Sunday, April 1, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Christmas Traditions
As Madeline's Mommy I proudly accept the title of "Maker of Memories". I understand the responsibility of raising my kid(s) and realize that everything I do - or don't do - in their day to day life will make a lasting impression. The fun part of that job is making holiday traditions that she'll look forward to. My favorite holiday has always been Christmas, and I hope that through my holiday cheer and family traditions it will be Madeline's as well.
Some of the traditions I'm starting with our little family are:
Family Photos.
Cookies. I love to bake cookies. I love to gift cookies. I LOVE to eat cookies.
Jeff's favorite: White Chocolate Peppermint.
My favorite: Snickerdoodles
One day Maddy will have a fave and I'll be sure to bake those every year. When I was working outside the home, and lived near a ton of friends, I liked to bake 5-10 different types of cookies and then gift them. When we make more friends here, and when Maddy is a bit older so she can help, I hope to make that many again. This year we only made 3 types, but I'm hoping next year we'll have the need to make more. I also want to get brave and make other Christmas treats like marshmallows, white chocolate popcorn, nutty buddies, etc. One day we'll have a Bake-Day and it will be GLORIOUS!!!
Pajamas. I want to get Madeline (and other kid(s) we have) a new pair of pajamas to be opened Christmas eve. I think part of the fun (for me) is searching for the perfect pair of pajamas, and the other part of the fun is the opening a present Christmas Eve night. Sure, one day she'll know it's going to be pajamas, but I hope it'll still be fun. Then, in our pajamas we'll snuggle up and watch a Christmas movie.
Movies. I eventually want to have a movie-a-night for the week leading up to Christmas. At this point there are 4 must-watch movies in our family.
Last night we watched Elf. I love Elf! Obviously, with her being 16 months old, it didn't hold Madeline's attention for long, but she really liked all the bright colors and the singing done by Zooey Deshenel.
Tonight we'll be watching The Family Stone. If you haven't seen The Family Stone, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's got quite a few big stars in it, which is usually a recipe for disaster, but I think it's one of the best movies ever. It's funny and touching and you can relate to the family. A little bit dysfunctional, a little bit quirky, but they love each other and hold each other up when times are tough.
Tomorrow we'll watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It should come as no surprise that this is Jeff's favorite movie, but I think it's funny as well. It's not exactly a kids movie, and it may have to be watched after Maddy goes to bed for a few years, but it's still one we look forward to.
On Christmas Eve we'll watch A Christmas Story. It's so cheesy, it's quoted more times that any movie should, but I'll still smile and laugh as Ralphy comes down the stairs in the pink bunny costume, and when he gets his mouth washed out with soap, and when his dad mispronounces FRAGILE, and when they go to the Chinese restaurant for their Christmas dinner. It's an oldie, but a goodie for sure.
As the years go on I'm sure we'll add more traditions, and I look forward to it. I look forward to the year when we get out the box of ornaments and Madeline jumps up and down so excited, when she proudly decorates her own sugar cookies, and when she performs in a Christmas musical. I hope she grows to love Christmas like we do.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!
Some of the traditions I'm starting with our little family are:
Family Photos.
Cookies. I love to bake cookies. I love to gift cookies. I LOVE to eat cookies.
Jeff's favorite: White Chocolate Peppermint.
My favorite: Snickerdoodles
One day Maddy will have a fave and I'll be sure to bake those every year. When I was working outside the home, and lived near a ton of friends, I liked to bake 5-10 different types of cookies and then gift them. When we make more friends here, and when Maddy is a bit older so she can help, I hope to make that many again. This year we only made 3 types, but I'm hoping next year we'll have the need to make more. I also want to get brave and make other Christmas treats like marshmallows, white chocolate popcorn, nutty buddies, etc. One day we'll have a Bake-Day and it will be GLORIOUS!!!
Pajamas. I want to get Madeline (and other kid(s) we have) a new pair of pajamas to be opened Christmas eve. I think part of the fun (for me) is searching for the perfect pair of pajamas, and the other part of the fun is the opening a present Christmas Eve night. Sure, one day she'll know it's going to be pajamas, but I hope it'll still be fun. Then, in our pajamas we'll snuggle up and watch a Christmas movie.
Movies. I eventually want to have a movie-a-night for the week leading up to Christmas. At this point there are 4 must-watch movies in our family.
Last night we watched Elf. I love Elf! Obviously, with her being 16 months old, it didn't hold Madeline's attention for long, but she really liked all the bright colors and the singing done by Zooey Deshenel.
Tonight we'll be watching The Family Stone. If you haven't seen The Family Stone, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's got quite a few big stars in it, which is usually a recipe for disaster, but I think it's one of the best movies ever. It's funny and touching and you can relate to the family. A little bit dysfunctional, a little bit quirky, but they love each other and hold each other up when times are tough.
Tomorrow we'll watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It should come as no surprise that this is Jeff's favorite movie, but I think it's funny as well. It's not exactly a kids movie, and it may have to be watched after Maddy goes to bed for a few years, but it's still one we look forward to.
On Christmas Eve we'll watch A Christmas Story. It's so cheesy, it's quoted more times that any movie should, but I'll still smile and laugh as Ralphy comes down the stairs in the pink bunny costume, and when he gets his mouth washed out with soap, and when his dad mispronounces FRAGILE, and when they go to the Chinese restaurant for their Christmas dinner. It's an oldie, but a goodie for sure.
As the years go on I'm sure we'll add more traditions, and I look forward to it. I look forward to the year when we get out the box of ornaments and Madeline jumps up and down so excited, when she proudly decorates her own sugar cookies, and when she performs in a Christmas musical. I hope she grows to love Christmas like we do.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Lets RAK November - Week 3 and 4
Things got a little busy around here with Thanksgiving, so I didn't get around to posting Week 3's RAKs on time. SO, here are both weeks 3 and 4. I have to apologize for the lack of photos, MOST of the time I just forgot to grab my camera when I left the house, and then there were a couple times when I remembered to bring it with, but the battery was dead. Because of the lack of pics this post may bore you.
RAK 15: The week before Thanksgiving I donated some Thanksgiving meal types of food to the local food bank.
RAK 16: I went to Target's $1 spot and picked up a few Sesame Street books and donated them to the Salvation Army donation center. The lady seemed surprised that I was bringing children's books. She said they usually only get adult books donated to them.
RAK 17: I printed up 10 business-card sized cards that said: "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." ~Kathryn Stockett, The Help and put them on random cars in the high school parking lot down the street from my apartment.
RAK 18: I wrote 3 Thank You cards to loved ones and mailed them out. "Thank you for being there for me when I need you." "Thank you for loving Madeline so much." "Thank you for being so thoughtful and generous." The people I sent them to seemed to really appreciate the cards - and 2 of the 3 noted how unexpected it was to get something so simple and heartfelt in the USPS mail. It's a shame that people don't write/send letters anymore, dontcha think?
RAK 19: I got some coloring books and crayons at Hobby Lobby and dropped them off at the hospital's pediatric unit.
RAK 20: On a nice sunny day, Madeline and I (she strapped in the Ergo baby carrier on my chest) opened the door for 10 people before going into Target to do our normal Target shopping. A few people didn't even acknowledge the cute baby, but most were very gracious. One older lady asked me why I was holding the door for her. I responded, "why not?" :) She just put her hand on my arm and gave me a big smile.
RAK 21: I went to my favorite coffee shop and paid for the car across from me's drink. Across from you? I can hear the confusion from here. My favorite coffee shop is ONLY a drive through, there's no cafe. There are two drive-up windows, one on either side of the little building and you can see the car across the way through the building while you're waiting for your drink to me made. A car pulled up across the way shortly after me, and when the barista told me my total and asked for my car I simply asked her to charge my card for the other customer's latte also. (When I worked at Starbucks a few years ago this was a pretty popular RAK that always made people's mornings on the way in to work. I loved to see how happy it made people to get free coffee!)
RAK 22: I hadn't planned this one, but shortly after I got my ^^peppermint hot chocolate^^ I was sitting in road construction traffic and s-l-o-w-l-y crept up to the STOP/SLOW sign holder. She looked like she was FREEZING. I hadn't taken a sip of my HoCho yet, so I rolled down my window and asked if she wanted it. I was still within sight of the coffee shop, and it was obvious that the lid was still perfectly clean so she gladly accepted it. :)
RAK 23: I made "Breastfeeding Kits" and dropped them off at the maternity ward of the hospital. Each kit had 2 breast pads, 1 tube of lanolin, a pack of oatmeal and a bottle of water. I only made 5 kits, but hopefully they got passed out to women who wanted to breastfeed. It would be nice to get a breastfeeding kit that WASN'T provided by a formula manufacturer.
RAK 24: When the school supplies were on clearance at Target (are you starting to understand my love/obsession with that store??) I stocked up on about 10 boxes of crayons. I dropped them off to an elementary school. I think it's insane that teachers are supposed to supply their classrooms with the supplies it needs.
RAK 25: I wrote 3 thank you notes for the USPS mail carriers. I put one in my apartment mailbank's outgoing box. I put one in a blue sidewalk mail box outside the hospital. I put the last one in the "stamped letters" slot inside the post office. I know mail carriers get a lot of flack, but geeze louise I wouldn't want to do their jobs!! When I worked in an office setting I'd usually try to be chatty with the mail carriers and some of the stories I've heard are unbelievable!
RAK 26: I left 2 quarters on top of 4 different machines at a laundromat by the University.
RAK 27: Instead of donating old towels/blankets to Goodwill, I instead donated them to an animal rescue that was set up at Petsmart one Saturday. I figured they could use the blankets to line the crates so that the dogs didn't have to sit on the cold metal or concrete.
RAK 28: Donated some carnations and daisies to a local assisted living home. The worker at the front desk said she'd put one on each person's bedside table.
RAK 29: On a busy errand-running day I complimented 5 strangers. "Wow, your hair looks really pretty!" "Your daughter is adorable!!" etc.
RAK 30: Left "Have a great day!" notes on cars at the mall parking lot.
That was it for my "Lets RAK November" 30 Day Challenge. I really enjoyed the challenge and was really happy the other morning when I saw my neighbor getting all the snow off another neighbor's car for her. He is the owner of one of the white cars that I scraped all the snow off his car in the very first RAK that I did. :) I love to see the RAKs being paid forward! :) I look forward to doing this challenge again in years to come and I really look forward to my kid(s) helping me. <3
RAK 15: The week before Thanksgiving I donated some Thanksgiving meal types of food to the local food bank.
RAK 16: I went to Target's $1 spot and picked up a few Sesame Street books and donated them to the Salvation Army donation center. The lady seemed surprised that I was bringing children's books. She said they usually only get adult books donated to them.
RAK 17: I printed up 10 business-card sized cards that said: "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." ~Kathryn Stockett, The Help and put them on random cars in the high school parking lot down the street from my apartment.
RAK 18: I wrote 3 Thank You cards to loved ones and mailed them out. "Thank you for being there for me when I need you." "Thank you for loving Madeline so much." "Thank you for being so thoughtful and generous." The people I sent them to seemed to really appreciate the cards - and 2 of the 3 noted how unexpected it was to get something so simple and heartfelt in the USPS mail. It's a shame that people don't write/send letters anymore, dontcha think?
RAK 19: I got some coloring books and crayons at Hobby Lobby and dropped them off at the hospital's pediatric unit.
RAK 20: On a nice sunny day, Madeline and I (she strapped in the Ergo baby carrier on my chest) opened the door for 10 people before going into Target to do our normal Target shopping. A few people didn't even acknowledge the cute baby, but most were very gracious. One older lady asked me why I was holding the door for her. I responded, "why not?" :) She just put her hand on my arm and gave me a big smile.
RAK 21: I went to my favorite coffee shop and paid for the car across from me's drink. Across from you? I can hear the confusion from here. My favorite coffee shop is ONLY a drive through, there's no cafe. There are two drive-up windows, one on either side of the little building and you can see the car across the way through the building while you're waiting for your drink to me made. A car pulled up across the way shortly after me, and when the barista told me my total and asked for my car I simply asked her to charge my card for the other customer's latte also. (When I worked at Starbucks a few years ago this was a pretty popular RAK that always made people's mornings on the way in to work. I loved to see how happy it made people to get free coffee!)
RAK 22: I hadn't planned this one, but shortly after I got my ^^peppermint hot chocolate^^ I was sitting in road construction traffic and s-l-o-w-l-y crept up to the STOP/SLOW sign holder. She looked like she was FREEZING. I hadn't taken a sip of my HoCho yet, so I rolled down my window and asked if she wanted it. I was still within sight of the coffee shop, and it was obvious that the lid was still perfectly clean so she gladly accepted it. :)
RAK 23: I made "Breastfeeding Kits" and dropped them off at the maternity ward of the hospital. Each kit had 2 breast pads, 1 tube of lanolin, a pack of oatmeal and a bottle of water. I only made 5 kits, but hopefully they got passed out to women who wanted to breastfeed. It would be nice to get a breastfeeding kit that WASN'T provided by a formula manufacturer.
RAK 24: When the school supplies were on clearance at Target (are you starting to understand my love/obsession with that store??) I stocked up on about 10 boxes of crayons. I dropped them off to an elementary school. I think it's insane that teachers are supposed to supply their classrooms with the supplies it needs.
RAK 25: I wrote 3 thank you notes for the USPS mail carriers. I put one in my apartment mailbank's outgoing box. I put one in a blue sidewalk mail box outside the hospital. I put the last one in the "stamped letters" slot inside the post office. I know mail carriers get a lot of flack, but geeze louise I wouldn't want to do their jobs!! When I worked in an office setting I'd usually try to be chatty with the mail carriers and some of the stories I've heard are unbelievable!
RAK 26: I left 2 quarters on top of 4 different machines at a laundromat by the University.
RAK 27: Instead of donating old towels/blankets to Goodwill, I instead donated them to an animal rescue that was set up at Petsmart one Saturday. I figured they could use the blankets to line the crates so that the dogs didn't have to sit on the cold metal or concrete.
RAK 28: Donated some carnations and daisies to a local assisted living home. The worker at the front desk said she'd put one on each person's bedside table.
RAK 29: On a busy errand-running day I complimented 5 strangers. "Wow, your hair looks really pretty!" "Your daughter is adorable!!" etc.
RAK 30: Left "Have a great day!" notes on cars at the mall parking lot.
That was it for my "Lets RAK November" 30 Day Challenge. I really enjoyed the challenge and was really happy the other morning when I saw my neighbor getting all the snow off another neighbor's car for her. He is the owner of one of the white cars that I scraped all the snow off his car in the very first RAK that I did. :) I love to see the RAKs being paid forward! :) I look forward to doing this challenge again in years to come and I really look forward to my kid(s) helping me. <3
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Lets RAK November - Week 2
Another week in November down, another 7 RAKs completed! Here they are!
RAK 8: Thankfully I've never had a fire emergency where I needed to call the fire department to come save the day, but I'm ssssooooo appreciative of the fact that there is a fire department to help if ever I should need them. I wanted to bake some goodies for the firefighters and drop them off at the station. So, I baked some brownies and drove to Station No. 1 in my town.... only to learn that the station was shut down for remodeling. Luckily, when I got there there was a truck sitting out front (apparently there was a mobile-trailer-office set up behind the station where a few fire fighters were in case someone in that neighborhood came for help, though, I never would have noticed the trailer if it weren't for the fireman who pointed it out!) and I saw a fireman loading up supplies. I asked him if the guys in his truck would like the brownies or if I should take them to another station. He said it was up to me, but that they'd eat them. I decided to give them to him and as I drove off I saw the fireman in the front seat stuffing his face with brownie! yay!
RAK 9: I really like when someone posts something on FB that made them think of me. I may be wrong, but I think gone are the days of sending e-cards, so instead I found funny little e-postcards at and shared them with 5 friends on FB. Here are two of my faves. (The two that were the least crude. haha!)
RAK 10: I wanted to make some treats for my apartment building neighbors. I found a delicious recipe on Pinterest for pumpkin snickerdoodles and decided to make them for my neighbors. Imagine their surprise when I rang the doorbell and when they opened the door I was there with little bags of delicious cookies!! Special delivery!!
RAK 11: I didn't get a picture of this, but I'm sure most of you have done this in the past and don't need a picture to imagine what it'd look like... I donated 3 bags of clothing to The Goodwill. I originally wanted to donate them to another shelter, but a friend pointed out that The Goodwill was helping others by providing jobs to people who (sometimes) have a hard time finding work else where because they have disabilities, etc.
RAK 12: I've heard good things about the Starbucks VIA instant coffee so I decided to put them on the windshields of some of the cars in the college parking lot (9 cars total). Jeff says that he doesn't think anyone will trust them to drink them (thinking they might be laced with something?) but I suppose that's their prerogative, I know that I didn't put anything in them and I think it's a nice gesture, because who wouldn't like a free cup of Starbucks coffee?
RAK 13: When running errands I often see people too lazy to put their shopping carts in the cart corral and instead leaving them all over the parking lot. As someone who has worked at a store with shopping carts and who has had to wrangle the carts regardless of the weather I know how bad it sucks to walk up and down every aisle and try to gather up all the carts. So, before grocery shopping one day I took a few mins and gathered up 5 stray shopping carts and put them in the cart corrals. Again, I didn't get a picture of this since I was alone when doing it and needed both of my hands.
RAK 14: I stole this RAK idea from a good friend... I found a quote I liked about beauty and printed up cards to put inside beauty products. Obviously, if you're buying skin aging creams, hair dye, concealer, etc you trying to make yourself appear/feel more beautiful. While I don't see anything wrong with buying and using those things I do wish that women and girls felt more beautiful just they way they already, naturally, are. I put 10 cards in 10 different beauty product boxes. I hope they make the consumer pause and smile, even if just for a second.
That was it for this week! I'll post 7 more next week! Happy RAKing if you're doing any of your own!
RAK 8: Thankfully I've never had a fire emergency where I needed to call the fire department to come save the day, but I'm ssssooooo appreciative of the fact that there is a fire department to help if ever I should need them. I wanted to bake some goodies for the firefighters and drop them off at the station. So, I baked some brownies and drove to Station No. 1 in my town.... only to learn that the station was shut down for remodeling. Luckily, when I got there there was a truck sitting out front (apparently there was a mobile-trailer-office set up behind the station where a few fire fighters were in case someone in that neighborhood came for help, though, I never would have noticed the trailer if it weren't for the fireman who pointed it out!) and I saw a fireman loading up supplies. I asked him if the guys in his truck would like the brownies or if I should take them to another station. He said it was up to me, but that they'd eat them. I decided to give them to him and as I drove off I saw the fireman in the front seat stuffing his face with brownie! yay!
RAK 9: I really like when someone posts something on FB that made them think of me. I may be wrong, but I think gone are the days of sending e-cards, so instead I found funny little e-postcards at and shared them with 5 friends on FB. Here are two of my faves. (The two that were the least crude. haha!)
RAK 10: I wanted to make some treats for my apartment building neighbors. I found a delicious recipe on Pinterest for pumpkin snickerdoodles and decided to make them for my neighbors. Imagine their surprise when I rang the doorbell and when they opened the door I was there with little bags of delicious cookies!! Special delivery!!
RAK 11: I didn't get a picture of this, but I'm sure most of you have done this in the past and don't need a picture to imagine what it'd look like... I donated 3 bags of clothing to The Goodwill. I originally wanted to donate them to another shelter, but a friend pointed out that The Goodwill was helping others by providing jobs to people who (sometimes) have a hard time finding work else where because they have disabilities, etc.
RAK 12: I've heard good things about the Starbucks VIA instant coffee so I decided to put them on the windshields of some of the cars in the college parking lot (9 cars total). Jeff says that he doesn't think anyone will trust them to drink them (thinking they might be laced with something?) but I suppose that's their prerogative, I know that I didn't put anything in them and I think it's a nice gesture, because who wouldn't like a free cup of Starbucks coffee?
RAK 13: When running errands I often see people too lazy to put their shopping carts in the cart corral and instead leaving them all over the parking lot. As someone who has worked at a store with shopping carts and who has had to wrangle the carts regardless of the weather I know how bad it sucks to walk up and down every aisle and try to gather up all the carts. So, before grocery shopping one day I took a few mins and gathered up 5 stray shopping carts and put them in the cart corrals. Again, I didn't get a picture of this since I was alone when doing it and needed both of my hands.
RAK 14: I stole this RAK idea from a good friend... I found a quote I liked about beauty and printed up cards to put inside beauty products. Obviously, if you're buying skin aging creams, hair dye, concealer, etc you trying to make yourself appear/feel more beautiful. While I don't see anything wrong with buying and using those things I do wish that women and girls felt more beautiful just they way they already, naturally, are. I put 10 cards in 10 different beauty product boxes. I hope they make the consumer pause and smile, even if just for a second.
That was it for this week! I'll post 7 more next week! Happy RAKing if you're doing any of your own!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Lets RAK November - Week 1
I read a blog where a woman did 30 Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) during the month of her birthday. It really inspired me and made me want to do something similar. I thought about it and decided I wanted to do 30 RAKs during the month of November. December has become so much about instant gratification, greed, over indulgence, etc. even if you try to limit holiday over indulgence in your own family the world around you doesn't comply. So, I've decided that I want this to be an annual tradition. As Maddy gets older I want her to help decide what RAKs we do, and help us do them as a family. I want it to teach her humility and goodwill toward others. Then, after a month of selfless acts we can be more appreciative of all the shiny, sweet, delicious, beautiful sights to see and treats to eat that are inevitable in the month of December.
These are my first week's RAKs:
RAK 1: There was a big winter storm the night of Oct. 31st, and we woke up to 10"-12" of snow. There is a handicapped man, and an elderly woman living in my apartment building. The last time it snowed I overheard them talking about how when it snows really heavy they feel stuck in their apartment because the task of clearing the snow from their cars is so overwhelming. So, early in the morning I cleared their cars for them.
RAK 2: I made Rolo pretzel turtles and brought them to the library across the street. We spend a lot of time at the library between checking out books and going to story time, so I wanted to show my appreciation to the librarians.
RAK 3: I taped quarters to the kiddie slots at Toys R Us. I remember asking my mom for quarters to get a bouncy ball, sticker, skittles, etc and imagine how awesome it'd be to be 6 years old and just see money there for me to use!! How cool!
RAK 4: I didn't get a picture of it, but I swept up all the fall leaves in the walkway and up to the door way of my neighbor, Lisa. She's kind of OCD about sweeping her doorstep and after the snow melted, all of the remaining tree leaves fell, and it was really windy. Our walk way was so full of leaves! I got Jeff's big push-broom and swept them all away. (Got a stupid splinter! THIS is why I don't do manual labor, people! ;) ) I'm hoping that she noticed when she got home from work, but haven't asked her about it.
RAK 5: I made pumpkin spice rice krispie treats for the apartment management. In comparison to other apartment horror stories I've heard from friends, and landlord horror stories we've lived ourselves, living in the apartment complex we live in has been a pretty enjoyable experience. The grounds are kept nice, if you have a repair request they fix it w/in 24 hours, they're always friendly when we go into the office to pick up a package or ask a question, and they try to make the complex feel like a community with events like holiday BBQs, swim parties, trick or treating for the kids, etc. So, I wanted to thank them.
RAK 6: There was a "help the homeless" event in my town over the weekend where the shelters asked for winter clothes for the homeless... but thanks to some awesome friends coming into town to visit us I missed it. I really wanted to donate some winter clothes, though, so I called around to a few shelters/outreach organizations until I found one that would take my donation. There was a brand new mens winter coat, two beanies, thermal longjohns and some fleece boot liners.
I know, I know... she's not wearing shoes. She was only standing there for 15 seconds.
RAK 7: I donated $7 on the 7th to the Liz Logelin Foundation.
"The Liz Logelin Foundation was established to assist families who find themselves in the heartbreaking, catastrophic situation of having lost a spouse, life-partner, and parent. The Foundation’s goal is to financially assist these families as they deal with the loss of their loved ones, and struggle to move forward. The Foundation was established in 2009 by Matthew Logelin, who lost his wife Elizabeth in 2008."
I've followed Matt's blog for 2.5ish years now and feel strongly that what he's doing for other families, through the LLF, and for his own daughter in the wake of his wife's unexpected passing is nothing short of amazing.
For more info: http://thelizlogelinfoundation.org/ and http://www.mattlogelin.com/
I've really enjoyed doing these RAKs, and look forward to the rest of the month. I'll post another RAK blog next week!! :)
These are my first week's RAKs:
RAK 1: There was a big winter storm the night of Oct. 31st, and we woke up to 10"-12" of snow. There is a handicapped man, and an elderly woman living in my apartment building. The last time it snowed I overheard them talking about how when it snows really heavy they feel stuck in their apartment because the task of clearing the snow from their cars is so overwhelming. So, early in the morning I cleared their cars for them.
RAK 2: I made Rolo pretzel turtles and brought them to the library across the street. We spend a lot of time at the library between checking out books and going to story time, so I wanted to show my appreciation to the librarians.
RAK 3: I taped quarters to the kiddie slots at Toys R Us. I remember asking my mom for quarters to get a bouncy ball, sticker, skittles, etc and imagine how awesome it'd be to be 6 years old and just see money there for me to use!! How cool!
RAK 4: I didn't get a picture of it, but I swept up all the fall leaves in the walkway and up to the door way of my neighbor, Lisa. She's kind of OCD about sweeping her doorstep and after the snow melted, all of the remaining tree leaves fell, and it was really windy. Our walk way was so full of leaves! I got Jeff's big push-broom and swept them all away. (Got a stupid splinter! THIS is why I don't do manual labor, people! ;) ) I'm hoping that she noticed when she got home from work, but haven't asked her about it.
RAK 5: I made pumpkin spice rice krispie treats for the apartment management. In comparison to other apartment horror stories I've heard from friends, and landlord horror stories we've lived ourselves, living in the apartment complex we live in has been a pretty enjoyable experience. The grounds are kept nice, if you have a repair request they fix it w/in 24 hours, they're always friendly when we go into the office to pick up a package or ask a question, and they try to make the complex feel like a community with events like holiday BBQs, swim parties, trick or treating for the kids, etc. So, I wanted to thank them.
RAK 6: There was a "help the homeless" event in my town over the weekend where the shelters asked for winter clothes for the homeless... but thanks to some awesome friends coming into town to visit us I missed it. I really wanted to donate some winter clothes, though, so I called around to a few shelters/outreach organizations until I found one that would take my donation. There was a brand new mens winter coat, two beanies, thermal longjohns and some fleece boot liners.
RAK 7: I donated $7 on the 7th to the Liz Logelin Foundation.
"The Liz Logelin Foundation was established to assist families who find themselves in the heartbreaking, catastrophic situation of having lost a spouse, life-partner, and parent. The Foundation’s goal is to financially assist these families as they deal with the loss of their loved ones, and struggle to move forward. The Foundation was established in 2009 by Matthew Logelin, who lost his wife Elizabeth in 2008."
I've followed Matt's blog for 2.5ish years now and feel strongly that what he's doing for other families, through the LLF, and for his own daughter in the wake of his wife's unexpected passing is nothing short of amazing.
For more info: http://thelizlogelinfoundation.org/ and http://www.mattlogelin.com/
I've really enjoyed doing these RAKs, and look forward to the rest of the month. I'll post another RAK blog next week!! :)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The other side of the coin...
It's amazing to me how many times a day/week I find myself catching my breath, feeling that lump rise it my throat, pinching myself, or staring in disbelief... How did I get so lucky to be able to be Madeline's mom?!
~When I check on her before I go to bed; cover her with her blanket, put her bunny back in her arms, watch and listen to her sleeping soundly.
~When I get her up from her nap and she immediately nestles her head onto my shoulder and we sway back and forth in rhythm with her lullaby cd while she rubs my arm... sometimes she needs a little snuggle before she's fully awake.
~When I pucker my lips and make the "muah, muah" noise trying to get the squirrel's attention because I know she'll like to look and squeal at him, but instead she doesn't even notice the squirrel and bends and twists to get in front of my face and plants a big kiss on my lips.
~When she stumbles and falls and immediately looks for me and comes running.
~When she hides behind the door and dramatically plays peek-a-boo with me. The harder I laugh, the harder she whips her head back and forth and the louder she GASPS when she comes out from behind the door as if she really surprised me.
~When she comes to me, raises her arm - gives me her outstretched hand, and then leads me into her room to help her get a new toy out to play with her. (since the 84 other toys that were already out are old and boring now. ;) )
~When I'm cooking or doing dishes and she comes up behind me, buries her face into the back of my legs and wraps her arms around my knees.
~When she wants me to pick her up and she enthusiastically throws her arms into the air and then signs "please" (in sign language) and then throws her arms up again.
~And then when I pick her up like she asked me to: she curls her arms up between her chest and mine and then leans into me. Her head under my chin. Happily kicking her legs or wiggling her hips - making it apparent that she's happy to be where she is... in her Momma's arms.
I love this little Bean more than I thought was possible. And I am so lucky to be her Momma. Can't get enough of her. ♥
~When I check on her before I go to bed; cover her with her blanket, put her bunny back in her arms, watch and listen to her sleeping soundly.
~When I get her up from her nap and she immediately nestles her head onto my shoulder and we sway back and forth in rhythm with her lullaby cd while she rubs my arm... sometimes she needs a little snuggle before she's fully awake.
~When I pucker my lips and make the "muah, muah" noise trying to get the squirrel's attention because I know she'll like to look and squeal at him, but instead she doesn't even notice the squirrel and bends and twists to get in front of my face and plants a big kiss on my lips.
~When she stumbles and falls and immediately looks for me and comes running.
~When she hides behind the door and dramatically plays peek-a-boo with me. The harder I laugh, the harder she whips her head back and forth and the louder she GASPS when she comes out from behind the door as if she really surprised me.
~When she comes to me, raises her arm - gives me her outstretched hand, and then leads me into her room to help her get a new toy out to play with her. (since the 84 other toys that were already out are old and boring now. ;) )
~When I'm cooking or doing dishes and she comes up behind me, buries her face into the back of my legs and wraps her arms around my knees.
~When she wants me to pick her up and she enthusiastically throws her arms into the air and then signs "please" (in sign language) and then throws her arms up again.
~And then when I pick her up like she asked me to: she curls her arms up between her chest and mine and then leans into me. Her head under my chin. Happily kicking her legs or wiggling her hips - making it apparent that she's happy to be where she is... in her Momma's arms.
I love this little Bean more than I thought was possible. And I am so lucky to be her Momma. Can't get enough of her. ♥
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