{sponsored} Does your family rock? (because mine does)
This post is brought to you by The New Santa Fe from Hyundai. Think your family rocks? Show us by uploading a photo of your family rocking out. Enter now for a chance to win great prizes.
I love this time of year. People are generally nicer and wanting to help others. The holidays can really bring out the best in so many people. My family is no different.
While we try to do things all year-round, I think there are more opportunities closer to the holidays to give back. In the past, we’ve donated money to various charities (something my grandfather was big into) and my husband and I really want to teach our son how much fun it can be to give to others – especially those who really need a lot more than we do. We really want our child to be kind and know how rewarding it is to give to others.
Starting this year, we’re adopting a child from a giving tree (through my work) and I chose someone close to my son’s age. We can provide a Christmas for a little boy that he may not otherwise have (I know my son is going to receive far more than he really needs, so it’s not like we’re taking anything away from him.) I’m hoping this is a tradition we can continue for many years. My hope is that every year we can choose someone close to my child’s age, so my son can also help pick out gifts when he’s older.
I think giving can be fun, and our family is all about fun. Especially if music is involved.
When I was pregnant, we went to several amazing concerts. The baby’s first concert was Joshua Radin. We also saw (heard) Mumford and Sons, Elvis Costello and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers live. We joked that if I went into labor at Mumford and Sons, that our son would be named Mumford. If I went into labor at the Elvis Costello show, his name would have been Elvis. (Fortunately, he didn’t come during either show.) The staff at the Mumford and Sons show were crazy scared that I was going to have the baby that night. I remember them questioning where our seats were. They did NOT want us down on the arena floor (we had seats above the stage, and I was also only 7 months pregnant.) I guess not a lot of pregnant women see that many shows like I did. We were determined not to let pregnancy (or later, a baby) get in the way of our musical outings.
After all of that, when I ended up having to have a c-section, the doctor asked someone to turn on Pandora, and then asked if I had a preference in music. I mentioned the baby seemed to move a lot when Michael Jackson and Usher were playing.
My son was born to ‘Thriller’ playing. That happens to be a song that my husband holds near and dear to his heart (he danced to it at our wedding, along with most of our wedding party.)
Our son loves music and dancing. I love that my kid loves to dance. He’s been dancing long before he started walking – even crawling. He applauds when he sees others dancing. I think that says a lot about our household. Lots of music, lots of dancing, lots of fun.
If we aren’t dancing, you can often find us playing my son’s musical instruments (baby instruments are the best!) or acting like rock stars on Guitar Hero and Rock Band. We don’t play on the Wii as much these days with a one-year-old running around, but I’m sure he’ll be a huge fan of the drums one day (sooner, rather than later.) It also excites me to no end that my brother, the real musician of the family, is trying to instill his musical tastes on my son with all of the musical gifts he’s given to him. (Mozart music block, dvds…)
My family kind of rocks. In so many ways. Life is never dull at our house and I wouldn’t change that.
And speaking of families who rock, Hyundai Santa Fe and Rolling Stone are looking for families who rock. They have a contest going on right now through December 14 to find a family that is not only amazing, but also has many values a great family would have – kindness, hard working, fun and has just the right amount of mischief. Enter the contest here by submitting a photo and a short description about your family.
Prizes include a photo shoot in Rolling Stone featuring the winning family shot by an industry photographer, airfare, hotel and transportation to the 55th Grammy Awards, and a fully tricked-out Hyundai Santa Fe custom rock ‘n’ roller.
So enter today – and good luck!
- I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
