52 Acts of Random Kindness, Weeks 13 and 14

A different kind of kindness...giving Piper the remote!

It's been awhile since I've posted under this heading, and believe me when I say there is very good reason for that.  When I first decided to take on the random act of kindness a week, I set some pretty lofty goals for myself.  Goals which I had full intention to follow, but life got hectic, time got short, and taking care of Piper always comes first ahead of all other things right now and forever.  So, why the break in acts of kindness?

It has a flavor!

First off, I didn't altogether just stop being nice to people, lol.  I'm pretty good at niceties on a regular basis, but I don't always go out of my way to do something extra special for complete strangers.  Mostly my niceties revolve around family, friends, and coworkers.  So that's that.  I did however have to slow down on the every week extra special nicety for a few reasons: (but first some random pics!)

Traded remote for water bottle!

Which was fine at first...

But then she got lazy...

And more lazy...

I'm talking serious lazy here!

What was in that bottle?

Okay, now back to the point...

1) The holiday times are extremely hectic and very expensive.  While it may seem a perfect time of year to perform my acts of kindness, truth is they are not usually free and I give a lot to family and friends this time of year.  I, along with my parents, have the very lofty expense of providing all the Thanksgiving grub for the clan.  I love to cook with the best ingredients this time of year so my recipes tend to get pricey...but they are oh so delicious and worth the expense!  Also, I'm known as the most awesome gift giver in the family.  I am very much a giver rather than a receiver, and love to see people light up with joy upon opening presents.  I have a very talented knack for picking out the most unique and/or perfect items for those I know, and I oftentimes spend a little more than I should if the gift speaks to me and has to be gotten.  I budget very well, so I never put myself in a bind, however this time of year I tend to put my loved ones first because it's a special time for me, especially after the Christmas I tried to die on everyone via a brain infection.  Add on the additional expense of Piper's first Christmas, and well you don't even want to know how ridiculous that's become!

2)  Time was passing to fast!  Since may sound a bit odd, but trying to come up with something new and exciting every week for my random act of kindness was making life fly by way too quickly.  I had begun to feel I was missing out on enjoying Piper's first year by throwing so much time and effort into the kindnesses. It began to feel like every week was revolving around these acts rather than focusing on this little miracle of mine.  Sure, she gets more attention than probably most kids.  And she gets to stay with me all day at work. But I began to feel like I was just trying to put too much into to little time.  I hope that makes since, because it is a genuine feeling I was toying with.

3)  I began to feel like my blog was starting to center around the acts rather than Piper.  I began the blog to document her life, not to document the acts of kindness, those were just supposed to be a bonus and to give back to the universe what I felt I was given through her.  However, I noticed I was beginning to post weekly about the acts of kindness and not about her.  I don't always have the time to post every week, although I desperately try to do so, and I was forcing myself to get the kindness post written ahead of Piper posts.  In other words, when time only allowed for one post, she wasn't becoming the priority, and she is the reason I do all of this.  This also relates to number two above.  Trying to get the act and the post done every week was making time feel like it was passing way too quickly!

Those three things are the main reason I had to take a small break and get myself refocused.  During this time I did some rethinking, and have come up with a way to solve the time constraints at hand and still accomplish my original goal of 52 acts of random kindness.

First off, I'm not going to force one a week on myself.  They will happen as they happen, but I will at accomplish at least one a month.  I will still perform 52 of them, they just won't have to be done so quickly. This lengthening of the timeframe will also keep me from feeling pressured about time and help me maintain my sanity without guilt of falling short.

Secondly, I'm not going to limit myself to whom these acts can be performed.  Sometimes I go out of my way to do something quite spectacular for people I know/acquaintances, and these should count as they do take a lot of thought, time, effort, sometimes expense, energy, etc.  They are random, but they are also special and should be recognized as so.  I see no reason why to not write about these, too.

Lastly, I am not going to force myself to come up with something new all the time.  I can repeat acts as long as they are for different individuals...and this brings me to yesterday...(but first some more random pics)

Piper discovering the fireplace wood...

She loves the fireplace and the fire even more!

Not sure why the rings on the bucket had her so fascinated.

Okay, back to the acts of kindness..

Monday was actually my random act number 14, but I will discuss it first.  As of Monday, I finally felt back on track and free of holiday stress, and so I decided to show my appreciation to the universe by buying lunch for the two cars behind me at the McDonald's drive through.  Just as I started these by buying lunch for someone at Wendy's, I restarted by doing the same at McDonald's. (Yes, I eat fast food sometimes!) Buying someone lunch is a very simple way to give back, and it being a Monday, which pretty much always suck, I thought it would be the best day for a nice gesture.  It felt really good to finally get things back rolling again, and I look forward to continuing on.

As for week 13, I actually performed that one back towards the end of October and it just actually ended this week.  This year I signed up my family's business to be drop locations for Toys for Tots.  We have eight locations, so I thought it would be good to use those to help out those children less fortunate than others.  I wish I could report that we received hundreds of toys and it was a major success, but unfortunately that is not the case.  With the economy being so horrible right now, and toy prices being ridiculously high, the amount of giving was below par.  After speaking with the local Marine Corps representative yesterday about the toy pick-up, it was the same story at all the local toy drops.  We did receive some, and of course I donated, but overall I so wish we could have done more.  I think next year I will get a better game plan in action, and see if we can offer our customers and other people incentives for donating.  Or maybe we will pick a local charity organization that accepts gently used toys, too.  I think the response may have been better if new toys were not a requirement.  I know a lot of people who have toys around their houses that have hardly even been touched by their kids and they are looking to get rid of them, so maybe this avenue would be better next season.  Or maybe both.  Either way, I do want to try again next year as I think it's a wonderful cause and one we should support even if we can only do a little.

So there you go, random acts of kindness are officially back in swing!  I apologize to my readers for not explaining the lull in things sooner, but Piper has been all-consuming and she is my top priority.  I'm sure you all understand, because you are all awesome.  I do still want to get one more act in for the holidays, as I feel like Christmas is a time when there are so many out there that just don't get to have the type of Christmas I've always been blessed with.  I'm a very lucky gal, and I recognize that wholly.  So hopefully I will get the time to do something special for someone outside my family, besides the Toys for Tots gift donation.  I may not get to write about it right away, as it's so close to crunch time, but it will happen, I have faith.

And here is a random pic of Piper eating studle innards :)

And now is your time for an act of kindness.  Please vote for me and Piper over on Top Mommy and Top Baby Blogs.  It's a simple couple of clicks and you're done.  Then come join us on our other sites, especially Facebook, where all the daily action happens.  Most of all, have a fantastic holiday season, whatever holiday or non-holiday you celebrate or don't celebrate.  I'm actually a Pagan witch who celebrates Yule, so there you go!  Blessed be!



  

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52 Acts of Random Kindness, Week 10, 11, and 12

You're how far behind?

I know I'm running just slightly behind on getting these three weeks posted, but alas Piper has been developing so quickly these past few weeks that I've barely had the time to absorb it all, which I am trying to do so I don't miss a single moment, and that's where my priorities have been focused.  This growth spurt she's been going though has been astounding!  Crawling at top-notch speeds with no more wobbles, pulling up to standing on anything that gives her even the utmost of support, cutting two teeth, and saying mama and what sounds an awful lot like boobie. (She also, since I first started writing this post, has also been trying out Nana, bye-bye, and uh-oh.  She hasn't perfected these as much as she has mama, but they're close enough to count).  And that's just a smidgen of her developmental milestones she's been pummeling through in the past week, yes I said week!  So as you can see, I've been bombarded with capturing baby moments rather than focusing writing on my acts of kindness.  Even though I've been otherwise preoccupied, that doesn't mean they haven't been accomplished.

To cut down on much needed time, I've decided to do a combo post which will cover weeks 10 through 12. Normally I wouldn't, but this time I think I need to give myself a much needed break and just go with the flow.  So here goes...

Week 10:

Week 10 was a bit odd.  I had pledged to support someone in a charity event, but that fell through due to me not being contacted in the end.  I was kind of disappointed, but oh well.  It was probably a good thing as Arkansas Children's Hospital called seeking donations.  I've had a pledge page set up for them for a little over a month now, and I need to get back hounding people to offer their support, but I had not recently contributed my own donation to them.  Since my other pledge had kind of vanished, I decided to take that money and offer it to Children's.  It was nothing astounding, but every little bit helps.  If you want to help out by offering a small donation yourself, here is a link to my personal fundraising page where I'm trying to raise $1000 for ACH.  The money goes directly to them, just an FYI.

Arkansas Children's Hospital Donation Page

Now I'm going to jump to week 12, just to mix things up a bit.

Week 12:

I had another busy week and hadn't really had much time to seek out a deed.  Luckily for me, the universe presented me with an opportunity.  This past Tuesday a  little boy came into our offices looking for donations to help support his youth football team, the Arkansas Avengers.  He was so dang adorable and shy.  Of course I had to help out!  For a rare change I actually had some cash on me, so I gave him what I could.  He was very polite and let me know he plays running back for the team.  I encouraged to keep working hard and dreaming big.  And then he left the building with a huge grin on his face...priceless!

So there you go, week 10 and 12 over and done.  It's probably best I decided to combine the posts of these three weeks just because week 10 and 12 don't really merit any huge write-ups on their own.  Not all deeds deserve pomp and circumstance, but they are all appreciated regardless of the hoop-la associated with them. Week 11, however, was a combined effort that tied into the giveaway I hosted on my Facebook page.  It needs some good old fashioned hoop-la, so here it is!

Week 11: 

Week 11 began several weeks before it's actual official 11-week status was decided upon.  You may have seen my previous blog about a little local mother/daughter team who began their own business handcrafting baby goodies, such blankets, burp cloths, binky holders, bibs, and other such awesome stuff.  Their tiny yet totally terrific shop is called Shaybee's Babies, which is named for Shay, the rockin' mom who manages to create amazing baby items while still handling a myriad of other responsibilities in her life.  After having the pleasure of communicating with her, I'm amazed at not only her crafting skills, but also her gumption and practically superhero momness!  Funny enough, her mom was my lactation consultant at the hospital when Piper was born, and I can see where Shay gets her awesomeness from.  Her mom is also terrific and I couldn't have asked for a nicer person to help me get my lactation in gear from the get-go.

Anyways, Shay has been following the blog for some time.  Once I started the 52 random acts segment, her and her daughter got inspired and wanted to help.  She contacted me privately and wanted to offer some items for me to use for one of my weekly acts.  How amazing is that, huh?  She asked me to decide on an item for either a boy or a girl, and I asked if she could do one of each and I would pay for the second item. Then I would giveaway one item to a needy mother and the other I would giveaway on my Facebook page. This second item would be given away contest style and would be used as a way for me to help drive my fan base towards her business.  Let me state here, I would never push a product I didn't believe in.  Having seen her craftsmanship, I so knew she needed to get her name out there because her products are second to none!

The dachshund minky blanket for both the NICU baby
 and my friend's baby shower gift. 

The boy binky clips!

Shay, being the awesome person she is, decided to give me both the boy and girl items instead of having me purchase them, wow!  She also made Piper a minky Razorback blanket and two binky clips, one red with black polka dots and one Halloween one that is purple with black bats on it!  I was seriously surprised, flabbergasted, and  so appreciative of her generosity.  Piper adores her blanket and clips, she uses them daily and they go everywhere with her!

Piper loves her blanket!

For the giveaway items, Shay made a minky blanket and two binky clips, one set for a girl, and one for a boy.  As she finished them up, she sent my photographs.  I fell in love with the boy set that had dachshunds on one side.  I was getting ready to go to a baby shower of a girlfriend whose husband and her are huge dachshund fans.  So of course I had to order a matching minky blanket and binky clip as my baby shower gift.  I also ended up purchasing some burp cloths, one of which went to the baby shower, one I used as the second prize in the Facebook giveaway (along with a binky clip) and one I gave to Piper because I just had to have on myself!

The girl minky blanket and binky clip for the giveaway.

I was going to let the Facebook giveaway entrants choose whether they wanted the girl or boy set Shay made, but then I got wind of a mother who had a 28-week-old NICU baby boy in the hospital.  I then chose to go ahead and give the boy set to him and use the girl set for my grand prize in the Facebook giveaway. Sometimes the universe steps in and makes decisions for you, and this was one of those times.

The Halloween clips.
Left one is Piper's and the right one was for the contest!

In the end, Shaybee's Babies and I gave an awesome minky blanket and two corresponding binky clips to a needy mom and baby boy in NICU.  We then gave a girl minky blanket and corresponding binky clip as the top prize in the Facebook giveaway.  Then I decided to offer up two more prizes for the giveaway, a burp cloth and binky clip combo that I had purchased, and a Halloween themed binky clip which Shaybee's Babies donated for the cause.

The burp cloth and binky clip for the second giveaway prize.

It was many weeks coming to actually get to this post about week 11, and it was well worth the wait.  I was so thrilled to be such an inspiration to someone that they wanted to help out and become a part of my random acts.  It allowed me to give more than I could normally, helped me discover an extremely talented woman and her amazing baby products, which I am totally obsessed with now, allowed me the opportunity to host my first and hopefully not last giveaway, and gave a small gift to help a woman and her tiny baby boy, a little boy who is oh-so-young to already be born.  I hope the gift let's them know someone is thinking about them, which I do everyday now, wishing for his speedy growth and wonderful, full life ahead of him.

All the giveaway products in one pic.
Please visit Shaybee's Babies and check out her other items!

I hope you all didn't too much mind the wait over the past few weeks while I was busy with Piper's stupendous growth spurt!  I so wanted to get these out quicker, but dang life can go by so fast!  She is now sleeping soundly beside me, recovering from a high fever brought on by her 6-month vaccinations and flu shot yesterday.  This weekend I am going to get her 6-month blog post written that will catch everyone up about what all she's learned this past month and what all the docs said about her current stats and stuff. Believe me, you don't want to miss that one when it comes out!

Piper says you best pay attention! :)

For now, I will leave you with the usual spiel to drop me a vote over at both Top Mommy Blog and Top Baby Blogs.  Then come join me on my other social sites.  Remember, Facebook is where all the daily action happens, so I highly recommend that one for all things Piper all the time!



  

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52 Acts of Random Kindness, Week 9

The benefit for Willow's family going on today.

As I sit here and watch Piper crawl around her crib via the baby monitor, knowing she is not going to take a nap and my efforts are futile, I think about how lucky I am to have such a little miracle in my life.  I am truly blessed and cannot imagine ever losing her, or the unbearable pain that would cause.  I know that there are many families out there who face such overwhelming tragedies of losing a child, and my heart breaks for them.  Such a tragic loss is what prompted my act of kindness this week.

There is a family in Hot Springs, Arkansas that lost their darling 18-month-old baby girl in a house fire.  It's a horrifying tragedy that I cannot even begin to imagine having to go through.  How does a family pick themselves up and move on after such an event?  I know Willow's family is wanting to somehow reach out to other families who have lost children, although her mom is unsure of exactly that will unfold in the months to come.  I commend her for wanting to keep her daughter's memory alive while looking for a way to help others who know what her and her husband are going through.  It must be horribly painful yet so honorable a thing to want to do.

Read more about this story HERE.

Today a benefit was held in Willow's honor in Hot Springs.  It's goal is to raise funds to help Willow's family, who lost everything in the fire. While I was unable to attend, I did reach out and send in a small donation, what I could afford, as my act of kindness for week 9.  I know what I gave will not bring peace to Willow's family, but it will help them replace some of what can be replaced of all the things they lost in the fire.  If you are interested in also helping out, you kind find the link to the donation page via the Willow's Wish Facebook page.

Click the picture to link to the Facebook page.

You can also go directly to the Paypal donation page HERE.

I do hope Willow's family continues ahead with their plans to help other's who have lost children.  I know the path will not be easy, but what a wonderful thing to want to do for others.  I will continue to follow their story, you never know but maybe I'll be able to do more for them later on.  For now, I will simply keep them in my thoughts and hope for their minds to find peace and their hearts to heal.  Godspeed Willow.

Wouldn't you know that Piper actually has decided to take a nap.  Guess she understood how much I wanted to get this post published.  I know I'll be hugging her extra close when she wakes up.

We should all hold our children a little closer today.

As per my usual spiel, please take a moment and vote for me over at Top Baby Blogs and Top Mommy Blogs by following the links below.  Then come visit me on my other social sites by following the links below those links.  And as always, have a great week everyone!


  

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