Childhood Inspirations

I'm feeling a little sentimental right now so before I get busy doing something else I figured I'll just type out a blog post while John is bathing the boys.  ****WARNING: THIS MAY BE SAPPY****

I consider myself a decently creative person.  I love to make things, dance, play the guitar, dance, write, dance, jam to music, dance... you get the picture.  I found myself thinking of my mom and dad a lot today and how they have shaped my life in many ways.  

My mind wandered to my mom first and how she used have a "craft room" at our house.  My dad affectionately called it the "crap room" but she really did have quite the collection of crafty sort of things.  She was really in to painting wood crafts and I remember her making banners for the church.  She always made our birthday parties special and usually made handmade favors for our friends.  She helped on the "Motivator" team when I was in Drill Team and made little good luck gifts for us girls.  And of course there was Cuna or Caritas.  For those of you who have never heard of such a thing it's gifts of love given at a Christian retreat called Camino (for adults) and Happening (for youth).  She and my dad always put together clever (and slightly cheesey) gifts for everyone in whatever theme of the weekend.  My cheesiness surely comes from BOTH of my parents. : )  If Pinterest was around back then I think my mom would have been obsessed with it!  This must be where I get my desire to make things.  As for Pinterest, I AM obsessed with it.  

I think of my mom every time I'm planning a party.  Like right now as I'm planning Ethan's 2nd birthday.  It's Nemo themed and even though it will just be us, my parents, and Matt and Jacquelyn, I plan to go all out with the theme.  (You can count on a post on it later.)  When I was little I have fantastic memories of themed parties - specifically a Little Mermaid party where we played Pin the Fin on Ariel.  Handmade of course.  There was also a dress up party where we went on a scavenger hunt for girly things like lipstick and cotton balls and old makeup compacts about to be tossed.  She made cute little wooden heart necklaces for my friends as a party favor.  I think about the graduation parties she threw for me and of course the mother of all parties - my wedding.  Still today she throws great parties and puts a lot of time and effort into everything from food to decorations.  It's quite inspiring.

But it's not just parties   Holidays were always a big deal in our house as I'm sure they are in lots of houses.  Of course Christmas and Easter were big ones and Santa and the Easter Bunny were always good to us kids.  My mom is a fantastic decorator and at Christmas time their house is literally transformed!  In a very classy way I might add.  I look forward to having a nice house someday with lots of space that I can decorate too.  My parents also love Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patricks Day and 4th of July.  We always got Valentines (still do) from my parents and looked forward to what they would give us.  I am so excited to help Aaron make Valentines for his class.  He has school on the morning of Valentines Day and they are having a party.  I also am excited to make a special themed breakfast for the boys that morning and later when John gets home from work, give them their Valentines.    

My mom has played the guitar off and on for years.  I think she got it from my granddaddy and together they passed it on to me.  My mom would play for her church when she was young and then for Camino and our church as an adult.  It was largely what inspired me to learn and play for my youth group in high school.  I still love to play the guitar if only off and on like my mom. : )

Now for my dad.  I started thinking of this in depth the other day and realized my love for music and dance come largely from him.  Remember those birthday parties I talked about?  Well as I got older I started having "dance" parties.  Or at least I tried to anyway!  My dad helped me transform our basement and sometimes our living room into a night club of sorts.  He had left over black lights and other colored lights from his Disco days.  Yup.  My dad owned a Disco club back in the day!  I wish I was alive to witness it but sadly it was before my time.  He would help me set up speakers and make mixed CD's to play at the party.  And of course, we BLASTED that music.  My dad has always liked loud music.  And so do I.  Whenever he found a group he really liked he would keep their CD in the truck and jam with the radio blaring.  My sisters and I LOVED it. Both of my parents love songs with good lyrics.  Music often speaks to them (especially my mom) in ways that nothing else can.  I have certainly picked that up along the way.

And as for dance, well I can imagine my dad had some serious moves on the dance floor at his Disco club but again I never got to witness it.  What I DID witness was his love for dance.  When I made Drill Team my 8th grade year my dad became my biggest fan.  He (and my mom) came to all of my performances, usually with flowers in tow.  I could always hear him in a crowd because he hooped and yelled just as the crowd would start to get silent.  I can't even tell you how many pictures and video he took throughout my dancing days.  I think a large part of why I loved Drill Team so much was because of my parents.  After high school my dad and I, along with my sisters, created a 5th and 6th grade drill team at my old Elementary School.  We called it the Black Bob Red Hots.  We were a great team, my dad and I.  He organized all the tough stuff (where to practice, the finances, the parents) and I got to do what I love.  Teach dance.  I have some of the fondest memories of my dad from those days.  And that love for dance has stayed with me and flowed right into Zumba.  I LOVE teaching Zumba.  And I BLAST my music.  :)

Mom and dad, many thanks for all the ways you've inspired me over the years.  I love you both so much.

I am also grateful for the time I have at home with my kids.  I think it has allowed me to become the creative mama that I feel I am.  A big thank you to my hubby for making it possible for me to be home. Love you.  

And thank you Pinterest!!!  I'll be posting some of the things I've done lately.  I like to call them "Pinteresting" as I get a ton of ideas from that fabulous website.