Category Archives: Friday Fun

Mother’s Day Best of the ‘Net

Posted on by

1

Here is an interview sure to bring on tears.  Myra and her mother, who is intellectually disabled, interviewing each other for NPR’s Story Corps.  Have a hanky ready.

This is darkly hilarious: After Happily Ever After, a take on what happens to Disney Princesses after the end.  It ain’t pretty.

And this, this might make you pee your pants.  It might also give you nightmares: Creepy Things My Kid Said.

Last, but not least, check out our new media page, a list of where the 4 Mothers are published and quoted.

Enjoy!  And have a very happy Mother’s Day.

The Kid Dictionary by Eric Ruhalter

Posted on by

7

The Kid Dictionary: Hilarious Words to Describe the Indescribable Things Kids Do

by Eric Ruhalter

Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2012.

I’m one of those people who loves to have the right word for the right occasion.  I’ll chop garlic with any old knife, and nevermind the garlic press.  The right tool for the right job, however, is a prize beyond rubies when it comes to language.

Imagine my delight when we were sent this book full of words made up for the job of parenting.  Right from the very first word (feelabuster: (v) to pat down your toddler before she leaves a play date at someone else’s house to make sure she isn’t stealing anything), Eric Ruhalter had me laughing out loud, gleeful not only at recognizing the scenarios that gave rise to the words he’s made up, but their wonderfully apt accuracy.

These are some of my favourites:

invisibooboo: (n) the site on a child’s body where you unnecessarily applied a bandage to appease him when he got hurt, even though no blood ever appeared

freak of nurture: (n) a child who, without any prompting, wants to eat well-balanced meals and avoid junk food, gets enough sleep and exercise, and realized the value of his education

hypocriticize: (v) to yell at your kids to keep their voices down

daduation: (n) the painful realization that you are quickly and irreversibly turning into your parents

adrenalad: (n) a child who will never ever under any circumstances admit that he is tired

harrask: (v) to persist in asking again and again for permission to do something in the hopes that the answer will change from no to yes

snoot: (v) to suck in rather than blow out when blowing your nose

wishjack: (v) to blow out the candles on another child’s birthday cake

whyarrehea: (n) an inquisitive toddler’s chain of questions rattled off in rapid-fire succession

Santastrophe: (n) a parent’s misconception that her baby will enjoy being handed to an enormous, white-haired, long-bearded bespectacled stranger in a blood-red fuzzy suit for a Christmas photo

scoozer: (n) a child who only has something to say when you’re on the phone or in the bathroom

This book would make a great shower gift or a Mother’s or Father’s Day gift.  The only downside to the book that I can see is that it does not include blank pages for readers to add their own neologisms.  One of ours is Tooty McFartypants to describe the more flatluent members of the family.

Do you have any?

Thanks to Sourcebooks for sending us a review copy.

Best of the Blogosphere

Posted on by

6

A Letter to My Pregnant Child-less Self

Do you ever wish that you could sit down with your pregnant-for-the-first time self and just lay it all on the line?  Forget all those feel good books fairy-tale dillusions – what would you say? Scary Mommy posted this “letter” to her pregnant, childless self and it’s very funny in that eating crow sort of way.

Oooops!

When Nathalie sent this to me, I laughed so hard that my stomach ached.  I never thought that I would say vagina and chicken in the same breath . . . a sign that I live a sheltered life or just happen to be more skilled at smart phone typing than some.  Full disclosure: I am not responsible should you snort-laugh aloud and make a fool of yourself.

Let your imagination run away

It never ceases to amaze me how imaginative kids are.  My middle and youngest sons have vivid imaginations that have led to many hours of creative play, bizarre accents, dress-up, fake moustaches and even “fake” friends.  Pickle Me This blogged about the magical fairy door,  and 52 Create has a great series on the surprises she leaves outside of hers.  I implore you to let your imagination run away from you.  The possibilities are endless!

Doppleganger

Has anyone ever told you look just like someone?  Joanna Goddard posted this while back highlighting Canadian photographer Francois Brunelle’s unique international exhibit.  He photographs pairs that look almost identical but get this, they are not every related!  You have to click on this to believe it!

Has anyone ever told you that you look like someone else?  As someone who has never been told that they look anyone, I am curious to know!

Yes!

Marcelle sent me this You Tube clip of what could easily be the most elaborate proposal I have ever seen (not that I have seen many, or any for that matter, if I don’t include my own) but all I can say is thank goodness she said yes!

Best of The Blogosphere #5

Posted on by

3

We have done it again for you.  We have combed the Internet for the past few months and have come up with our list of “must-reads”.  Do you have something that should be included as a part of the Best of The Blogosphere #6?  Email it to us at 4mothers1blog@gmail.com or tweet us, @4mothers1blog.

Yoon Aimous had us cracking up over her endless challenge to get food into her son.  And could the title of the post be anymore appropriate?  Who hasn’t thought the exact same thing at some point?  Just Eat The GD Vegetable!

There are no girls in our brood, but if there were Are You There, God?  It’s Me, Margaret would definitely be on the recommended reading list.  Blogger Pauline writes for Blogher about sharing this classic with her tween daughter.

There are two great things about public transportation in the city. The first is getting to where you need to be without the hassle of traffic congestion and sky-high parking fees and the second, people watching!  Underground New York Public Library was first introduced to me by way of Cup of Jo.  Blogger Ourit Ben-Haim who takes photos of subway riders reading books says that he is an artist and a storyteller.  I always think it’s interesting to see what people are reading – and on the subway it can run the gamut from the Bible to 50 Shades of Grey.

The weather is changing and that means an increase in the presence of The Know-It-All Passerby.  You know, the woman who stops to lecture about how colds are caught by not putting hats on babies and that in her day tantrums in the grocery store were unheard of!  Wendy Molyneux shares her hilarious (and biting) thoughts on this breed of folks with her post Hello, Stranger on the Street.  Could You Please Tell Me How To Take Care Of My Baby?  You are going to want to print this out!

We repeat it on this blog a lot:  parenting is hard work.  Sometimes we need a little inspiration and Andrea Scher provides that with her beautifully written post titled, We Think We Move Through The World Unseen. 

And if it is not inspiration you are looking for, but rather a laugh, we leave you with this:

Guest Blogger: Karyn Bowman blogs about Family Movie Night

Posted on by

1

Have you ever thought “I want to start a ‘family movie night at my house?”

And then that is as far as you get?

I have been there but I made it happen. The story of how that happened is a little long and the particulars have been largely forgotten. And yet this is one of the most enduring traditions of our family.

I should explain first and foremost that I am a big movie fan. I worked for seven years as a movie reviewer for our local paper and I still blog for the paper on a bi-weekly basis. As much as I love watching movies, I want to share that experience with my kids.

Friday Night is our designated “Pizza and Movie” night. Someone gets a movie or we find something on a cable station and watch a movie together as we are eating pizza. It is that simple. Most Fridays, there is nothing else planned so gathering together makes it all that much easier. Before you know it, friends of the kids show up and the house is a little crowded.

So there we are, making lots of pizzas and having plenty of soft drinks while we watch a movie. Friends of each child show up, the husband retreats to the kitchen and I make room for myself in the living room. If friends talk during the movie they are quickly shushed.

Trying to figure out how we started took a little digging. Because I am a creature of habit, long ago I made Fridays “Pizza Night.” Our eleven-year-old daughter stated we have been doing it for as long as she could remember. The fifteen-year-old said the same thing. That is when I went to our 20-year-old.

His report was that we just started doing it. Sometimes it was a movie, sometimes it was whatever was on TV. Friday nights were always pizza and movie night. I remember allowing the kids a choice in the feature. As more kids arrived at the age of being able to pick, we allowed each child to choose a movie on a rotating basis. If need be, I put down my two cents if I thought the original choice may not be so good for the youngest family member.

As I write this, my other memory is that my husband used to work on Friday nights. He is my second husband and it made life easier on visitation weekends and non-visitation weekends to have routines for the entire family. This gave our oldest continuity in some way, shape or form.

As our children have grown older, my husband encouraged the kids to invite friends. Friends meant we needed more pizzas with different toppings. Pepperoni, sausage, plain cheese, spinach and mushroom for mom and dad.

I know you are wondering how you start your own movie night. The first and best step is setting aside that one night every week that is pizza and movie night.  Pick a day that works best for your family.

Then pick out a movie every week, let the kids make a selection even if it is something you hate (can we say “The Smurfs?”). Shop ahead of time for food and make the kids a part of the pizza-making process. We buy the pre-made shells and the kids like to put on the toppings although I think it is so they can snitch pepperoni slices.

Next, set a start time for the movie and stick with it. In the winter, I start at 6 p.m.; summertime goes up to 7 p.m. Scheduling conflicts might get in the way and you can use those flexibility muscles to fit it in if it is that important to you.

We have done that when games or church events find their way onto a Friday night. Or when we decided to do Movie Night at a drive-in instead of at home. Or when traveling. Well, you get it. Nothing makes a habit like the continual practice of it. And you can start the practice this week.

What movies do you watch on your Family Movie Night?

Karyn Bowman writes the Notes From Rumbly Cottage blog on WordPress. On Fridays she posts about Family Movie Night and the rest of the week can be about anything else.

Image Credit

Friday Fun: Escher’s Relativity in Star Wars Lego

Posted on by

0

This week’s Friday Fun post will have your small Star Wars lego fans wishing that they sold this set at Toys R Us, and your large Star Wars fans wishing they had this much time and creativity. I can’t help but be impressed with this reproduction of M.C. Escher’s Relativity made entirely with Star Wars lego. Created by Paul Vermeesch, this 1x1x1 foot model recreates the original Star Wars Trilogy, in order, counter-clockwise from the top left of the model. And it lights up. We’ve featured creative uses of Star Wars lego here at 4mothers before (not including the creative way they’re often left on the floor of the 4mothers’ living rooms) but this takes the prize for full-out lego geekery. It’s awesome.

Be sure to check out the other photos of the model posted by Paul on his webpage because the level of detail in this model is amazing.

Photo credit: Paul Vermeesch at http://www.mocpages.com/home.php/54098