Grasshopper New Media Presents...

I am so excited to be a part of GNMParent’s new Festival of Family Flair, and to be hosting the first edition of this blog carnival! I was pleasantly surprised by the number of submissions; I’ll jump right in!

I’ve saved my holiday cards in the past, but finally threw them out last month right before a move. I knew I’d never get around to making the cute scrapbook-style cards that my friends are always sending me. And although I had really kept them for the kids to craft with, I wanted to lighten my load (I finally got rid of a ton of old magazines I’d kept, too :oops:). Reading (GNMParent’s own) Erica’s post about 6 Reasons to Keep Your Old Christmas Cards, I’m disappointed that I got rid of them. I would love to have used them for reason #1 next year!

I’ve never liked peas and don’t make them for my family, yet for some reason split pea soup appeals to me. It just looks good, ya know? I’ve even had a ham bone my mom gave me sitting in the freezer in case I ever got up the courage to make it (why keep peas from the rest of my family, when they might like them?). So that ham bone may be coming out of the freezer to make the soup that Chara, of Zero to Gourmet, posted about in The Gift of Ham Hocks. I’m wondering if I need to let the bone thaw. Chara? (By the way, I checked out that nightgown… it reminds me of ones I wore as child. You make it sound very alluring. :). Oh, and I’m crossing my fingers that you don’t go to jail for your post, too.)

When I read the title of Chris Dolley’s post, Festive Overindulgence: A Kitten’s Guide to Weight Watching over the Holiday Period - I admit I raised an eyebrow. “What could this have to do with family flair?”, I thought to myself. When I read it, I realized - pets are part of the family, too. And so is pet diet management! The pictures are adorable (how did he get four kittens to look in one place long enough to snap a picture?), and the guide is humorous. Does Chris really own this many cats? Whew, what a large family!

Instead of raising an eyebrow when I read the title of Karen Shanley’s post, I clicked over eager to read, hoping my kids would give me a few minutes to focus on it. They did and will be aptly rewarded, as I learned a bit about faeries that I will definitely share with them. Reading The Faery Woods made me wish I’d had a mother like Karen! An active imagination was not encouraged in my childhood home, and neither was the belief in non-human beings. As an adult, I still wondered what I believed about faeries (so wanting to believe, yet also wanting not to be found strange by my friends until I met a man in his early 40’s who told me the story of when he actually saw a faerie. Now I believe.) Back to Karen’s post… it’s not really about faeries, but about the creative way she instilled a love for hiking in her young daughter. The pictures were wonderful and I thought for sure were taken in Europe somewhere (not true - she’s in upstate NY). I love dogs, but only about as much as the average dog-lover. Still, I need to find more time to peruse Karen’s blog because I really love great writing.

Besides making me snort, the comment by the delivery guy in DigitalRich’s post What Is My Hobby Today, at DigitalRichDaily, made me wonder if this was why my husband attempted to take up woodworking as a hobby way back when we first started dating. My husband’s very short-lived hobby cost us a lot more, however, and yielded a lot less (one wood basket-like thingie). Somebody got a great deal on tools at one of our yard sales; I’m glad to read that DigitalRich has turned his impulsive shopping spree (and show of bravado?) into a productive hobby. I’d be very happy having the chicken coop-looking shelves in my home!

I know quite a few people who have gotten rid of their televisions, or rarely watch, keeping their TVs covered up. I’ve considered it, but have decided that we enjoy our TV too much to remove it from our home. I agree with Patricia of A Better You Blog when she says that television can make “a better you” and introduces us to a list of TV show gems she’s found in 10 Reasons NOT to Give Up TV. Some of them I currently watch, most of them I’ve at least heard of. I’m going to have to Tivo #5 - I know my oldest son will enjoy watching this with me. And I agree about The Upside Down Show in #8. My #9 would be Heroes and Ugly Betty (though nothing has ever replaced Friends for me, which made me laugh out loud like no other show does). And my #10 - instead of comedy shows like Patricia has listed - would be craft shows: That’s Clever, B. Original, Creative Juice, and even though I don’t knit, Knitty Gritty. See if you discover some new gems for your family in her post!

I live in Colorado where, three weeks ago today, we received a huge blizzard. It’s amazing - the snowflakes were tiny, but they continued on for hours and hours. We’ve still got one-lane roads on most side roads and huge hills of snow along all roads (and I still see a buried car or two). Megin Hatch, another of our authors here at GNMParents and owner of Maine-ly Megin, posted a list of things to do with your kids when you’re stuck inside that I could have used over those first few days after the blizzard. Baby It’s Cold Outside: Indoor Activities for Winter Wimps (that’s me :lol:) has some great ideas! I’d like to add that you can make #1 non-competetive just by having an equal number of chairs per person, and it’s still lots of fun for the kiddos. And I’ve had a great time doing #4, but applying it to play in general. It’s been extremely interesting to see what sorts of things each kid will lead us to do; none of it is related, but I can see the pride each child feels when they’re given this opportunity.

Whew! That’s it for this edition of the Festival of Family Flair. Let us know what you think of it, and what you think of our logo! Erica, the first to submit to this carnival, is hosting the next edition at LittleMummy.com; submit your blog article to the next edition using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. We’d love for you to host the carnival on your blog - sign up NOW before the Festival is so hugely popular that we’re scheduled a year in advance.
[tags] humor, blog carnival, activities for kids, crafts, recipes, reasons to watch tv[/tags]

Thanks to Ben Yoskovitz for our button!

Thanks to jahdakine for the use of his photo via Flickr.