There are so many amazing things about being a parent. I think I could fill notebooks full of the all of the marvelous things I adore about motherhood. I carried both of our children and let me just say, childbirth is crazy awesome and 100% amazing. I have friends who have fostered to adopt their children, used a surrogate, or adopted their child. They all have tear inducing stories about meeting their kids for the first time too.

If I had to make a list of all of the coolest things about being a parent, I am pretty confident that I could pick my top three.

Disclosure: This conversation was inspired by the movie Annie, which hits theaters December 19, 2014. At the end of this post there is a giveaway for an Annie prize pack (which is super sweet and all kinds of amazing). In addition to getting one to give away, we were also sent one to keep for ourselves. All opinions are my own.

The coolest things about being a parent.

1. Watching my children learn. Watching my children learn new skills and grasp new concepts is the best. I love watching Malone and Lola figure out their worlds. Lola is into everything these days. I hate chasing her out of the cat’s litter box for the 100th time, but I love watching her explore the world around her. Currently, she loves being a little mama best of all. She’s always dragging a baby (or two) and a purse with her wherever she goes.

At five, Malone is on the cusp of really reading. He falls asleep among a pile of books every night and hearing him sound out words makes me swoon. I didn’t know how much I’d love listening to him learn how to read. #surprisedbymotherhood

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2. Watching my children love each other. I’m an only child so this sibling relationship thing is completely new to me. I cannot stand the way these two interact- with such love and tenderness towards each other. They are each other’s favorite, which is pretty much my favorite. There is a four year gap between them and Lola is very eager to be involved in all that Malone is doing. Malone surprises me often with just how willing he is to invite her into his play instead of asking for some space. As a result, Lola is pretty much as car obsessed as he is.

Reflection Through The Lens

3. Sharing my favorites from my childhood with my kids. I had no idea how much I’d love sharing my favorite bits of my childhood with my kids. Fisher Price Little People, Cabbage Patch Kids, and reading Sweet Pickles books are just a few things that make my heart explode. Watching my kids fall in love with the things I loved as a kid? Priceless.

I'm going to miss this mess 7One of my favorite childhood movies of all time is Annie. It came out the year after I was born and my mother was obsessed- something she totally passed on to me. I grew up singing along with the soundtrack (I owned the record, thank you very much). Later, I had it on tape and then cd.

The songs and characters in Annie are woven into my DNA.

You’re never fully dressed without a smile is my life motto.

I’ve seen the touring Broadway production and tried to get tickets to the show in NYC.

Malone and I have watched the 1981 Annie so many times that at five years old, he’s got all of the lines and songs down. He’s also got some of the choreography memorized. Which annoys our downstairs neighbor but totally delights me.

When he found out that a new version of Annie was coming to theaters this year, I thought he was going to explode with excitement. I thought I was going to explode with excitement. We picked out a date to go see it and put it on the calendar. There may or may not be a paper chain involved.

I hate it when a movie is remade for the sake of remaking it, but I fell in love with the 2014 version of Annie at first sight.

I love that Annie has been updated into a modern day story.

 

Here is the modern day twist:

Annie is a young, happy foster kid who’s also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday, it’s been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan. But everything’s about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in.

To compliment the movie, they’ve also produced an Annie discussion guide. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I adore that they’ve done this. One of the things we love doing with Malone is going to movies and then discussing it later. This study guide is available for free and has loads of great questions to reinforce character and expand on the core values we’re trying to teach Malone. If you’re a teacher, homeschooler, or librarian, they haven’t forgotten about you! They’ve got resource guide just for you!

In celebration of the realease of Annie, I’ve been given an Annie prize pack to give away.

annie

It contains:

  • Children’s size Annie t-shirt
  • Annie activity book
  • Annie sticker set
  • Annie poster

This will ship directly to the winner from the sponsor, but Christmas delivery is not guaranteed.

What is your favorite song from Annie? Are you headed to see the 2014 version of Annie?

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