The new Cinderella movie: Have courage, and be kind

My daughter and I had the chance to attend an early screening of Disney's new Cinderella movie this week.
At first, I questioned why her Girl Scout council was promoting this event for older girls - after all, it's just a Disney movie.

But this may be one of my favorite live-action adaptations of classic Disney films of all time.

If you're looking for singing mice and bippity boppity boo, go back to the 1950s original. Instead, watch for a Cinderella who shows poise and strength despite the increasing abusive treatment from her stepmother and stepsisters.

Have courage, and be kind

"Have courage, and be kind" was the advice given to Cinderella by her mother on her deathbed. It's a message Cinderella struggles to uphold during difficult times, but she ultimately lets her light shine through even in her darkest moments.

On a day when she has suffered enough, she takes her horse for an escape into the woods, where she encounters none other than the prince, who's hunting. Her compassion for a hunted deer catches his attention, and in their discussions she learns on how he torn between following his father's orders and following his heart. She offers him the advice of "Have courage, and be kind."

I loved the movie, and I loved the message. But I was surprised by some unintended results.

My daughter, a fourth-grader, has never truly overcome being bullied for a good portion of last year. While the behavior was put to an end, she deals with trust issues, sadly, with most of the girls in her grade. And while she longs to be part of the group, there's a part of her that hangs back, that hides her true self.

The day after the preview, she shared with me her disappointment that a new girl was invited to lunch, "but no one invites me." Yet she lacked the confidence to even approach the girls she liked. My advice? "Remember the movie: Have courage, and be kind."

The next afternoon, she reported that she joined some girls at lunch and had a wonderful time. I asked if she was asked or if she just joined. She had summed up her courage - the kindness I never worried about - and put herself out there. And, not to my surprise, she was accepted for who she was.



Cinderella comes out later this month, but you can order the Cinderella: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack here. 

Lego Birthday Party on a Budget

Birthday parties are a cause for excitement - and discouragement.

Excitement for the little ones. Discouragement due to the messy house and even messier costs of excitement.

I've always tried to limit the costs of my child's birthday party to $75 or under, but I know there has been some budget creep. 

This year, when my son wanted a Lego theme for his seventh birthday, we went for it. 

We brought out every Lego in the house and set up a building zone in the toy room.

We let the boys watch The Lego Movie and munch on bowls and bowls of freshly popped popcorn while it rained.

We had plans for a low-key homemade cake with a small Lego figure and vehicle on top. When the cake crumbled - literally - we went to a plan B  - Lego "cup"cakes - literally frosting and cake pieces in a cup. Those first-graders gobbled it up.

And when the rain finally came to an end, we took advantage of the still-warm weather to play games on the driveway.

Our goodie bags were replaced with a bag with a thank you note, a Lego Ninjago DVD we got on Black Friday, and a copy of the Lego magazine (which we received for free just by emailing the Lego company.)

Did anyone notice there was no bounce house? No unique location? No wild activities? 

No. These were just boys having a good day.

Just remember: Bigger isn't always better. 

Budget Star Wars Jedi Party for Our Boys

The Force should be with all birthday party planners.

A December birthday is a tough act. Most years the weather doesn't cooperate, and the spirits are high with the over-sugared, over-active Christmas season.

But when our 6 year old wanted a Star Wars birthday, we knew we could make it happen.

The great thing is we pulled this party off on a budget. Here's how we did it.

Cake: 
I'm not afraid of making the "homemade" birthday cake out of a box mix. Rather than pay for a high-price bakery, we frosted the cake and put a small Lego Star Wars figure on top for a decoration. (Sorry, I just can't do all the Pinterest amazing cakes, nor do we necessarily have to!)

Pinata:
We splurged and did a pinata (something I rarely do). There was a party store going out of business, so we took a pinata and converted it to Darth Vader with a little paint and creativity. Poor Darth got a beating out of him both during the pinata game and after.

Costumes:
Yes, we pulled out all the stops, including Jedi costumes for the boys. Lest you think I have great skills, these entailed a large-sized brown T-shirt and inflatable light sabers from the party section at Target.

Activities:
Jedi training was the name of the game. And even though the weather outside was frightful, we had plenty of activities to keep the boys busy.

We laid the ground rules early. As part of our training, after each training session we went to the "Jedi circle." We then did silly party games like keep the balloon in the air using your Jedi skills, light saber training, a training maze created by the girls, etc.

At the end, we watched part of the Star Wars movie until parents picked the boys up.

You don't need fancy or high cost to do a party that the boys will remember...even if it's like the boy at the left who told me a year later that he liked everything but the light sabers should not have been pink!

Slaying Debt in 2015? This Book is For You

Getting rid of our credit card debt has been a dream of mine since my husband was able to return to work a few years ago. But the details made it tricky. Getting half his former salary, combined with the expenses of Catholic school (a priority for us as well) and the unexpected expenses, and our debt, despite our efforts kept trickling up.

I'll admit it. I've been frustrated. I've been angry. I've wondered more than once, How could this happen?

But I'm relieved to learn I'm not alone. Recently I read - and re-read - an advance copy of Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After, written by Indiana author and blogger Cherie Lowe.

Here's the thing: It doesn't matter if your debt happened over a big mistake, a lot of small mistakes or misfortune. The reality is you can get out of it.

Here's what I love about Slaying the Debt Dragon: It's a book filled with baby steps, hiccups and great advice. I love that Lowe comes clean about the impact massive debt has on her family, her marriage, her faith and her sense of self. And I love that she has a success story to share.

Lowe's story is about a leap of faith and a series of small changes that over time built her family's success in paying off $127,000 in debt. I've read this twice already - once just after it arrived, looking for small tips to glean and try, and a second with new eyes after getting a small raise. What can I do differently? The answer is it starts with a plan and ends with consistency. But a little sense of humor never hurts too.

Help me get in the Christmas spirit

"Help me get in the Christmas spirit," I cried out on Facebook the other day.

It was a week before Christmas, and I just wasn't feeling the season this year.

Looking back, it's easy to see why. Our family hasn't all been well since October (and if you count our injury-laden year, May). While we were blessed the worst was my husband's week of bedrest due to bronchitis, illness of any level will take its toll.

My children were out of sorts and out of schedule. My daughter had just gotten a detention for missing five assignments that week. My son's birthday was looming, and I, finally getting my turn at being sick, was so disheartened looking at the house and all that was needed to be done before Christmas.

Instead of relishing all things about Advent and the Christmas season, as I normally do each year, I was feeling more and more like this:

"Help me get in the Christmas spirit," I asked my friends. And there, I learned I wasn't alone, but I got a few worldly tips to help perk me up.

• Seek the Three Kings... Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Johnny Walker.
• Watch your favorite Christmas movie? Do something nice for someone else? These things always put me in a Christmasy mood.
• Give. Giving always puts me in the spirit. Even if it's giving smiles, or leaving 50c taped to the vending machine. It's the Christmas spirit.
• Bake cookies and see friends:)

"Help me get in the Christmas spirit," I asked my blogging community. And here I got the best advice of all.

...not all Christmases are created equal. I'm sure you know that. Christmas is a conglomeration of emotions and memories. Sometimes, circumstances get in the way of our enjoyment of the season. 

Sometimes, we rely too heavily on old memories for that feeling of Christmas. Memories are wonderful, and sometimes, not so wonderful, but we can't rely on them to boost our spirit. I think the one thing that boosts my Christmas spirit (which was really sagging this year and not like me either but justified because of circumstances) is praise and thanksgiving. And doing something for someone else.  

Thinking outward rather inward takes the focus off of us. And praise puts our focus on Jesus. To think He bowed down to earth and came in human form to give us grace, peace, love, forgiveness, salvation, and an eternal home with Him is an awesome thought. I pray the Lord will give you a special touch of His presence to arouse your Christmas spirit. Be blessed!

Wishing you all a return to the Christmas spirit this week as well!

Unexpected Blessings and Leaning on the Lord

I will never begin to understand God's timing.

I will likely never understand why we went through three years of unemployment and then several years of underemployment. Why we built up debt just trying to stay afloat.

I will likely never understand the rocky last year and a half we have had, dealing with injuries, illness and depression.

But in a small way, we've been blessed.

In recent months, I've slowly began to realize that I need to lean on the Lord. Hard. If Catholic school is a priority for our children's education, we will make it so. If medical bills are a priority, we will make it so. But the combination of the two was deadly. And I leaned. And leaned. I asked God to just show us how.

It's a question I've asked again and again the last six years. I've stumbled, I've fallen. I've hoped.

I even joined on the book launch team for Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After, in the small hopes of finding that nugget of inspiration that could get us through the coming months.

And somewhere between my readings and prayers, something happened. Something moved.

My husband got his first job interview in more than two years. We'll hopeful that it's the right opportunity, as it would mean better hours and a much shorter commute as winter approaches.

And I got blessed with an unexpected raise. I'm shocked. And grateful. And having to look at our budget (which was still all in my head) in a whole new light.

We could do this.

We could pay our debts off.

We could be free.

I'm hopefully optimistic.

Making marshmallows: An easy but messy afternoon project

Making marshmallows is a project I never would have considered doing with my kids. But after being introduced to local artisan marshmallow company 240Sweet a few years ago, and having taken a class, it's been on the "well, maybe..." list for some time.

My daughter decided, though, she wanted to make marshmallows for a Christmas gift this year. We did a trial run to see how it worked. After locating this marshmallow recipe, we decided to take a trial run.

To make marshmallows, you'll need:

• powdered sugar
• white sugar
• corn syrup
• unflavored gelatin 
• vanilla extract
• salt
• candy thermometer
• mixer
• 9x12 pan
• parchment paper
• spray

Keep in mind, you'll have about 20 minutes or so of watching hot sugar on a stove, followed by roughly 10 minutes of mixing. The syrup will change from a thin, yellowish color syrup to a white gooey mess that, once thick,  you'll pour into a 9x12 pan lined with parchment paper.

But the toughest part about making marshmallows?

The wait.

Yes, you have to wait 11-12 hours for the marshmallows to set up and dry out. So in our case, we made them in the afternoon to enjoy the next day. 

Then you flip them out, cut them with a pizza cutter, and dust with powdered sugar.

Unfortunately, the recipe says the marshmallows are good for two weeks. But, really, who keeps those around that long?

Get the recipe to make your own marshmallows.
And, learn how to make a marshmallow-making kit for science lovers here.