finally.

National Blog Posting Month, not just one month.

In November I signed up for National Blog Posting Month. I assumed it was just for November. Well, apparently, they like to do it all the time. December had a theme of giving. Participants were supposed to blog give someone something everyday and then blog about it. So, I skipped that. Felt kind of cheesy to do something nice for someone just to be able to blog about it at the end of the day.

This months topic is Best. Kind of vauge guidelines but I’m imterpretting it as in “Best of…”. Not sure if I can come up with 31 Bests for the month (and not completely bore the few readers I have) but it’ll be worth a shot. On the upside, it’s an excuse to do a whole pile of lists and we all know how I feel about lists.

NaBloPoMo Post #30: Twists

Look what I did today:

Yep, I put twists in Milo’s hair.
I only did the front third of his head for a couple of reasons.
1) That’s how many I could do while he ate lunch
2) The back of his high chair is really tall and I couldn’t get to the back of his head
3) I want to see how well these stay in before I attempt to make him sit still for his whole head. (If they last through nap time pretty well then I’ll finish the rest tonight.)

I’m hoping these will stay put and I can get enough practice to give him a new “do” for Christmas. I also need to pick up a better comb for parting his hair. I think it would look cuter if the parts were a little more defined.

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On an unrelated note: GO ME! National Blog Posting Month, 30 Posts in 30 days. Check.

NaBloPoMo Post #29: Shopping with a Purpose

If you have someone on your holiday gift list but you have no idea what they want or need consider buying something in their name, like water or a goat or a flock of chickens or a micro-loan. Here’s a list of places to get you started.

charity:water Give clean water.
Oxfam America Give animals, training for mid-wives, soap, blankets, seeds and much more.
Heifer International Give goats, sheep, water buffalo, ducks, knitting baskets, rabbits, milk cows, etc.
Samaritan’s Purse Help buy a plane ticket for a child needing surgery. Buy hot meals. Provide clothing and shoes. Help build schools and hospitals.
PlumpyNut A peanutbutter type paste that is being used to save children from malnurishment.
Doctors Without Borders Doctors and Nurses who volunteer their time in areas of the world where medical care is difficult to come by.
AHOPE Sponsor an orphan in Ethiopia who is HIV+

Or, if you don’t want to just give someone a card stating you donated money in their name, consider purchasing gifts from a store that gives back.

Ten Thousand Villages Great gifts from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is part of the fair trade organization so you know that what you buy is hand made and the artist is getting a fair price for their work.

Fistula Foundation Beautiful jewelry and scarves. Supports hospitals treating women with fistula – a complication from childbirth that can leave a woman incontinent, which usually means she is shunned from her family/support system. (P.S. check out the movie Walk to Beautiful for more information on this).
Amharic Kids Jewelry made in Ethiopia by women who are HIV+. The money made from the sales helps support these women.
Water4Christmas T-shirts, waterbottles, etc. 100% of the money goes to charity:water. You can also check out the Water4Christmas etsy shop for handmade items. Again, 100% of the money goes to charity:water.
Orphans No More You’ll have to e-mail the Matts to see if there are any left. The bracelets and ornaments were all made by the nannies in Uganda who are currently caring for their son while they wait to bring him home. The money will go towards their adoption costs and back to the orphanage he is currently staying in.
Beads For Life Handmade paper beads by bead makers in Uganda. I ordered a bag of loose beads for myself and they are amazing.
Kazuri Handmade beads from Kenya.

I’ll add more to the list as I find them. If you have any organizations, feel free to add them.

NaBloPoMo Post #28: Change the World

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and injustice in the world when He could do something about it… but I’m afraid He might ask me the same question.”

-Anonymous

You know that story about the guy on the beach who is tossing starfish back into the ocean and another guy comes along and tells the first guy there are too many starfish to really make a difference and the first guy responds by picking up one starfish, tossing it into the ocean and saying “it made a difference to that one”? That’s how I feel. There are so many things wrong in our world. So many people suffering. So many wrongs that need to be made right that I wonder how I can make any impact on anyone. And, as corny as that story is it’s constantly reminding me that my efforts, even though they may seem small, make a difference to someone.

I guess I’m just an optimist and hope that if everyone who is able helps out one or two people in need then we just may start to see some change in the world.

NaBloPoMo Post #27

And I’m officially behind in the blog-a-day thing. I was doing really well – even ahead a day but then we traveled for Thanksgiving. And I know what you are thinking “why couldn’t you blog from wherever you traveled to?” Well, you know those commercials for cell phones when they talk about dead-zones? That’s my parent’s house. You can get the internet. In the living room. Close to the window. If you hold the laptop just right. And even then you are just trying to pick up a signal from the neighbor’s.

So there you go. That’s my excuse. But I’ll make up for it. Promise.

NaBloPoMo Post #26: Funny.

The Muppets are never not funny. Enjoy.

Flying Gonzo Game

NaBloPoMo Post #25

A Transracially-Adopted Child’s Bill of Rights Adapted by Liza Steinberg Triggs from “A Bill of Rights for Mixed Folks,” by Marilyn Dramé

Every child is entitled to:

Love and full membership in her family.

Have his culture embraced and valued.

Parents who know that this is a race conscious society.

Parents who know that she will experience life differently than they do.

Parents who are not looking to “save” him or to improve the world.

Parents who know that being in a family doesn’t depend on “matching.”

Parents who know that trans racial adoption changes the family forever.

Be accepted by extended family members.

Parents who know that, if they are white, they benefit from racism.

Parents who know that they can’t transmit the child’s birth culture if it is not their own.

Have items at home that are made for and by people of his race.

Opportunities to make friends with people of her race or ethnicity.

Daily opportunities of positive experiences with his birth culture.

Build racial pride within her own home, school, and neighborhood.

Have many opportunities to connect with adults of the child’s race.

Parents who accept, understand and empathize with her culture.

Learn survival, problem-solving, and coping skills in a context of racial pride.

Take pride in the development of a dual identity and a multicultural/multiracial perspective on life.

Find his multiculturalism to be an asset and to conclude, “I’ve got the best of both worlds.”

NaBloPoMo Post #24: Change of Plans

We were going to leave for Kansas on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with Kevn’s family. Yeah, that’s not happening. Kevin has been sick for almost a week and is finally starting to feel better and Lexi got sick today. We switched our plans around. We will leave for my family’s house on Thursday morning (Kansas is a 12 hour drive, Green Bay is a 4 1/2 hour drive) if everyone is feeling better and spend Thanksgiving there. Then, instead of going to my parents’ house for Christmas (as origianally planned) we will head to Kansas for Christmas.

But because everyone has been sick (Kevin and Lexi) and exhausted (me and Milo – okay, Milo’s just been clingy) the house is a disaster, laundry needs to be done, bags need to be packed and last minute errands need to be run.

Next year, I think we are just staying home. In our pajamas. For the entire holiday season.

NaBloPoMo Post #19: The Minnesota Children’s Museum in 10 simple steps.

The kindergarten went to the Minnesota Children’s Museum today. Best. Field Trip. Ever.

Step 1. Take 30 children and add a mix of 9 parents and teachers.

Step 2. Divide children according to energy level among parents and teachers

Step 3. Board the bus.

Step 4. On a 8 minute bus ride answer the question “Is this the field trip?” 75000 times.

Step 5. Arrive at the museum and feed the children.

Step 6. Walk children to an exhibit room and say “See this big purple door? You may NOT go out this door without a grown-up. Understand?”

Step 7. Turn children loose.

Step 8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for approximately 2 hours,  substituting “purple” for “green”, “yellow”, “blue”, and “red”.

Step 9. Round up children.

Step 10. Board bus and return to school.

NaBloPoMo Post 16: Lists

I like to make lists. Lists of things to pack, to do, to clean, to buy. Mostly, I like to make lists so I can cross things off. Makes me feel like I’ve accomplished quite a bit. You should have seen some of the lists I made before we left for Ethiopia.

And when I can’t think of anything important to blog about, you get a list. So, in no particular order:

20 Things I Love

1. etsy
2. banana chocolate chip bread
3. sleeping in t-shirts that are really, really old and super soft
4. board games
5. board games with friends
6. kettle corn
7. music
8. teaching
9. a good debate
10. colorado
11. striped socks
12. autumn
13. books
14. m&m’s
15. traveling
16. a cold morning, a warm blanket and no reason to get up
17. breakfast for dinner
18. olympics
19. hiring a babysitter
20. making lists