Where Ordinary Meets Mom
If you have spent any time around here, you know a favorite cause of mine is Operation Shower – a non profit that provides amazing baby showers and baby-showers-in-a-box for expectant military moms-to-be…. who are, most often, experiencing their pregnancies alone while their husbands are deployed…
As a non-profit that exists almost solely based on donations, the brilliant minds behind Operation Shower have devised a plan…. Operation Give Thanks. Watch….
What is a girl to do without friends?
And when you are expecting a baby?? Good heavens….it is your friends who will keep you sane, calm your worries, hold your hands – look in to your eyes and tell you that THIS JOURNEY IS GOING TO BE AMAZING….
And so we have baby showers….not just to ‘shower’ the new mother and impending little one with gifts, but really and truly to gather around to say, “we are here now watching you grow and we will be around to do the same for your new sweet one”. At least that is what I imagine we feel as we host, attend and are the recipient of baby showers.
In just more than a week, I am joining my close friends Ria Sharon and Suzanne Tucker, of the amazing site, My Mommy Manual as they co-host a virtual baby shower with St. Louis TV Station, KMOV in honor of morning anchor and expectant mom, Virginia Kerr.
The event, A Mom is Born: A virtual Baby Shower Celebrating a Woman’s Journey into Motherhood will be held on Wednesday, August 25th from 11am to 1pm CST.
This is only the second virtual baby shower ever (Ria and Suzanne held the first last year!) and it will benefit the March of Dimes Missouri Chapter. The shower will celebrate and honor the transition a woman makes as she becomes a mother…..as well as highlighting how friends and family can support her during this amazing time.
Anyone with internet access can attend virtually….(I’m looking at you) You will be able to interact with Virginia and the hosts via live chat during the broadcast. You can watch live on A Mom is Born.
Some fantastic prizes have been donated by event sponsors and will be raffled during the broadcast. For a raffle entry – share your ‘top tip for a new mom‘. You will also have the chance to learn how to personalize a Holding Hands bracelet. (A perfect fit considering My Mommy Manual‘s motto is “Why do this alone when we can hold hands?”) The Bracelet symbolizes the connectedness of all mothers. A limited number of bracelets will be sold during the event and a portion of the proceeds will go to the March of Dimes.
How can you support March of Dimes through this event?
• Make a donation via the ChipIn widget below.
• Buy a Holding Hands bracelet for yourself or a loved one.
• Support A Mom Is Born sponsors: Build-A-Bear Workshop, Kolcraft, Goodnite Rooms, Pixie Posie Photography and our Venue Sponsor, Overlook Farm.
Overlook Farm is excited to announce a special package for moms. From now October 15, 2010, (Virgina Kerr’s due date), we invite moms and friends to spend a relaxing night in one of our luxurious inns for the special rate of $125/night. Simply become a fan of Overlook Farm on Facebook to receive this special rate. Mention the virtual baby shower on our wall, and you will be entered to win a Girl’s Weekend Getaway for four to Overlook Farm. Unwind on our 200 acre property, take a soak in our greenhouse hot tub, explore our many gardens, or steal a quiet moment with your best friends with a glass of wine while you watch the sunset over the Mississippi River valley.
I never said that ‘doing the right thing’ or ‘being a good example’ is easy.
In fact, though this may seem like a silly example, I sometimes find it to be a challenge.
Holding a door open for someone? Easy Peasy. Donating money to Haiti? Didn’t even think twice. Talking to my kids about sharing? Essential.
But fighting jealousy? Painful.
You may or may not know that my husband just spent the past week in St. John. He was with his mom – it was an award trip for her work. You also may or may not know that the ocean is an essential part of my soul (I was raised in California, but of course, now live in St. Louis) especially at this time of year. So, I wanted to go.
To be fair, Jeff’s mom was kind enough to take me with her a couple of year’s ago – so this trip, was, in fact, Jeff’s turn. But that did not change the fact that his going caused a nearly physical pain.
I was so bloody jealous. I found myself picking fights with him before he left. I couldn’t stop picturing the water, feeling the sun on my face, smelling the salt in the air. In case you are wondering, this type of behavior DOES NOT make a positive difference for my children.
So, in the middle of the night, as he was getting out of bed to leave on the trip, I made a decision. I would grow up. I would, painful or not, be happy for him. He deserves good and beautiful things. He needs some peace and quiet in his life.
So, every time he called, I was happy. I didn’t complain. I avoided any type of guilt trip.
The more I focused on being happy for him, the more I found that I was, in fact, happy for him.
And it paid off. My kids never experienced the nastiness that jealousy can inflict.
And better yet, Jeff came home last night….and thanked me for being so happy when we talked. It alleviated the guilt he felt for going.
Win-win.
How are you making a difference? Share a story in comments. Tell us about something you have done, something you want to do or something you witnessed someone else doing….. your stories make a difference.
Happy Monday, friends.
I am determined my small people will grow into kind and giving souls. I want them to think of ways to help others. Since I do think the best approach when dealing with small people is to apply the old standard, Monkey See, Monkey Do – I decided to start a quid pro quo sort of game – with the one caveat being an element of ‘pass it on’.
Every day I will go out of my way to do something extra nice for each of them. In turn, they must do something ‘extra nice’ for someone else. Yesterday, while they were eating breakfast, I ran upstairs and made their beds for them. Typically, they are expected to do that on their own.
I told them when they went to their room, they would see that I had done something nice for them – and it is now their job to do something nice for someone else.
My plan was to revisit the good-deed-doing at the end of the day, but within 15 minutes, Coop went around the house collecting some toys for Delaney to take on a car trip to see their cousins. His smile in my direction told me everything I needed to know.
One small step for Mommy, one huge step for Coop’s future wife….I am raising a kind boy.
If you are new around here, welcome. I’m glad you are here.
One of my personal mottos is ‘Give Good, Get Good’. And that is the motivation behind these Monday posts. We are just getting started, so I hope you will be back every week to spread a little joy of your own.
What have you done in the past week to Make a Difference in someone’s world? Or have you witnessed someone ‘giving good’?
Tell us how your 4 year old tried to hold the door open for a new mom with a stroller, or how you paid for the car behind you in the Starbucks Drive thru. Share about your favorite charity – and link to them, so we can be inspired by a new cause. Tell someone else’s story – you witnessed children filing into a nursing home to sing for the residents, or saw a teenager stop what he was doing to help an elderly woman who had spilled her purse.
Do you know of a product we buy that may donate to a certain charity? Or a company that dedicates proceeds to a cause close to their heart? Share it.
Don’t you think….if we can share the good, it will spread? Well, that’s what I hope.
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I will be talking about my goals/resolutions/plans for 2010 in a post later this week…..I’m still wrapping my head around it all, and the truth is, I always plan for the ‘new stuff’ to take full effect on my birthday later this month. So, I have a little time. I figure my resolutions should coincide with my new year. Makes sense, right?
However, there is one thing I want to share with you now.
You know I have a passion for ‘give good, get good‘ – meaning pay it forward, give a little, make a change, make a difference. I’m not talking about big donations or dedicating hours of volunteer time – though both are fantastic if you can swing it. I’m thinking about all the small ways you can make the world a better place – all the ways you can be the example of good for your kids.
If there is anything I am learning as a parent – especially as the small people continue to grow AND get smarter (who knew?) – it is that I have to do as I say. So, giving lip service to ‘being a good person’ doesn’t actually work as a guide for them, if I am not, in fact showing them how to do it.
I can always use a little inspiration, as I am sure you can – so will you join me? Will you try to do one thing each week – big, little, great, small…that puts a smile on someone else’s face? And then will you share it?
Tell us how your 4 year old tried to hold the door open for a new mom with a stroller, or how you paid for the car behind you in the Starbucks Drive thru. Share about your favorite charity – and link to them, so we can be inspired by a new cause. Tell someone else’s story – you witnessed children filing into a nursing home to sing for the residents, or saw a teenager stop what he was doing to help an elderly woman who had spilled her purse.
Do you know of a product we buy that may donate to a certain charity? Or a company that dedicates proceeds to a cause close to their heart? Share it.
Don’t you think….if we can share the good, it will spread? Well, that’s what I hope.
I’ll have a post and a McLinky set up every Monday - so you can link back to a post you have written – or you can put your thoughts in the comments.
This is the beauty of Make a Difference Monday.
Looking forward to sharing a little, ‘give good, get good’……
Have you heard of Life is Good? Have you ever seen Jake?
There are few things I love more (my family being the obvious exception) than helping kids who need it most. That’s why I couldn’t help but get involved with the Life is Good Festivals…and I just wanted to tell you about it, in case there is one coming to your city soon.
Get this!
The Life is Good Festival is a family event combining live music, backyard games, great food and tons of free activities for kids. Through sponsorships, personal donations, the sales of Life is Good Festival merchandise, additional monetary donation and volunteers, the Festival raises money that directly benefits children.
Every single penny raised is donated directly to Extraordinary children’s charities.
To date, more than $3 million dollars has been raised and donated….and more than 300,000 people have enjoyed themselves at the festivals.
ExtraordinaryMommy.com is proud to be directly involved in the St. Charles, Missouri, Life is Good Festival.
Click here to learn about upcoming Festivals near you and join in the fun by volunteering, donating, competing as the WORLD’S GREATEST BACKYARD ATHLETE, or just swinging by for some fabulous family fun.
You can also go right to www.lifeisgood.com to learn about this amazing company and how they constantly Give Good, Get Good.
Learn more about starting a business from home with little ones in your midst.
