Creative Christmas

As I have mentioned before, you don't get much higher, in my book, than the people who provide care for my children.  I love gift giving, and I take great care to select gifts that I think the recipient will enjoy.  So, a couple of months before Christmas, I approached the administrative staff at my daughter's preschool to try and find out what kind of things her teacher might like.  However, I was told, in no uncertain terms that her teacher could NOT accept gifts.  It was a violation of her contract, and she would be fired if they found out she did.  WHAT?!?!?  I couldn't believe it.  Apparently, the preschool is run by the county, so the teachers are under the same contract as elected officials, and any gift could be considered a bribe.  (Seriously?  What teachers do you know that work for the gifts???)  The next week, they had even posted a letter detailing this very information.  They said that the only gifts that could be accepted were consumables, but how many plates of cookies does one teacher need?  So, I had to get creative.  I, of course, did make a plate of cookies, muffins, candy, etc., but that just didn't seem like enough.  So, I started thinking about what I could do for her that wouldn't put her job at risk.  I decided to buy a gift for the whole classroom.

I found this block set online, and I thought the kids would love it.  Since it was for the classroom, it didn't violate her contract, and when the kids are happy, the teacher is happy, right?  Then, finally, I decided to make a donation, on her behalf.  She has expressed a love of Sesame Street, and she is often dressed in Sesame Street clothing, so the decision was easy.  That way, everyone won.  Her teacher received gifts, without threatening her job, the kids had some new toys and we helped Sesame Street stay on the air.  All in all, a good compromise.

For the record, though, I wrote a letter expressing my disappointment in not being able to give gifts directly to her, and I was told it would be sent up the chain of command.  I don't know if it will make a difference, but I'm hopeful that they'll reconsider.  Afterall, Teacher Appreciation Week is fast approaching.

An Apology

I would like to take a minute to apologize to anyone who might be reading this blog.  At the end of last year, I started having some medical problems, which eventually led to surgery.  As a result, my posting has suffered (However, I have still been doing my best to spread kindness, when I can).  I am still recovering from my surgery, but I intend to start posting again, and hopefully, we'll find some good opportunities to spread kindness.

Welcome to Your New Home

I spent more than a decade moving around, not staying in the same home for more than 2 years (dorms, apartments, rented rooms, a house, a trailer and a town house, oh my).  But last year, I finally found the home where I expect to spend at least two decades.  When we moved in we saw a sight similar to this (recreated for this blog entry):

                                                   and what a wonderful sight that was!

After lots of heavy lifting, not to mention unpacking (which I LOVE to do, but it is still hard work) it was such a good feeling to be able to relax with my love and share a bottle of wine.  Since I have very few original ideas, I quickly copied it for the folks who were buying the house that we were moving out of.  I never want to offend and some people may not like wine.  So I found out through our realtor that they did, in fact, like wine.  I also knew that they had adolescent children, and I did not want to leave them out of the celebration.  So we got them a bottle of wine and some sparkling grape juice, along with some dollar store wine glasses.


****Just a precautionary note, make sure to either get a bottle that has a screw cap (can you believe that exists?!) or pick up one of those affordable cork screws to leave with the display.  It stinks to have a bottle of wine with no way to open it, and when moving into a home, the corkscrew may not be the most accessible item****

Support Goodwill

I believe that I am  a full circle supporter of Goodwill, Salvation Army and The Rescue Mission.  I think many folk support these wonderful organizations by donating their gently used items.  And how great is that? they help the environment by keeping useful objects out of the landfills or incinerators (and no pesky packaging!), they provide quality items at affordable prices to consumers AND the money raised goes to support their varied and worthy causes, it is the trifecta!  I am in the process of decluttering and organizing for my own sanity.  This has led to quite a few thrift store drop offs.  For the record, I am not partial to any particular store, each had different qualities that I appreciate (and would be happy to delineate if you are interested, but this blog is not the place), and I am not kidding when I say I know where each store is with in a 90 minute radius from my home. So, by dropping off my goods, I am supporting these stores by giving them inventory.  

However, as a recovering thrift store fiend, I typically have to take a look at the treasures I can bring home.   There is almost always something.  And the good news is, I am dropping off much more than I take home.  So while I drop off outgrown toys, clothes, baby items, books and the like, I bring home things that are more useful in my life  shelves, picture frames, children's books, clothes for my kids to grow in to, board games...and on and on. I kind of consider it the thrift store version of closing the recycling loop to make sure there is a demand for the products created.  

Another good deed that benefits me.  I am noticing a trend here...  

Money for Schools - Run

My ever-active love just ran a half marathon.  It is an annual fundraiser with the following mission: At a time when such programs are increasingly minimized due to shrinking resources, the Run strives to draw attention to their importance and give participants an opportunity to raise funds to help maintain them at a school of their choice.

I mean, how cool is it to see a bunch of locals get together and decide to use their skills, energy and attention  to make positive change?  This seems like a double bonus.  I get a healthier husband (and his girls get a healthier father) and the school he chooses gets money.  

He is my hometown hero 

I Won't Need Them When I 'm Gone...

     This one is not a new one for me, but it was time to renew my driver's license and I checked the box that says I will donate my organs after I no longer need them (euphemism alert!).  It is my sincere hope that they will go well used, helping a med student learn or another human continue living.  Plus I get a neat little heart <3 on the front of my license.
   

Roots and Shoots

I am in the beginning phases of putting together a preschool - elementary age Roots and Shoots group.  I am absolutely in love with the idea of this group.  It is a worldwide movement that has a primary focus on three goals: helping people, the environment and animals.
We have had two formal Roots and Shoots meetings, and are in the process of looking for our first service project.  We were thinking that for our young age group, a litter pick up would be perfect.  So far, the few parks that I have scoped out have been relatively litter free (woo hoo! that is great.  it just makes finding a project a little more challenging).  So we are now on the look out for some alternate locations (and starting to suspect that there may be litter around, but it is just hidden beneath the autumn leaf litter) in addition, we are considering a simple fall flower bulb planting project so that our children, and those in the public location that we end up planting, can all see the benefits in the spring. 
I am just so very excited about this group, that I wanted to post.  and I hope that I will have many projects to post from this group in the coming year.