Sunday, January 15, 2012

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Before I get to MLK Day, I forgot to mention yesterday one of the most important lessons I learned about cleaning our house:
When de-childproofing the house, remember not to shut the pantry door when removing the childproof implement.  The door handle may fall off with you inside!  Yep, locked myself in.  Thankfully I was on the phone at the time and therefore could have had someone rescue me; but, alas, I did figure out how to work the mechanism before that had to happen.  Not one of my prouder blonde moments!
Anyway, today, in my quest for family fun, I decided to schlep the family down to the Martin Luther King Jr. parade in downtown San Diego. 
Here’s what we learned:
1)      It doesn’t matter that the children just ate 30 minutes before you left, the moment their little bodies stop moving, they will be hungry.  Are you f*&#ing kidding me?!  The way these kids were whining you would have thought we hadn’t fed them for 2 days.  So, what did we do?!  Had some fish and chips in the parking lot!  Thank God for Anthony’s Fish Grotto!


The baby's rockin' out to the music!

2)      Even a five year old can digest some of the lessons at school and can tell you exactly who Rosa Parks is.  We were shocked when the Id (the baby) remembered who Rosa Parks was and what Martin Luther King had done!  Wonders never cease.  That child DOES listen.


This was my favorite float representing Rosa Parks, Brown vs. Board of Education and Barack Obama.  It was very well done and set to the words from MLK Jr.'s "I have a Dream" speech.

3)      When you lock your child in the car because she is throwing the tantrum of the century, make sure that no one else notices that you are sitting on the curb playing solitaire.  Husband from Heaven decided to go into a store and leave me with the little devil.  It got so bad at one point that the Ego (the middle child) and I sat outside the car instead of listen to her scream.  From the rocking of that car, you’d have thought there were two teenagers in there on a Friday night.  I’m certain that the young couple parked next to us have decided to get sterilized!  The Id wore herself out so much that by the time daddy got out of the store she had passed out!
Other than tantrum of the century, it was a fun day and we had a wonderful opportunity as a family to talk about Martin Luther King Jr. and what he did for civil rights.  The parade was a bit long, but worth the trip down there; particularly to see all the college floats.  They really did a great job!
Not sure yet what we'll be doing tomorrow, but here are some ideas for quick and easy ways to celebrate MLK day with your kids:
1)      Read a book about his life.  Last year, at Barnes and Noble I found Martin’s Big Words, a beautifully illustrated and easy to understand book that the kids will love.


2)      Do a craft project.  Last year we did a project where the kids made their own creations with black and white paper.


3)      Make Black and White cookies.  I'm not sure how much of the frosting actually made it ON the cookies, but the kids had fun and talked about how MLK Jr. brought all people together with love.


4)      End the day with a hula hoop contest and some 60’s music.


5)      Find a friend to share it with.  My kids are very upset with BFF Molly that she and her kids will not be available for our 2012 MLK day celebration.  J
Mommy's hips DO NOT move the way they used to!

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