NEW JERSEY, USA: Parenting: The Real, The Ancient and The Pixie Dust #DisneyKids

NEW JERSEY, USA: Parenting: The Real, The Ancient and The Pixie Dust #DisneyKids

Many of the global issues we cover on World Moms Blog are very serious, and I spend a lot of time on them because they are important to me and the #WorldMoms. But, when Disney recently provided the parents on it’s Disney Social Media Moms mailing list the opportunity to host a #DisneyKids preschool play date, I jumped at the chance for a little fantasy fun for my daughter and her friends.

I don’t talk much on the blog about how I parent. I find myself mostly writing about global issues that are important to me. So, I’m going to fill you guys in a bit about what my life as a parent is like. At my house when we talk a lot about women using their voice to make a difference, such as Malala and Ambassador Sarah Powers (both would also make amazing Disney princesses, wouldn’t they?).

Yet, as much as I wanted my 7 year old daughter to dress up as Malala for Halloween and to make a statement that girls everywhere deserve an education, she chose pop star Katy Perry, and I supported her decision. And went out to find brightly colored hair spray. I find it useful to keep in mind that I was not advocating for world poverty and girls education at age 7, so I shouldn’t put certain expectations on her. She has to find her own way and have her childhood, and it’s my job to help her be her.

At night our family is reading the Greek, Roman and Egyptian myths and then finding a time every now and then in the year to let the kids loose in a museum to find their bedtime heroes and heroines among the art and sculpture. But, we also take the kids to ride the Small World ride at Walt Disney World and have lunch in the Beast’s castle there. Excursions are not everyday occurrences, and we also watch TV. 😉 What I guess I’m trying to say is that I find parenting in my house is about balance.  We try to experience it all, the nonfiction, the ancient, the pop culture and the pixie dust!

And that pixie dust part is what led to my interest in hosting a #DisneyKids play date for my preschooler. My daughter’s play group had dissolved last year once all the kids were on different preschool schedules, so this was going to be a reunion playdate for the little girls…

Within weeks of being accepted to host the play date, a grand box of Sophia the First play date supplies arrived along with other goodies. We received themed plates, cups, napkins, a table cloth and decorations. Also included were games, snacks and some toys, too. My 3 year old daughter was so excited!!

Next, the planning began. We chose a Sunday evening play date — it turned out to be the perfect time for all of us to make it. I was planning to make some dinner, but I needed a few more special fantasy touches.  We made fruit fairy wands, and dressed the dining room chairs in lavender toile bows, both ideas found on Pinterest, too. Here is the fancy table setting:

Sophie the First Table

I also found Sophia the First themed goody bags, dress up rings and pendants at a nearby store. We also used some of the treats included in our box from Disney to make the goody bags for the party, Cliff Bars and Doc McStuffins fruit snacks.

Cupcakes Goody Bags

With 8 kids and 8 moms, there was a lot of catching up to do. The girls took to the playroom to play dress up in their Disney clothes, and we also had a little table that had the Kinetic sand and Doc McStuffin’s puzzle for the girls to try out.

Kinetic Sand

Another table had real life 3 year old princesses at it decorating Disney themed coloring pages. And, there was a request from the princess crowd to put Sophia the First on TV at the end while they were playing.

Disney Coloring

I served home made mac n cheese and chicken nuggets, as well as a goat’s cheese salad for the moms. Dessert was chocolate cupcakes with homemade icing, dyed with blueberry juice, to keep with the Sophia the First lavender theme. And, on departure, each princess chose a ring pop to go!

I’m not going to lie — one of the moms showed up with a bottle of champagne, which had the moms sipping like princesses out of tall glasses. That was fun, too.

I forgot how important it is to reconnect along the way with friends whom I have shared my motherhood journey. It seems natural to keep moving forward through time and missing out on friendships as our kids grow and have different interests. It was great to check in and see how everyone was doing and find out what the kids that we’ve known as babies were up to. Also, seeing the kids step out of their shells and run around together like old times was a really good feeling. I can never have enough of these moments. Thank you, Disney, for the pixie dust. 😉

By the way, have you ever seen the #WorldMoms slideshow of their global Disney vacations?

 

Disney provided a box described above of party supplies for this #DisneyKids playdate. I was not paid to write this post and the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is an original post to World Moms Blog by founder, Jennifer Burden, of New Jersey, USA. 

Photo credits to the author. 

 

Jennifer Burden

Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India. She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls. Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.

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Happy 50th Anniversary to Disney’s It’s A Small World!

Happy 50th Anniversary to Disney’s It’s A Small World!

0 Disney Small World Intro 1

There’s a Bigger World Out There

When I was a toddler back in the 1970s, my favorite toy was a wind up pocket radio box that played “It’s a Small World”.  As the music played, it turned the little children from all around the world dressed in different clothing past my eyes.  I remember, as I grew, constantly asking my parents, “Where is this girl from?” and “Where is this boy from?”, while pointing to the toy.  My mother even saved the radio for my own kids to play with.

Fast forward 30-something years later, and here I am, learning everyday on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good from the women around the world who write for World Moms Blog.  I am lucky to be raising my children virtually with Tinne in Belgium, Susan Koh in Singapore, Tara B. in the USA, Nancy in Tanzania, Deborah Quinn in the UAE…and the list goes on!

And that little Disney radio box was one of my first indications that there was a greater world outside of my own suburban NJ neighborhood.

The #DisneySMMoms Conference

This past weekend I had my bags packed to head to the Disney Social Media Moms Conference, this year in Disneyland in California.  What luck that it was going to be during the 50th Anniversary of Disney’s It’s a Small World! I excitedly checked into my flight…only having to call the airline and uncheck myself from my flight hours later because my kids, and at the very last-minute, my husband, fell sick. Taking care of the family is what, us, parents do, right? So, how to turn lemons into lemonade?  We asked the World Moms  Blog Contributors to send a photo in to be part of a special slide show where our site could commemorate Disney’s It’s a Small World 50th Anniversary.  On such short notice, take a look at what we came up with…I can’t stop watching it!!

VIDEO: Happy 50th Anniversary It’s a Small World from World Moms Blog Contributors!

Disney and UNICEF

And, if you’re a regular here, you know how much we love UNICEF when we chose them as our beneficiary for our Live Below the Line campaign. I’ve also traveled to Uganda to observe UNICEF’s programs on the ground firsthand with the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign.  It makes me happy to know that Disney has pledged to donate $150,000 to UNICEF to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of It’s a Small World.  You can join in, too. Build your own doll or record yourself at SmallWorld50.com, and for every doll, one dollar will be donated to UNICEF by Disney. This is an original post to World Moms Blog by Jennifer Burden of New Jersey, USA.  

Jennifer Burden

Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India. She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls. Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.

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WASHINGTON, USA: I’m Still Me

WASHINGTON, USA: I’m Still Me

352This past fall, I agreed to coordinate an art competition for my son’s elementary school. The oversight of this program included working with school staff, budget mapping, recruiting volunteers and judges, event planning, marketing, public speaking, and data management. Some may say, “But it’s for kids, right? Small scale?” I suppose. However, I think of kids as our most important shareholders in a way, so the stakes were high in my mind. Oh, and by the way, I’m not actually the “artistic” type. So the project management piece of this was just fine, but the actual getting-kids-jazzed-about-art was something that I hadn’t thought about before signing on. Yet with all of that, what concerned me most was whether I still had my grown up chops. I’m talking about being able to hold my own and remain verbally agile in adult dialogue over a multi-month project.

For the past 7 years, I’ve been a stay-at-home mom with two young boys (by choice, and I love it). So most of my days are spent discussing the merits of dinosaur vs. oval shaped chicken nuggets or perfecting my living room fort building skills. I talk kid-speak constantly. When spending time with adult friends, I’ve accidentally reverted to my mommy-mode and announced I needed a “potty check.”  My husband has greeted me with “Hi, Tara,” and I have responded on auto-pilot with “Hey, buddy.” I perpetually walk around with my hair in a wet knot while clothed in semi-clean jeans and a fleece top.

So entering into this project, I was a little nervous. What if I asked a professional photographer if her dinner was “nummy” ? Or what if I ended a talk with the principal by saying, “Sure thing, big guy.” These things just spray out of a stay-at-home parent’s mouth like a geyser. (more…)

Tara Bergman (USA)

Tara is a native Pennsylvanian who moved to the Seattle area in 1998 (sight unseen) with her husband to start their grand life adventure together. Despite the difficult fact that their family is a plane ride away, the couple fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and have put down roots. They have 2 super charged little boys and recently moved out of the Seattle suburbs further east into the country, trading in a Starbucks on every corner for coyotes in the backyard. Tara loves the outdoors (hiking, biking, camping). And, when her family isn't out in nature, they are hunkered down at home with friends, sharing a meal, playing games, and generally having fun. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and sharing her experiences on World Moms Network!

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TV: Friend or Foe?

They say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.  Well here’s my confession:  my children watch WAY too much television.  I admit it.  It’s bad.  It’s embarrassing.  But it’s the truth.

When my daughter was born, I was given those Baby Einstein videos.  You know, the ones that make you believe that you’re doing a GOOD thing by putting your infant in front of a television that was showing random images while playing classical music in the background.  Disney claimed that these videos were educational, and I fell for it.  Plus, it seemed to calm my baby down, so I thought I was killing two birds with one stone.  Needless to say, my daughter was introduced to the wonders of televised media very early on. (more…)