Day 34 - Free Kibble

Wow..encampment is one day away. With so much to do for Girl Scouts, I was able to find this website on Google: http://www.freekibble.com. I just donated 20 pieces of free kibble by answering a trivia question.

Here's information taken directly from the freekibble.com website:

Mimi Ausland, a 12 year old girl from Bend, Oregon, wanted to help feed the hungry animals at her local animal shelter. “There are 10’s of thousands of dogs and cats in animal shelters across the country, all needing to be fed a good meal.” Say hello to freekibble.com and freekibblekat.com!.

Freekibble.com's primary mission is to provide good, healthy food to dogs and cats to those shelters who are working so hard to see that none of them go hungry - they need our help. In addition to providing free kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, we've added 13 new shelters to the program (from Oregon to Florida!) and plan to expand the program to many more! Thanks to everyone for supporting freekibble by playing the trivia game - every piece of kibble counts!

We're very happy to say that we're partnering with our Founding Sponsor Castor & Pollux, as well asCanidae Dog Food to feed these hungry dogs and cats a very high quality, all natural kibble - a very decent dinner! Thank you Castor & Pollux and Canidae Dog Food!

We also want to make it easy and fun for you to help provide free kibble by playing Bow-Wow Trivia - and we hope you learn a few interesting things about dogs and cats along the way. Thanks and enjoy!

I love it when young kids take action and make positive contributions to help mankind and animal kind too.

Until tomorrow, have a te"ruff"ic day!
Christina

Day 33 - Slowing down

There comes a time in our lives when we just need to slow down. Our life could be full of too many commitments, or possibly a very ambitious project (ahem), or maybe you just said yes to helping someone, even though you have way too many plates spinning over your head. Either way, life has a way of telling you to SLOW DOWN and just take it easy.

As a MOPS Leader, I've given devotionals on these SLOW DOWN days..the days that God tells you he has other plans for you...and maybe that means it's time to rest. I've been trying really hard all week to slow down and found out yesterday, that I'll be seeing a couple more slow down days for the rest of the week and possibly the next.

So yesterday, I took out my rubberstamps and ink pads and made a couple of Thank you, Birthday and Thinking of You cards for the local Hospice Center. I had lots of fun stamping and hopefully, created a card that will bring a smile to the person who receives it. I had so much fun, I'm thinking of stamping another set of cards, but this time for young cancer patients.

Until tomorrow, make it a great day!
Christina

Day 32 - Tunnel Vision

Tunnel vision...sometimes I have it, sometimes I don't. Yesterday, I had it. All day I took care of my daughter and cut, sorted, printed and put together 184 SWAPS for World Thinking Day. It was fun and my daughter got to help too. Hopefully, 184 girls will learn a little bit more about India and all of it's great wonders.

Have a fantastic day!
Christina

(8 more days to go)

Day 31 - The dump all room

I picked up my daughter from school on Monday to find her complaining about her legs, tummy and the chatters...that's what she calls it when she gets the chills. I took her temperature and it was a whopping 103.8. I say...what happened? This morning we were walking the track, giggling, trying to jump rope (well, I was trying, she was the one doing all the jumping) and now, she's sick.

So...I had to change my volunteer plans yet again and come up with something different for Tuesday. Something that both of us could do together while she's recovering and I'm trying to figure out the whole Motrin/Tylenol schedule...was it every 4 hours or 3 hours ?

We sat in her room figuring out the game plan for the dump all room. That's what I call her room. Because every time we have a guest come over, miscellaneous toys go to the dump all room. Every time I clean, I pick-up and more toys go in the dump all room. If we have a playdate, the dump all room becomes the "Adventure room" full of surprises with each step you take.

Our plan was to donate tons of toys to AmVets. We got through one bag and that was all that she could do. She wanted to rest, take a bath, read a book and go to sleep. When she's better, we'll go through the rest of her room with the hope that the toys that get donated will bring a happy smile to kids in need.

Until tomorrow, have a healthy and happy day!
Christina

Day 30 - 10 more days to go

With 10 more days to go and a love for books, I thought it would be fitting to donate books to my local library. I have this bad habit of collecting books. I'll go to the local bookstore, buy a book and gently place it on my bookshelf. I repeat this process about once a month, knowing fully well that the last time I read a book that wasn't an instruction manual, assigned reading for class or a children's book was back in 1997. Wow..that was a long time ago.

So today, I spent most of the day pulling books out of the bookcase to donate to the local library. I hope these books will bring joy to those that read them. If you're looking for a book on sewing curtains, creating sock puppets or the Dummies Guide To Cooking With Children, let me know. I am sending many books to my local library tomorrow.

In just a few minutes, it will be tomorrow, so let me just write...have an awesome day!
Christina

Day 29 - More Cooookies

If sweatpants could talk, I'm sure mine would tell me to stop eating all those yummy Girl Scout cookies stored in my house. What can I say, I am my daughter's biggest fan, so I buy to support her, our Girl Scout Troop and our Girl Scout Council too.

Yesterday, we set up shop for our first ever booth sale at the local grocery store. We sold 76 boxes of cookies...how awesome is that! It was great to see the girls together, being polite and kind to each person that left the grocery store. They had big smiles and would tell everyone to have a nice day regardless of whether they bought cookies from us. It was a great learning experience for the girls and I was so happy to have so many wonderful mom volunteers to be helping out at the event. Hubby even helped out too by providing his expert advice from his Cub Scout popcorn selling days.

My son thought he could get Community Service Hours for helping out, but I didn't think playing with his Nintendo DS counted as community service.

Until tomorrow..have a great day!
Christina

Day 28 - The Super Secret Surprise Baby Shower

Saturday was a crazy day! I was on a mission. My mission was to bring my friend, Jonette, to her super secret surprise baby shower. I secretly trained for this mission by watching old spy movies like The Bourne Ultimatum, Fletch (wait..that's not a spy movie, but it was funny), Spy Kids 3D and my favorite t.v. show, Chuck. It all came crashing down when my friend decided she was going to drive instead of me. All that training and I was about to blow my cover. Luckily, she picked me up late enough (my goal was to stall her until they were ready for her at the party) that we arrived at the party on time. Woo Who!

On our way to the party, she tells me how wonderful it is that I have done so much for MOPS since the time I started the group. (Jonette is an original, she was one of our first MOPS mommies to join. She's seen me grow into my Leadership role and our MOPS Steering Team too. She's seen MOPS go from being this great idea to what it's become now, a great place for moms to come and share and encourage each other.) Her words were kind and generous, but what stood out the most, were the words that came next. She spoke about my husband...how wonderful it is that he supports me in all of the volunteer work that I do. Even though he has a job that keeps him really busy, he still makes time for me, the kids and my volunteer responsibilities. He's always there for us and for that, I am very grateful.

So, Saturday, I just spent time helping hubby with things that needed to get done for his work and volunteer role in Cub Scouts...and I also gave him lots of free time to play his PSP while I took care of the kids.

Just incase you're wondering about the super secret surprise baby shower....I did manage to pull it off but what amazed me was that my friend, Emily, along with my CACE and MOPS friends managed to pull the biggest spy job ever...a super secret surprise 40th b-day party for me. They sure pulled a fast one on me. I guess I need to keep watching more spy flicks. I can't wait until The Spy Next Door comes out on DVD, anyone want to come over and see the movie with me?

Until tomorrow, have a great day!
Christina

Day 27 - The first ones there and one of the last ones to leave.

Friday night...time to P-A-R-T-Y! Okay..so the party was really the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Dinner with three kids in tow, speakers, speaker stands, a dolly, markers, crayons...well, you can imagine what's involved in putting an event together for cub scouts and their families.

We had one dedicated Cubmaster plan the event and we were there to help bring extra supplies, to set-up the tables, put the table cloths on and sprinkle the star confetti too. Caitlyn had a real blast sprinkling the star confetti. I found some this morning as I folded her jeans..they were in her jeans and some bits in my dryer...I have yet to check the washing machine. I think I'm too afraid, so I am updating my blog instead.

Okay...back to the event. Although the Cubmaster didn't ask for our help, we helped him anyway. Because many hands makes all jobs easier. And no one can do the job alone, we all need help. We were happy to be the first ones there and one of the last ones to leave after clean-up.

Until tomorrow, have a great day!
Christina

Day 26 - "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Last year, we got some bad news at our school. We found out that Budget Cuts were going to affect our school programs, increase child/teacher ratios in our classrooms, lay off teachers and Kindergarten Aides. It was a sad announcement for our school and the PTO and parents got involved and fought for funds. We lost the big battle, but we were able to keep the class sizes down to a reasonable level.

So last year, I decided that I was going to make a difference...even if it was just a little dent. I offered to volunteer in the Kindergarten classroom (since we lost our Kindergarten Aides) for the following school year, even though my daughter was heading to first grade. One of my friends thought I was crazy...why volunteer for a classroom where your child doesn't benefit from you volunteering. I could see her point of view, I was already volunteering at capacity, but then I could see mine too.

We're in this world together...going through the bad and the good. Our children really are our future and the more we help them, the more we help ourselves and generations to come. I believe that children can make positive changes in this world. They are dreamers..they want people to be nice (World Peace), they want their mommies, daddies, family members or friends to get better (to develop a cure for Cancer or any other disease), they want their family members to make time for them and have fun playing with them (make technological advances that increase productivity in a short amount of time), they want their families and friends to get better after having a boo boo (to make advances in the medical communities so recovery time is shorter), they want to make changes for the benefit of mankind because they know it's a good thing to dance, have fun and get along.

I believe it's our job as parents, teachers, staff and volunteers to encourage all kids to succeed, not just our own. To let all kids know that they can make a difference in the world, if they just work hard and believe in themselves. It's our job to build up their confidence and self esteem. Every little bit of encouragement helps. Teachers can't do it by themselves, they need volunteers. They need us!

So today, I volunteered to help with the Math Club. I had a blast working with kids as they practiced reading and writing their numbers. And of course, I got to see one of my favorite teachers too.

Until tomorrow...where I have absolutely nothing lined up for volunteering....have a great day!
Christina

P.S. I thought I would leave you with one quote today. "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

Day 25 - The Step Stool

Last year, I promised my son's third grade teacher that I would help her and her students decorate envelopes for the school's Post Office. Life got in the way (mostly my schedule) and the envelopes never got decorated. Since that time, the box with 300 + envelopes has gone through many changes...it's been placed in the to-do pile, it's seen the right and left side of my office, it's been a bed for my daughter's stuffed animals and quiet recently, saved from being a step stool.

So today, I grabbed a couple of rubber stamps, ink pads and the "step stool". I got so busy stamping that I nearly covered myself in Brilliant Blue ink. I was minutes away from looking like one of the guys in the Blue Man Group. Luckily, I found a strong cleanser from my rubberstamping days and it took most of the ink off. Phew!

Tomorrow, I'll slip the "step stool" in her teacher's cubby and surprise her with decorated envelopes for the school Post Office. Random Acts of Kindness rule!

Until tomorrow, have a happy stamping day!
Christina

Day 24 - The Fly

Today, I volunteered as a MOPS Mentor for an organization called Mothers of Preschoolers. It's an organization created to meet the needs of every mom. Yup, every mom..that means working moms, military moms, stay-at-home moms, teen moms, single moms, pregnant moms. MOPS is for moms that want to be the best moms they can be to their kids and family.

It's a group that provides a caring atmosphere where moms can encourage each other and provide support. Where a mom can feel safe without the risk of being judged and build strong relationships with other moms. We work on crafts, we have playdates, we have mom's night out, we get involved in community service projects, we have meaningful discussions and inspiring speakers.

Today's speaker talked about depression in kids and women and I talked about a fly and bad habits. I didn't get a standing ovation ;-), but I did get several moms come up to me after the meeting to thank me for the 5 minute devotional.

If you're a mom of a preschooler (birth-Kindergarten age), I encourage you to check out your local MOPS group at http://www.mops.org/. If your kids are older, check out a group called Moms Next (A Community for Mothers of School Aged Kids).

Well, I'm off to watch American Idol. Until tomorrow, have a great day!
Christina

Day 23 - Riding in my car like a big movie star

My daughter likes to sing this song she learned in preschool. It goes something like this...riding in my car, I am a big movie star. I am riding in my car, like a big movie star. I have my sunglasses on...I have my big hat on....I have my big scarf on....I am riding in my car like a big movie star. She sings it for about 10 minutes and during that time, my back seat boys are yelling to please turn the radio on, to open the windows...to do anything that would get my daughter to stop singing the song. I kinda like the fact that she's singing, and even if she's totally off key, she's having so much fun with her song that she just doesn't care what anyone else has to say about it.

So Monday, I decided to go riding in my car with my kids like a big movie star with my big hat, big scarf and big sunglasses on. We ran errands all day long and stopped at places like Goodwill and the Dry Cleaning place that accepted our Dress for Success donations. The kids were real troopers during the entire ride and of course, my daughter was singing...I am riding in my car, like a big movie star.

Until tomorrow, have a great day and don't forget to "sing like nobody is listening".
Christina

Day 22 - The one good thing about Diet Coke

Lent is just around the corner and soon, I'll have to give up something for 40 days (excluding Sunday's). I know that something is Diet Coke. Diet Coke and I go way back. We've been friends since high school, had some great times during college and an on and off relationship during the parenting years. For the last two years, we've had a love/hate relationship. I hate that I love to drink Diet Coke.

So today, I decided to cash in my coke rewards to make a clean slate of Diet Coke. As my youngest son and I went through the Coke awards (you can use your rewards to enter sweepstakes, get prizes and make donations), he kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to donate my points to the Boys and Girls Club. If I donated now, Coke rewards would double my points. It was a win-win situation, how could I refuse. Even though he didn't want me to press the enter button, I did it anyway. He walked away saying "Oh noooooo", but later gave me two thumbs up and a big smile.

I wonder if Diet Pepsi is okay to drink now that I've given up Diet Coke :-).

Until tomorrow, have a great day!
Christina

Day 21 - Letting go of the past

I have a big space in my closet full of size 0, 2 and 4 clothes. It's been a couple of years (seriously...a couple of years) since I've been able to fit into anything that small, so I decided to pack it all up and donate it to Goodwill. I thought it would be hard to let go of these items, but it wasn't. My dreams of once again fitting into my Guess Size 2 jeans was trumped by the thought of $ going to Goodwill and my jeans going to a good home.

I had the boys and my daughter clear out their closets too. Hubby's closet is next, I just have to find him. I think he's hiding from me.

For more information about Goodwill and/or where to donate your items, please check out their website http://www.goodwill.org/get-involved/donate/.

Day 20 - Hey, what kind of a playdate is this?

That's what my son said as I packed several plastic gloves and a trashbag for our playdate at the local park. I explained to him that we were going to meet another family at the park and pick up trash for 15 minutes before playing. I told my kids that it was going to be lots of fun and that we would be helping our community at the same time. Afterward, they could run around like crazy kids as long as no one found out I was their mother. They were happy with that answer, so we got out of the car and waited for our friends.

Our friends showed up and before we knew it, we were going down a steep trail searching for trash. My friend, Emily, showed up with her 2 inch heels :-) and was a trooper, she even went over the wooden rail just to pick up a few pieces of trash. After 15 minutes of walking and not finding much trash, we decided to hit the playground area of the park...where we found juice boxes, straws, cigarette butts (is butt one of those blooper words), plastic wrappers, candy wrappers, band-aids, something totally gross looking, wads of paper and lots of gum.

The kids started playing together and then it was time to go home for lunch. On the way home, I asked my kids what they thought of our playdate. The boys said it was boring to pick-up trash, but that they had fun playing tag. (I do teach them to be honest about things...maybe a little too much.) The good news is that a couple of seconds later, my son shared that even though picking up trash was boring, he was glad he did it because there were lots of little kids at the park today and eating cigarettes causes lung cancer. That was good enough for me.

Until tomorrow, have a great day!
Christina

Day 19 - YEAY vs YEAH!

Totally unexpected, I dropped by my son's classroom and volunteered for about an hour. It was fun helping kids create valentine gift sacks and some even learned how to make glasses out of die cuts to make some pretty cool looking paper glasses. I guess sometimes I can get pretty crafty. Too bad the teacher didn't have a hot glue gun and a Dremel...imagine what we could have made with those tools.

Have a great president's day weekend! Four days off of school...YEAH! I would have written YEAY, but the kids told me YEAY was "so out" for 2010.

Christina

Day 18 - Save the Sack Lunch, Save the World

Today, I woke up super early to make sandwiches for the Sack Lunch Ministry in Vista. I was excited about the volunteer opportunity for several reasons. 1.) I didn't have to worry about the possibility of a kitchen fire in my home. 2.) I can do sandwiches...I really can. I can't cook, but I can make sandwiches (as long as I don't have to cook anything that goes in them). 3.) Considering our resources, no one should have to go without food, not even for one day.

Thanks to my friend Anna for offering this volunteer opportunity. It felt good to give back to the community and to know that 12 people (that's how many sandwiches I made) will have a healthy ham sandwich to eat today.

If you're interested in making sandwiches or donating essential food items/supplies, please contact St. Francis - Sack Lunch Ministry at 760-945-8000 or stfrancis-sacklunch@cox.net.

Until tomorrow, make it a great day!
Christina

P.S. Can you tell what my favorite TV show is from the title?

Day 17 - Girl Scouts

Wow...I can't believe it's Day 17 and I'm still here trying to find things to volunteer for...anyone have any ideas? I'm counting my Girl Scout day as a volunteer day :-) since I didn't have time to research other options. Today, we learned an Indian dance from one of the mom's in our troop and we talked about Stranger Danger and how to keep safe while selling Girl Scout Cookies in front of grocery stores. We decorated mini chalkboards for our craft (all of the girls put a special message on their boards for their mommies) and closed the day with a Friendship Circle. It was a great day...no one squeezed too hard and only 2 girls fell after completing the Friendship Circle. Someday, no one will fall and that will be a good day too.

Until tomorrow, have a great day! And if you need any Girl Scout cookies, just let me know. We have 157 more boxes to sell until we earn the Panda ;-).

Christina

Day 16 - More Cooookies

By the time we're done with selling Girl Scout Cookies, I'm either going to have to start a 40 day shopping journey for new clothes (that fit) or a 40 day workout journey. Anyone interested in working out for 40 straight days in a row? I'm seriously thinking about it!

On Monday, I volunteered our house to be the Cookie Cupboard for our troop. It's been a blast having the cookies here...I get to practice self-control. So far, I'm 0-1, but tomorrow is another day. I'm optimistic and if I fail, I won't post...sounds good to me.

Until tomorrow, I'll be working with my son on his Mission Project. Even though we didn't wait until the last minute...it always feels like we're never done with a project until it's due.

Make it a great day!

Christina

Day 15 - Super gross!

Yesterday, the kids from one of my CCD classes and I spent 15 minutes walking around church grounds picking up trash. It was part of our Community Service project for January. The lesson for the day was a great one. God calls us to lead and to share our gifts during our time on Earth. Sometimes, we're afraid to share our gifts for being made fun of and sometimes, we're afraid to lead because we don't think we have the skills or confidence to be a leader. We forget to put faith into God's plan and sometimes, we rely on the negative comments other people make instead. We forget that God wouldn't give us something we couldn't handle and we end up being scared to share something that could make our world so great!

Each of us has a unique set of skills and when we share our skills, we accomplish something wonderful! So yesterday, we put on plastic gloves, grabbed a trash bag and searched for trash in the most unlikely places. We found plastic wrappers in the lawn, a Cars hat, pencils, swirly crayons, a rice krispie treat wrapper, a Ziploc bag full of goldfish crumbs and other items too. We even found pink, blue and white gum in the shrubs to which I just said, super gross! I mean how hard could it be to keep on chewing your gum until you get to a trash can.

I was super proud of my CCD kids. They used their intuitive skills and found trash in the most unlikely places. They weren't afraid of anything, they just knew they were doing something good to make our church beautiful and to thank God too.

Until my next post, have a wonderful day!
Christina

Day 14 - Vrmmm, vrmmmm, vrmmmm

On Saturday, we opened up our house to Cub Scouts and their parents in preparation of the Cub Scout Derby. Every year, my husband volunteers our home to be the "build-it center". I think he secretly does this so he can buy more tools and hang out at Home Depot, but he swears to me that he wants to equip each Cub Scout for success through the new tools he needs to purchase for the event.

I get it ;-).

It was great to see so many parents eager to help their children build their derby cars. Kids love it when we spend time with them even though life can get pretty busy. Sometimes, you just have to pull a "mental health day". I would never do that, of course.

Make it a great day!
Christina

Day 13 - Dress for Success

Everyday, I go into my closet, look around and after a few minutes, take out some jeans or sweatpants. On the right side of the closet, I have work suits from the days before I had children. The suits just sit there and catch dust when they could be helping out a young mom, a homeless woman or a woman in need get dressed for success for a job interview.

I spent most of Friday night looking around my closet and pulling out all sorts of pant suits, skirts, blazers, purses and other items that I thought might be helpful for the Dress for Success Program. Here are some of the items they need:

Donation Guidelines:
Conservative skirt suits (size 14 and above urgently needed)
Conservative pant suits (size 14 and above urgently needed)
Neutral blouses that will coordinate with suits
New or gently used shoes (workplace appropriate, no sandals)
New (unopened) hosiery
Costume jewelry, purses and briefcases in excellent condition
New (unopened) personal care products (shampoo, lotions, cosmetics, etc)

Check out their website for drop off locations: http://www.dressforsuccess.org/home.aspx
Maybe after my 40 day volunteer project, I'll start a new one...the 40 day declutter and organize project...hmmm.

Until tomorrow, have a great day!
Christina

Day 12 - Gooey, ooey, mushy banana salmon surprise and other tales from the kitchen

As a kid, my mom and grandmother would tell me to get out of the kitchen. I wasn't sure if they were upset about my uncle and I playing tag in the house or if they secretly knew something about me...I can't cook! I'm not sure if it's in the genes or what, but every time I follow recipes, I butcher them. I've had many friends help me throughout the years. My friend Nelie once taught me how to bake banana bread and salmon and lived to tell about it. (Since that cooking session, I have burned a total of 3 salmons to date and created a new recipe, gooey, ooey, mushy banana salmon surprise with chocolate ice cream on top...it was the only way to get the kids to eat the salmon.)

Regardless of my cooking abilities and two left hands, I always jump at the chance to volunteer, even if it's means facing my arch-nemesis: the oven. So yesterday, I made cookies for the Father/Daughter dance at school. Well...that's what ended up looking the best without burnt edges. Before that, it was the red velvet octagon cupcakes and before that, it was the quicksand Holiday jello cake. So, I did it! I made cookies with the hope that they will put a smile on a little girl's face and on the off chance that it doesn't, I didn't put my name on the Ziploc bag, just in case. (Just for the record, hubby and I ate some of the cookies I made last night and we're still alive.)

Someday, I'll be able to press a button like in The Jetson's cartoon and food will magically come out. Until that time, I plan to keep my fire extinguisher close by.

Until tomorrow, make it a great day!
Christina

Day 11 - Text Me

So the title has nothing to do with my volunteer project, but I thought I would have fun trying to text the info for Day 11. Most of my friends tell me to text them, but being a "wanna be" writer, I find it hard to text all together. I don't know how hubby can send an entire 3 paragraph text message to his boss in 1 minute, when it takes me 20 minutes to write one sentence in text language. Aren't people worried about getting thumb tunnel?

Here goes:

Ystrdy sm proj Day 9. Fn stmpng. 2 kts 2 shr. Vluntrng rks!

C-U-LTR,
C

Day 10 - The 5 minute lesson

I'm starting to wonder if this 40 day journey is for me or my kids. It seems like my kids are learning a lot about volunteering and the reason why all of us should volunteer. To be honest here, I don't know why some people who can volunteer just don't volunteer. It only takes a few minutes of your day to make a difference in the life of another person, quite possibly the world.

We were at reading lab yesterday and an opportunity arose to be able to help another child succeed with their reading goals. I went over to her desk to help her and the first thing my daughter tells me..."why are you helping her, you don't even know her". Now, you have to remember that she is only 6 and probably jealous because I usually go to reading lab to help her and her brother. (That's what I had to tell myself to get over the shock.) I didn't understand why she didn't get me helping someone else, but I do have an extra 34 years on her, so that might make a bit of a difference...just a bit.

After we left reading lab, I spoke to my daughter and son and told them why it's so important to volunteer. That sometimes grown-ups have to help other people because volunteers might be busy helping someone else. If we all help each other, the world would be a happier place and that trickles down, from parent to child to friend. I know I would want someone to help my daughter if I wasn't there and she agreed. I'm not sure if she agreed because she wanted me to stop talking so she can go and play or if she really understood what I was trying to tell her. Either way, I have 30 more days to go and 30 possible opportunities to teach my children some wonderful lessons along the way.

Until tomorrow, make someone's day by volunteering, even if it's just for 5 minutes.
Christina

Day 9 - Kids Link Downrange

I woke up yesterday morning with my daughter's foot up my nose and a nice little dent on my leg from the right eye of her favorite stuffed toy. I could already tell at 3 a.m. that it was going to be a very long day. My daughter had already started her coughing fits and I was awake. Might as well start off the day with a Girl Scout Cookie while no one was watching and enough caffeine from a Thin Mint to motivate me for Day 9 of my volunteer project.

Kids Link Downrange (http://www.kidslinkonline.org/) is a project run by volunteers to help military kids keep in touch with their deployed parents. I first heard about it over the Summer through MOPS (www.mops.org). I was so excited to hear that my MOPS group was going to be participating in this program as part of our Care Project and I was ready to use my mean rubber stamping skills.

My daughter and I stamped like crazy to create a set of cards for kids to send to their deployed parent. We made Valentine's cards, Father's Day cards, Mother's Day cards, 4th of July cards, My First Day of School cards, Happy B-day, Happy Holidays, blank cards and post cards too. It was a great opportunity to bond with her and talk about military families. We talked about deployed parents and what they do for our country, how they keep us safe, how some parents don't see their families for a long time and how some die for our country. We kept on stamping even though we were tired because our U.S. troops never give up, they keep on fighting for our country so that we can be free. That being said, we packed our cards and cleaned up our mess before falling asleep on the couch.

Zzzzzzzzz,
Christina

Day 8 - Small gift, big heart

When it rains, it pours. 3 out of 5 family members were down with a cold this weekend so we decided to take it easy. We pulled out the board games (unfortunately, my daughter found the one game we tried our best to hide - The Littlest Pet Shop Game), watched a movie and decided to use the quarters from our coin hunt a few days ago to purchase Girl Scout Cookies for the US Military Troops overseas.

Sunday at 9 a.m. was the day and time that we could officially start selling girl scout cookies all over San Diego, so instead of going door to door (didn't want anyone to get more than just cookies) we decided to buy cookies for the overseas troops. We counted a little over $15 worth of quarters (girl scout cookies cost $4 per box), so we purchased 4 boxes of cookies (we had to go to the local grocery store to make extra change).

It was a small thing to give for everything the U.S. Troops do for us and my daughter was so proud. She wrote a special note of thanks on her Operation Thin Mint postcard for the troops and told me how excited she was to be able to give some cookies to the people who were fighting the war in Iraq. Even though her gift was small, it made her heart feel big and she was happy.

Until tomorrow, God Bless America!
Christina

Day 7 - Am I cheating?

Is it cheating if you help out a friend and have it count as a volunteer activity? Well, I asked the question and since I don't hear any yes' in the room, I'm going to say it's not cheating :-). On Saturday, my TCM (official for Troop Cookie Manager) and I drove to the cookie warehouse to pick up our Girl Scout Cookies. It was quite an adventure getting there, but that's between me and our TCM.

When we got there, I must have gained 10 pounds from looking at those cookie boxes. Seriously, I think the body does that..it sees food and remembers the last time you ate it. It puts on the pounds automatically, just like that, because it doesn't want to go through the whole process all over again. Open the box, eat the cookies, put the box away. Wait until the kids go to bed, eat more cookies, hide the box. Wait until hubby goes to work, eat more cookies, swear that some of the cookies fell on the floor and you had to throw them away because they were gross. Wait until hubby works out, eat more cookies, you're already in trouble for eating so many cookies, so why not. Wait until kids are off to school, eat more cookies, buy more cookies so it feels like YOU NEVER ATE AN ENTIRE BOX. Time for dessert, eat more cookies from the new box. Okay, so this has nothing to do with volunteering. I get sidetracked every now and then, thank goodness for the delete button.

So..when we got there, we were told that the little tiny pile, the tiniest pile in all of cookie land was ours. I almost hi-fived my TCM, until I realized what they were trying to tell us...we under-ordered. We proceeded with placing the cookie boxes in the mini-van (which took about 2 minutes and 30 seconds) and we were off to sort the cookies back home for our girl scouts.

We had a lot of fun that day and I realized that everyone needs help. Whether it's a big task or small, things always go much faster and tasks are always more fun when there are two people helping out instead of one. If anyone is reading this blog, I encourage you to call a friend and ask them if they need help with any tasks today. And if you need any Girl Scout cookies at all, drop me a line and our troop will sell you some cookies. You must live in the San Diego area.

Until later, make it a great day!
Christina