Pay It Forward {Day 30/Year 2}

Huzzah!

30 days of blogging...DONE!

30 days of finding some way big or small to pay it forward to someone somewhere.

Some were folks I know like my favorite bloggers, my son and my husband.

Others days were to incredible organizations, random people behind us in line and in ways that might never actually get noticed.

My favorites were always the ones that involved seeing the joy Liam gets in giving freely and unconditionally to others.

Last year, I felt inspired and invigorated by the challenge each and every day. There were days when I almost jumped out of bed in anticipation of finding a way to pay it forward. This year was much more challenging and I'm not sure why.

I'll be honest, there were many times this month when I thought of throwing in the towel and then I'd get an email, tweet or Facebook message from one of YOU telling me how this has inspired YOU to do do something kind for a stranger.

Your kindness overwhelms and excites me.

I had planned to write a post this evening about how I didn't think I could muster all that it takes to do this for 30 days straight next year. And, then I started linking back to those posts up at the top and I fell head over heels with the idea again.

Just because this year was different from last year doesn't make it worse, just different.

I'm left inspired and wondering what a different world we could have if we all gave more, not just once a year at the holidays, but everyday.

What if we not only took care of ourselves, but woke each day looking to take care of each other too?

It doesn't have to be monumental or monetary or take an entire day. Sometimes a simple smile or hello is all it takes to change someone's outlook for the day, week or month.

Thank you for taking this journey with me again.

I am so lucky to have each of you as a reader!

Peace!

(My pay it forward was social media based again today as I decided to close out the month commenting on blogs, tweets and status updates.)

Pay It Forward {Day 29/Year 2}

I'm not very crafty.

I'm easily, dare I say, very easily distracted.

I find it difficult to buy gifts for people and not give them to them immediately.

.............

Why do I choose to raise Liam almost entirely outside of our household?

Because it keeps me honed in, it keeps me present--in the moment.

A skill that is almost beyond reach for me within the confines of our home.

Here there always seems to be a phone call to be made, a text to zip out, an email to write, a room to be tidied, a fridge to be inventoried, a load of laundry to be put in...the list goes on and on and on.

Yet, from the moment I made the decision to stay home with Liam I knew that to me there was a difference between a stay-at-home mom and a homemaker. I have no problem with either title, but homemaking has never been for me.

So in order for me to be present in raising him, often that means we go out to learn.

Liam loves home though and he is expressing that more and more these days, so I've been making an effort to respect that.

On Black Friday I bought over a dozen craft projects for him for Christmas, and then today we did at least 7 of them.

We stayed home, I stayed present and we crafted together.

They are meant for 6 year olds (aka...they are about my speed), but he does well with them.

We worked together. We laughed together. We took pride in our work.

My Pay It Forward today was to honor that his preferences are sometimes simply different than mine and to make space in our lives for both of our natural inclinations.

Pay It Forward {Day 28/Year 2}

It doesn't cost a dime to say THANKS and yet if you are anything like me you are far more likely to send a note when things go wrong than when things go right.

It's easy to ask for a manager and compliment someone, but writing a nice letter about extraordinary customer service or kindness is really great too.

We love the local nature center. 

We go there often for everything from camping and campfire tales to weekly storytimes and craft hours. Every week the programs become stronger, more diverse and engaging. So, today I wrote a letter complimenting one of our favorite Naturalists. She's great with the kids and always greets Liam with such warmth and love. A few weeks ago when we were geo-caching there I ran into the loo, when she fond out he was outside she ran out to chat with him before leading a canoe tour. 

I love that she goes the extra mile not only for us, but for everyone who visits the center.

Pay It Forward {Day 27/Year 2}

Sometimes helping others doesn't have to involve money or even leaving your house.

Sometimes it's as simple as logging on to a website and playing a few vocabulary games. Good for bloggers and interpreters, for kids and parents alike. 

Tonight I donated 2,000 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme by testing out my knowledge of some English vocabulary words. 

English not your thing?

They have six broad genres with fifteen sub-categories that you can test your knowledge in. For every right answer you give, the sponsors of FreeRice.com will donate 10 grains of rice. It's a great way to kill some time while waiting at the doctor's office, for your flight to take off or just chilling at home with a nice glass of wine...or Diet Coke as the case may be.

Take a minute or two or thirty this holiday season and donate some rice to some individuals in need.

Connect with Free Rice at the link above or on Facebook or Twitter @freerice.

Pay It Forward {Day 26/Year 2}

I'm giving you fair warning, I'm going to whine just a little.

We had the flu on Thanksgiving, sore throats and the sniffles yesterday and today we have the whole ungodly cold in all its glorious forms.

I've got to be honest, it's not pretty here.

Regardless, the awesome Shae from Macaroni Kid gave us tickets to The Festival of Trees which Liam and I love to attend together every year. I had promised him and had been building it up all week, so we went. It's a great charity event for the Kennedy Krieger Institute who brings awesomeness to sick and injured kids all year long.

We had a tremendous time and spent more money than we should have after my Black Friday Extravaganza, but it was all in the name of charity and paying it forward.

Happy Holidays!


(I'm off to a NyQuil fueled sleep filled with dreams of feeling better tomorrow.)

Pay It Forward {Day 25/Year 2}

Black Friday is the perfect day to Pay It Forward. For me it's the perfect storm of shopping, deals and people watching. I woke with a sore throat and the sniffles after having had the flu yesterday, but little can deter me from the magical beginning of the holiday season. Christmas songs on the radio and an old friend coming up to spend the day together catching up and walking more than our fair share of miles was just what I needed to spring from my slumber at 3am.

By 4 I was merrily making my way into a parking space, when I decided to yield the super close spot to the person coming the other direction. See you easy that was?

Then, it was off to score my holiday loot from the first store, and I was able to allow someone to go ahead of me in line. Zing.

A glorious lady at my 4th store went and scored me a bag for the awkward items I was holding. (What goes around, comes around.)

My favorite part of the day was when I brought six "20% off your entire purchase coupons" to a place I knew that would honor them in addition to the great discounts today. I gave out the extra five to other shoppers, two of which were VERY stoked to receive them. (We were able to give out some extra coupons in a few other stores too.)

In another store, someone gave us a 20% off coupon and we in turn gave her our frequent shopper punch card so that she could combine it with hers for a super awesome discount on her next trip there.

I purchases lunch for my friend who made the trek up to visit.

All in all it was a wonderful day of both giving and receiving, just like it should be.

Happy Holidays!

Pay It Forward {Day 24/Year 2}

The little Thanksgiving that didn't.

That was the theme of our celebration today.

At about 1am Tim and I woke to each other shaking, not because of an earthquake or other worldly disturbance, but because we were both frozen...fever. The fever morphed into insane nausea, compounded by a lack of ability to breathe without coughing up half a lung.


It was official, we had both been hit by the flu on Thanksgiving. Total bummer.


We tried to go on about our merry way this morning and make Thanksgiving dinner for Liam, but the smells from the different foods sent us to immediately toss our cookies and so we called a truce on the Thanksgiving meal.


We spent the entire day being kind to one another, napping in shifts and Liam has been an angel about it all day.


We did wish him a Happy Thanksgiving and he responded that it couldn't be if we didn't have turkey. It's amazing how quickly they learn of traditions.


I am thankful today for a day of paying it forward to each other with naps, movies and taking things slow. I am also thankful that the flu is the worst of it. (knock on wood)


Hope you had a more magical Thanksgiving.

I am thankful to each of you for reading.

Pay It Forward {Day 23/Year 2}

All Hail, Day of the Kiddo commenced today!

Last year, I did a day of Pay It Forward to Liam and I knew I wanted to include it this year as well.

The day started with a Jelly+Fish=Jellyfish sandwich. You know, jelly on the new Pepperidge Farm fish shaped bread.

Then we were off to the library where he picked up the same 'pocket video' that we returned last night. Because we wouldn't want to go more than a day without Art Dog would we?! Apparently, the answer to that is a loud resounding NO!

After securing not only Art Dog, but a Diego book on CD we zoomed over to eat burgers and fries with his good buddy for lunch before meandering back in the general direction of our house.

Once home, we settled in for a little Word World, and then the best part of letting him make the choices today, we watched the trailers for all the kid's movies out right now and he settled on Arthur Christmas. As soon as Dad got home from work, we headed out and gave dad a little free time of his own--ya know, to prepare for our company tomorrow.

I'm going to admit that I thought I was going to simply endure Arthur Christmas for Liam and I came out with a new favorite kid Christmas movie. 

And, then he rewarded me for letting him take the helm of this ship all day by choosing to go to bed a whole HOUR early.

Whoa.

If you have a chance to let your kid(s) make the decisions for the day or even the afternoon this holiday season, I'd highly recommend it.

'Tis the season for making magic happen!

Pay It Forward {Day 22/Year 2}

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you have been a student in a classroom at least once in your life before.

Then, I'm going to assume that at some point you have had a really sucky teacher or two or three.

Am I right?

But, I'm also willing to bet that at some point in your tenure as a student you had one or two or three supremely amazing teachers.

I know I did.

Now, enter Katie Sluiter of Sluiter Nation. You might remember her from when she posted her 9/11 story here a few months ago. Not only is she an incredibly talented and awesome blogger, she's also a teacher that goes above and beyond to give her students amazing quality experiences. She is one of those amazing teachers. So when you go out shopping this holiday season be it on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday or any day between now and the end of the year why don't you pick up a little something off her list here or here (scroll to the Ss).

She's not asking for a million bucks. She's asking for simple things like boxes of crayons/markers or scissors and glue sticks.

Katie's making a difference everyday in the lives of young people.

Take a moment and pay it forward to her and her students this holiday season.

I know I will be.

Pay It Forward {Day 21/Year 2]

Living with our families far away from us, we don't get out on dates very often these days. Today I used my pay it forward for my marriage. A few months ago I bought us tickets to a four part storytelling series put on by NPR called Stoop Storytelling. I wasn't sure how we would find a sitter for each of the evenings, but I knew we needed the time to connect and decided we'd just have to find a way to make it work. Good friends of ours who have a boy the same age as Liam graciously agreed to watch him tonight AND they gave us a gift certificate to use in Little Italy beforehand. It was very much appreciated and we are really lucky to have great people like them in our lives.

Today is also my birthday and the hubs surprised me by taking the day off so that I could sleep in.

Best. Present. Ever.

I also took a nap before we left for the show.

So good.

Now off for a slice of pumpkin pie before saying good-bye to a super awesome birthday.

Hope you can find a little time to pay it forward to your spouse today. Taking care of your marriage does good things for you, your kids and the karma of the universe.

Pay It Forward {Day 20/Year 2}

10 days left!

Are you excited to have me back to my usual writing shenanigans soon?

Or will you miss Pay It Forward month?

Honestly for me it'll be a bit of both. I hope that before November of next year I will blog more about Paying It Forward than I did this past year.

Tomorrow's my birthday and the boys let me sleep in today which was awesome and wonderful all by itself, but even more so since I was/am feeling a bit under the weather. That was the best pay it forward/birthday present I could have asked for. Then it was off to an early birthday lunch and a trip to the grocery store for our Thanksgiving day meal before heading back home for the rest of the day.

In other news, our neighbors added a new baby girl to their family about three weeks ago, so in addition to raking all of our own leaves this afternoon--we raked their entire yard too. It created an extra awesome pile for Liam to jump in and it felt really nice to help out a family that has a lot of growing and adjusting to do right now. I remember those early days and raking the lawn was the LAST thing on my mind at the time.

If my arms are not too tired perhaps we'll rake our other neighbor's yard tomorrow.

 Twenty days in have you found a way to pay it forward yet?

Pay It Forward {Day 19/Year 2}

Patience.

In large part his was my pay it forward today.

I was patient and did not turn around and speak to the little girl who kicked my seat HARD all throughout our viewing of Happy Feet Two (You should totally go see it.) tonight.

I did not tell the woman who used her cell phone to play a word game for 20 minutes during the movie to turn. it off.

I was patient as I was told a whole bunch of nonsense from a customer service representative on the phone tonight. Because, while I didn't like what she was saying, she doesn't make the policies. She's just doing her job on a Saturday night and she's probably not compensated well for enforcing their (insert your favorite expletive here) policies.

I just want to spend my money with your company, please make this easier. Thank-you-very-much!

In addition to practicing my skills in the 'being patient' department I also spent an hour commenting on Facebook tonight. I'm not on all that often any more and when I am on I often opt for the lazy "like" option instead of a full blown comment. Tonight, I took the time to be...well....SOCIAL.

It felt good to connect with people that I am connected to in one way or another in real life. Different from blogging or Twitter or even my blog Facebook account...I have met every single person on my personal Facebook account and it was nice to see what is happening in their lives in this calm before the storm that is the soon-to-be whirlwind of holidays.

Have you gotten into the habit of just clicking the "like" button in lieu of comments on Facebook?

Pay It Forward {Day 18/Year 2}

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaa!

Tonight was our community's Christmas tree lighting and hot dog we won tickets to sit on the patio of the micro-brewery that shares a plaza with the Christmas tree. This is super awesome because it meant no fighting amongst the masses for a good spot.

We got to simply sit back, relax and enjoy the show with complimentary cookies and cocoa for Liam.

To pay it forward we invited another family that was planning to attend anyway to share our table and premier viewing spot. Yay!

We also brought a tube of glow sticks for Liam and his friend and three additional tubes for him to hand out just because. He loved having that honor of giving them away and we talked about how nice it felt to just give.

Unfortunately people are pretty skeptical of free and fun just for the sake of it so it took some serious convincing that yes they could have them and no we didn't expect anything in return.

*In other news, after I took loads of photos this evening my camera phone failed...perhaps permanently. So, this stock glow stick photo will have to do for now.*

Have you found a way to pay it forward yet?

Pay It Forward {Day 17/Year 2}

Today was brought to you via the pint size pay it forward.

My goal for the day was to teach my son the lesson of paying it forward.

We pulled into a new-to-us nature center this morning, and with no prompting from me he shouted, "Who are we giving chocolate to here?"

He's been learning some by osmosis it seems, but we set off to the mall playground with the intention of teaching him a bit more directly.

After a romp or two around the whale and bridge and 67 games of hide-and-seek with a new friend we set out to find the candy machines. Normally they are right next to the play area to maximize profit, but as there are a lot of new kiosks for the holiday season they had been relocated. We went in search and I let Liam have one quarter worth of candy for himself and then we placed quarters in every single machine on the kiosk for the next people.

After lunch I let him stop by the local candy shop in the mall and get one chocolate for himself and one for his dad. He had fun wrapping up the chocolate and we wrote "To: Daddy, Love, Liam" on it. He had fun picking out just the right one for himself and for his dad. He's a giving kid and shares easily, it something I really admire in him.

Although when he did give it to Tim, he really thought that Tim should share half of it back with him.

Chocolate is so hard to share, isn't it?

Pay It Forward {Day 16/Year 2}

I've crested the half way mark in a month of Paying It Forward. Wahooooo!

It feels good.

Today was easy, I pledged $25 in support of Scary Mommy's incredible mission to make sure families, in particular mothers, can put a nice meal on their table next Thursday.

"I’d like every Scary Mommy out there to be able to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner. To be able to cook a meal for her family without worrying about the cost, or making sacrifices to do so. To sit around a table, dining on good food with loved ones and toasting to an easier year to come." --Jill Smokler, Scary Mommy

As of this posting 883 people have commented that they are in need or are able to help a family. How totally incredible is that?! Incredible. It's the ultimate in paying it forward as she spends her entire evening matching up donors with recipients and helping to remind us all how much we truly have to be thankful for.

If you have $25 to spare or are in need of a little help putting turkey or tofurkey on your table this year, go check out Jill's post before midnight.

Pay It Forward {Day 15/Year 2}

Today involved Random Acts of Chocolate, how fun is that?

My inspiration for today's Pay It Forward came from Jen over at Hey Y'all (who is also participating in NaBloPoMo) and this Random Acts of Kindness post that she had come across.

I decided to up the ante from candy canes to Ghiradelli chocolate and only this morning before we left for Liam's school did the "melting" factor of my idea occur to me. Fortunately for us it ended up staying cool and very cloudy all day today.

We decided to drop off our little bits of sweetness on the way home from Liam's school. While it would have been easy to just go down the row of parallel parked cars I decided that doing so would have limited the geographical scope of goodness, so we spent 30 minutes driving around different neighborhoods and sliding the treats under windshield wipers.

*I also volunteered in his classroom today which I think counts as a Pay It Forward as well. It helps the teachers to have another set of hands and the students to have someone else to help them out when needed too.*

Pay It Forward {Day 14/Year 2}

Inspired by one of my most popular posts from last year's Pay It Forward month and BlogHer's "Own Your Beauty" campaign I decided to do a repeat with a little twist.

The basic premise is to leave inspiring and uplifting notes on the mirrors in public restrooms. In addition to the mirrors I also left notes on the inside doors of the stalls and an extra special note inside public changing tables.

So far I have left 75 notes of inspiration on mirrors, doors, etc. and 75 more just inside changing tables.

Pay It Forward {Day 13/Year 2}

This my friends is the most exciting day yet.

Two folks who are recent followers of mine on Twitter will be getting a nice surprise in their mailbox approximately Tuesday or Wednesday.

I will be mailing them two Starbucks gift cards each. One for them to keep and one for them to use to Pay It Forward to another blogger or person of their choice.

Now, it's possible that they'll choose to keep all the caffeinated goodness for themselves, but I hope they won't.

I've included the gift card and a stamped envelope for them to Pay It Forward with, so the only effort they'll have to apply is addressing the envelope. If they'd like to pass on a gift card of their own for that person to pass along, that'd be great--but it's not required or expected.

Wouldn't this be nice if it took off?

Then, randomly at the most unexpected of times, a small gift card that could be used for a coffee or soda or cookie would just arrive in the mail?

I hope you can find a small way to Pay It Forward to someone else this week. If you do, I'd love to hear about it.

**As a side note "spell check" asked if I meant decaffeinated. Silly "spell check"!**

Pay It Forward {Day 12/Year 2}

Sometimes it's not as easy to pay it forward as one might anticipate.

With two exceptions, every single time that we have gone to an event at the Maryland State Fairgrounds someone has walked down the line of folks waiting to buy tickets and given us free passes. This thought crossed my mind when I bought our tickets to the Irish Festival, but I went ahead and purchased them online anyway.

I mean, come on, this can't continue forever, right?

As we were pulling into our parking spot I pulled up the Twitter feed for the event to see if there was any additional info on the children's area and saw a contest for a couple of tickets. Wouldn't you know we won them?! Thanks An Poitin Stil!

We thought they'd be the perfect gift for a couple that has graciously watched Liam for us a few times as of late and will be watching him again in a few weeks. No dice, they have plans tomorrow. Then, we thought perhaps another couple with young children would be interested. Nope, their youngest is getting baptised. And, down the list we have gone...seems we know a lot of very busy people. We are waiting to hear from two more sets of folks before we look to pass them on to someone else.

It's fun to think about winning tickets with the sole intention of giving them to someone else.

It is however a challenge in our over-scheduled world to find someone who can use them.

Doing good for the sake of doing good feels nice.

In other news, there is still an XL shirt up for grabs from yesterday's post.

Have you had a chance to pay it forward today?

Pay It Forward {Day 11/Year 2}

Remember pop up video?

Maybe you're too young?

I just found out it's back, so maybe I'm older than I thought.

Anywho, this is like pop up blog.

Here I am and I am giving four lucky readers a prize.

No crazy rules, I paid for this stuff myself so no disclaimers needed.

I have 3 "No Niche is the New Niche" (Medium, Large, XL) t-shirts from my old shop here on the blog and 1 XL iBlog hooded sweatshirt.

I'll mail them to the first person to respond for each.

One per person please.

Pay It Forward bloggy-style.