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

The kind of mom who teaches my kids all those classic kid songs. I've realized lately how many kids songs I actually know and need to teach Creed. We've been listening to some Johnny Bregar for non-annoying versions of classics like If Your Happy and You Know It, This Old Man, Bingo, etc. (think Harry Conick Jr. for kids). Check out some of his songs here.

I want to be the kind of mom who buys toys that promote creative play. I think it would be so fun to put together a pretend mail set like this one. My sisters and I used to love to play mail and write each other letters and deliver them to each other.



I want to be the kind of mom who remember to share favorites from my youth I think my kids will like. I jokingly spoke to Larry like Beeker from from the Muppets the other day and realized that I better make sure that when Creed gets older he knows who Beeker is.
I want to be the kind of mom who fills my home with cheerful art that I love, but the kids will appreciate too. Like this college by Kate Endle that makes me smile.

I want to be the kind of mom who scouts out things that the kids will love to see on our travels (I guess that also means I want to be the kind of mom who travels often with my kids). Have you seen the City Walks For Kids series? They have beautiful guide books for London, Rome, Paris, New York, San Fransisco, and Washington DC and I wish I owned them all!

I want to be the kind of mom who is always exploring the places we live. This past week, I read on not one but two friends blogs about Homestead crater, a 55 foot rock dome full of warm spring water. I've lived in Utah before, but I've never even heard of the Homestead crater. It sounds like a good place for a winter swim. What else am I missing around here?


Robot Parade from Jared Foster on Vimeo.
I want to be the kind of mom who who comes up with awesome activities to keep my kids busy and creative. I think throwing a Robot Parade like this one would be awesome!
I want to be the kind of mom who comes up with really fun ways to stay entertained on car trips. I think for older kids, it would be fun to print out a bunch of these pdfs from Toy-A-Day for them to work on in the caray for car trips (and let's be truthful, there's a few that I know Larry would love too).
I want to be the kind of mom who gets my kids involved in the family gift giving. I came across a great idea for giving Christmas gifts and I'm tempted not to share it because this is what some of you lovely readers may be getting for Christmas. You really should read about it here, but the basic idea is to give couples a pair of wooden clogs full of goodies that the kids helped collect over the year. Then let the kids help collect clog fillers every year.

I want to be the kind of mom who wraps things beautifully. My friend Nikki seems especially good at this, but I procrastinate and always end up lucky if something makes it in a giftbag and I almost never have a card to go with the gift. Amazing paper engineer Denise Sharp has started sharing her beautiful wrapping jobs on her blog and she says she'll be sharing regularly. Don't you love this paper boat wrapping job?

I Want To Be The Kind of Mom Who . . .

I think this is going to become a regular feature on my blog because I'm always gathering ideas for new things that I want to try to become the kind of parent that I want to be. I hope that you enjoy reading about them to and maybe they will spark some ideas about the kind of parent that you would like to be.

I want to be the kind of mom who regularly takes my kids to book signings to meet our favorite authors and illustrators. I usually already have copies of the books that we are getting signed, but I've started buying new copies to be signed just for Creed so he will have his own library of autographed books to share with his kids someday. At each signing I take a picture of Creed with the author or illustrator and tuck it into the book we had signed.

I want to be the kind of mom who makes Memorial Day special. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do this yet, but I recently read on a blog somewhere (I wish I remembered which one) about a mom who doesn't live near any of her ancestors graves so she looks up some famous graves in the area and takes her kids to see them on Memorial Day and tells the story of each person as she making her visits so her kids get that Memorial Day is about remembering people. This is where Louisa May Alcott, the author is Little Women, is buried, etc. It could be an interesting activity to research whose graves you could visit (that sounds a little morbid, doesn't it?)
I want to be the kind of mom who takes the time out to spend with her friends, which might include a fun garden party like this one I saw on Design Mom. It was actually a bridal shower, but I love the idea of have a glass jar or vase labeled for each guest to fill with flowers and take home at the end of the evening. If you are like me, and don't have a lot of money, you could have each guest bring a few of their favorite flowers to share and then everyone could assemble their own bouquets. You could also pick up flowers at some place like Costco where they have surprisingly beautiful big bouquets that would provide plenty to share.

I want to be the kind of mom who plans readathons for her kids. My friend Mary Ann's mom regularly gathered her kids and their friends for a trip to the library and a stop to pick up favorite treats for such a special occasion and then they pushed their couches together to create a big cozy nest and the readathon began. I remember thinking that was the COOLEST thing ever!

I want to be the kind of mom who creates a caterpillar garden so her kids can watch the process of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

Photo via Mindy Weiss.
I want to be the kind of mom who gathers the kids in the neighborhood for backyard movie night. The Hudsons do this and project the movie onto their garage door. There have been a few times that my dad signed out the projector from his office for an outdoor movie night and there's just something magical about watching a movie underneath the stars.

I want to be the kind of mom who can rock out to songs like this with her kids. I know, I know, I just posted a million videos, but this was just makes me too happy. The perfect meld of fun-for-kids, and music-I-want-to-listen-to, which I think is important. Just like I try to buy books with artful illustrations so Creed can grow up with an appreciation for good art, I'm trying to share some good music too (and yea, I know, what's good is all relative)

Photo via Restaurant Widow
I want to be the kind of mom who subscribes to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). This means subscribing to a farm and receiving weekly boxes of their harvests during the growing season (about June through October). People join by purchasing a "share" of produce pre-season, then pick up their weekly produce from a central drop point in their area during the harvest season. You support local farmers and get very fresh produce. I think this would be good for me because I would be sure to receive some produce that I don't normally cook with and it would be fun to learn how to use it.

I want to be the kind of mom who attends a mother-son book club. I recently read about a great mother son book club that always has a great book-related activity planned for each meeting so the boys really get excited to read the books and meet for book club. My mind is already swimming with ideas, but for now, story time at the library will suffice.

I want to be the kind of mom who leaves a "wink to the next family" when I move. You'll have to read the article to understand that one, but Holy Cow, it's the coolest family mystery ever!

Photo via Cup of Jo

I want to be the kind of mom who will let my son be Mr. Bean for a day if he wants to.

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

I've come across so many things on blogs lately that have really inspired me and given me some ideas about the kind of mom I want to be. I thought I'd share a few because it gives me a chance to share some great ideas and some of my favorite blogs.

I want to be the kind of mom who makes some handmade gifts for my kids birthdays and holidays that will help them use their imaginations like this darling wooden family from Gemmielou's Etsy shop. You can also buy plain wooden people there or pick some up at your local craft store. There a whole post about wooden dolls here on Design Mom's blog (one of my very favorite blogs to follow). Wouldn't every kid get a kick out their very own wooden family modeled after their real family? I want to be the kind of mom who keeps a photo booth album like Jordon Ferney does (she also has a great blog and she just happens to be Design Mom's sister). I've tried to find an old school photo booth in Columbus and alas, I have not discovered a single one. At least there are several in Utah, another thing to look forward to!

And speaking of family portraits, I want to be the kind of mom that has frequent family portraits taken that capture the spirit of our family, not stiff and posed, but just us being us. Tara Whitney is a great example of this. Larry and I both heart this family portrait. Good thing I have a professional photographer in the family. Now I just need to work on learning to use my own camera or move to CA and become Tara Whitney's best friend.I want to be the kind of mom who provides a comfortable reading nook for each member of the family. Ok, it most likely won't be as extravagant as this one spotted on Apartment Therapy (there is a round mattress with lots of pillows inside), but a want a comfortable spot for reading to be a special part of our daily life.

I'm thinking more along the lines of this cardboard rocket playhouse they used to sell at MOMA, but I think it's no longer available. Do you think I can talk my dad into helping me make one? I think this would be so cosy in Creed's room with some comfy pillows and a light inside.I want to be the kind of mom who makes every holiday special and magical and full of traditions the whole family will look forward to. I think I spotted this on Apartment therapy too, but I'm not sure. Sorry if you know better send me a link and I will fix it. This is nest of hot chocolate with a marshmellow peep in it is someones beautiful Easter morning tradition. For other great holiday tradition ideas, try checking in with the uber fabulous Kristi of Everythingispink.

I want to be the kind of mom who helps my kids come up with inventive activities and helps them find little ways to serve others and support the community. One of the best posts that I've read recently did both. Andrea of Hula Seventy gathered her daughter and friends and helped them write secret wishes/fortunes for other people and then they walked around town finding little spots to leave them for other people to discover. What a wonderful way to spend the day. I wish that I could have been there to see people discover little slips of paper with "read me" written on the outside and things like, "Don't listen to the mean things people say" or "You will always be beautiful" in a child's handwriting on the inside.
I want to be the kind of mom who encourages her kids to be original instead of following the crowd, which includes dressing them a little differently (while I still have the chance to dress them) and encouraging the idea that it's fun to be different and boring and impossible to be just like everyone else. I recently discovered the blog to two sisters-in-law who among other creative endeavors, create the most wonderful clothing for their kids that I have ever seen. Oh would I love to be the kind of mom who could just whip out any clothing that I could dream up. Sewing clothing scares me so I'll have to work on getting over that. Check out the Sugar City blog for more amazing children's clothing like this (and some cute doll clothing too!)

I want to be the kind of mom who find ways to bring fun and cheer into the details of everyday life. I don't remember where this photo came from (sorry I just saved it a while back because it made me happy), but you can bet I will be drawing faces on the fruit in Creed's lunchbox some day!So now it's your turn. What kind of a mom/wife/friend/dad do you want to be? What are your favorite blogs? And what has inspired you lately?