100 things continued: numbers 70-61

Time to learn more new things!  Today's list has a few items near and dear to your mama's heart.


70. Sneeze and cough into your arm: Girl... for real.  Right now you're a baby so of course you don't know any better, but mama looks forward to a day where your sneeze doesn't end up all over her face, arms, hands, clothes, the dog, the furniture, etc.  Just in general, practicing good germ control is a necessity. 


69. Be confident: Confidence isn't something that comes naturally.  I can't tell you the number of times I wish I could go back to Junior High and High School with the confidence I've gained over the years and re-do a whole lot of that stuff.  It's really hard to have confidence during your teenage years when every little thing seems like a huge drama.  Your mom and dad are going to do the very best they can to booster your self-esteem so you can create your own confidence!  My best advice for building confidence is to realize that few things in life will turn out as poorly as you fear they will.  Are you confused about something in class but scared to speak up and ask a question?  Don't worry!  As smart as you already are if you're confused about something chances are someone else is even more confused and even more scared to ask!  You could help them out!  Are you worried you will be rejected by a group of people you want to hang out with?  Having confidence makes you attractive to other people.  They'll likely want to be your friend just because you seem so cool and in control of things!  Again, I wish I had the confidence I have now back when it would have made me the coolest kid in school!


68. Be independent:  Having confidence in yourself naturally leads to independence!  Confident people enjoy their independence and enjoy tackling the puzzles of every day life.  I've said before that I want you to live on your own for a little while so you can learn how to manage your own life as an individual.  Ideally, I imagine you would leave our home, go to college and live with roommates, then graduate and move out on your own for a little while before you find the love of your life and make a home with him or her.  (Yes, I said him OR her.  Your mama just wants you to be with someone who makes you happy and who treats you right!)  Living on your own means you don't rely on anyone but yourself to make your way in life.  Be strong enough to rely only on yourself for a little while.  It will give you the confidence to leave a bad situation if you find yourself in one someday (knowing you can survive on your own).  


67. Donate time to those less fortunate: I'm very excited to find out what things drive and motivate you as you get older because I think you can and will do a lot of good in your life.  Right now it looks like animals are a passion of yours.  I can't tell you how many times we have to stop and watch the birds or the squirrels while we're out and about!  A trip to the pet store makes you giddy!  I imagine someday you will want to volunteer your time at the animal shelter to help the puppies and kitties who don't have homes.  I imagine us going together as a family to donate our time and our energies to helping the homeless animals.  I also imagine us finding other projects to help with around our community!  It is important to give back to the community you love and I'd love to do that together as a family!


66. Read a newspaper: Let's face it... news as a print medium is on it's way out as I speak.  By the time you're old enough to read a newspaper, it will probably all be electronic!  Right now, in 2012, I can subscribe to any major newspaper and read it on my Nook e-reader.  Most people can do the same with their smart phones, too.  Still, keeping up to date with the news is very important.  We live in a global world where things that happen halfway across the globe can very well effect aspects of your day to day life.  Also, keeping up with the world's news keeps you informed and educated on matters which may eventually have great importance.  Do not allow yourself to be ignorant of global issues, nor should you ignore local issues in lieu of the grand scale.  Keep a good balance and keep yourself informed.  Oh... and for the love of all that is intellectual... be sure you get your news from an ACTUAL well-balanced source, not just one that claims to be well-balanced and fair.


65. Apply mascara: You know what... do this if you want but it is totally not required!  There are times when I like the way it makes me look but most of the time it just feels heavy and annoying on my lashes.  I'll show you how to do it, but only because I want you to know how to do pretty much everything.  If it doesn't apply to you and your life, you can promptly forget it!


64. Tie a tie (bonus points for a bow tie): Being a child of a single father I learned how to tie a tie as a teenager.  It's totally not hard to tie a good Windsor knot!  As far as the bow tie thing goes... my skills are poor at best.  Maybe we'll practice all of that together so we can tease daddy about his zip-up tie!


63. Remove a chocolate stain: Ok, we're going to change this to say "Remove a stain" because there are WAY more devious staining materials out there than just chocolate!  Blood, ink, chocolate, mustard, wine, grass... these are just a few of the things lurking out there waiting to ruin your favorite outfit!  Thankfully the internet is full of great ideas on how to remove stains from things.  The most important thing I can say about stain removal is to be sure you don't run the outfit through the dryer until the stain is all the way out.  Taking a tumble in the dryer just bakes those things in and it makes it MUCH harder to get them out!  I'm a big fan of using Shout on all of your baby stains.  It even got red sauce out of a white shirt (after several attempts, but still...)


62. Wrap a present: If you are even half as creative as your dad and half as determined as your mom you will want to know how to wrap neat looking presents.  I can't say I'm a present-wrapping guru, but through the power of a little website called Pinterest, I have found a lot of neat present wrapping ideas that we can use as a family!  Personally, I think the most important part of any present is the bow!  Always use a bow!


61. Find a book in a library:  As someone who works in a library I can't tell you how many times college seniors come up to me at the Reference Desk and have NO idea how to navigate the library.  This will not be you.  I plan to have you be the only kid in your entire class who is already citing scholarly database articles in grade school papers.  It is never too soon to learn how to do proper research!  I will have done my job as a parent and as a library worker/Reference specialist if you can find your own library books... in any call number system... on your own by the age of 5.  Challenge ACCEPTED!


To be continued....