Day 11: GIVE a treat to first responders

I thought this was a great one to do. Who doesn't love a visit to the local police/fire department!? (Well, as long as you're not there to pick someone up!) Anyways, I debated on what to take up there for snacks/treats. Typically, I would bake something myself. However, I started thinking that they may not be too eager to eat something that a stranger brought up there. I then confirmed by suspicion with a friend married to a cop. Yep, off to Target we go! I decided these were some manly men; they probably didn't want some cookies. We decided on some chips & salsa, beef jerky, peanuts, and Red Bull.

We live in a small town that just got our very own police/fire combo station. (Yes, we live in Rockwall, but our 'community' has gotten so large that we require our own police/fire resources now.) What better reason to go up and get a tour! We dropped off our snacks and got to take a look around. Austin even got to wear a little fireman hat and sit up in the fire truck. So cool!

(Unfortunately, Officer Tyler who came to our house on an unrelated visit a few weeks ago was not in attendance that afternoon. Bummer!) :)

 

Day 10: GIVE encouragement to your spouse

Tonight I left a little love note on the bathroom counter for Jordan. Many times in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, we often forget to say thank you or to tell others how much we appreciate them. Over the past few weeks, Jordan has helped me many late nights prepping for Austin's party. Not many husbands would be up in their wife's craft room at midnight gluing cupcake toppers together or painting wooden letters. But he did, both for me and for his son.

 

Not only to say thank you for everything, but he's needed a little encouragement for work lately. Being in retail, he can work some late hours and weekends, which takes him away from us. But I know he's doing what he needs to do for our family and I love him for that.

 

So here's to you, babe! ;)

Day 9: GIVE a great party!

Yes, I know it's a birthday party, but it can certainly fall into the category of 'giving'. When I throw a party, it's for everyone in attendance, not just the birthday boy. I like to think of myself as a party planner extraordinaire, the hostess with the mostest, call it what you want. It's my passion (not accounting!). I start planning and brainstorming ideas for these kids' birthday parties a few months in advance. And while I do go a little overboard with the parties, most of everything is handmade, so I'm not spending a fortune. (Just alot of time browsing Pinterest, at the craft store, and late nights upstairs in my craft room.) This year's theme for Austin's birthday was superheroes. They're really 'in' right now and so much you can do with it. Needless to say, I took the idea and ran wild with it!

 

 

One thing we did splurge on this year......a bounce house. And of course, a Superman bounce house to go along with our theme. And it was a combo one, that had stairs, a slide, and mini obstacle course inside as well. What a workout to climb those stairs! They dropped this bad boy off at 11 this morning and Austin got lots of use out of it before the party even started at 3....

 

 



Originally, I was going to make custom capes for all the kids coming. Then I decided I would just make plain capes and have all the kids initials cut out, along with some other designs, so that the kids could customize their own capes. And little eye masks for them that I cut out. And I made these cute little wrist cuffs (out of toilet paper rolls!). Everything they needed to transform into their very own superhero. I even made the doors to my office look like a telephone booth (using posterboard!), so they could enter and come out as a superhero (like Superman does).

 

 

 

 

For some munchies, I stuck with our usual staples and gave them cool superhero-themed names and labels (Batman Brownies, Spidey Spinners, Joker Juice, Thor Thunder Pasta, Hulk Ham&Cheese, Kryptonite Krispies, etc.)

 

 

And don't forget the cupcakes! I refuse to ever pay for cupcakes/cake and insist on making my own.



 

 

 



When it came time to opening presents, this kid got spoiled! Lots of superheros, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers toys. And a Nerf bow & arrow which has barely left his hands since opening it.

 

Outside, we also had a cute backdrop for a great photo opportunity. (Have to give credit to my sister for pulling this one together.). It was awesome to see everyone (both kids and adults!) posing.

 

 

Overall, it was a great party! Austin seemed to love everything about the party, as well as all his gifts. Thanks to everyone that came out to celebrate with us. Still can't believe he's going to be 5 on Wednesday, just doesn't seem possible!

 

(And big thanks to the hubby and my sister for helping pull everything together. Couldn't have done it without you!)





Day 8: GIVE 100% tip

We planned in advance of where we would go eat and give our big tip. Back before Jordan and I ever had kids, we used to frequent a local Mexican restaurant near our house nearly weekly. We became 'regulars' and had our same waiter every time. Well, then we had kids and going out to eat now is considered a luxury. That restaurant moved to a new location in town this past year, so Jordan and I decided to hit it up again for old times sake. Low and behold, our waiter is still there, and remembered us! And to prove that it's a small world, this guy's brother works for Jordan. Crazy! Now we try to frequent this place every month or so on our date night. We typically chow down on lots of chips & queso/salsa, share some fajitas, enjoy several drinks, and finish off with sopapillas. Nothing fancy, but a great place that holds memories for us.

 

So, we decided this is where we would go to give our big tip to Oscar. (And we made sure to leave our tip in cash!) Thanks for the great service over all these years!

Day 7: GIVE to a local food drive

It turns out that Austin's Pre-K class at school is feeling pretty charitable this month as well, and is hosting a food drive for 3 weeks for a local food bank. I rummaged through our pantry to fill a sack of goods to send him with to school this week. Of course, he had to inspect the contents and asked if they were going to eat all that stuff at school today. I told him no, that we were bringing food so that the school could donate it to people who weren't as fortunate and didn't have as much money to buy alot of food. He seemed pretty happy with that response, as well as excited to carry them in this morning. ;)

Day 6: GIVE the car behind you a free meal

I have an addiction. It's called Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper from Sonic. The boys and I frequent our local Sonic drive-in multiple times a week after I pick them up from daycare. On a rainy night, I figured it was a good night to also grab some dinner for the boys while we were there, and throw in the bill for the order behind us!

The bill wasn't nearly as much as I was hoping to contribute on my night of 'giving' but it was meant well and I hope the car behind us appreciated it!

(disclaimer...this is not MY Sonic location, but courtesy of Google since I failed to capture the night in a photograph :)

Day 5: GIVE a home-cooked meal to a family

I had to plan in advance for which night this would occur. It's quite the feat for me to get home from work and cook my own family a meal, let alone make enough for others! But I planned for a day when I would be working from home to allow myself some extra prep time. Then throw in a rainy day, a hubby working late, and a sleepy/cranky toddler. Yay! But we did it! I didn't necessarily get to document the dinner-making or the delivery with pictures like I planned, so I'll improvise.

 

I decided to treat our neighbors, the Maples, with a home-cooked meal. Since they moved onto our cul-de-sac 3 years ago, we quickly grew into a great friendship. And they have two kids as well, so it's easy for the kids to play together and/or for us to have one of our 'driveway drinking' nights. ;) They're also great enough friends/neighbors that we have garage door openers to each others' houses, so that when we go out of town for a night or two, the others can check on the pups. It's a win-win for all of us!

 

I love to cook and bake; that's no secret. Heck, my mom/sis/I put together a cookbook of our favorite recipes a couple years ago. Anyways, one of my easier dishes is baked ziti. Who doesn't love a good cheesy Italian dish?! Complete with some garlic bread, of course.

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