Artsy Chaos

A good portion of my daughter's childhood was spent reading Discovery Girls Magazine . This month, Discovery Girls was awarded a 2011 Mom's Choice Gold Award and they definitely are deserving! They are also the recipient of the 2011 National Parenting Publications Award. Discovery Girls is about girls, for girls and even by girls. It isn't about turning your 8-year-old into a little makeup wearing fashionista but about real girls with real issues. This mom totally approves. We have had the privilege in the past of reviewing some magazines and books from Discovery Girls which you can read about HERE . The magazines are full of advice, fun quizzes and timely stories for girls ages 8-13. Recently, we were sent the 10-year Collector's Edition to review. My daughter's eyes lit up when she saw it in the mail pile. Now keep in mind, my daughter is 16 but she still to this day loves Discovery Girls. The Collector's Edition boasts 10 years of the best Fun Quizze...

I have just had what I would call.... a horrifying experience at my local grocery store.  Standing in an aisle, looking for a coupon in my organizer, a little girl comes skipping down the aisle about 20 feet away from her mother.  I glance over and notice that she's trying to skip the "cracks" in the flooring so I say "you do that very well!" and go back to my coupons.  This child got halfway back to where her mother was, and the mother says "Maribell (or whatever the child's name was, I couldn't understand because I wasn't really paying attention) you know you don't ever talk to strangers".  Seriously!?  As I walked by this paranoid mother, I politely told her that her daughter didn't speak to me, that I spoke to her.  The mother said "she knows she isn't allowed to talk to strangers" and laughed uncomfortably.  Again, seriously!?  Perhaps a 40+ woman at the store with no make-up, a large coupon organizer and a froo-...

Me, Mom and My Sister a few years ago I remember one Mother's Day when I was about 2nd or 3rd grade age.  All I wanted to do for my mother was make a city for her to enjoy.  My grandmother took me to the store and we bought poster paper to use as the base of my creation.  For at least a week in my bedroom I worked on cutting, gluing and coloring all the little buildings and streets of this little city.  I kept it safe under my bed until the big day.  I also remember that nothing quite came out the way I had envisioned it but hoped that my mom would love it anyway. When Mother's Day arrived I gave my mom the little city and to my young brain it seemed that she was confused.  Naturally I went into explaining what the city was and how I had made it for her.  Being that I am a perfectionist, I also explained that it didn't turn out quite as I had expected and hoped she liked it anyway.  She exclaimed that she loved it and gave me a hug.  It was...