Kids | the pixel boutique | blog, web & print design

I had a huge reality check yesterday. Nothing horrible or life threatening happened…just a simple cross country meet.

I don’t know if it was because this was the first meet of my now high school freshman and the fact that he is that, just hit me anew.

Or maybe it was because I’ve been mostly cooped up at home in the past eight weeks and my recovery has been a little slower than I’d like it to be.

I don’t know, but whatever it was from, I was hit with two huge emotions watching that tall, lean boy run his heart out in the 100+ degree heat, making me wish I hadn’t left my sunglasses in the car.

{Warning…a bit of transparency lies ahead…if you’re here for a premade theme or tutorial, just look away…}

One…

My time with these boys is so very limited. It is speeding by faster than I realize the majority of the time. These years of homework, cross country meets, family dinners, my influence…they are fleeting.

And two…fear.

Fear that I haven’t done enough…taught them enough…prepared them enough…been enough. Will they be ready to face this big bad world on their own some day? When I’m not there to protect them and guide them and remind them? Will they know without a shadow of a doubt that, next to their father, I love them more than any other human beings on this planet? The reality of my humanness glares me in the face at times.

I forget to sign permission slips and agendas.

I yell sometimes.

I don’t always make a vegetable with dinner. And…I don’t buy organic.

I haven’t exposed my kids to enough culture.

I get lectured at the dentist because they don’t floss enough.

They don’t always get As and Bs. And Cs.

The list could probably go on for a few posts.

But I have to know that somehow this frail offering I give is taken and transformed and renewed every day into something worthy and good…no matter how imperfect.

every “Thank you, mamma”…

every “I want to help!” in the kitchen…

every “I love you”…

every smile and laugh and giggle…

every snicker and roll of the eyes at my bad jokes and even worse dancing…

every kiss good night that is never, ever missed…

makes me think its all going to be ok.

UPDATE: The winners of this giveaway are #200 (Debra F.), #64 (geckoseiya), #166 (Nicole D.) and #88 (Sue). Congratulations!

I’m sure you’ve seen or heard about the new movie by DreamWorks that came out a few weeks ago…How to Train Your Dragon. My boys want to see it so bad they can taste it. But, baseball games, book reports and blog designs seem to be eating up our extra time of late.

So for now, they’re whetting their appetites with the video game by Activision, based on the movie. We recently received a copy for the Wii to play and review.

Developed for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS, the game has a ESRB Rating of E10+…perfect for my 9, 11 and (though a little old for it…) 13 year old. The suggested retail price is $49.99 for PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii and $29.99 for NDS.

The multi player game picks up where the movie left off, allowing players to enjoy an all-new adventure as one of the movie characters, “Hiccup” or Astrid”. Players create and train their own dragon for battle, explore environments and battle in prestigious dragon tournaments.

With mini games such as “Ice Sculpting”, “Looping Race”, “Flying Sheppard”, “Memory Torch”, and “Puzzle Dragon” built in, players earn experience points toward leveling up your dragon, winning gold and other items to help care for their dragons.

My 9 year old enjoyed the game the most out of the three. Really, how can you go wrong with battling and dragons with a boy? I felt like the graphics and material were age appropriate and the challenges engaged his attention. However, without seeing the movie first, my son felt a bit lost not knowing character names, locations, etc. Still a fun and entertaining game, and I’m sure it will be even better after we see the movie (whenever that may be…).

Win It! Activision has generously offered 4 Wii games for The Pixel Boutique readers! Here’s how to enter:

Comment on this post telling me if you’ve seen the movies and what you thought of it.
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Entries must be made by Friday, April 23 at 11:59 p.m. MST.