As you all know, Operation Shower, is near and dear to my heart. Throwing a baby shower for these deserving military moms is such an honor. Thoughts of how to make them feel special and appreciated are always at the forefront of what we do. So when it comes time for the actual showers themselves, we are now working hard to pump up the party and not just fill the boxes with amazing gifts. We want the entire experience to be amazing!

What do you notice when you are the guest? What makes one party stand out over another? Simple. It’s all in the details. Need some simple ideas on ways you can make your next event the talk of the neighborhood? Operation Shower Chief Event Planner, Amy Belle Isle, is borderline obsessive about the details. Just look at the mosaic above to get an idea of what I’m talking about and then visit her blog, Stem Parties, for much, much more.

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We are in Love with a new book in our house, The Big Black Dog and the Big Blue Sea.

I have to first confess that I know the subject of the book, the beautiful dog, Zeta.   Zeta was our friends’ dog and she is perfectly captured in this book.  You can learn more about the story-behind-the-story on The Big Black Dog and the Big Blue Sea’s Facebook page or website.

So part of the reason we love the book is because of the story behind it. My son loves seeing that someone has written a book based on a day — one simply glorious day. This has inspired him to write about his own days and perhaps view them as story-worthy.

But most of all, we love this book because it is beautifully written in rhyming prose that captures the spirit of the day.  And, the illustrations are so lovely and perfect for the book !

It is a book we have read over and over and which I will purchase for my friends and their children.

However, a word of warning:   if you do not yet have a dog, this will make your kids ache for one.

But maybe the book will be enough for awhile.

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My son and I are loving this video of “The Elephant Song — by Eric Herman”:

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Every Wednesday, we hope to write about “giving to others” as part of our Happiness Project.   

“When you choose to serve — whether it’s your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood — you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That’s why it’s called the American dream.”  – Barack Obama

This Monday, January 19th is a National Day of Service.  President-Elect Obama has called on America to step up on Martin Luther King, Jr Day and make a lasting commitment to our communities and country.  If you are looking for a way to give back on this day, go to  USAService.org.

There are thousands of volunteer opportunities listed by community — from blood drives to book collections (like one hosted by Operation Shower), from planting gardens to helping out by painting at schools.  

If your kids will be out of school and you can even do one thing and let them know it’s in honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day, I would say it’s been a good day. 

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As part of our version of the Happiness Project, we are trying to continue to “learn” — anything.  This week , Jen learns she just might be “hip.”  Stay tuned for future technology adventures. 

“You had me at scrolling.” ~Steve Jobs on the iPhone

I’m in love with my iPhone.  I am not a gadget person.  I’m not a hipster.  I am a mom of two and seriously afraid of being a shlumpadinka, both in appearance and in mindset.  I am also an underbuyer.  So is my husband.  And somehow we waited in line for 5 hours to get iPhones.  I thought we’d enjoy the gadget-y-ness for a few days and then be mad we spent so much money for a phone (a key element of being an underbuyer).  Not so.  It has changed my life.  If feel more connected, organized, productive and sane because of it.  Because all of that, and because its cool, I even feel a little less shlump!

This is not an ad for Apple products, but the iPhone is perfect for a mom.  I can stay connected through email without having to sit down!  I can stay informed and read the NY Times any time I have a spare 5 minutes (waiting in line, waiting to pick up my daughter, NOT waiting for a light to turn green), and I don’t have to buy a paper or sit down!   I can map my route after I’m in the car and realize I forgot to map it! I can Facebook, craigslist, eBay and track my fitness when I get a spare second!  And best of all, I can take pictures of the kids and email them, in the moment, to Daddy.   He loves this when he travels.  He feels connected to our routine and our daily joys even when he isn’t in person.

It isn’t a replacement for actual time with people we love, but this thing helps make things less hectic and fills the gaps that are there when being in person isn’t possible.  I’ve also realized how fantastic it is to have access to a little package of “me” in my pocket at all times.  My email, my hobbies, my favorite newspaper.  A little dose of world news in the midst of a kid-centered routine is probably what moms of the 50s were looking for when they took a swig in the middle of the day.  I can get a quick fix and get right back to sweeping the floor, refereeing the fight or cuddling with my kids and a book with a clearer head.

Posted under Connecting, Happiness Project, Learning, Tech, Uncategorized

Every Monday, we will write about the importance of “connection” in our lives and how we can establish and keep connections.

As Thanksgiving is this week, I have been thinking about how it is such a great time for connecting with family, friends and others.  Not only do we stop to give thanks on this day and reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives, but we also gather together to cook food, play games, catch up on each other’s lives and just be together.  Whether you gather with your immediate family, with your extended family or with friends, I think it is worth it to reflect for a moment on the wonderful connections you have in your life.  Even if you gather only one time a year, it’s a connection that can be felt the rest of the year through.  

It can also be a time to be thankful for and “connect” with those we miss.  My son recently told me about a story he read at school in which the family would cook the favorite dish of family members who could not gather there that day but whom they still wanted to remember.  He then asked whether we could have my Grandpa’s favorite meal as part of Thanksgiving (he passed away 3 years ago) “so we could remember him.”   I thought this was such a wonderful idea — I am not sure what his favorite Thanksgiving dish was, but I remember eating wonderful corn on the cob from his garden with him every year.  So, we will have corn on the cob for Thanksgiving as well.  

Finally, I would recommend the book, Thank You Sarah, the Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving, by Laurie Anderson.  It is a wonderful story about the woman who fought (with letter-writing campaigns to many Presidents) to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.  Finally, after 38 years, President Lincoln agrees (possibly to help reunite the country).  It was a book that showed the power of perserverence, the power of the pen (my son was very intrigued by the “pen is mightier than the sword” reference); and also the importance of being together to give thanks!  We make a powerful force when we connect!

Posted under Connecting, Happiness Project, Tradition, Uncategorized

Just a quick reminder. . . before you buy anything online, always check to see if you can  find a coupon code that will give you a discount for the site.  I recently bought something from two different sites and was able to find a discount online for both.  Just google the name of the site and “coupon code” and you never know what you will find!

You can check out CouponCode.com and RetailMeNot.com for examples, but I would do a search as there are many such sites with codes.

Posted under Random Thoughts, Tech, Uncategorized

A favorite book of mine last year was Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. She also did an interview with Oprah last season and shared her three suggestions for what to do every day.   I recently came across them again and thought I’d share them with you:

• Start a journal and answer this question every morning: What do I really, really, really want? “You have to say really, really, really three times or else you don’t believe it. And answer it truthfully and do it again the next day and the next and the next,” she says. “Because you can’t set your journey if you don’t know what you’re for.”

• Write down the happiest moment of every day in a happiness journal. “It’s a way of reminding myself what really makes me happy and what doesn’t,” she says, “and learn and study and look back and see what is it consistently.”
   
• Refine your mantra. “I say refine, not choose, because we all actually already have a mantra. We just might not realize that we do. Whatever you repeat constantly in your head is your mantra whether you know it or not, and that is leading you on your way,” she says. “So if you’re repeating, ‘I’m a moron, I’m an idiot, I’m a failure, I’m a jerk, I’m a loser,’ it’s your mantra. So decide whether that’s working for you. … Maybe it’s not and then maybe you might want to choose a different thing to try to say whenever you remember that you’re thinking what you’re always doing.”

Posted under Books, Uncategorized

Last night my son had something “very important” he needed to tell me before he could go to sleep. He said it was hard to explain.  But then he told me that he saw a lot of clouds in the sky at soccer practice and that he felt that  ” all those clouds, big and small, are like my dreams.”

So sweet. I wish we could all still see clouds as dreams . . .

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Today is October 1st! You know what that means right?  It’s the night the book fairy comes!  In our house the book fairy visits at the first of every month to deliver a new book under my son’s pillow.  Sometimes it is a book relevant to a holiday and sometimes it is a joke book or a chapter book.  She brings a variety, which is great ! 

This has been a great way to keep my son excited about getting new books and it’s something I think he will always remember when he is older.  It has also helped me as I used to always buy a new book for each holiday and way too many when it wasn’t a holiday.  Now that I know the book fairy is coming, I can slow down!  I wonder what book will arrive tonight . . .

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