Join the movement: 100 Good Deeds #DeedADay + GIVEAWAY

My plan for this morning was pretty simple. I had a trunk full of Christmas gifts that didn't fit, weren't needed or broke after that first morning of play. I was on a mission. Buzzing around town, fighting crowds, knocking things off my list, returning things, and most importantly, getting my money back.

I wasn't really thinking about doing a good deed today. I was thinking about how I really needed that money back in my bank account. 

But the opportunity ended up being right in front of my face. 

As I was driving from one shopping center to the next I found myself in a line of creeping traffic. Standing at the curb, beside the stop sign was a petite older woman, her head wrapped in a scarf, holding a sign asking for help. She lost her job. She had three kids. Her two teenage sons sat on the curb beside her, looking a little embarrassed. Not really making much eye contact with anyone driving by.

As my car came alongside her, I was conscious of the fact that I was about to take that first big bite out the sandwich I'd just purchased to "sustain me" while I ran my errands. I quickly put down the sandwich and waved awkwardly as I passed. 

When I pulled away, I knew I couldn't just drive by. 

I pulled in to Target, ran in to return my things and then got back in line again. I grabbed a gift card off the shelf and put the money I just got back from those gifts onto the gift card and tucked it in my pocket. I walked next door to Starbucks and told the barista what I was doing and asked if I could have three hot chocolates. She gave them to me, without a second thought.

I hopped back in my car and drove across the street back to the parking lot where I'd seen the woman and her family. My heart sank when I realized they were gone. As I waited for the red light to change, I said a quick prayer, "Please let me find that family again." 

I pulled through the light and there they were walking across the parking lot from the place they had been standing. I pulled over, rolled down the window and handed them the hot chocolates and the gift card. We both talked over each other, both saying the exact same thing: "God bless you."

Writing this post was on my to-do list today. The chance to share a new movement with you--one inspired by good deeds. I didn't go hunting for a good deed today, but one when presented itself, I'd like to think that this little reminder on my wrist is what helped me not just drive past but to make a small difference in someone's day. 

The new year is a time for resolutions, we want to eat better, be more organized, clear the clutter, exercise, drink more water--but what if our resolution was to do one small good deed a day? Think about all possibilities.

On my wrist, I'm wearing a 100 Good Deeds bracelet. They were designed by artist, author and HIV/AIDS activist Mary Fisher, who has dedicated her life to working with women in developing countries. Each bracelet is made by women from Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, Rwanda or Haiti, and is strung with 100 beads to remind us to do a good deed each day. The bracelets have a rubber ring that you can move forward for every good deed that you do, as you work your way towards 100. 

The project gives women the training and means to support their families and proceeds are re-invested into the program to provide more women and girls, in more countries, with more training and more opportunities.

So this year, maybe we can all join together to do one small thing every day to make one small difference in someone's life. Just 100 good deeds. Let's make 2015 a really good year. 

To kick things off I'm excited to partner with #DeedADay and give away a bracelet to one MommyCoddle reader. Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was gifted a 100 Good Deeds bracelet to check out and share with my readers. However, all opinions expressed in this post are my own. 

New beginnings and a fresh Advent season

The Advent season began this past Sunday.

In year's past, I've rushed home from Thanksgiving travel and realized it was suddenly time to start thinking about Christmas and felt the immediate panic of already being behind. But this year feels remarkably different. The biggest marker in our lives being that Dan and I are going through RCIA classes, as we begin the process of joining the Catholic church. It's a big decision for our family. A personal one. But also one that feels like I'm coming into a fullness of my faith that I haven't experienced before.

It's exciting. And fulfilling. And whole.

And part of that process and learning has been for me to put thought into the Advent season, how we celebrate it and how we anticipate the coming of Christmas. I've often felt like I've walked into Christmas Eve church services trying to frantically re-focus myself and my children on what really matters in the season. 

But this year feels different.

We're already starting the anticipation of what's to come. Like the birth of a new baby, we are preparing. We are waiting. We are getting excited.

Though there is so much I could add to my list of Advent traditions, I've decided that the best thing for me is to add one or two small things each year. 

This year, it is the lighting of the Advent wreath and meditations and reading over coffee and dessert every night after dinner. The girls take turns reading, and we sit together. And things slow down. And we light the candles. And we remember to anticipate what's coming.

As I chose the things I wanted to add to our traditions this year, I hoped to add this Advent spiral to our celebrating, but missed my chance to order. Instead, I found a way to make the Nova Natural birthday rings work as we count down each day until Christmas. (I'll share more ideas and specifics soon.) And an Advent wreath we made in class that I added holly and boxwood to when I came home.

Christmas books have been gathered together, only to be scattered again around the house. Birdy picks this one night after night at bedtime. 

With all that's swirling around me, I'm so glad to have this season and these moments in our day to be a little more mindful of what's ahead and what's important.

The waiting.

The joy.

It's just what this heart needs.

#GivingTuesday : Barnraiser--Kickstarter for farmers

#GivingTuesday may almost be over, but it seems like the perfect day to share one of the things that has been bookmarked on my computer for weeks, because I knew I wanted to share it with all of you. Projects like this are always near and dear to my heart, and this is one that needs more eyes, voices and support behind it. 

An email from Barnraiser showed up in my inbox a few weeks ago and I was immediately intrigued. The best way for me to sum up Barnraiser is that it is like Kickstarter for farmers, artisans, educators and community projects that are aimed at helping to reshape our food system. It's for anyone wanting to make a difference in the way we farm and the way we eat. 

Just a quick perusal of the site and you'll find projects like heirloom fruit orchards and classroom gardens, a bakery's wood-burning oven, a farm's micro-creamery, sustainable bees and responsible chicken farms, looking for financial support to get their projects and ideas up and running. 

Secretly, I've always had lofty dreams of ways I'd love to dig my hands into agricultural and community-based ideas. But one of the things always holding me back was "where would I ever come up with the money." 

It's projects like Barnraiser that are opening the doors for these ideas that are making a difference and making changes in our local resources, small farming communities and the food that ends up on our tables. 

Take a moment on this #GivingTuesday (or Wednesday or Thursday or any day!) to check out this Barnraiser. Trust me, you'll be inspired by these people.

**Also note: Anytime you make a pledge on Barnraiser you can elect to gift your reward to someone else...what a cool way to give this holiday season.**

My Christmas notebook planner (aka: how I stay sane during the holidays)

I wrote this post as part of my participation in a blog tour for The Motherhood on behalf of the makers of Children's MOTRIN® and received compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Two weeks ago when I was scrolling through my twitter feed "Christmas" was one of the top trending topics. I immediately got a little tightness in my stomach and rolled my eyes at the thought that people were already starting to talk about it, even before Halloween had come and gone. 

I've always been the kind of girl who feels bad for Thanksgiving. Each year Christmas seems to creep in on her and choke out all the goodness of Thanksgiving. So I rarely let myself begin to even think about Christmas let alone turn on a carole or plan the pockets of my advent calendar before I've fully celebrated Thanksgiving. 

But the other day driving home from school the girls started talking about Christmas. "It's my favorite of all the holidays," someone said. "And not just because of the presents. I love the way Christmas feels--cozy and warm. I love the spirit of Christmas." 

I sat and listened in silence and decided, maybe I could let Christmas creep in a little earlier this year. Maybe instead of feeling that post-Thanksgiving-only-a-few-more-weeks-until-Christmas panic, I'd start to think and plan a little earlier. Maybe instead of the post-Thanksgiving "how am I ever going to fit in all the things I want to do with them?" crunch, I'll give Christmas planning a little head start. 

So this year I'm embracing the spirit of Christmas early. Because it's not just about the rush to buy presents and decorate and get the tree and bake the cookies and send the cards, it's about the "cozy and warm" of Christmas. 

And that's why instead of waiting until after Thanksgiving, I decided to share my Christmas sanity-saver with you all a bit early, too. 

This idea is in no way my own. My grandmother--mother to FIFTEEN children--used a similar system. And my own mother too-- that secret black Christmas book that we all were SO tempted to peek inside, but never did. At least I never did. 

Many years ago I bought myself a large moleskine notebook that has become my Christmas notebook. It is the place where I organize Christmas. It is where I gather my thoughts, write down my ideas, collect recipes, make lists, and most importantly gather memories. 

Here's a breakdown of what's inside my Christmas notebook: (Be warned, I'm a list-maker. And I have to write things down on paper to keep my mind clutter-free.)

1. Gift lists: Each year I make a three-column list. The first column is the name of anyone for whom I have to purchase a gift. In the second column I write down any and every idea I have for their gifts--whether homemade or store-bought. And the final column is what I actually ended up purchasing or making. 

2. Pre-Christmas calendar. In order to keep the week before Christmas from getting all kinds of crazy I plan out the week before in my notebook--everything from bath nights to when we'll decorate the tree or drive around looking at lights, to what Christmas Eve service we'll be attending, and when I need to get my Christmas meal grocery shopping done. 

3. Meal-plans + grocery lists. I also keep track of all our big meals in my notebook. Christmas Eve dinner (which in my wise old age has become simplified to soup and good bread), Christmas morning breakfast (something fairly easy, but special and always a big fruit salad), Christmas dinner with family and day after Christmas meals with out-of-towners. I write out my meal plans, make my grocery lists and clip recipes and ideas into the notebook as I come across them during the year.

4. Receipts. In the back pocket of my moleskine I tuck all the holiday shopping receipts. This way when/if something needs to be returned, I know exactly where to find it.

Added bonus: Not only is the notebook helpful for planning each holiday season and knowing who's getting what, it also makes a great reference for birthdays. When I find myself at a loss for ideas, I consult my Christmas notebook to see if there were ideas I didn't jump on for Christmas that might be great for a birthday. If it's July and I think of The Perfect Gift for one of the girls, I quickly jot it down in my notebook because Lord knows I won't remember it in December.

But probably what I love most about the notebook is the memories. Do you remember  what you got your oldest child for her 3rd Christmas? I most-definitely do not, but oh how I love flipping back through the pages of my notebook to Christmas 2005 to find out (it was all about horses and art supplies.) Or remember 2009 when I tried to pull off a fancy roast, luminaries and the late Christmas Eve mass with a toddler? Yeah, I was crazy back then. 

My notebook keeps me sane. It helps me avoid those "standing in the middle of Target with no idea what to get my kids" moments. It helps me stay organized enough that I can truly enjoy the "warm and cozy" of the season.

And this year, I decided to bring it out early. Thanksgiving, I still love you. I'm just adding a sprinkling of Christmas spirit all around. 

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The makers of Children's MOTRIN are inspired by all the things moms do. Moms may not always realize it, but they are amazing in so many ways. Moms are on call day and night have have so much unique knowledge that can really help other moms. That's why the makers of Children's MOTRIN are asking moms to share this knowledge in the form of tips and tricks that help keep them going. They are asking moms to post their tips to the MOTRIN facebook page and for every post, Children's MOTRIN will donate $1 to Safe Kids Worldwide, a global nonprofit that provides moms with the tips they need to keep their children safe.

a little act of kindness

Sometimes there's that little act of kindness you've been meaning to do for months and you just needed that extra nudge. Thanks to Kleenx®Brand for the nudge I needed for this act of kindness below. *

When we moved from our old house at Thomas Run one of the things I knew would be the hardest to do was to move away from our neighbor Mr. Dorsey. Mr. Dorsey was born in our house and grew up there but eventually moved next door onto his own smaller piece of property.

We became close over the years. Though he was stubborn and strong as an ox in his 70-plus years, we all still kept a close eye on him. He'd never ask for help (and when he did, you knew he really needed it) so Dan--cut from the same kind of cloth--would look for opportunities to help him out.

The very first time we met him he told me, "Just so you know, I walk laps around the pastures early in the morning, sometimes in the dark--so don't shoot me!" He used to drive a milk truck and always keeps milk truck hours. When his bull would get out and end up in our backyard, I'd call him up and laugh about it--though Mr. Dorsey was never happy about it.  When his cow would show up in side yard, I'd walk her home with a stick and put her back in the fence. 

When we first planted our garden, he'd pulled out his plow and ripped up the earth. He told us about the huge tree in the front yard and how his father had remembered it being that big and how old it must have been, the oldest in the valley. He worried about people robbing him and hated when the raccoons started getting in to his grain. He hoarded tractors and tractor parts and round bales and had two antique trucks buried in the brambles behind the falling down stone silo. But you couldn't move them or take them--because he might need the parts some day.

He said we were the best neighbors he'd ever had.

So when we moved to Woodlawn, I knew leaving Mr. Dorsey was going to be one of the hardest parts. 

We still see him. I still check in on him. When I drive by on a Thursday and he's out on his riding mower, I know everything's all right. 

When I see him now, he hugs me and gives me a big wet cough-drop-sticky kiss on the lips and squeezes my arm. He asks if Dan is busy at work and tells me he's getting ready to retire from driving the school bus. He tells me about any houses that are for sale in the valley and how I need to convince my dad to buy one for me, because we need to come back. 

I've tried a few times to get him over here for dinner. But he always puts me off and instead says, "just bring me some of your oatmeal raisin cookies. I think about those every since you brought them to me that one time." He doesn't ask for much, but he does ask for cookies. 

Every time I drive by I get that little twinge of regret that I've haven't shown up at his door with cookies since we've moved. The kids remind me often. And then I forget. And then weeks have gone by. 

But I finally found my reason this past week. An opportunity to do an act of kindness, even something small--and I knew exactly what my act of kindness would be and who would be on the receiving end.

When the kids walked into the kitchen and there were oatmeal raisin cookies in the oven they knew what I was doing. I'm pretty sure someone said, "It's about time, mom." When Mr. Dorsey gets home from driving the bus tonight, they'll be something waiting outside the door for him. 

So if you're putting off that little act of kindness, that special thing you've been meaning to do, here's my nudge--do it. It doesn't take long. It doesn't take much. And it feels so good. 

A big thank you to Kleenex®Brand for the push to do this small act of kindness. For giving us a few extra goodies to pack in our basket for Mr. Dorsey, including their cute little packs of tissues that I know he'll be tucking the car seat (or school bus seat!) beside him. Thanks for making this small act of care so easy to do. Here's hoping you'll join the "Share the Kleenex Care" movement and be inspired by them to do your own small act of care. Even just the smallest gesture (like passing a tissue) to a friend, stranger, neighbor--that needs it, has a big impact.

*This post is part of a sponsorship with Kleenex Brand and Socialstars.