Happy Independence Day! I hope you’re all out enjoying yourselves at parks, barbeques, parties, ballgames, movie theaters, and the like. For those of us who are more likely to spend the holiday at home, I thought it would be nice to piggyback off of Amanda’s super fun post from yesterday with some easy entertainment ideas for you and your family members! I’m not reinventing the wheel here, just having a little fun.
Five summery or patriotic movies you can enjoy with the kids:
The Sandlot – summer classic about friendships, baseball, and a big scary dog. Includes a great 4th of July scene.
Field of Dreams – quintessential baseball fantasy with great family relationships and sweet moments to treasure.
My Girl – sweet, simple story about an important summer in young Vada Sultenfuss’ life (with a Home Alone-era Macaulay Culkin; remember how cute he was?)
An American Tail – great family animated film about a little mouse who gets separated from his family en route to the States. Lots of history, too!
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – “It demonstrates democracy in action,” the trailer declares. Experience again this movie classic and tell your children all about the late, great James Stewart. I first saw this in a high school government class. Loved it.
Easy music idea:
If you’re looking for some fun with background music for your holiday dinner, look no further! Make a playlist or mix cd with “freedom”, “summer”, or “America” as your theme. This is especially fun to do with tweens & teens; give them $10 and have them buy 10 songs from an online store to make a mix for the family. Here’s a small sampling of what I found in my iPod with those words in the title:
I played my list at dinner last night and it sparked lots of fun conversation with my dear hubby. Crank it up and enjoy!
Any other film or music suggestions out there?Are you inspired to decorate your house like the one in the picture above? (Yes, that is an actual house in my neighborhood.) Have a great holiday, and for grins, I’ll have Bill Pullman take us out:
One of the stories from our family’s lore is that I loved commercials as a baby. Apparently I’d yell and talk through any television program, but when the commercials came on, I’d shut up and pay attention. Hmm, interesting. Especially because now, if you spent any time watching t.v. with me, you’d immediately notice that I mute the commercials. Every. Single. Time. I get so irritated when I have to sit through a single one with the volume on. Aside from the power button, “mute” gets the most play on our remote control. When I can’t mute the commercials, I get very, very grouchy. It’s not pretty.
Anyway, not sure how it happened (since I just described myself as being pretty militant about commercials), but I saw one recently that completely melted me. It is a Chevy
Malibu commercial showing the stages of life that a girl goes through, from babyhood with toy keys to toddlerhood to little girl, then to tween-angst, prom & graduation, and finally, becoming a professional. As she drives away, mom & dad are there to see her off. A couple of years ago I would have related to the final stage, but now that I’m a mom, I’m imagining my Lucy growing up and doing all of those things. Yikes. Can’t she stay my little Lucy Goose forever? I’m not ready to see her strap on a bike helmet (much less drive a car!) yet. (Note: I had the video of this commercial up, but it is no longer available on youtube. I tend to have that effect on the internet. No worries, it’s playing all the time on t.v. right now.)
Speaking of commercials, we were told this morning by random strangers that our son Eli looks like the baby in this (catch it while you can!):
Ha ha. That’s funny! Maybe I should un-mute the commercials more often.
A few weeks ago, The Mom Crowd was given some products from “Raggs“, a program now showing on public television. I was told it was a fun, lively, educational show that pre-school children would love. So I tried it out on my daughter Lucy. It didn’t take long for her to find it completely mesmerizing, and within a day, I started hearing the request, “Watch Raggs?”
Raggs is a rock & roll loving dog, whose friends (Trilby, B. Max, Pido, and Razzles) are in his band. When they’re not performing for scads of jumping children, they’re hanging out in Raggs’ clubhouse talking about all kinds of topics, like jobs and friendship. The show is sweet, colorful, and physical. There are segments that invite the kids to join in on dances and other movements, as well as montage videos of real people, like what you’d see on “Sesame Street”.
Overall, I have not found “Raggs” to be as irritating as other childrens’ shows (which shall remain unnamed). Lucy loves it and talks about the characters all the time. She likes her Raggs coloring book and the stickers that came with it. It won’t be long before I’m sure to hear her singing the familiar Raggs tunes.
Here is a video of the Raggs Kids Club Band singing “What’s the Dealio?”
You can also check out these links for more information:
I’ve been listening to Colbie Caillat’s Coco nonstop. It’s sunny and cheery and mellow. It makes me feel like it’s already spring, like I can go put on some shorts and drive with the windows rolled down. If you haven’t already gotten your hands on this record, do so immediately!
So anyway, as I was driving Lucy to preschool the other day, I listened more carefully to the last track and noticed it was about a mom-to-be! Simple, sweet, and precious. Apparently Colbie Caillat wrote this song for a friend, Barbara, who named her daughter Capri.
She’s got a baby inside / And holds her belly tight
All through the night / Just so she knows
She’s sleeping so / Safely to keep
Her growing / And oh when she’ll open her eyes
There’ll be no surprise /That she’ll grow to be
So beautifully / Just like her mother
That’s carrying
Oh Capri / She’s beauty
Baby inside she’s loving / Oh Capri
She’s beauty / There is and angel growin’ peacefully
Oh Capri / Sweet baby
And things will be hard at times / But I’ve learned to try
Just listening / Patiently, oh Capri
Sweet baby / Oh Capri
She’s beauty / Baby inside she’s loving
Oh Capri / Your beauty
Just like your mother / That’s carrying…Oh Capri
The first video (below) gives you a chance to hear the song.
I thought some of you might enjoy seeing a live version, as well. The little girl for whom the song was written dances around onstage while Colbie sings it. It’s so sweet – be sure to watch the whole thing. Capri reminds me a lot of my Lucy.
This warm fuzzy goes out to all of you moms-to-be. Happy weekend.
I’m excited to post random and sundry thoughts on pop culture miscellany for you! To start, I thought I’d share a classic Saturday Night Live commercial that is sure to make you laugh. The video quality might not be the best but you’ll be able to capture the gist of it. Happy weekend, and remember, “You’re not a woman anymore – you’re a mom!”
Happy Independence Day! I hope you’re all out enjoying yourselves at parks, barbeques, parties, ballgames, movie theaters, and the like. For those of us who are more likely to spend the holiday at home, I thought it would be nice to piggyback off of Amanda’s super fun post from yesterday with some easy entertainment ideas for you and your family members! I’m not reinventing the wheel here, just having a little fun.
