Have you heard about Dinovember?

Every so often, I stumble upon something so amazeballs on the internet that I decide it is worthy of its own post here on SeektobeMerry. Dinovember is just such an amazeballs discovery...

Dinovember is the brainchild of two amazing parents who worried that our technology-centric world would lead to a loss of their kids' sense of wonder and imagination. To keep the magic alive, at night after the kids go to bed, their dinosaurs "come to life" and create mischief throughout the house.

Or sometimes they hang out and have fun...

I just love imagining these two adults, sitting around after their kids go to bed, setting up these amazing scenes, essentially playing with the toys themselves (because isn't that kinda what they're doing!?) 

 And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Dinovember is becoming something of a craze, with dinosaurs coming alive at night in homes across the country!! Click HERE to see more pictures and read the original story about Dinovember (the photo captions are really funny and the short blurb from the father/author is super sweet) then click HERE to check out the Facebook page they've created which is filled with more hysterical pictures from the founders of Dinovember as well as submissions from other dinosaur-filled homes! And if you want to get in on the action yourself... #dinovember is all you need to do!!!

that’s what she said

That's what she said.

This post brought to you by the fabulous (parent)thetically speaking.

Take a 2.75 year old – give her an impressive (if I do say so myself) vocabulary, the ability to put together complete sentences, an imagination that goes on for days, and a fondness for the gab – and you’ve got yourself a very entertaining conversationalist.

Has a story (or a tiny, rambling, crazy person) made you chuckle and think “what could possibly be going on in their head?” Here are some gems that I’m oh-so-glad I wrote down…

                                                           

(telling a story…)

- When I was little, I had big friends, they was called Alex and Emily.

- When I get big, I’m going to go to a office all by myself and there’s going to be big people in my story.

(imagination…)

- We going into the house’s mouth! (pulling into the garage)

- Here’s a pancake, cheese and pasta sandwich for you…Mmmm tastes chocolate-y.

- Chickens can’t go on vacation. You’re too goofy.

- My whole world is gone in my room. It went outside. You look for it while I get my toys…you found it? It was all the way out there? At the beach?

(when she should’ve been in bed a half hour ago…) 

- Ooooh, I remember that and then I said, do you want some food? Not yet, after dinner.

- Sometimes I eat bread, and sometimes I eat mommy’s cheeks.

- (Q: What’s the opposite of old?) A: Winter. Winter means light.

(sweet nothings…)

- Thanks for letting me borrow your arm. It’s so pretty. I love it.

- May I snuggle you?

- When you was a baby, I scooped you in your crib and that was my best hugs ever.

(simple, yet somehow profound…)

- I’m Dolly. I have tags. I go with Jane.

- The sky’s not falling. It’s just staying there.

 And that, folks, is what she said.

For previous posts from (parent)thetically speaking, click HERE.

My Imaginary Tattoo

Amazing what you can do with a pen & boredom

Lately I've been fixated on the idea of getting a tattoo. I can't explain where exactly the burning desire has come from, but suddenly I'm Pinterest-hunting designs and doodling on myself with a uniball pen, all the while knowing in the back of my mind that this is a permanent decision which I'm highly unlikely to actually go through with. The tattoo I'm never actually getting is an anchor. I'd put it on my left wrist, tiny enough to easily cover with a watch or bracelet. It's meaningful as a daily reminder to stay "anchored" and strong and also because it evokes happy thoughts of summers spent in the sunshine on my family's boat. As you can see, I've given this imaginary tattoo a lot of thought. 

Do you ever get an impulse to do something you know you're not really brave enough to do? Have you researched skydiving despite a fear of heights or planned for a haircut, but never actually let the scissors chop off those inches? When thinking through the idea of a tattoo, I find myself unable to deal with how permanent it is, yet there's something awesome about the imaginary plan. It's like "other meri" is playing what if? and I'm just enjoying the hypothetical. Maybe that's ok, kinda what our imaginations are for, to enjoy being the "other" version of ourselves that isn't attainable in reality... or maybe it's time for me to go get a tattoo...