Why

I like to think of myself as a fun mom--a mom who enjoys doing things with and for my kids. Doing things that delight them. Honestly? I absolutely love it.

Why do I love it? Well, I'm so glad you asked.

Actually, the question has come up a few times lately. Here's my answer.

--I only get one shot at this thing called parenting. I'm not out to be my kids' best friend. I say no a lot, but it's WAY more fun to say yes. I want to live with no regrets!

--I want my kids to look back on their childhood and on our home and remember that we had FUN together. That we played games, and acted silly, and made up crazy names for each other, and that dinnertime always always ended with jokes about bodily noises, and that we slept on the trampoline, and played freeze tag in the backyard, and watched movies outside and made s'mores even when we weren't camping. And that we laughed. A lot.

--I L-O-V-E summer. I love making it feel fun and different and celebratory for my family. I love celebrating ordinary days in special ways. It's a big part of who I am.

I'm not a perfect mom.

I'm not always fun.

I lose my patience. And my temper.

I get frustrated.

I react. And over-react. 

I yell.

I complain.

I feel sorry for myself.

But when my head hits my pillow at night, I am completely overwhelmed with love and gratitude for my family. They are a gift that I've been given and I desire to do everything I can to celebrate these people and the gift that they are to me. And that is why I do what I do.

Fun Mom Friday: Movie and S'more Pops

Will came up with an fantastic idea for a fun family activity this week.

He wanted to watch a movie outside one evening so we took our small television with a built-in dvd player outside and made it happen!

We popped a big bowl of popcorn, but we also made Rae's S'more Pops, a fun twist on traditional s'mores! 

You stick large marshmallows on lollipop sticks (or a plastic fork in our case) and dip in melted chocolate (I melted Hershey's milk chocolate chips in the microwave) and then dip in crushed graham crackers. Easy, fun, and yummy! Thanks for such a great idea, Rae!

This was such a simple idea for big fun. All five of us, six if you include Jack-the-Fat-Beagle, sat under the stars on a perfect summer night watching one of our favorite movies. I'm going to be soooooo sad when summer ends. 

Were you a fun mom this week? I know you guys are fun because I read your blogs and you inspire me all the time! Link up here with your own fun idea. Moriah happens to be a real-life friend of mine, but you don't have to know her (or even read her blog regularly) to link up!

Happy Weekend to you all!

Fun Mom Friday: Watermelon, Anyone?

I came across this recipe for watermelon cookies this week and knew immediately that Sarah and Abbey would LOVE to make some.

Didn't they turn out cute? They were as yummy as they look, and surprisingly they didn't taste a thing like watermelon!

I have to admit that baking with my kids isn't one of my favorite things. But you know what? They love it. They chatter and smile the entire time and that makes me happy! 

Have a fun mom idea of your own? Visit here and link up! 

Fun Mom Friday: Under the Stars

At the beginning of July I asked the kids if they'd like to sleep on the trampoline one night. They enthusiastically replied "YES!!!!!" and then they asked me if I'd join them. Without really thinking I said I would. But that night...and for many nights after that...it rained. If it wasn't storming at bedtime, then we had chances of thunderstorms and at our altitude you don't mess around with lightning or the chance of lightning.

So we waited. And waited. And waited some more.

This week we finally had a night without rain or the chance of a storm in sight so we piled sleeping bags and blankets and pillows on the trampoline and spent the night under the stars.

(Had to have a little bedtime snack...and some dancing...before we settled in for the night. Smile.)

We even talked John into joining us! He and Abbey were the last two sleepyheads to come inside.

We did this the night before Sarah's birthday, hence the reason we were all up super early that morning.

Things we didn't factor into our plans for a good night's sleep:

• Neighbors who think it's fun to set off firecrackers at 11:30pm on July 12.
• The nearby train. Wow. It's much louder than I've ever realized.
• Everyone rolls to the middle of the trampoline.
• And you feel every movement every person makes.

Still, it was fun. The stuff memories are made of. Deep, contented sigh.

Be sure to visit here for more Fun Mom Friday ideas, or link up with one of your own!

Fun Mom Friday: Sno Cones

Moriah@pleasepassthesalt is one of my oldest and dearest blog friends. When she emailed me earlier this week to tell me about her Fun Mom Friday carnival I jumped in with both feet because I had something fun I wanted to do with the kids. Sadly, my super fun activity was derailed because of evening thunderstorms this week so I'm going with Fun Mom Plan B:

Sno Cones.

Yum! My kids L-O-V-E sno cones and I love to be a fun mom and say yes when they ask me to make them.

Years ago when I was pregnant with Abbey (and sick round the clock) my sweet neighbor, Kathy, gave me this ice shaver. It was a super thoughtful gift at the time because I constantly craved ice, and it's been a gift that has kept on giving us lots of summer sno cone fun!

I usually try to stock up on sno-cone syrup at the beginning of the summer to pour over our shaved ice but since I kept forgetting to replenish my supply I finally decided to make my own. It is SOOOOOOOOOO easy, so good, and so cheap! It tastes much better than the flavors you buy in the store. Does anyone else think the store bought syrup tastes like soap? Blech.


Here's the recipe:

Sno-Cone Syrup

2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
1 or 2 pkgs unsweetened Kool-Aid (flavor of your choice)

Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for about a minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in contents of Kool-Aid packet(s). Let cool. Pour over shaved ice. 

I put ours in one of my old sno-cone syrup bottles, but if you had one of those sports-type water bottles with the pull up spout, that would work GREAT. 

Store in the refrigerator. Makes about 16 oz. 

Sarah and Abbey made up a name and label for this particular flavor: "Sabbey's Savvy Tropical Punch".

I don't think you necessarily have to have an ice shaver to make snow cones. When my kids are sick I chop ice into small chips with my Pampered Chef food chopper (You know the one that hurts to use because you hit it repeatedly with the palm of your hand? Yeah. That one). You could try it that way. Or pulse your ice in the blender and then pour the syrup over it.

We don't just enjoy sno cones in the summer though. We scoop cupfuls of snow in the winter and drench 'em with syrup for a tasty (albeit freezing cold) treat.

Fun trivia: I worked at a Tropical Sno stand one summer. Some friends' of my parents owned it and I got to make a little money and eat all the sno cones I desired. And I ate a lot of sno cones that summer. A whole lot.

For those of you who know that I care quite a bit about nutrition and are wondering why I'd give my kids pure sugar mixed with Kool-Aid, I'll just go ahead and tell you that I've been lazy about what my kids are eating these days. Need proof? Okay. 

So...how were YOU a fun mom this week? Check out Moriah's blog for other fun ideas or post your own and link up!