the fact that seeing this might take away some of the magic.}

Have you given (or set up) technology for your parents? I’d love to hear about your successes and failures in this area!

HOW DO YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS? Teaching children to understand the issues of need in our world seems like an overwhelming topic. As our children grew, we were able to participate in ‘hands on” projects here in our local community. The nights where we serve dinner at a recovery facility have become pivotal to our family discussions. Often when we get in the car – hot and messy from cooking and serving the meal – a question will rise from the backseat about someone they have met or a situation they had never realized was possible.

I’ll admit that those discussions are on the reasons I keep coming back to the commitment we’ve made with our small group. That and the fact that I get to look broken people in the eye and understand how we are all broken at some point in our life. I like doing something concrete and palpable on a regular basis. We don’t do it perfectly, but we do get involved. That’s half the battle – making a construbite to participate and then following through.

Recently I was asked to join the Clever Girls Collective campaign for Members Unite, in part because of our family involvement in community service. After doing my research I thought this was a great opportunity to share a bit of the concept with you. The concept of world need is not new, but the way information has been gathered to build a group consensus on projects is sincerely fresh and new. It’s based on these steps:

Each month a collection of projects…really well run, well developed ideas…are loaded onto the Members Unite site. You choose the site which has the greatest meaning to your family. The project your family decides can help in their eyes. Behind each topic are links, resources, and personal stories which help you understand and explain the concepts and intention of each project.

So I’ve signed up our family for the first month. ($5 plus the yearly admin fee of $25 / 100% of the donation goes to the chosen project and the admin fee covers all other costs involved for the organizers.) William stood by my side as we discussed the process. Initially he may have been waiting for me to finish so he could log onto a favorite game…but then he became involved in the ideas presented on the site. William is a big strong athlete, but he has a heart of gold. He smiles at babies and bends down to pet everyone’s dog. When we serve at The Extension, he sits at a table with strangers and asks what kind of job they are working. And now…he’s concerned about providing service dogs for returning military members which need support for mental and physical effects of the deployments which happened 7000+ miles away.

William moved me aside and began to read through each project. In the end he felt a pull towards the needs of our returning soldiers. We’ve watched as our military friends have had service dogs trained in their honor, so perhaps that swayed him. Now we wait and see what the crowdsourcing of everyone else’s money will influence. We’ll have our answer within the month. The goal is to have $5000 to donate to the chosen cause each month. It’s a do-able goal done together.

There are “lobbies” where you can discuss the projects with others or lobby for their support. You are allowed to give ratings to all the projects listed and offer comments to have your voice heard. In addition there are opportunities to offer ideas for next month’s projects. I love the involvement level despite the fact we are online, we are drawn into the details of serving. If you decide to join, please leave me a comment below so I know.

Members Unite is a great opportunity to donate to bigger causes…but even more important, it’s an opportunity to speak with your kids about helping others. Kindness is something this world could use more. Taking actions like these make good things happen. Let me know what you think about Members Unite.

About Members Unite:
Members Unite is a simple, interactive, fun way to fund amazing projects. We find the most interesting, impactful, meaningful projects and then let our members figure out which ones get funded. This is possible because the projects are funded through member contributions. And the members ultimately control the outcome each month. We’re all in this together. There’s a saying we love… One person giving $20 is a drop in the ocean. One thousand people giving $20 brings clean water to a village for a lifetime. Members Unite helps us all do more than we could do on our own.

As part of the Members Unite blog team I have been compensated to review their ideas and try the program with my family. I always speak my mind and you can be guaranteed that I will only write the truth here on Mundane Magic. 

MY LATEST ARTICLE ON THE SAVVY SOURCE WAS PUBLISHED TODAY.  I’ve been waiting anxiously for this publishing date because I had some fun exploring the High and the possibilities for fun within it’s white walls. So often museums are considered a boring option for family fun…at least that’s how the first impression occurs. Don’t believe me? Try saying the words “amusement park”, “movies”, and “museum” and see your kid’s reactions. I think we sell art museums—especially ones with ideas for families to experience their art—short.

It’s no secret that my family has found fun at the High Museum. Last Spring we included it as part of our city adventure day by using MARTA to navigate us to the various stops. You can follow the details of our adventure in the first and second posts where we then discovered an exhibition being set up…and an artist/scientist who was willing to share his excitement with our children. It was completely unplanned and incredibly memorable. So much so that they begged to go see the opening lecture and revisit the artist a week later. Truth be told, my kids had done their research on voxels after the encounter and understood what Joris Laarman was referencing more than the adults in the audience. To me, that is real learning!

Come visit my new article and perhaps try the High Museum of Art on your next downtown adventure:

BEING A PARENT IS HARD. BEING A PARENT OF A TODDLER IS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT IT PREPARES YOU FOR THE COMPLICATION OF TEENS. Any parents of teenagers agreeing with me at this moment? I’m not trying to scare anyone. Just tell the truth.

Amazingly, this post is not a rant about my teenager. The situation that caused this post — totally about what teen parents will face with this new generation. I want to say at the beginning that I am proud of my husband. He may well have had the patient parenting moment of the century. Let me explain.

Earlier this week my husband gets a FaceBook notification concerning a photo comment. The comment is quoted in his notification and it makes my dear husband fall off of his seat…figuratively speaking. The word and acronyms used are rude, vulgar, and are written under a family photo taken in November. Right there, under all the kind friend comments sits a real stinker of teenage stupidity from a young man who attends high school with our daughter.

My husband took a screen shot to preserve the moment of evidence.

Dave then begins to look for contact information associated with the comment. That’s when I get the phone call and we take a look in the school directory. It doesn’t take us long to have parent names and phone numbers. Thank you PTA. Dave calls late that afternoon hoping to catch someone at home. First time a voice answers and then quickly hangs up. The second time there is simply a pickup/hangup end to the call. Hmmm, I wonder who is answering…any bets on whether Mr. Facebook is receiving calls?

The next day Dave drops by the house after taking Will to baseball practice. The father comes to the door. Dave calmly says that apparently there has been an inappropriate FaceBook message. He goes on to say that although we pay attention to our daughter, we really don’t know everything she broadcasts to the world as a teenager. (And that’s just the honest reality of this digital age.) And then he ends by saying that he would appreciate someone notifying him if this issue ever came up in our household.

Truth be told, I had assumed there would be some defensiveness from the offender’s parents. Instead the calm, father-to-father understanding was met with appreciation. The father promised to get to the bottom of the situation.

About an hour later we were finishing dinner. The home phone rang and the name which flashed on the caller id matched the one seen earlier on FaceBook. I sushed everyone and then heard the tidbits of a very humble and polite young man. He explained that while at a party (and bored) he had logged into facebook on a friend’s computer, but never logged out. He apologized for the whole incident.

Whatever the cause of the remark, this lesson has taught us all new lessons. Parenting lessons, gentleman lessons for the offender, and a few examples of how we are paying attention to even the stray comment which affects our family name.  The comment could have been simply deleted, but that wouldn’t have made the impression on everyone involved. The older my children become, the more complicated the situations.

I want to express my thanks to both my husband and the father of the offender. Those are the examples of behavior which will last beyond the temporary FaceBook post and affect the hearts of their children. 

I REVEALED MY LOVE OF THE VISUAL BOOKMARKING SITE CALLED PINTEREST RECENTLY. Initially I was drawn to the graphic feel of the site. You can browse images for hours looking at all kinds of crafting ideas, home design and organization, gorgeous outfits and even shoes. It’s a type of shopping…only no buying. (My husband should appreciate that fact, right?)

The real strength of Pinterest is it’s ability to organize ideas and line up projects for special occasions like birthdays or Christmas. Pinboards filled with ideas for a kitchen makeover or laundry room reorganization are easily kept together for you as you pin them. I used this board:

to keep ideas for Grace’s 7th birthday together.

And I keep all the craft ideas I want to try on one board:

When the holidays came around I began to put some of those idea finds to work. I needed teacher and hostess gifts and I didn’t want to buy the usual items. I remembered a project for tile drink coasters which was posted on my friend Ashley’s awesome blog, The Handmade Home. I’ve been following Ashley’s art and design work for years – not to mention laughing along with her growing family’s antics. Not too long ago she was on the Nate Berkus Show and rocked that fame big time. She’s an Auburn girl like me, so you know we have the best in design training. {War Eagle to all the Auburn design geeks out there!) Anyway, I used my handy dandy Pinterest link to find the tutorial.

So I set about to buy all the items necessary:

• Mod Podge
• Cotton Fabric
• Ceramic Tiles
• Felt “feet”
• Brushes
• Scissors

As usual, I started the project after kid bedtime. It didn’t take me long to get in the crafting zone. So relaxing and satisfying. The step-by-step directions worked perfectly and I can honestly say that the options are endless with this idea. You can take it and put your own spin on it. I used cotton quilting fabric because it was the right weight and price, but you may want to use a favorite shirt or a pretty napkin you find. That’s the beauty of Mod Podge and the technique combined with your ideas. Here are three of the sets I created:

and they’ve gotten good reviews thus far from the teachers and friends I’ve gifted. In fact, I plan on having some of these on hand regularly as hostess gifts.

Head on over to my friend Meghan’s blog, JaMonkey, and look at the other Project Pinterest ideas shared there. Add yours to the linky or use her Project Pinterest Facebook page to share. Time to put those Pinterest ideas to work!

LET’S JUST CALL THIS THURSDAY TECH FROM NOW ON… We were waiting for a table at Steak ‘n’ Shake after the Christmas holiday. Our family was out to take advantage of the sales and use the gift cards we had received from Grandparents. My husband had his iPad under his arm. Suddenly the elderly woman in front of him struck up a conversation explaining that she had just received an Amazon Fire, but was ready to return it out of frustration. “Did you hear about the software upgrade which was announced a day ago? That may solve some of your problems.” said my husband.

“No, I had no idea? Should I just send the whole thing back and try to reorder it after they get all this mess situated?”

Not sure how this conversation went from an introductory comment to advice request in just a few minutes, my husband began showing her his iPad and how he uses it. About ten minutes later he came to the table. Sometimes getting the latest and greatest doesn’t always mean a happy user. Technology is a blessing and a curse…especially to some generations.

Did your family receive a new gadget, technology tool, or complicated toy for the holidays? I’m interested in knowing:

• If you LOVE or HATE your new device?
• Does anything ANNOY you about using of setting it up?
• Did you have to consult a child as a TECH EXPERT?
• Do you have BUYER’s REMORSE and wish you’d never bought it?
• Does anything CONCERN you — security? parental controls? why you need it?

I’m here for you…need to vent about the new devices which invaded your house during Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa?

MAMMA MIA, HERE I GO AGAIN. MY, MY – HOW COULD I FORGET YOU? This weekend is an ABBA You Can Dance weekend at our house. Everything is almost ready to go.

Mirror Ball? Check!

Funky Glasses? Check!

ABBA You Can Dance game from UbiSoft? A must! {Run immediately and buy your wife one of these games right away…so. much. fun!}

You know how the holidays bring together all kinds of people? How being together is part of the deal? Well, I’m probably one of the most social people you’ll meet…but I have to admit that it gets a little busy around the holidays. I absolutely love having family and friends come through my door, but what happens when they crowd into the kitchen? I’m prepared this time…it’s time to have a dance party while I am cooking them food. This weekend I’ll be hosting some 70′s fun and I can’t wait. In fact, the party may go on all weekend. I hope my dog doesn’t howl too loud when I sing “Dancing Queen”.

I’ll keep posting updates all weekend if you’ll promise to laugh and dance along with me. Growing up in the 70′s did have it’s benefits…

How about you? What do you love about the 70′s?

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

JUST GOT THE NEWS RELEASE FROM THE NEW LEGOLAND WHICH IS BEING BUILT HERE IN ATLANTA. There was a contest to determine the Top 10 Atlanta Landmarks which would be built especially for the Atlanta LEGOLAND at Phipp’s Plaza. Here it is straight from their Media release:

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta Reveals Winning Sites to be Built in Custom MINILAND Exhibit

Landmark Contest Concludes as 10 Top Attraction Highlights Prepare to Receive the LEGO Treatment

ATLANTA (November 18, 2011) – For months, Atlanta has been buzzing about its newest family attraction, LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Atlanta. Brick buffs the city over have gotten in on the LEGO® action with a contest to choose which landmarks will appear in the attraction’s signature MINILAND® exhibit. After rounds of nominations and voting for the top 20 contenders, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta unveils the 10 winning sites that will be immortalized in LEGO bricks.

Area LEGO lovers voted, and the following 10 Atlanta icons will be featured in the MINILAND portion of LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta:

Bank of America Building

Fox Theatre

Georgia Dome

Georgia Aquarium

High Museum of Art

King and Queen Towers

Stone Mountain

The Varsity

Turner Field

World of Coca Cola

“We were thrilled to learn that the Georgia Aquarium was selected as one of the top Atlanta attractions to be built in LEGOLAND Discovery Center’s MINILAND,” explains Georgia Aquarium Vice President of Marketing & Communications Scott Higley.  “It means a lot to us that Atlanta residents consider the Aquarium one of the leading architectural icons in our city.  We look forward to the opening of LEGOLAND Discovery Center and are eager to see Georgia Aquarium constructed once again, LEGO-style, brick by colorful brick.”

On being chosen for the project, Fox Theatre General Manager Allan C. Vella remarked, “We are honored to be selected to be included in the new LEGOLAND Discovery Center MINILAND here in Atlanta, and we cannot wait to see our National Historic Landmark recreated! I am eager to see how the master builders accomplish our intricate designs.”

“Atlanta will be well-represented in the iconic MINILAND exhibit,” said Jonathan Giles, marketing manager for LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta. “Learning what Atlantans love most about their city has been a great way to get to know our future LEGOLAND Discovery Center visitors. We look forward to continuing to build excitement in Atlanta for our newest engaging, family-focused experience.”

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta is scheduled to open in Phipps Plaza in April 2012. This will be the third LEGOLAND Discovery Center in the United States. Described as stepping into the biggest box of LEGO bricks in the world, the $15 million, 30,000-square-foot interactive attraction will feature a MINILAND exhibit which recreates landmark buildings in Atlanta out of LEGO bricks, hands-on play areas, a 4D Cinema, master classes from the LEGO Master Model Builder, LEGO rides, and special party rooms for birthdays and other celebrations. This highly interactive and educational 2-3 hour indoor experience is ideal for families with children.

I’m looking forward to this opening. Have you ever been to a LEGOLAND in another city?

I’VE BEEN GETTING SOME EXCITING EMAILS THIS WEEK FROM THE GAMING COMPANY, UBISOFT. Because I was selected as a UbiChamp Blogger, I get many of their press releases long before they hit the news stand. Nothing worse than a geeky tech lover who gets excited over the new ideas for families.

A Creative Holiday Idea

Today I saw the email for UbiSoft’s new tablet interface for the Wii. It looks perfect for little hands and clumsy parent hands, too. I can’t wait to get my hands on one and try it out. Just hearing the word “Whoa” come out of Will’s mouth was enough to convince me that it could be a fun peripheral to add to our collection. Take a look at this preview video and tell me what you think. Fun, right?

Come Visit Me at The Savvy Source

My latest article in The Savvy Source features ideas for rainy days. {Actually, some of you have already had snowy days!} I’ve rounded up some ideas for indoor playgrounds, playgroup fun, and even a work/play situation or two if you have to finish up a conference call while your little one plays. I’d love to have you visit Savvy Source and leave a comment if you have any other ideas for Atlanta and other areas. I’m sure there are plenty of other options…

There is one sure truth in parenting:
Kid energy must be used everyday for a household to function and a mother to stay sane!

YESTERDAY WAS WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAYS ARE CRAZY AT OUR HOUSE. I spent most of the afternoon running people where they needed to be and then picking them up. It seemed like everyone had to be picked up at the same moment. Mom cloning could be a b-i-g business!

This afternoon we are going to do something a little fun. After the homework and chores I am going to bake cookies with my kids. Not homemade since it is a school night, but still…who doesn’t love a warm cookie out of the oven? I could read all the ingredients…rare in most mixes, as you know.

I received a little bundle on my doorstep from Betty Crocker with their new Molasses Cookie Mix and I am anxious to try it. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Another thing I am excited about?

Tomorrow is the TEDx Peachtree conference here in Atlanta. I had to be selected from a list and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to listen to innovators in their respective fields. I’ll have more information about the conference later, but you might want to go to their site and listen to the talks from the last few years. Really special moments in a world that seems very chaotic at times.

See you this afternoon.

I STILL HEAR THE GRUMBLING AND COMPLAINING DAILY. I know some of you do not like change. You never have and you never will…but change is inevitable in the world of technology. Technology is always evolving. So what to do when you are unhappy with something a spunky company like Facebook has changed?

I actually like change. A lot of the updates to Facebook haven’t bothered me. Two things have annoyed me though:

1. Where are my friends and their statuses? I have over 950 friends, but somehow Facebook determined that I only wanted to see 10% of their updates. Dislike.
2. The incessant scrolling in the right hand column. It could make anyone crazy. Enough said.

So I looked high and low for the settings. I’ve done it before and had great success. This time I could not find the right settings. I was able to make the scrolling area smaller, but no luck making it disappear. That’s when I began to think about how a work around could be made. The following is just a temporary solution, but I thought I would offer it to anyone who was interested.

The comments are in dark orange on the screenshots. Ready to try it?

FIRST, go to the left hand column below you profile picture. Move down to the “LISTS” section and click on that header:

SECOND, the lists will load which you have previously created. Click on the “Create a List” button and then select a name for your new list:

THIRD, Name your list whatever you want. I named mine “All”. Click the blue “Create List” button:

FOURTH, you are now going to add whomever you want into that new list. Because I was curious at what I had missed I took the time to select literally all of my friends. To begin this process you need to click “Add friends” below the newspaper icon.

FIFTH, The lovely profiles of your friends and family will show up in a box like this and you simply click on the ones you want to select. See my friend Alicia Hagen? She has a check mark on her profile picture indicating that I have selected her. After you finish your selections, click “Done”.

ONE CATCH:

You will need to click on the list you created each time you want this view. It’s a small price to pay for having your screen set up like you want it.

Any questions?

ON TUESDAY A GROUP OF GEORGIA SOCIAL MEDIA MOMS (AND DADS) VISITED CNN FOR A SPECIAL TOUR. The group has been such a wonderful resource for those of us who blog or consult in social media in the Atlanta area. My friend Desiree, who is Mommy Reporter, planned the event and made all the reservations. Apparently the tour was updated about a year ago so even local Atlantans who have ‘seen it all’ may want to revisit the next time they are sightseeing. I learned that the 8 story long escalator was actually the entryway to an amusement park at one time. Yes, CNN Center was briefly home to an amusement park called The World of Sid and Marty Krofft. I had no idea of that fun fact until yesterday’s tour.

We had an excellent behind the scenes tour given by our tour guide Jason. He allowed any questions and gave the group plenty of time to soak in the details of each newsroom setup or studio window. I believe they do that for every group though. The tour was not rushed and allowed for time to enjoy the artwork and photos along the way of recent news milestones. There was an “n” on the wall in one area. It was the last letter in Saddam Hussein’s name at the Saddam International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq. I thought that was a neat relic considering much of the way CNN functions today began during the First Gulf War in 1990. I remember watching CNN as a Navy wife.

And then I photographed something unique. So unique that I had to have my teenager explain the character to me. I’m not big on letting the kids watch all of the Cartoon Network shows so I certainly don’t know all the characters. I’m quite sure they know all the characters anyway, despite my attempts at media parenting. Apparently this is Lady Rainicorn. So popular they had to put a barrier around her I guess. 

And this is the rest of Lady Rainicorn inside the Cartoon Network store at CNN Center. Here is the character sketch I found on her courtesy of Wikipedia:

Lady Rainicorn (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker in the short, Niki Yang in the TV series) – Princess Bubblegum’s half-rainbow, half-unicorn steed. She can turn objects and people different colors. She has a love of the viola. She can fly because she can intercept light and can dance on it. She’s Jake’s girlfriend and they play music together. Jake describes her as “The Rowdy Queen” because she can have fun and fight evil. In the short, she makes pigeon-like sounds, and as of the TV series, she is speaking Korean. In both cases, despite being unable to speak the main language of the series, she is able to understand it.

Did you understand that? So, that’s what I learned on Tuesday!

SSSHHHH! SIT STILL! BE QUIET! I remember a time when I dreaded any moment which involved waiting quietly with my young ones. Keeping a child busy and content during a situation where quiet is required becomes a survival skill for motherhood. A restaurant, church services, doctor’s offices…the list goes on and on. Adults seem to have no problem hanging around a dinner table…but young kids cannot wait to leave it as soon as they are finished eating (or even before their meal is complete!).

Over the years I have found that there are some simple, non-electronic items which allow open ended play in these scary motherhood moments. Eventually I developed a mini-toolkit of small items which could be brought out during these moments. The bonus is that they are simple, easy to find play items which are actually good for your child’s learning and creativity. You will be surprised at how quickly time passes as they learn to entertain themselves. You may even finish a restaurant meal in peace. For mothers of young children that is considered a treat!

5 Ways to Entertain a Young Child

{without electronics}

HAVE YOU SEEN PINTEREST? I love it! It’s a way to keep ideas in scrapbook form by pinning them on “boards” in themes that you create. If you visit a website and see something that you want to remember, just “pin it” on your board. All the proper credits and difficulties of uploading images are done by the Pinterest site. Oh my, I could brainstorm on this site for days…

Like the color blue? Why not immerse yourself in all things blue?

Looking for ideas for a child’s room? Here are some ideas:

Now this is technology put to a good use!

FACEBOOK CHANGES? NOT AGAIN! The changes drive you crazy. Just as you’ve figured out all the tricks, Mark Zuckerburg goes and changes FaceBook on you again. The first thing you want to scream?

“Leave my FaceBook alone!”

It is great being connected to your friends and family though…admit it, you know more about what’s going on in their daily lives now. With 750+ million users of FaceBook, one could say that the connection theory has been accepted by the masses. {yes, ‘the masses’, that’s us} Moving forward I see the exploration of tools and ideas which allow members to take action and share in new ways. That’s why you are seeing more changes to FaceBook. Wednesday’s conference made the following changes a reality:

1. FACEBOOK CALLING – Using Skype technology you will be able to call your friends directly from Facebook.
2. CHAT CHANGES – Include the ability to see a list of the friends you chat with most often at the top of your chat list and also be able to have group chats with those you select as the chat is happening.
3. VIDEO CHATS – Video chats will now be possible between multiple individuals.
4. PHOTO CHANGES – Include facial recognition which will assist you with tagging and group tagging will now be available. The photo viewer has been recently upgraded to use higher resolutions and faster photo paging. The photo uploader has become more stable and photos can be downloaded now.
5. DEALS AND DISCOUNTS – Check-in deals are currently be offered in the select cities of Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco. The hope is to offer these in other areas soon.

I know most of us would prefer that FaceBook just stay the same…but like all technology, it is moving forward. No need to be scared. Knowledge is power.

Now that you know the basics, you can explain it to some other poor soul who cries out:

“Please, no more changes to my FaceBook….Nooooo!” or “Facebook will be charging a fee starting tomorrow. Repost this to all of your friends if you want to stop it!”

You, my friend, can be the voice of reason leading them toward the future.

IMPROMPTU CONVERSATIONS YIELD A GLIMPSE INTO WHAT YOUR KIDS THINK ABOUT THE ERA YOU GREW UP I think I’ve said it before, but the funniest conversations happen in the car. Especially in the car with kids. Here’s a portion of conversation that happened yesterday:

Jordan: “…and then there is that saxophone player who died last week. What’s his name? Oh yeah I think it’s that Kenny G guy.”

Me: “Clarence Clemons died a couple of weeks ago. He is the one you are thinking of…and do you know who he played with?”

From the backseat chorus: “What? Someone related to Alana died? Clemons? What? Who is Clarence?”

Jordan: “That rocker guy.”

Me, completely agahast: “Yesss, that rocker guy who happens to be named Bruce Springsteen. Clarence Clemons played with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.”

Jordan: “Oh, well, he’s OK. I like one or two of his songs.”

I internally scream and then say: “I’m sure Bruce Springsteen is concerned about you liking his music. So how in the world did you mix up Kenny G with Clarence Clemons?”

Jordan: “He made a guest appearance on Katy Perry’s new song and video…”Last Friday Night TGIF” He plays the Saxophone pretty good.”

Me: “Do you know who Kenny G is?”

Jordan: “Not really…well, except for that video.”

From the backseat chorus: “Kenny G! Kenny G! Kenny G! Mama, who is Kenny G?”

Me: “Well, he is one of the most masterful musicians from the eighties. He and Clarence Clemons are famous for being great musicians in popular music.”

Jordan: “Well, he’s cool except for that weird hair of his.”

I hang my head and give up…

Hope you are having a great weekend with your own backseat chorus!

HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LISTENED TO THE LYRICS OF POPULAR SONGS? I don’t think this begins to happen until you have kids.

Specifically your first child.

And then every single “inappropriate” word jumps out at you like…like…like, well like a pig squealing in Walmart.

R-e-a-l-l-y l-o-u-d-l-y.

Do you remember this moment? I do.

We love the Fish 104.7 here. It’s an awesome Christian station here in our area with some rocking artists. And no, I am not old and prudish. I find it keeps my focus on the positive and doesn’t distract me from my daily tasks. But we do listen to the local pop and rock stations occasionally, too. It’s a fact of having teenagers that you have to face. Eventually your child will hear music in a store, during a birthday party, at another friend’s house, or at a restaurant. You can’t shield them from the world forever. GASP!

So here I am with my third child. She’s been exposed to two older siblings. As we say in the South, “Bless her little heart!”

The other day I hear Grace singing along to “The Lazy Song” by Bruno Mars. I can’t blame her in one way – it’s got a catchy tune and sounds like the perfect song for summertime. It’s clever, especially with it’s lyrics. We get to verse two and I hear that pig squealing in my ear…SQUEAL!

“…tomorrow I’ll wake up, do some P90X
Find a really nice girl, have some really nice…”

You can fill in the blank yourself. The word has three letters. Got it? Hear the pig squealing now? How nice to hear my almost seven year old singing along. Not.

So, what to do? Shield her from all technology? Never listen to popular music? Lock her away in the castle? Limit her, make rules, create boundaries…?

Well, I learned something recently that told me my instincts were right. Strengthening a child’s inner voice is much more powerful than limiting them with rules and external boundaries.

The Orange Conference and what I found there:

I recently attended the Orange Conference (thanks to a dear friend’s extra ticket) and I found a wealth of information to share with you. One of the resources I picked up was a study done by David Kinnaman and the Barna Group called “State of the Church and Family 2011: The Family and Technology Study” and it’s focus was how technology is helping families – and where they need help.

Their findings are insightful and I wanted to share them with you. The data is rich and actually asks the questions about technology and how it affects family life that have not been asked before. The six main findings about the application of family technology are this:

1. We are modeling the way; our kids are following our lead.
2. Technology isn’t good or evil. It reveals or amplifies what is already there.
3. We are very connected, but perhaps to people who are not in the room.
4. Conversations can become transactional, but need to be relational.
5. Technology can foster ego-centric living.
6. If you are a leader, you should facilitate this conversation.

Point #2 speaks right to my little radio lyric song with Grace. In appropriate language and sexual innuendoes existed long before the radio, the television, the internet. I need to teach her an internal character and not just regulate her with absolute limits. And to her credit, she immediately said after that song verse, “I don’t think that is very nice, do you Mama?”

There’s definitely hope in this generation…with or without technology. If we don’t pay attention to what is happening, we will not be part of the conversation though. Your thoughts?

Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.  ~Lois Wyse

No wonder grandchildren are the joy of your life…they keep us all learning through the years. You will never regret being a part of their lives in any way possible.