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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52 Acts of Random Kindness, Week 7

Some of this weeks items!

For my act of kindness this week, I decided to gather up some baby things I had laying around and take them to a local shelter where I knew they would be needed most.  At first I was quite undecided on which shelter I wanted to use.  I thought about a battered women's shelter, a home for pregnant teenage girls, and a myriad of other places where I thought there may be women and children in need.  In the end, a friend told me to look into a place called Our House.  Our House is a local shelter for the working homeless, either individuals or families, that offers a place to live, job training, education, childcare, and summer youth programs...among many other things.  It was established back in 1987 and has continued to grow, expanding its programs and offering a means for the Central Arkansas homeless to get back on their feet and become contributing members of the local community.  I could go on all day about the many things they provide, but it would be much easier to follow the link and discover in their own words all that they offer.  Needless to say, I was very impressed with their program, and I knew this was a organization I wanted to help out in my own small way.

Follow this link to check out their Facebook page!

Before deciding on going to Our House, I had gathered up my box of unused goods to be donated.  Within it I had some infant onesies and socks, a baby sling, all the size 1 diapers I had left (probably totalling somewhere just over 100), five infant swaddlers, six containers of formula, a bottle, one set of 0-3 month pacifiers, a couple pair of infant mittens, and an umbrella stroller which I had gotten for free earlier in the week for purchasing $50 worth of needed items for Piper at the local Babies R Us.

The formula, diapers, bottle, and pacifiers

The swaddlers

More diapers and the baby sling

The umbrella stroller

The onsies, socks, and mittens

All in all, it wasn't a huge amount of stuff, but it was all I had available to give at the moment.  Even though I know it isn't much, I do know that every little bit helps someone in need, and that there will be more stuff in the future as Piper outgrows things (think swings, bouncers, clothes, etc.).  Somewhere a less fortunate child or two will benefit from the items I do not need for myself and Piper.  Even though it was not much at this point, my thoughts about giving to Our House completely expanded once I talked with the gentleman who met me in the parking lot and accepted my donations.

A view of the shelter from where I was parked.
Take a tour of their programs HERE.

When I arrived on their grounds, there was a middle-aged black gentleman out by the guard house directing some of the children coming in from school to the building where the youth program was being held. He met me at my car and asked if he could help me.  I let him know who I was, why I was there, and gave him a card with my blog information on it.  I explained about my random acts of kindness, and he lit up with such great joy that I instantly knew this was a place for which I wanted to do more.  He even asked if I would be interested in coming back to speak to the residents and children there, and of course I gushed and said I would love to.  Once we were done unloading the goods I was donating, we talked a bit more.  Funny enough he knew my father's name from when my dad was back on the LRPD, which is not the first time someone has recognized my last name in association with my dad's time on the force.  Anyways, this man was so nice and beaming with pride for the work Our House was doing for the homeless in the community, that it was infectious and made me want to do more, too.

A rendering of the new children's center in the works.
Read more about it HERE!

After leaving, my brain kicked into gear about other ways I could help.  I have decided that once Piper gets a bit older and I can spend a little more time away from her without me freaking out, I am going to volunteer my time to helping their organization.  Some of the areas I'm looking into are in their child care center and/or education department.  Since I have worked as a preschool teacher in the past and have taught on the college level, I think I could be a real asset either working with the children or in adult education, or both.  I know it will really depend on their needs at the moment, but I definitely want to offer whichever of my skills they can use, that's for sure.

Here is another way to help, for those of you interested.

I also want to use my family's business to help.  I am already working on sponsoring a toy drive for this holiday season.  We were looking into being a Toys for Tots drop station, but I think we'd be better serving our own community, as we are a local family business in the area, by collecting toys for Our House instead. Both are wonderful programs, but I know Our House could probably use the help more.  I am working up a proposal come Monday to see how we can get this ball rolling.  I will offer up more details once everything is set in motion.  I am really excited about the project, and I've heard my enthusiasm can be quite contagious!  I think if we start things now, by Christmas we should be able to do something really special for the kids at the shelter.

Another great way to help!

So there you go, my good deed of the week has once again driven me to do even more.  I really do believe all this do-gooding is rubbing off on myself.  What started seven weeks ago as a simple bought lunch for a stranger, has turned into a compulsion to get involved in a much more meaningful way.  I highly recommend everyone out there try to do something of the same nature.  It honestly feels so wonderful to put smiles on people's faces.  One smile can start a chain reaction that may overtake you in unexpected ways.  I'm looking forward to continuing on my path of good deeds.  With each new week, no matter the deed, the experience gets more meaningful to me.  I can also tell that those around me are feeling the love, too.  One day I know Piper will also learn from all of this, and that is worth it's weight in gold!  I bet that after my 52 weeks are up I continue to give back, because now that the bug has bit me I think it will be impossible to stop.  For now though, I just look forward to what next week will bring, good things are definitely on the horizon!

Interested in donating to Our House?  Then follow this link to their donations page!

If you enjoy my blog, do me the act of kindness and take a moment to vote for me over at Top Baby Blogs by following the link below.  It's just takes two clicks and you're done.  You don't have to sign up for anything, or fill out any questions, just simply click the button and then the voting owl after that.  If you want to check my status once reaching the Top Baby Blogs page, simply scroll to the bottom of the first page, if I am not anywhere on that first page, then jump to page 2, as I have been hanging around the top of that page lately.

  

Also, please feel free to come join me on my other social sites by following the links below.  For all things Piper all the time, I highly recommend at least joining us on Facebook, where I post daily.  Youtube is also good, as I'm becoming pretty regular at posting Piper videos there before they reach the blog.  If nothing else, have an awesome day and do something nice for someone around you, you'll be happy you did!

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This gift is why I give back!