Random Act of Kindness

Today I had a rough morning. I know as a mother I’m supposed to be the one who holds it all together when everyone else is falling apart, but I just couldn’t do it today. One kid woke up cranky and got another kid cranky, and I joined the cranky team. My great wisdom and many years of experience failed me big time.

I seriously couldn’t figure out how I was going to get in a better mood. I didn’t want to listen to music. I didn’t want to read. I didn’t want to go on a walk. I really didn’t want to do anything. Suddenly I remembered something I saw on Pinterest. One woman spent her 35th birthday doing 35 random acts of kindness with her children. I didn’t have all day to do random acts of kindness, but I did have a half hour.

I loaded up the kids and grabbed $3 in quarters. As I handed out the quarters to the kids, I explained that we were going to be Santa’s helpers.  At first the kids were super excited, but after seeing the neat things in the candy and toy machines they wanted to buy something for themselves. I reminded them that today our treat was to give to others, and they quickly got back into the spirit of things.

picture source

We had so much fun running from store to store leaving little surprises for some lucky kid to find. We went to a strip mall so they would all be close together and hit Albertsons, Ace Hardware, Dollar Tree, the laundromat, and Blockbuster. As we were running over to the bank, Camille said she felt warm inside and that she knew that was the Spirit. Tate told me he felt “very smurfy.” {Has anyone else seen The Smurf’s one too many times?} As we were looking for a candy machine, the teller at the bank asked if she could help us. Unfortunately the only candy they had was what the tellers hand out to the kids, which sparked an idea. We asked if she would give our quarter to a kid who came in to the bank and wish them a Merry Christmas from another kid helping out Santa.

It was the best medicine EVER. Seriously. If you're having a rough day you should try it. If you need ideas {or even just one!}, here is the original post.

Old McDebbie's Farm

I just heard about this fun farm that I want to check out next year! It opens in March and there are train rides, pony rides, fishing, and animals to feed. In April they have Easter Egg Hunts. In October they have Friday night fires for marshmallow roasting and a not-so-scary Halloween trail. This place sounds like a blast! Why am I posting about this in December?  I just found the flier in "the pile" {more on that here} and want to throw away the flyer, but I don't want to forget about it! So we'll see you in 2012, Old McDebbie!

What's Going on Today?

I made a list of activities to do this summer, but some of these activities are only available on certain days. I love the idea of being organized so I printed off a blank calendar for the month and began filling in activities. As much as I love this idea, it's just not practical for me and my family. Sometimes stuff comes up at the last minute or I realize no one has socks {or worse yet, undies} and I have to do laundry again. Sometimes I wake up and have a meeeellion things to do and can't function until I get some of it done. This new list makes it easy for me to have fun on a whim without scouring every webpage on my master list.

Monday

Hmmm...no special events for Mondays. If you're looking for something to do, check out the "Any Day" Activities or this post for fun free indoor activities.

Tuesday

Lawn Bowling at Wright Park 1-3

Tacoma Farmer's Market on 6th Ave. 3-7
Concerts at American Lake Park 6:30
Regal Movie for $1 10 a.m. {Go early to make sure you get decent seating! 9:40 was perfect for us}
Starplex Cinema $1 movies {and $1 hotdogs!}

Wednesday

Wagon Shop {at Steilacoom Museum} 2-5

Steilacoom Farmer’s Market 3-7
Steilacoom's Concert in the Park 6:30

Regal Movie for $1 10 a.m. {Go early to make sure you get decent seating! 9:40 was perfect for us}

Thursday

 Tacoma Farmer's Market on Broadway 10:30-4

{You can ride the Tacoma Link Light Rail to the Farmer's Market for free - make it part of the adventure!}
Concert in the Park at Curran Apple Orchard 6:30
Tacoma Children's Museum FREE admission 10-5
Museum of Glass FREE from 5-8 on 3rd Thursday
Washington State History Museum FREE from 2-8 on 3rd Thursday
Tacoma Art Museum FREE from 5-8 on 3rd Thursday

Friday

Hmmm...no special events for Fridays. If you're looking for something to do, check out the "Any Day" Activities or this post for fun free indoor activities.

Saturday

Steilacoom Historical Museum Kids Club {last Saturday only}

Wagon Shop {at Steilacoom Museum} 1-5

Marine Science and Technology Center 10-2 FREE

Lawn Bowling at Wright Park 1-3 FREE

Brown's Point Lighthouse 1-4 FREE
Tacoma Nature Center- 10-4 FREE {Discovery Pond & Trails open til dusk}

Ride the miniature steam engine in Port Orchard, donation basis, 2nd and 4th Saturdays only from 10-4
Lowes Build & Grow Events {see website for specific dates; not every Saturday}
Michael's Make it Take it Events {see website for specific dates; not every Saturday}

Any Day*
Tacoma Nature Center FREE 8-5 {Discovery Pond & Trails open til dusk}
Lott Wet Science Center 10-4 FREE

Pick blueberries at the Blueberry Park for FREE
Visit a Sprayground
Ride the ferry out to Anderson Island, $4.70 for adults, $3.40 for kids 5 and up {I know this isn't very close to free, but I really want to do this one so I'm adding it to the list}
Ride the Tacoma Link Light Rail to downtown Tacoma FREE
Tacoma Union Station FREE weekdays 8-5
West Hylebos Wetlands dawn to dusk {don't forget to download your scavenger hunt!}
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge sunrise to sunset
Art in the Park
Hike/walk the gardens...photo scavenger hunt anyone?
Visit a local beach or pier
Take a walk around Chambers Bay {a little history anyone?}
Go to the library!
Starplex Cinema $2 movies {and $1 hotdogs}
Bowl for FREE 8-6 {must pay for shoe rental $2.50 each}

*Please note that activities listed under "Any Day" may have special hours or be closed on Sundays. Our family uses Sundays as a day for worship and family activities at home so I didn't list special Sunday hours. Individual websites contain any additional information you may need, including directions and contact information.

Where are some of your favorite places to go in the summertime? Any local hidden treasures? I'm sure I've missed tons of fun places to go and things to do. Please share!

Summer Fun on the Cheap

I don't think you have to spend an arm and a leg to have a good time, although sometimes spending an arm OR a leg is okay. But never both. Today I feel like keeping all of my apendages, so here's a list of things we plan to do this summer. Don't mock me - we still have a month of summer left! {To see one of the reasons we are getting a late start on summer activities, check out this post about how we've been spending our Saturdays} And in my defense, it should be known that we have already done many fun things - some on  the list, and some just lazing around enjoying family and friends at the pool or elsewhere.

Almost all of these activities are free. I have tried to list any costs that I know of so you can easily browse what will fit your budget for the day.

• Go to the blueberry park and pick berries for free. The berries are kind of small and sometimes scarce so if you're hardcore check out these U-Pick farms {more than just berries, too!}.
• Steilacoom Historical Museum kids' club, last Saturday of the month from 1-3 during the summer
• Visit the Wagon Shop in Steilacoom {by the Steilacoom Museum}, summer hours: Wednesdays 2-5 and Saturdays 1-5
• Visit a Sprayground
• Visit the Marine Science and Technology Center for free
• Visit Jack and the Beanstalk garden in Puyallup for some of the children's programs
• Visit the Tacoma Nature Center {has Discovery Pond and play area}
• Visit the West Hylebos Wetlands Park. Download your free scavenger hunt here.
• Visit the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
• Ride a miniature steam locomotive in Port Orchard {runs on a donation basis}
• Watch a movie in the park! Before heading out to watch a movie you may want to check out a parental review site to make sure the movie you are seeing meets your standards. Some movies are "designed" for kids, but not necessarily appropriate for kids. I like Common Sense Media because it details the content and has a review section for movies, video games, music, websites, and even apps!
• Check out Art in the Park where local artists have their sculptures displayed
• Ever heard of Lawn Bowling?
• Have a photo scavenger hunt...how many different kinds of flowers can you find in the gardens?
• Visit the Brown's Point Lighthouse for free. If you're up for a bit of a drive for an awesome adventure, you can tour the North Head Lighthouse {$2.50/person} while visiting Cape Dissappointment also known as the Graveyard of the Pacific in Longbeach, WA. You could make a whole trip around this one because there is so much to do in Longbeach! If you want to find a lighthouse near you, they are listed here by state with lots of other fun information.
• Go to the Farmer's Market in Tacoma {three locations!} or Steilacoom
• Summer Concerts! Music in the Park schedules for Steilacoom, the Curran Apple Orchard in UP, or American Lake Park in Lakewood
• Tacoma Children's Museum free on Thursdays, June - August
• Regal Theaters have $1 movies for kids on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the summer.
• Starplex discount theater. This is a local theater, but most areas have some sort of discount theater. Movies are only $1 on Tuesdays, $2 any other day, and hotdogs are always $1!
• Bowl for FREE. Find a local bowling alley where kids bowl free...all you have to pay for is the shoe rental. You can also buy a family pass for $20 so the rest of you can bowl for free also.
• Visit the Lott Wet Science Center, free admission
• Free kids' building/craft programs like Lowes Build & Grow and Michael's Make it Take it
• Ride the Tacoma Link Light Rail for free from the Tacoma Dome to downtown museums
• Visit Tacoma Museums for free on 3rd Thursdays.

Some of these ideas came from the Parks and Recreation, friends at church, the library, and a local MOPS group so make sure you check out your local sources for some great ideas! For more ideas, check out my rainy day list - a lot of these would be great during the summer as well.

What are you doing this summer? Did I miss anything fun and free {or cheap}? Please share!

I was not paid or perked to mention any of these businesses or services. I just find them to be helpful in having a fun and safe summer and hope you will, too!

Silver Screen Performances

Today happens to be Lucille Ball's 100th birthday {that is if she were still alive}, but you probably already know that since you're on the Internet - it's everywhere! My six year old Camille wanted me to call Lucy and wish her a happy birthday. Since that's not possible, we'll just post it here: Happy Birthday Lucy!

Lucille Ball has many funny quotes and even more funny video clips, but I am loving this quote: "Ability is of little account without opportunity."  I don't know about the abilities I had prior to my opportunities, but I am grateful for the many opportunities in my life that have strengthened my abilities.

One of our most recent opportunities includes the stage.  That's actually why it's been so long since I've posted. We have been performing as a family! Not for the silver screen, but in a local Broadway Revue sponsored by our church. Today is our last day of performances and it's a little bittersweet. We have had so much fun doing this as a family, and it's been wonderful to see the kids' talents improve. We started by dragging Tate to rehearsals and are finishing by dragging him away from our living room stage where he is practicing to be an understudy for the two lead male roles {he's only about 10 years too young for the parts, but that's ok!} Even baby Joseph has been practicing - whenever the music comes on he bounces his knees and sings along. If I can ever figure out how to edit and post video I'll add our stage baby's performance. Pictures, however, I can do.

 My Wells Fargo Wagon family {Cody aka Wintrhop was a delightful add on}. At home, "Trouble" was the most quoted musical number from the show. It definitely lightens the mood when someone is being scolded and they throw their arms up in the air while singing, "Oh we've got trouble!"

 I found a guard and some cute street children in Aladdin's marketplace. My niece Brooke gave me two thumbs up, but when I asked her to give me a street pose she gave me the following:

 Perhaps I should have said, "Marketplace pose."

 Tradition! Fiddler on the Roof required that we always have our heads covered.

 This is what you get when you ask a bunch of cute kids to give you their best Lion King pose.
 

There Ain't Nothin Like a Dame...or my husband in a grass skirt!

The summer is nearly over and we are excited to finally be able to enjoy some weekends together...off the stage! We hope to go to the beach and take a couple mini road trips around Washington. We're especially looking forward to our annual fruit trip. So until then, the show must go on!

What have you been doing as a family this summer? Ever been on stage? Ever wanted to?...because that can be arranged!

Thank you Teachers

Summer break has officially hit. The luxury of not going to school is over and the boredom has begun. Luckily I have some tricks up my sleeve, but more on that later.  As I was looking through our pictures I found this one from the last day of school.

This was such a fun, easy, and relatively fast project. I'm not one to reinvent the wheel, so if you're interested you can find the tutorial here. I would, however, modify the wheel by adding a little note about the ribbon {made to look like a ruler}. This tutorial doesn't mention length, but I found that 31 inches was just about right - the other one I made was shorter and I had a hard time tying it into a bow {sorry, Ms. Rogers}. And a word to the wise, be careful when carrying. The pencils aren't glued on {so they can be used later} and they will slip off if you're not supporting the vase from the bottom while carrying.

While we're on the topic of thanking teachers, here's another one we made during teacher appreciation week. This one was even easier! This is a pretty lame photo, but you get the idea. We attached the tag with some curling ribbon.

This could easily be adapted to give to anyone you think is AWesome.

Do you do anything for teachers at the end of the school year? Something crafty or just a note to tell your teachers how much you appreciate them? I've heard those simple notes of gratitude are the best.

Money for the Orphans

Remember how we had a yard sale to earn money for the orphans in Africa? If you have no clue what I'm talking about, this post will fill you in. I thought we only made about $400 because I only counted the bills and left the coins for Camille to count {for math practice, of course}. She did an excellent job - I was amazed at how well she counted by fives and tens!

Math isn't her only forte. She is quite skilled at funny faces!

It turns out we made $464.02! A huge thank you to all the family, friends, and even a few strangers who made this possible. We had 27 people come together to make this happen through their generosity; we never could have done this on our own. I am reminded of the parable when Jesus fed the multitude with two fish and five loaves of bread. I have witnessed the faith of a six year old turn two pennies into more than $450 which will benefit children of God through Mothers Without Borders.

The money we raised is enough to feed a child for a year and a half or 18 children this month.

This money could send three children to school for a year {includes two uniforms, shoes, socks, a book bag, pencils, text books and school fees}

Perhaps it will be used to buy farming tools for the community gardens.
Maybe it will buy textbooks or other school supplies. Perhaps it will even help build a school.

Mothers Without Borders has many programs that benefit the children in Africa, and we are grateful that this money will be used to bless the lives of others.

If you want to read more about our yard sale adventures, you can check out the pre-yard sale post and the "what I would have done differently" post.

Joseph's First Birthday

Our baby turned one year old! What? You missed it? I know some parents enjoy going all out for the first birthday but we decided not to rent the zoo and invite every person we've ever known. Sorry bout that...it was nothing personal. Todd was still recovering from surgery to fix his deviated septum and my parents were out of town on vacation, so we decided to have a nice quiet birthday celebration at home. 

We did invite a few of the cousins, aunts, and uncles. Actually we invited them all {at least all the local ones} because our family is tight like that. But just a few were able to make it and we're so glad they joined us. We did some of Joseph's favorite things like dancing...

 And eating...

And playing with garbage. Okay, perhaps Joseph's the only one who decided to do that. Cue the typical "kids enjoy the packaging more than the toys" comment. 

Each person wrote down something they like about Joseph or a special memory from this year, and the younger cousins drew him pictures. I have these in an envelope for him {maybe I'll decorate it someday} as a special keepsake from his first birthday.

So there you have it. Yep, that's it. No fancy decorations {just a couple pom poms and balloons}, no creative invitations {we just called family}, no smothering of gifts {just practical things like sippy cups and cheerios}, and no designer cake that cost us a small fortune {we're saving for college}. Is everyone in the blogosphere gasping yet?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-party and I love looking at all the fun party themes and ideas out there. In fact, sometimes I see all those creative parties and feel guilty for not having the time and energy to tackle something like that. But then I remember that my time and energy was and is being spent on my family, which will outlast any party favor I could ever muster making. The lack of an elaborate production in no way diminishes the way we feel about our bundle of joy that arrived a year ago. We are so blessed to have Joseph in our family. His sweet spirit radiates pure joy throughout our home, and somehow he unites our family and strengthens our bonds of love for each other.

So how do you like to celebrate birthdays? Do you like to keep it simple or go all out with theme parties or do a little of both depending on the year? Any birthday traditions out there?

Child Labor

I am a woman of many titles. So many that I made a list of them {what? a list? that's so unlike me}. It just so happens that on said list you will not find servant. I love my kids way too much to do every little thing for them. I expect my children to pick up after themselves, and that includes scrubbing their precious little fingerprints {and other souvenirs they leave behind} off the walls. Doesn't this look like fun?

Not only do I provide these fun opportunities for my chidren, I don't pay them to do their chores. I know, I know. I bet every kid wishes they had a mom like me. But really now. Nobody pays me to cook supper and do laundry. We are a family, and families work together for the good of the whole. We help each other without attaching a price tag to our service. Before you think I'm cruel and unusual {okay, there's probably no swaying your thought on unusual, but cruel...let me try to explain that I am not} I do give my children opportunities to earn money. We have a list of things that they can do to earn money. If they are done with their regular chores they can choose a paying job to complete. Because this is a job, it has to be done extremely well to receive payment. Sloppy job = sloppy pay.

Before I get busted for gloating posting about my children enjoying chores, I should admit that such is not the case. They often like to mix in some groans and complaints just to keep me well versed with the phrase, "Because I said so." But every once in a while there is a miraculous moment that must be recorded. Hence the picture above and the following story about my eldest child, Tate who is eight {has a nice ring to it, huh?} He really is eight by the way. So anyway, on with the story. In an effort to get Tate into bed quickly last night, I challenged him to a race. I bet him that I could put away all the folded laundry on the couch before he got out of the shower. Well of course my sweet daughter distracted me with something terribly urgent {she's six and pretty much everything in her world is urgent}.  Tate hustled his clean and freshly clothed little buns out and came racing to the kitchen.

Tate: Did I win?

My deflated answer: Yes, I got distracted.

His enthusiastic reply: Did you put away my clothes?

Me with a smile: Nope.

Tate with all the enthusiasm of a boy who just beat his mom: Good!

Then he grabbed his pile of clothes and rushed to his room to put them away. Bless his sweet little heart! Moments like that give me hope.

So what chores do you give your kids to do? Do you pay them? Come on now, spill the chore lovin' beans!

Bring it!

I am determined not to be bored out of my gourd the next time it rains for a week straight. I live in the Tacoma Washington area so I have a feeling it just might definitely happen again. Soooo, I am compiling a list. Some people say I'm a bit of a cheapskate, er...thrifty. On that note, here are some FREE things to do.

• Have an indoor scavenger hunt
• (When they're done, they can race the timer to put everything back - two games in one!)
• Have a pillow fight
• Pull out all the pillows and blankets, grab some snacks, and read a long book together
• Build a fort out of all those blankets and pillows
• Build a fort out of sugar cubes, popsicle sticks, or toothpicks. What else could you build...a whole city?
• Visit Union Station (1717 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma) - historic & has some Chihuly art work
• Hands-On Children's Museum you can check out a pass at the library to get four people in free. Follow link for other free days if you don't have a library card
• Puget Sound Navy Museum - a bit of a drive, but always free
• Washington State History Museum (only free on third Thursday of the month from 2-8 p.m.)
• Museum of Glass (free days/hours same as above)
• Visit Cabela's - fun any day of the week with all the stuffed animals (sorry, no cuddling allowed) They also have several free events on weekends and morning story time for the kids on the first Saturday of each month.
• Visit Ikea (ok, pretty sure this one's not going to be free for me, but it could be if I only had an ounce of will power)

 And now for the not so free list. But they are wallet friendly ideas and won't break the bank if you just choose one (still probably cheaper than a "free" trip to Ikea):

• Bowling
• Swimming
• Roller Skating
• Ice Skating at Sprinker
• Visit the Almond Roca Factory Outlet no more tours, but dang good sweets on the cheap! (chocolate is just what I need when I'm couped up in the house all day long!)
• Bake some cookies with your newly acquired (and delicious) Almond Roca
• Fort Nisqually Living History Museum this could work on a rainy day, but would probably be more enjoyable when it's decent outside.

 

When it rains I ache to go outside, probably just because I can't.  But now I have places to go and things to do, so bring it on, rain! Give me your best shot!
Oh, and don't forget to tell me what you do to combat the rainy day blues!

Spring Break

This week was Spring Break. It rained all week long, dang it! I distinctly remember this same thing happening last year! Isn't there some mother nature ruling out there that outlaws two years in a row of nasty-no-school-weather? Now I know why people leave on vacation during spring break. I think our family should institute Spring Break Vacation instead of Summer Vacation.

Either way, next year I definitely want to have something planned, because Spring Break just snuck up on me and I found us cooped up in the house...LAME. In between flood watches, we found some breaks in the rain to take Tate to the basketball court. The kids built forts all around the house, including the hallway where there was a blanket tied to each door handle of each room, including the bathroom. I really should have taken some pictures of this one because as annoying as it was, it was really cool. One night they even got to sleep together in one of the tents they made. Much of the time we played with our new DVR {yes, we're just now getting one after much begging and I LOVE it!} Anyway, I don't know how many episodes of Phineas and Ferb we watched, but it was at least one too many.  And the DS is permanently charging to sustain it's increased use. To counter the brain cells numbed into submission with technology we did make a trip to the library. 

One more day in this house and someone was going to get hurt. So we ventured out to Chuck E. Cheese and spent some of our token stash. The kids had a blast and I managed not to go completely deaf from all the noise. Tomorrow we will head up to IKEA (I need a break from spring break) and then we plan to do some nature walks, weather permitting.

So tell me, what do you do for Spring Break?