Things to Make - Paint-Your-Own American Girl T-Shirt

As a kid, I made an iron-on-t-shirt for my Cabbage Patch Kid, Cybil Lily. Nowdays when F plays with Cybil she loves to dress her in the t-shirt I designed. So I thought it would be fun to let the girls decorate t-shirts for their dolls. I purchased a pack of 5 American Girl sized shirts from Amazon for $22 (available here) and glitter fabric paint (similar to this). On the upside, all three kids LOVED this project. On the downside, the squirt paint was a little above their skill level. Both the girls started out making pretty designs, but then ended up smearing everything together. I thought this meant a failed project, but two days later the girls couldn't wait to dress their dolls in the one-of-a-kind homemade t-shirts. The paint ended up drying very hard and VERY sparkly (lots of bling), which made all three kids happy.

CREATIVE IDEAS FROM AROUND THE WEB:

*25 Indoor Activities to Keep Your Toddler Occupied This Winter.

*My pinterest Xmas folder has several seasonal craft ideas. Click here to view it.

*This construction paper sculpture looks easy and fun.

*Interview your kids every few months and see how things change.

Places to Go - Ballerinas at the Phillips Collection and Tea at the Ritz (but the highlight, as always, was the metro)

A few weeks ago, Grandma M and C, the children's cousin, came to town for a girls' day of Degas' ballerinas at the Phillips Collection and teddy bear tea at the Ritz. Of course, such a big event demanded fancy dresses, so we broke out the Xmas outfits a little early this year and the girls couldn't have been happier.



We parked at Pentagon City and took the metro to the museum. Never underestimate the power of a train ride to enthrall kids, I love how, when you're young, the excitement of the journey equals the thrill of the destination. Regarding the Phillips Collection's Degas exhibit the girls saw one painting and became so excited that they danced through the crowd. As cute as this sounds, when people pay $12 for admission to an art museum, they ARE NOT amused when preschoolers bump into them. Luckily the exhibit also includes a movie of a ballet and a mirror with a ballet bar, which helped keep my twirling children away from other museum patrons. If you're interested the exhibit runs through January 8, admission is free for people 18 and under.

After the museum, we hopped back on the metro and headed for afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City. As soon as we entered the hotel, P said "mom, this place is beautiful, imagine if we lived here." This sense of awe and wonder penetrated the rest of the "meal" - sparkling wall paper, cups full of hot chocolate, sandwiches and beautiful sweets. I've never seen the girls so well-behaved. They loved every minute of it. And Grandma M and I loved our bellinis. At the end of the meal we surprised P with special birthday cupcakes (5, she is 5!!). If you want to visit, the Ritz Pentagon City serves tea on weekend afternoons. Children's tea only costs $16, adult prices range from $29 to $42 per person.



MONDAY LINKS:

*Melanie Rodriguez. Beautiful.

*The difference between nerd, geek, and dork graphed through venn diagram. This explains a lot.

*Kid-Friendly DC's WONDERFUL LIST of DC's Best Holiday Events. So much to do.

*I love these watercolors by Tobias Tovera.

*A trench bridge (via Miss Moss).



5 years old. Wowsers.

Things to Read - DC-Based Blogs that I'm Thankful For

Last year for Thanksgiving I posted on some of my favorite mom blogs. One year later and that list still contains my daily reads. So this year I thought I'd post on my favorite local blogs. Here goes:

1. KidFriendly DC - the absolutely best resource for things to do in DC with kids. I especially love the Friday lists, full of so many great activities that it often necessitates a change in plans. Plus I love reading the funny headlines and well-written reviews.

2. Go Out and Play! - very similar to Kidfriendly DC, except that Melissa, the blog's author, tends to concentrate on events in the Northern Virginia/Arlington area. She's especially good at finding nature center classes and storytimes, a must read.

3. Not-So-SAHM - This relatively-new blog has tons of great crafts and places to go. Plus the writing is funny. I love that the author always "keeps it real" by demonstrating how messy (and fun) kids can be, especially when it comes to crafts.

4. But I Do Have a Law Degree - I don't actually read many blogs, I usually just skim them and look at the pictures. But I do read this blog. As a former big-firm lawyer turned stay-at-home mom I can relate to Shannon's stories about leaving a high-pressure work environment. But most of all I love her funny sketches of daily life.

5. Snoburbia - Funny. Snarky. And true.

6. The Natural Capital - A great resource for days spent outside. I especially love the posts on "things to look for" by month, which make "nature exploring" all the more fun.

7. The Meanest Momma - Playground reviews. Menu plans. Crossfit. Lost of fun places to go with kids. And info about daily life.

8. This is Marzipan - Tons of creative inspiration, making me wish I knew how to sew. Plus beautiful pictures. Lots of beautiful pictures.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

Things to Do - A Wedding!!

You know how the story goes, two people meet, they fall in love and one day they - have a commitment ceremony? Wait, that's SO 2008. Let's try again - two people meet, they fall in love, they pledge their love in front of family and friends, they have two kids together, their love grows stronger, 10 years pass, and FINALLY DC says they can marry each other too. What a great day to celebrate, actually aren't most weddings great days to celebrate? Especially ones where you know the couple is in it for the long haul?

Even though this simple, beautiful ceremony didn't really create anything new between Julia and Tracie - they'll still go home, raise their children, look forward to an occasional date night - it did remind everyone present what "marriage" really means, the commitment and the love. And how lucky two people are to find each other in this world. Especially when those two people continue to grow better together, year after year.



F clapped and clapped at the ceremony's end, she's such a romantic. My children have attended two weddings in their short lifetime - one interracial and one gay. I can't help but reflect on how different their experiences are from my own childhood, not that my parents wouldn't have supported such celebrations, rather, during my childhood my family just didn't know any gay or interracial couples. When I think about all the bad things in the world, it makes me feel better to think that some things seem to be improving, that as a society we're starting to accept the idea that love is love, regardless of sex or skin color.

Things to Make - Make-Your-Own Pizza

Last February, when we visited Denver, my friend C put together a make-your-own pizza dinner. My kids loved it, then (as often happens) I forgot about it. But a few weeks ago Not-So-SAHM posted on her family's make-your-own pizza night, reminding me that Trader Joe's sells pre-made dough. So we tried it ourselves last week and the dinner had unanticipated benefits. F loved making her own pizza so much that after she added the cheese she seemed sad that the process was so fast ("it needs more color mom"), so we raided the fridge for broccoli, prosciutto, and even a tiny bit of cauliflower. If we had ordered pizza, F NEVER would have eaten such toppings, but apparently when you make your own the more veggies the better - she ate every bite. I think make-your-own pizza night will become a regular "event."

Just a reminder that the Land of Nod giveaway ends tonight at 8 pm eastern time. So you still have time to enter.