Today, Paige (also of Mudroom Boston) shares a beloved book:

During a recent playground conversation with a fellow mom, we were recounting our childhoods. Although we grew up in different areas, our memories were the same -- hours and hours of unsupervised outside playtime with neighborhood friends, solo bike rides into town to buy candy, and walking to school by ourselves by the time we were in second grade. As we hovered over our four collective children, occasionally interrupting our own chatting with a "Don't run so fast!" or "Watch your head!", I reflected on how much life and "playtime" had changed for my own kids in just one generation.

A few days after this conversation, a Boston Magazine article by Katherine Ozment began circling around my Facebook world. Called Welcome to the Age of Overparenting, Ozment wrote about whether her style of parenting -- what has come to be the style for many of us these days -- was contributing to the demise of her own children's freedom and imagination. She wrote:

"I still remember the time my two older brothers built an igloo in our front yard. It had a domed roof and arched entrance, and they strung an overhead work lamp from the ceiling and laid out a small rug so we could all sit in it for hours. Witnessing my children's paltry fort-making skills, I thought, Is this what our kids will remember of winter -- digging little holes in the snow as their mother hovered nearby? Where has the childhood I once knew gone?"

Both the conversation and Ozment's article reminded me of one of our very favorite bedtime books -- maybe a favorite for me because it so beautifully captures what I feel my kids are in danger of losing if I don't ease up a bit -- the freedom and imagination to create worlds of their own, worlds that don't include parents.

Roxaboxen, written by Alice McLerran and illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Barbara Cooney, tells the story of a very real town in Arizona created out of the fantasy of children. Like any town, Roxaboxen has houses filled with tables and dishes, shops, a town hall and mayor, and even a jail. Roxaboxen is the first place that the neighborhood children run to after school, and is where they spend their summers, building new homes and shops. And even though the town is run by children, they still have rules -- eat as much ice cream as you want, but don't break the speed limit or Policeman Jamie may take you to the cactus-lined jail. Swords made of ocotillo plants serve as weapons in war, sticks stand in for horses, broken glass creates jeweled windows, and small black pebbles buy you anything you want in Roxaboxen.

I love reading Roxaboxen with my sons not only because it reminds me of the freedom of my own childhood, but also reminds me what I want for them and my need to step back a bit and let it happen. I recently asked my older son if he thought it was strange that there were no parents in Roxaboxen. "Oh, Mom, there are parents," he said, "you just don't see them."

Exactly.

*Editor's Note: This editor has been too lazy to take photos, so that'll be a different post.*

Our continued efforts in the Transformation of Chateau Travolta rise and fall seasonally. In the summer, we become obsessed with the yard and flowers and the roof and the paint and the blah blah blah. In the chill of winter, when we're stuck inside all weekend long? OMG, the ceiling in the living room is so depressing. It's like hobbits live here or something.

(The ceiling has rough-hewn beams every six feet or so. They are were a chocolate color. Which is totally cool if you are a hobbit or live in a Tudor. Neither of those are we.)

Beloved installed the arch in the door between the kitchen and the living room a few months ago after my nagging incessantly about the unfinished doorframe for just a week or two, seriously. The arch is beautiful. And white. Which made those hobbit beams look even darker and goth-like in contrast. Also, the trim around the living room ceiling, which somehow in a paint-matching miscalculation is even darker brown than the beams, reminds me of wearing courdoroy with silk.

We've talked about painting those beams white or boxing them in since we moved in. But of course, every other project got in the way. It was finally the beautiousness of the arch that pushed Beloved over the edge. He really wanted to paint the ceiling. Ever since I painted the kitchen ceiling and dripped all over the lineoleum (thank goodness that's not staying, because people, I am telling you -- you do NOT want me to paint your ceiling), I swore never again. Not me. I'm not allowed to paint ceilings. Or remove tile. Not that I've ever accidentally punched a hole in a wall doing that. Um. 

So Beloved said if I left the house with the little angel, he would paint the ceiling and the beams. And this weekend, he did. It only took twelve hours.

The effect is pretty amazing. The trim still needs to be replaced, so it's not complete yet, but it's like the ceiling just rose by six inches. I no longer feel quite so hobbit-like.

We just keep hacking at this house, and with each measure, it feels more like ours.

Happy snowy Tuesday everyone! I hope you all had a lovely and reflective long weekend. This morning I wanted to share one timely online event + some other fun updates. First, today at 1pm ET, I'll be co-hosting a live chat on The State of the Mom Blogosphere over at TheMotherhood. The chats are TheMotherhood are amazing, as are my co-hosts -- come join the conversation! (No complicated technical know-how required; it's basically like commenting in on status updates.) Second, I'm super honored to be featured in The Improper Bostonian's style section this month. The fashion shoot was insanely fun and I hope to share more of talented Adam DeTour's photos soon.

Third & fourth: in December, I shared some ideas on keeping kids happy while on the road in the Boston Globe and helping kids banish boredom in USA Today Kids Health Magazine. Enjoy!

Fifth: I'm so very honored to be included in this roundup of fine speakers for BlissDom. This is an amazing conference and I'm incredibly excited to be talking about doing less as a life strategy. If you're attending this conference, please come say hello!

And sixth: I am amazed and overwhelmed by the unexpected outpouring of responses to my call for writers. If you submitted an application, please bear with me. It's going to take me some time to go through all of the applications as I want to give each its due attention, and balance out the applicant editorial interests with my current writers.

Enjoy the week!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oehry1JC9Rk] 

Today, Sheri offers ideas for celebrating and learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. at home (and if you're looking to get out of the house, there are several MLK activities included here):

Monday, January 16, is a holiday for our school-aged children. It's important for kids to understand why they have the day off and why we celebrate the birthday of one of America's most influential people. Kids can learn the history behind the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the event surrounding a man who changed history through a variety of activities that can be fun, inspiring, creative, and educational. Below is a sampling of ideas; if you have others, feel free to share in the comments!
Books

Read together! Here's a roundup of recommended books for teaching or introducing Martin Luther King, Jr. to children. Make an activity out of visiting your local library or used/new bookstore to look for titles.

Craft

I like this Decorate with Many Colors craft activity from Family Education.

Online Video, Printables, & Quizzes

Check out this powerful, free 4-minute cartoon video about the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr. The site also includes printable activities and online quizzes that can be both fun and educational for your kids.

Songs

For younger kids you may want to introduce Martin Luther King, Jr. through song and rhyme. Check out these lyrics that you can apply to favorite kid's songs such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Yankee Doodle, B-I-N-G-O, Skip To My Lou, and This Old Man.

Image credit: I Have A Dream banner from Paper Altar via Etsy

Honestly, I don't know how politicians do it. They slam each other for every mistake they've ever made in their lives, as though we don't learn from our mistakes.

They argue over big government versus small government, as though corruption isn't caused by individuals in any organization or company putting money and personal comfort above the common good.

They claim to be uninfluenced by campaign money when they promise us tax breaks if only we'll vote for them.

They say they want America to be economically viable, but they fund the military with more than half of our tax dollars while the burden of education falls to state and local government with shrinking coffers.

They say they'll close Gitmo, but 171 detainees remain.

They ask us to believe in sweeping generalities when the world changes tiny action by tiny action.

Happy Friday! I hope you're looking forward to a lovely long weekend. Here are 12 picks that caught my eye. And stay tuned -- this weekend I'll post some ideas for fun, creative, and educational ways to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at home.

1. Dance, arts, crafts, and critters to celebrate Chinese New Year. (Dorchester)

2. A family friendly show at Club Passim. (Cambridge)
3. More Year of the Dragon festivities via drumming, dance, tea, games, and more. (Boston)

4. Hooray for magic! (Brookline)

5. My father-in-law would go berserk over this train show. (Wenham)

6. Thanks to the Sound of Music, I'm intrigued by this marionette show. (Arlington)

7. Listen to the Boston Children's Chorus perform their annual Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute concert. (Boston)

8. Make some noise at this Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. (Easton)

9. A family folk song concert in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Boston)

10. Celebrate friendship and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. (Acton)

11. Learn about Native American art and make a drum that represents your family. (Salem)

12. Enjoy free admission and special events at the MFA MLK Jr. Day Open Houes. (Boston)

Image credit: Franklin Park Zoo

My sister wrote an open letter to my daughter on her blog today. My favorite sentence in it is this:

We may see phantoms that aren't really there, but we also see a kaleidoscope of colors where others may only see shades of gray.

Read the rest at her blog. It was such a beautiful letter that it took my words away -- on a day on which I'm in huge suspense over my own creativity and whether or not others will agree it exists.

My Canadian friend Leslie gifted Laurel with a copy of Anne of Green Gables a couple of years ago. Given that Laurel loves chapter books with female central characters, we've been looking forward to reading Anne together but the language is still a little too advanced (Amazon lists the series for ages 9 and up). I subsequently was thrilled to find an adapted version of Anne of Green Gables in a box of hand me downs from my sister-in-law Estelle.
Perfect for avid young readers who also still love picture books, Laurel and I loved reading this book together. Although Laurel was initially a bit rattled at the beginning -- by the idea that Anne might be sent away for being a girl -- as the story developed, she was clearly captivated by Anne's strength, sauciness, and sensitivity. Laurel has already said she can't wait to read the original book and all the subsequent Anne stories. Meanwhile, I'm going to see if we can track down other adaptations of later books in the series.

One shopping note: The adapted Anne of Green Gables I found on Amazon has a different cover and publishing date (off by a year) than the copy I have, but shares the same contributor list for author (L. M. Montgomery), adapter (Margaret DeKeyser), and illustrator (Jerry Dillingham), as well as the same approximate page count and publisher (Dalmation Press). After poking around quite a bit on Amazon, I'm pretty confident that this is the same version I have. Enjoy!