Presenting… Austin Kids Draw! with Giveaways!

Growing Up Austin - Austin Kids DrawAustinKidsHike and AustinKidsDance were launched last year and good things come in threes, so please welcome the latest addition to the GrowingUpAustin family…

Austin Kids Draw! where you can See Art and Do Art with your kids in Austin, Texas

Kids and art are a great mix because they make for a day that is more active than watching TV and more creative than super-organized activities. And, just like with hiking and dancing, Austin is just about the greatest city on earth.

Did you know that in one location you can participate in arts-and-crafts led by a profession artist, then walk outside and hike along Lake Travis, then drop into a museum to see a great-for-kids-size exhibit, then play duck-duck-goose on the front lawn? Not to mention the peacocks just next door? I don’t think that kind of action happens just anywhere. The range is impressive too, from the very traditional Blanton Museum of Art to the live improv performances for kids where the kids participate along with a real live dog named Steve.

The See Art and Do Art pages provide a calendar, maps and descriptions to help you find the right experience for you and your kids.

And if that weren’t enough, there are my two favorite giveaways of all time, each with brilliant especially-for-kids art and worth more than $90 each!  Enter a comment anywhere on GrowingUpAustin.com to enter. You can enter more than once, as long as your comments say something real. :) Read below for more info.

Giveaway #1  – Deadline tonight, February 6, at midnight!

- 1 Custom silhouette art piece of your child done in person this week by Karl Johnson of Cut Arts
- 1 Women’s Growing Up Austin t-shirt
- 2 Kids’ Growing Up Austin t-shirts
- 1 Austin Go Local discount card

Giveaway #2 – Deadline Thursday, February 9, at midnight!

- 1 Adventures of You and I customized kids book by Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit at UnderConsideration
- 1 Women’s Growing Up Austin t-shirt
- 2 Kids’ Growing Up Austin t-shirts
- 1 Austin Go Local discount card

(Comments entered on Monday that don’t win Monday’s giveaway will automatically be entered in the second giveaway.)

 

Silhouette Art by Karl Johnson of Cut Arts

Karl Johnson is in Austin this week to meet with kids, check out their profile and then use a simple pair of scissors to create a unique representation that captures each child’s look and personality. Each cutting is an original, one-of-a-kind work of art that is signed by the artist. Check out this video to see him work his magic. From February 7-12, Karl will be at Austin businesses to meet with kids and to create their portrait for just $25. Be the winner of Giveaway #1 and you can get yours for free! Check out this page for days and locations. Note that you will need to make an appointment ahead of time. (This giveaway is closed tonight, so the winner will have more available appointment times to choose from.)

 

Adventures of You and I Customized Kids Book by UnderConsideration

Adventures of You and IThe Adventures of You and I is a brand new kid’s book with dinosaurs, deep-sea diving, a circus, space travel, a distracted ogre, a toy store and Your Kid. Each book is customized with the name, gender, hair, skin and favorite color of your kid and your kid is along for the adventure on every page.  Each book is printed individually and hand-bound, to create something special that will be treasured for a long while. The book is illustrated by Bryony Gomez-Palacio and written by Armin Vit, both world-wide experts in graphic design and founders of UnderConsideration.  Be the winner of Giveaway #2 and you will get one book for free, custom-made for Your Kid.

 

Women’s Growing Up Austin T-shirt

Growing Up AustinWinners of both giveaways will get a limited edition Growing Up Austin t-shirt with fitted cut and pretty scoop neck!

 

Kids’ Growing Up Austin T-shirt

Presenting Austin Kids DrawHow many interactive kids t-shirts do your kids have, where they get to draw on it and not get in trouble? To celebrate the completion of the Austin Kids trilogy – Hike, Dance and Draw – kids get their very own t-shirt (sizes 2T – Youth M). This isn’t your everyday t-shirt, kids get to find all the hiking, dancing and/or art related words with the included fabric marker. My favorite word in the crossword is wowza. I just like how that word sounds. Both giveaway winners will get two kids t-shirts.

 

Austin Go Local Card

Go Local AustinI love my Go Local Austin card. I keep it in my essentials-only wallet with my debit card and use it just about as much. And what is not to like? You get to support local businesses and save money at the same time! Did you know you can buy Go Local cards at H-E-B now? They are still just $10, but both giveaway winners will get one for free.

That is all for today! I hope you like the new site! Have a great week!


An Orchid on the Doorstep

Dreams for our children.
The end of the year can be a time to reflect on mortality and dreams that may or may not come true.

I have a dream for my family.

To be 90 years old, on the front porch in a swing with my husband, watching my kids and grand kids play on the front lawn, all healthy and happy.

My kids will learn to read, run, play and make friends.

My kids will graduate high school, college and get a good job.

My kids will find someone to love and get married.

My kids will have kids and they would have this dream for their kids too.

It isn’t my dream really, it is everyone’s dream.

I wish there could be a guarantee of some kind, to make sure that all of this will happen, but there isn’t. And I know that there are parents and kids who don’t get all of this and who live great lives and there is love and value and hope in their lives too. But I still want the dream.

When Blue Eyes and I were in crisis several years ago, some one left us an orchid on our door step without a note. It seemed like it was from everyone, that the universe was thinking of us in some way. Today, I left an orchid on the doorstep of my friends who are in crisis now. I hope they feel the same.


My Good Friend the Christmas Card Address List

Growing Up Austin

My Christmas Card Address List is like a friend I’ve known a while that changes over time and who tells me when that dress doesn’t really fit anymore, in case I hadn’t noticed.

Here is how our relationship has evolved…

- Before Marraige/Kids – What list? What cards? Christmas cards are a quaint and old-fashioned tradition for old people.

- Marriage – Well, I’m not too old, but I like being married and it is fun to send cards, so I’ll try it out.

- Kids – OK, now I’m on my way to getting old. And I get it. Since I’m trying to manage these little kids running around, I don’t have time to visit with friends for hours at a time at a long afternoon happy hour. Except for my closest friends, the best I can do is remember how many kids they have (maybe their names) and if they still live in town or not. It’s nice to remember at least that much. It is nice to see couples move into nice houses and add to their families with brand new babies.

- Kids Plus – This year, my relationship with my Christmas Card Address List took a turn and I feel older. I deleted names, and not just because we had lost touch, but because they had died, and not all of them were elderly grandparents who had lived a long and full life. Do you know how death feels different depending on the age of the person who died? For a child, it is always the greatest tragedy. For someone in their twenties, it is heart breaking. For someone in their thirties, it is unexpected. For someone in their forties, well, it isn’t that unusual anymore. I had one friend die who was born without functioning kidneys and was never expected to live to be a grown man. I had another friend die who was strong and healthy, but died within a week of discovering an advanced brain tumor. And besides the deaths, there was cancer, a stroke and a serious car accident that led to an amputated leg. I feel very mortal this year. The Christmas Card Address List showed this to me, in simple spreadsheet form, in case I hadn’t noticed.