I want to be the kind of mom who . . .

It's been way too long since I've done one of these posts so here goes:


I want to be the kind of mom who doesn't mind embarrassing herself if it means having fun with her kids.

I want to be the kind of mom who has the home all the other kids want to come to.  I want to know my kids friends and know what they're up to, and I want our home to be a fun place to be.  I think this will involve planning fun things to kids busy and entertained in the summer.  I love this Craft Camp Danyelle put together for her kids and their friends (although, this is more geared towards girls so with boys we might have to adjust this idea a little bit.) I love the tiny memory game they made.

and another great craft to try would be these lego figurines.

I want to be the kind of mom who buys her kids toys that require them to use their imagination.

I want to be the kind of mom who teaches her children to enjoy nature and to leave things better than when they found them.  I've been trying to think of some projects that will make this fun.  Maybe guerilla gardening is in order.  Maybe seedbombing the vacant lots in the neighborhood? Or if we lived somewhere damp we could try moss graffiti. And I always wanted to surprise someone by planting tons of bulbs in their yard in the fall and letting them discover them in the spring (of course you'd have to find someone you know would want them)

I want to be the kind of mom who isn't afraid to travel with kids, and is careful to include sightseeing trips to kid-friendly places that reveal bits of magic all over the world.  I think if we took the kids to Paris, we'd have to try to find this playground.

And this Noah's Arc in LA seems like another must-see

Or if we ever found ourselves in Amsterdam, you can bet we'd go explore TunFun, a huge underground play area built underground in the middle of the city in an old Subway tunnel.

And what kid wouldn't love staying in a treehouse hotel?

I could go on and on in this category . . .

I want to be the kid of mom who raises kids to know who they are not not divert from that to do what is popular.  I love this Alice in Wonderland party.  I love that it's a big family and friends party and even the adults are in costume, but my favorite part is that the guest of honor was a girl who decided to be the White Rabbit, not Alice.