Merry Christmas!

This year the family and I decided that we would save some money and not do traditional cards.  We are going to take the money and make a donation to Toys for Tots!

So to all my blogging friends and family:

  

Lessons from a Control Freak

Source

Last month my four year old little bear begged and pleaded to be able to play on a basketball team.  I was hesitant to sign him up for any organized sports.  Four just seems too young and I figured he would go to one or two classes and then totally loose interest.  He was so persistent though, I just could not say no.  SO I found a nice little 4 week “camp” run by the rec center here in my town.  It was supposed to be a small class with only 3-4 year olds.  There was a different class at the same time for 5-6 year olds, but the class descriptions made them sound like two separate classes.

Turns out, that the class really is one giant class, with 20 or so 3-6 year olds running around, and one poor high school senior doing her best to corral them all.  Sometimes she has helpers, but mostly it is just her.  Each class has been a very long hour of me sitting there trying to not jump up and interfere.  I mean really, even when she had 2 helpers; 3 teens are no match for 20 kids in a gym.  Plus given the age ranges, it is almost impossible to get them all to do the same thing… let alone learn concepts like rebounding and playing defense!  I mean really, rebounding?  Even the 6 year olds had no interest in that. 

The whole time I sit there and think, “Why don’t they ask for the parents to help?”  “Oh yeah, that is so not going to work with this age group!”   “Does she really think they are listening at all?”  ; on the flip side I am yelling at my little bear “Pay attention, your coach is talking”, “Stop throwing your ball and listen”, “Stop hitting each other with your balls!” 

It is 60 minutes of pandemonium! 

Part of me knows that they are kids and this is what kids should behave like.  The other part though wants to be able to control everything and have order.  It’s a constant struggle in my brain to either be a control freak, or to be the calm cool mom who just laughs, deals, and does not pass her neurotic tendencies on to her offspring! 

Never did I imagine being a mom was going to be such a challenge to my inner control freak.  The good news is that I am slowly learning to let go of the control.  I have begun to take joy in watching my son learn, even if it is not the way I would go about doing it or teaching it.  The important thing is his smile and his joy.  If he can find joy in pandemonium, then so can his crazy old mom! 

Grace Center of HOPE Thanksgiving Drive

Found a great charity today that I thought I would share.... this is a local Shelter by us, even if you don't help this specific shelter, just try to keep in mind all of our fellow neighbors who may need a little extra help or compassion this holiday season!



Grace Center Thanksgiving Drive

Fun Halloween Crafts from Pinterest

I thought I would take a moment to share a couple of fun Halloween projects that the little bear and I have been working on.  Both of these were Pinterest-inspired crafts.

The Halloween Mummy Pops were a blast and so good!  Can't go wrong with chocolate covered Oreos.  I used the double stuffed ones to have more room for the stick and all.  I also used the candy melting disks as opposed to white chocolate chips.  I totally have the worst luck with the chocolate stuff, but the candy stuff is fool proof... at least for me.  The rest is spelled out pretty good in the Pin!

Next up are the Spider Pops.  My little bear is a huge Spiderman Fan, so when I saw these I knew I had to make them for his Pre-School friends.  My son has been having the most fun helping me make these and playing with the pipe cleaners.  Good thing I bought extras!  The picture pretty much says everything on these... I cut the pipe cleaner in half, then just used Elmer's White Glue to put the eyes on.

My little bear says Halloween is all about being spooky.  He says that both of the above are SPOOKY, SPOOKY, SPOOKY!  So what Halloween fun have you all been up to?

Simple Joys

Source

My little bear loves eggs.  Seriously, he would eat a dozen of them if I let him.  He asks for eggs for breakfast before school every day.  For the longest time I would fight with him about it.  I'm a cold cereal before school/work kind of girl.  Cooking breakfast has always been reserved for the weekends.  Add in the fact that my little bear wakes up and wants his breakfast at 5:30 AM every day... cooking was not first on my list. 

Then one morning I decided that fighting with a three year over making a scrambled egg was kind of silly.  I was spending more time and energy convincing him that cereal would be so much better than it would take to make the freaking egg.  

Almost a year later, eggs for breakfast is our norm before school/work.  I can make a scrambled egg in about 3 minutes.  It has become routine and simple.  All it took was a tiny shift in my perception.

Today as I gave my Little Bear his plate of eggs he said, "Mom you make me eggs in the morning because you love me!"  And there it was, the simple joy of life.  A wonderful smile because he knows I did it for him. The best part is, my simple joy was shining right back at me in his smile.  Yes my dear, I make the eggs because I love you!

Taking Some Time....

Happy Wednesday All!

Today is normally my Oh What A Happy Day Link Party, and for my great group of linkers, I am sorry to say that I have decided to put our little link party on hold for a bit.

Actually, I have decided to take a little time off from being a blogger.  To tell the truth, my heart has not been in it lately.  I have really just been going through the motions.  Some where along the line I lost my inspiration.  This is actually true for more than just my little blog.  So rather than just plugging along, I have decided to take a break and do some soul searching.  Focus on finding my joy and my spark again.  Hopefully the break will rev up my motivation and I will be back better and stronger than before!

Since there is no Happy Day Party today, I did want to share with you a wonderful blogger that I think will help you find and realize your JOY in my absence.

Joanne @ What's On The List?

Please take the time to check out Joanne's blog What's On The List?

Joanne is a passionate home cook who's joy and love for life easily comes through in her writing and recipes.  She loves to spread positive stories and happiness, a lady after my own heart!  

Check out some great posts from What's On The List?

Me Time Before Tea Time

Mum's Special Spice Cake

OzHarvest Be a Souper Hero

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

 

July Charity of the Month Wrap Up

The Desert Angel

This month our Charity was The Desert Angel.

Desert Angel is a 100% volunteer organization
and wholly dependent on donations.  Their mission is to collect, pack, and mail needed items to our troops.  They also like to include words of encouragement as well as items for the soldiers to pass on to the kids and people of the land they are on.  In their own words they simply explain it as follows:

We show our Troops they are not forgotten in deeds, not just words. Changing our world, one box at a time ~  Making a difference!   

The Desert Angels

Sharing the Miracle Boxes

Please take a moment to check out the What you can do to help page.  There are lots of options available from simply sending money to packing your own Miracle Box.


Each month I will donate $1 for the first 50 new followers to my blog to the current Charity of the Month.  You can follow in any way that you choose, simply pick an option.  If you already follow one way, feel free to add another:

This month I added over 50 RSS followers, that alone is enough to qualify for the maximum donation!  That means $50 to help The Desert Angel!   Thank you so much for your help and support, I could not do it alone.

Looking to grow your blog? I have Sponsor Spots open this week - priced to fit any budget, including FREE! Hop over to my sponsor page for more details.



 

Meditation Monday - Only takes me!

Happy Happy Folks.

Time again for our meditation/inspiration for the week.  This week's image is a reminder about the most important factor needed to bring about change in your life - you!

Pinterest Source

I have been in a funk lately, which tells me that it is time to make some changes; both in my life and in my attitude.  It is always easier to sit back and blame others for why I am unhappy or stuck in a place I don't like... but as this image says, ultimately it is up to me to make the changes.  =)

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Oh What A HAPPY Day Link Party!

Welcome to the Oh What a HAPPY Day Link Party!

Time to celebrate what is giving us JOY and making us HAPPY this week.  It is so easy to get bogged down and lost in the negative.  Let's take a moment and celebrate the positive.

My happiness this week is coming from my new bike.  I did not really want to spend the money for a new bike, but the hubs insisted that my old bike really was not sized right and my rides would be better if I got a new one.  Boy was he right!  It is amazing how much nicer my rides are.  Thanks for the spending push hubs!  =)

I'd also like to thank all the lovely bloggers who joined up with us here for Oh HAPPY Day last time.  We had 81 links in total!  Congrats go out to Susan @ Adventures in my Kitchen for having the most views last week.


Now onto the party! 

This week I have the pleasure of having Courtney form One Fine Wire co-hosting with me.  Courtney manages to share her life and adventures with clear happiness and joy.  Check out some of her favorite posts: 

Signs of Comfort

Preston's Birth Story

Positional Plagiocephaly

Positional Plagiocephaly Update

  

The rules for the party are pretty simple:

Have fun, stop by our lovely Co-Host, and say HI to as many other party goers as possible.  =) 

If you would like to spread the word, please grab a button and put it on your blog.  If you are interested in being a co-host, then just let me know!   
 

<div align="center"> <a href="http://notdonegrowing.blogspot.com/" title="Oh What A HAPPY Day Party"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYiZWTCg2LpFZrWkcXUOaJPv16wVcVB6A0I8l0qapDpLx3lL_wCCuAKvXTzIkbIugbZwVv_D0zgqBm2TEhmEhizILmPKI0hctXQyOPYs4hV-rdEYBVrzuD5IJs1RPeWDTU-KkGxXZ53nJ/s225-no/buttons-200.jpg" alt="Oh What A HAPPY Day Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Looking to grow your blog? I have Sponsor Spots open this week - priced to fit any budget, including FREE! Hop over to my sponsor page for more details.


 

Meditation Monday

Welcome back to another round of Meditation Monday.  Here is this week's image:

Pinterest Source

 
This quote totally hits the right spot for me today.  I've felt like I have been standing in a storm for a few weeks now.  Nothing to serious, just a lot of little things to deal with and feeling off course.  I like the idea of not fighting the storm, but simply adjusting my sails and working with it.  

Many years ago I used to sail with a crazy Englishman.  Besides teaching me to appreciate a warm Milwaukee's Best (long sails, not enough cooler space); he used to tell us all the time that the best winds come with the storm.  The man had us sailing in snow and freezing rain, but he was right, great wind!  You just have to know how to use it.  Make the right adjustment and you'll soar.

This week I am going to focus more on those sail adjustments.  I can sit here and complain about the storm, or I can take the helm and sail!

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52 Weeks and Money Saving Tip for Keurig Users

Happy Friday Everyone!

This is how I feel!

We've been sweltering all week with this heat wave in Chicago-land.  It is finally going to break for the weekend, and I am so ready for it!  

I have been lazy this week with my 52 Weeks of Kindness.  The best I can come up this week is that I have been kind to myself.  I have geared up my healthy living again.  It is time to start spending some quality time taking care of myself!  Eating well and exercising most days.  I've been taking the little bear to day care on my bicycle.  He loves it and I get a great work out in!  Kindness for both of us!  =)

I am also going to share a little $ saving tip I have discovered this week.  Do any of you use a Keurig Coffee Maker?  I love mine, but I have always felt a bit guilty about all those pods filling up the trash can.  I am the only coffee drinker in my house, and typically I only drink one cup.  So having the convenience of the Keurig one cup maker is a plus I am not willing to give up.

The down side of the whole thing is all the extra trash with all those pods, plus the over all cost.  Seriously, even only making one cup a day I would easily spend $30 a month on coffee pods.  

I have had a reusable filter for my Keurig, but only ever used it for my loose teas.  I had it in my head that with out the paper filter the coffee would not work right.  Let me just say, completely and totally wrong!!!

Not only do the reusable filter work with normal coffee, I think the cup of joe is even better!  Here is the filter I use:

They have fancier ones out there, but really the Solofill one works just fine for me.  I bought 2 of them, so I always have a clean one ready.  Easy to use and makes great coffee, can't complain about that!  Plus now rather than spending $30 a month, I'm back to spending $5 on a can of coffee... or I can get fancy and buy any beans I like and grind my own.  With an extra $25 buck in my pocket a month, the sky is the limit!  haha

So that is my week of kindness, a little for me and a little for you!  Don't forget to head over to My Three Bittles to see how Amber's week went!  Have a great weekend!

Looking to grow your blog? I have Sponsor Spots open this week - priced to fit any budget, including FREE! Hop over to my sponsor page for more details.


 

Oh What a HAPPY Day Link Party!

Welcome to the Oh What a HAPPY Day Link Party!

Time to celebrate what is giving us JOY and making us HAPPY this week.  It is so easy to get bogged down and lost in the negative.  Let's take a moment and celebrate the positive.

This week I still happy from our trip home this past weekend.  It was my oldest niece's 4th birthday.  Having a son, I love being with my nieces and spoiling them rotten!  haha  I can't wait for the next home trip to see them again!

I'd also like to thank all the lovely bloggers who joined up with us here for Oh HAPPY Day last time.  We had 68 links in total!  Congrats go out to Maria @ This Life's Beautiful Moments for having the most views last week.


Now onto the party! 

This week I have the pleasure of having Dawn form Spatulas On Parade co-hosting with me.  Dawn's blog is a great source of recipes and smiles.  You can tell she really does love cooking and sharing her talents with us!  Check out some of her great recipes:

Almost Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

Afritada Filipino Chicken Stew

Zucchini Fries

The rules for the party are pretty simple:

Have fun, stop by our lovely Co-Host, and say HI to as many other party goers as possible.  =) 

If you would like to spread the word, please grab a button and put it on your blog.  If you are interested in being a co-host, then just let me know!   
 

<div align="center"> <a href="http://notdonegrowing.blogspot.com/" title="Oh What A HAPPY Day Party"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYiZWTCg2LpFZrWkcXUOaJPv16wVcVB6A0I8l0qapDpLx3lL_wCCuAKvXTzIkbIugbZwVv_D0zgqBm2TEhmEhizILmPKI0hctXQyOPYs4hV-rdEYBVrzuD5IJs1RPeWDTU-KkGxXZ53nJ/s225-no/buttons-200.jpg" alt="Oh What A HAPPY Day Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

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Meditation Monday - Be a Rockstar!

Happy Monday!

Here is this week's image for meditation or motivation:

Pinterest Source

 
Let's all be rock stars this week!  What ever it is you'd like to change or do differently, just remember you too are a rock star, so do it!

Looking to grow your blog? I have Sponsor Spots open this week - priced to fit any budget, including FREE! Hop over to my sponsor page for more details.


 

52 Weeks of Kindness

Happy Friday Everyone!  I'm happy it is Friday finally.  Tomorrow is my niece's 4th birthday, and I can't wait to get some Auntie time in.  Her mother is so going to kill me when she sees all the presents we have, but I figure if your Auntie doesn't spoil you who will!  haha

This week my act of kindness was to donate to an old high school friend's fundraiser.  She is raising money to go to the Mayo Clinic.  She has multiple medical issues and is hoping they can help her manage better.  If you would like to read more you can here.

has several serious medical issues; she sees specialists in 7 different medical areas. - See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/let-s-get-crissy-to-the-mayo-clinic/67860#sthash.hw9h6J1c.dpuf

has several serious medical issues; she sees specialists in 7 different medical areas. - See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/let-s-get-crissy-to-the-mayo-clinic/67860#sthash.hw9h6J1c.dpuf

Also, don't forget to head over to My Three Bittles to see how Amber did with her 52 Weeks project today!

Looking to grow your blog? I have Sponsor Spots open this week - priced to fit any budget, including FREE! Hop over to my sponsor page for more details.



 

OH What A HAPPY Day Link Party

Welcome to the Oh What a HAPPY Day Link Party!

Time to celebrate what is giving us JOY and making us HAPPY this week.  It is so easy to get bogged down and lost in the negative.  Let's take a moment and celebrate the positive.

This week I am happy to be partnering with
Datevitation and hosting a great giveaway!

Datevitation Review and GIVEAWAY

You can enter and read all about it here, plus get a coupon code!

I'd also like to thank all the lovely bloggers who joined up with us here for Oh HAPPY Day last time.  We had 67 links in total!  Congrats go out to Sarah @ Our Journey for having the most views last week.


Now onto the party! 

The rules for the party are pretty simple: 

Have fun and say HI to as many other party goers as possible.  =) 

If you would like to spread the word, please grab a button and put it on your blog.  If you are interested in being a co-host, then just let me know!   
 

<div align="center"> <a href="http://notdonegrowing.blogspot.com/" title="Oh What A HAPPY Day Party"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYiZWTCg2LpFZrWkcXUOaJPv16wVcVB6A0I8l0qapDpLx3lL_wCCuAKvXTzIkbIugbZwVv_D0zgqBm2TEhmEhizILmPKI0hctXQyOPYs4hV-rdEYBVrzuD5IJs1RPeWDTU-KkGxXZ53nJ/s225-no/buttons-200.jpg" alt="Oh What A HAPPY Day Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Looking to grow your blog? I have Sponsor Spots open this week - priced to fit any budget, including FREE! Hop over to my sponsor page for more details.