New Year's Eve...!

Well since we had a new baby and hubby got a new job this year... I wonder WHAT can happen NEXT year!? We Do have "An Exciting Thing" planned... more on that later.  For now I want to lay out some goal for next year.  Not resolutions, I know how they are so discouraged these days, but something to aim for.  Right now my main goal is to get back to Flylady!  I'm going to try to follow Flylady every day for a year.  Now I've done it before and I think it works great, but I've fallen off the wagon and need to get back on by golly!! :D So, starting tomorrow, it's Flylady 365!! I'll keep you posted how it works out.... I need to blog it to keep me honest!

I know I have more goals to post too, but baby is stirring and I've got "things" to do!  Have an awesome New Year's Eve... even if it's spent doing nothing more than pureeing baby food!!

See y'all next year!! ;D

Day Twenty Five ( a bit late! )

Well today, being Christmas, was a bit on the busy side!  We had a wonderful day with the three F's...! Food, Family and Friends!!  (I had a bit TOO much food and ended up rather unwell but that's beside the point and for another time! ) Anyway, the RAK this time was a quick and easy one.  I forgave a debt that was owed to me.  It wasn't a big debt at all, but I felt good forgiving it.  I hope it made someone's Christmas a tiny bit easier.  Compared to all our other acts, this one may have been a small one, in that it didn't really require me to DO anything, but nevertheless, it still counts.

We have thoroughly enjoyed this past 25 days.  I know the kids and I have all learned important lessons about the meaning of Christmas but basically the meaning of kindness.  There are SO many ways in which we were kind throughout the past month that we didn't write down as they weren't intentional... we rescued a neighbor's dog... twice.....!!  We held doors open for people, we paid genuine compliments, we let people go infront of us in the store, we were patient in traffic, we returned other people's grocery carts to the corrals, we helped with chores, we made cups of tea for tired Mummys in the morning.... (!!Thank you Jess!!) and so on and so on.

We have enjoyed ourselves so much that we intend to keep on with our acts and aim for one a month for the next year.  I am so glad that we took this challenge and encourage everyone to have a go for themselves.  Start with the smallest thing and the thrill you will feel will encourage you to do it more and more and more!! :D

Thanks for following us through the past 25 days!  It's been good having you along.

In case I don't get online again before then, have a FANTASTIC New Year....!!

Toodles!

You don't owe me!!

Day Twenty Four!

Well!!  I've had a busy day!! You?! :D  All that pre Christmas prep has taken me all day and I still have one or two little things to wrap ( including a gift that we just found in the mail box!)  I was beginning to panic that I had NO IDEA what I was going to do for our RAK today!  Usually on Christmas Eve we bake cookies and take them around the neighborhood but we didn't do that this year so I was starting to panic, then I had a thought!!  I went to my Christmas closet and found a Christmas mug.  I raided my pantry and found several different types of teas and coffees, all individually packaged.  I tucked them into the mug, stuck in a candy cane and wrapped the lot with red cellophane, a wired ribbon and a Christmas ornament stuck on a glow stick bracelet!  I wrote a Christmas card and said "Don't forget to take some time for you this Christmas" and this time I signed it "Your neighbors, The Bakers"  I figured if I found a gift on my doorstep of food or something and had no idea who it was from, well I might be suspicious!! ;D

Anyway, Jessie and I got in the car in the freeeeeezing temperature of 17f and headed out.  We decided to choose a house based on their Christmas lights display.  Points were added for "extras" !  The particular house we chose had their tree in the window and all their lights were so pretty.  Jessie took the gift up to the house and knocked on the door.  They answered with their dog and two small children in tow!  The man looked JUST LIKE my BFF's husband so we knew we were in the right place!  He listened to Jessie's explanation and then accepted the gift!!  It was so lovely!! :D

THEN as we pulled into our driveway we picked up our mail that was sitting in the mail box... and.... we found someone had Randomly and Kindly gifted us!!! :D  Two chocolate filled candy canes for the big kids and a pink rubber ducky for Millie!! :D  Yeahy!! :D  I love how acts of kindness go round and around and around!!!

I should also mention that Hubby and my Mum have also picked up on the habit... only today Mum gave up her shopping basket for a poor guy who had gone to the store "for just one thing"!!  He had his arms full and was apparently hugely appreciative!!

Ain't life GRAND people?!!?

Merry, Merry, Happy, Happy.....!!!  Have a wonderful Christmas Day!  See you on the flip side!

xxxxxx

Day Twenty Three

Today I actually saw a random act of kindness happen infront of me in Target!!  THAT was kind of weird!!!    Our act today was to take some cookies to our neighbor across the street.  She's a lovely lady with two sweet boys who love to play with my little guy.  He's short on friends and so we both really appreciate their friendship.  She and the boys looked after Jack for me when I went into labor with Millie this summer, so cookies really seemed like the least we could do for them!

:D

Day Twenty Two.

I think today was one of my favorite Acts! :D Hubby and I went out to do some last minute Christmas shopping together.  (No. we still haven't finished.  Yes.  I am starting to panic!!)   We headed out early to avoid the crowds and started at Panera to make our battle plan.  Turns out having a strategy makes short work of shopping which is just how I like it!!

Anyway! My idea for today was to buy someone's turkey.  I had planned to do this towards the end of the 25 days as I had hoped to have enough money saved up to perform a big Act.  We had managed to save a LOT of money so I took it all with me to the grocery store and hubs and I kept our eyes open for someone with a turkey that looked like it needed buying!!! ;D  We saw several shoppers who looked like suitable candidates and then I noticed a lady unloading her cart.  It was so very full... and full of own label goods. Absolutely piled high... with two containers of cat litter on the bottom rack.  I reasoned (and obviously I was guessing and making a judgement here) that a) she had a lot of people to feed and b) she had cats! :D I sidled up to the cashier who was just finishing up with a previous customer and handed her $20.  I explained that it was for the next customer to put towards her groceries and it was a random act of kindness for Christmas.  The cashier was keen to help and I walked away as quickly as possible to try not to draw the customer's attention.  We continued around the store a while picking up one or two treats for dinner and Rex pointed out another lady.  This was an older lady who was carefully going through all her coupons as she shopped.  Apparently she reminded him of his mom who died this past March.  I ran up to her and handed her $20.  "Merry Christmas!!" I said "This is for you!"  Her disbelief and thank you were so heartfelt I got a lump in my throat so I beamed, said "You're welcome!"  and ran off before I cried!  I love doing that so much I could do it all day long!!  SUCH a great feeling!

So now, time for dinner and then wrapping and some more wrapping!!  Not long now 'til Santa!!

Day Twenty One

Well since this was supposed to be the end of the world today I thought I'd better get today's act in FAST!!!  LOL!!  Actually it was ridiculous cold ( 1degree with the wind chill...!!) and I told the kids I was just going to drive out to the City Office and give them a plate of cookies.  "Can I come?"  Jessie asked.... ok.....  so I said to Jack... I'm just going to drive to the City Office to give them some cookies, I'll be about 3 minutes max..... "Can I come?!?! " he asked!!..... Oh! Ok !!  So we all bundled up and headed to the office to give them the cookies.  Jessie and Jack jumped out and ran in to the office whilst I sat in the car and kept the heater running!  Jessie said the lady behind the desk was very surprised but had a big smile on her face as she said thank you!  The kids hustled back into the car, I drove us carefully  back home and I got cozy and warm on the couch.... the kids....??... they went outside to dive into snow drifts.  C.R.A....ZEEE!

Dark Chocolate Chunk and Oatmeal Cookies!! :D

Day Twenty!

You never know what you might find in Hancock's!

It was soooooo cold and snowy today that we decided to stay HOME!!  My mum, however, was drawn to Hancock Fabric store... one of our favorite hangouts!! :D  I asked her if maybe she would like to participate in our 25 acts and she said "Sure"! :D  I wrote two notes, the usual, Merry Christmas, enjoy this random act of kindness, and stuck them to two $5 bills.  I asked Mum to put them somewhere where they would be found.  She first went to the dollar store and was served by a nice young man who was saying he hadn't seen his mother in over a year.  My Mum felt sorry for him and so hid the money where he would be sure to find it when he returned to the checkout. ;D  The next bill she hid in Hancock's....  in the ladies bathroom!! :D   She'd hidden in under a layer of toilet roll so that the next person to pull on the paper would find a nice surprise!!! :D  Much better than most surprises you find in a public restroom!!! :D

Anyway, lots of fun and I'm sure she's made at least two people happy today!!

Twenty days down, five to go!!  I think we are going to make this!! :D

Day Nineteen!

Oh boy NOT LONG UNTIL CHRISTMAS NOW!!!  Eeeek!!  So much still to do!! :}

Anyway, on to today's Act.....  this morning it was trash pick up day.  Our garbage collectors are the nicest garbage collectors around!  So polite and friendly.  This morning we saw them driving up so Jessie dashed out the house in nothing but her PJ's clasping a big old bag of home made fudge!!!  She stood at the end of the driveway only to watch them drive off in the other direction.  She stood and waited.  And waited.  And... waited. And hopped from one cold, bare foot to the other.  She hugged herself to keep warm but she did NOT come back inside, she did NOT stray from her post!  I felt sorry for her so threw her lovely warm coat and fur lined boots to her from the deck and she went back to her waiting, a little more comfortably!   Before much longer they drove up and I watched out the window as Jessie excitedly offered the fudge to the guy.  He asked if we made it ourselves and when she said yes, he said he supposed he would have to share it with the driver eh?  Yeah, that would be the  Christmassy thing to do, she said!!! :D  He gave her a big smile and a high five and off they went on their way.  Jessie came back in, happy, but chilly! ;D

Day Eighteen.

Working fast today....  Mum flies in from the UK tonight and I want to get the place picked up a bit before she gets here.  I won't go crazy ( it freaks the family out if I get stressed about making the place perfect and I know that a) Mum probably doesn't care anyway and b) it won't stay perfect for more than 10 minutes once she arrives!! )  these days I just aim for tidy (ish) and clean (ish!) anyway, still got lots to do..!

Today's act of kindness was a very spontaneous one though probably wouldn't be for those adults amongst us who are organized!! :D  I was looking out the window and noticed our recycling collection people had arrived to do our weekly pick up.  They are a lovely organization, so helpful and just all round good people.  I grabbed $10 from our collection and tore out of the house, baby in one hand, money in the other!  I ran up to the guy and thrust the cash at him!!  "Merry Christmas!!  This is for you!!"  Another day brightened! :D

Day Seventeen.

Well!! :D  A crazy day in retrospect though it didn't sound that bad to begin with!!  I finished up making the donuts and cupcakes I have made for some friends to give as gifts to their kiddoes... I LOVE making them, I just had a hard time finding the time with my smallest wanting so much attention!!  It's really quite hard to sew with sharp pointy needles and a wriggling, cooing little bundle of joy in my arms!! ;D Anyhoo, they got done and I went to town to meet Rex at lunch, ran some errands downtown, stopped at Hobby Lobby to pick up some more fabric and felt and then headed home after dropping off my "baked goods" !! Oh, but did I mention that I did all of this with an ever worsening headache, the lowering sun streaming right into my eyes and a baby girl who screamed at the top of her lungs for most of the trip?!  : (   Poor girl.   I pulled over and fed her a couple of times and managed to reinsert the pacifier more than once, but eventually the crying got the better of me and my head.  By the time I got home I had to go to bed with a migraine.  Awesome. Anyway, after a little sleep and some Tylenol I managed to procure from my friend's house,  I'm all better now!  I DID manage to get in another act of kindness though!! ;D Whilst leaving the parking garage today we noticed that the lady who took our cash was wearing a santa hat and reindeer antlers on her head!  We issued a hearty "Ho Ho Ho!" as we rolled up and she chatted happily with us as she found her change. Well I thought that she might appreciate a little kindness, so I took two individually boxed truffles, one cappuccino and one salted caramel and handed them to her... one for her and the other for her cohort across the way!!  She was delighted!  Made her day I think! :D  Later whilst at the craft store I noticed a lady carrying a huge and heavy shadow box picture frame...  I offered that she might go ahead of me in the check out line... again, she was very grateful and thanked me again after she got checked out.  It really is remarkable how small things can make a person's day brighter just as much as big things.  I've said before how I'd love to give out one hundred dollar bills but sometimes just opening a door for someone, letting them go ahead of you in line, complimenting someone on their hair cut or shoes... these things can make a big impact too.

Life is like a box of chocolates.

Day Sixteen!

Today was a stay at home sort of a day.  The kids and I spent a lot of time dancing round the living room to Gangnam Style... (yeah, we like it under our rock....!!),  I spent an hour on the phone with Alicia... ( Sorry Alicia!!!!)  and the rest of the day I spent cleaning the house ( can I get a Whoop Whoop?!  ... No??!  Bueller???!! )  So our Act of Kindness today had to be something we could do from home.  We decided to bake cookies for hubby's Uncle who is in care.  He went into hospital in March and will never come out again from what we hear.  : (   It's a tragedy as before he went in he was such a vital man, always had projects going, always emailing us and making us cool magic videos and such.  An awesome man.  An awesome man who loves Tollhouse cookies apparently!  I thought a nice BIG batch might make his day, so that's what we did!!!   I mean really, who DOESN'T love a good cookie?!?

A Good Cookie!

Day Fifteen

Today was Gingerbread House Making Day!!  We'd hoped and planned for a big turn out but due to one thing, another, and some no~shows we had Charlotte come over!  We still had a fun time.....!

Parts and plans laid out...

Making the "cement"

Charlotte's house

Jack's house with garage!

Jack's house finished

Jessie's house finished

Later hubby, baby and I went into town to run a couple of errands and I took two $5 bills with notes attached and planned to hide them in one of the stores we stopped in.  The trouble was, I'd eaten a lot of my construction frosting before I left the house and my focus was a little...um... off?!  I totally forgot to plant the money until we were on our way home!!  My lovely hubby took a detour and stopped at a gas station for me.


He went in ostensibly to get me a cup of coffee but also took in the cash and hid it for me!!  One bill behind a box of pop tarts and another behind a KitKat bar!!  I love the idea of someone finding free money!!  Especially at the gas station!!  I wish I could afford to buy someone's gas or to hide $100 bills!!



Anyway, that was today's act.  Now I've got to figure out how to finish off MY gingerbread project whilst holding a baby that just won't nap!!!!

Day Fourteen

Our friendly little grocery store.

Walking his baby sister.

December 14th started out as a lighthearted, fun day for us and the rest of the country I imagine.  It was only when I scrolled over to Yahoo to see what the rest of the world was doing that the day shifted dramatically.  20 children murdered in an elementary school in Connecticut.  11 days before Christmas. Children.  Babies.  Needless to say the day went down hill right there and I struggled to keep it together for my children, my babies.  I mourned, I cried, I tried to find some reason, I ranted online and on the phone and then finally I had to pull it together for the children.  We decided to take a walk into our little town and to the grocery store where we took our 9 dollar bills, each with a little note on it, and hid them, three apiece, all around the store.  Upon leaving the clerk asked us "Did we not have what you needed??" ... I explained that we were on a little acts of kindness mission and she said "OH!  It was YOU guys who stuck the bag of money to the pop machine?"  I had to admit that yes, it was us..."Well"  she said "We did it too!  We refilled the bag!"

The loot.

I was talking to a friend today and she said how quickly one person can change lives by destroying them with an assault weapon and yet how slowly one can change lives with kindness.  It's true, it's a very small step, but as long as we take that step and then someone takes another step right behind us, then we can get there in the end.

Hug your children.  Never let them go.

My babies. (and the dog!)

Jack wanted to take a pic too...

Day Thirteen!

I may sound a little more subdued tonight.  It's called a sugar coma.  You'll be able to guess why when I tell you my stunningly stupid  clever  idea for an Act of Kindness today.  See, most years we bake cookies and take them around the neighborhood, leaving them on doorsteps on Christmas Eve.  One year I made a batch of fudge, bought some fun dishes, wrapped the both in fancy plastic wrap ( I can't think what it is called!!  It's on a roll, it's different colors, it's see through.... OMG... sugar coma...!!)  anyway, I made it look pretty and gave that out instead of cookies.  Well, the lovely lady who runs the post office REALLY loved the fudge.  I remembered her mentioning it, so I made a big batch of fudge today intending to give it to her as a random act of kindness.  I made up the fudge, (chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanuts, Heath bits, raisins, ....!!) put it in the fridge to set, bagged it in a cute Santa bag... but.... alas.... there was quite a lot left over.  Wisely I made up another bag for a friend I was going to see in Drama class this afternoon.  ( we ballsed up the time, missed the whole thing... I still have the bag of fudge in the pantry....  this could be bad.... ) Anyhoo... even after the second bag... there was STILL fudge left.  Well I don't know about your house but in our house, if there's fudge... well, let's just say there wasn't any for long.  To be honest there is STILL some left ( note to self, next time, make less fudge ) but we have been doing our best to eliminate it from the house ( in the form of sticking it in our faces as much as possible. )   Jessie was the first to notice the side effects.  She was giddy and hyper for a while, pretending to be a dog, jumping on the couch, laughing hysterically and uncontrollably at first, and then, the crash.  She complained her body felt funny, her eyes weren't focusing and her head hurt.  S.U.G.A.R baby.  My eyes start to flicker from side to side at a rapid rate.  My heart rate accelerates and I can't spell or think!  It's not a stroke, don't worry, it's the FUDGE!!  It's GOOD fudge, but I have NO self control.  NONE.  If one piece of fudge is good, then surely half a pan is even better!!!   We tried to fix the problem with protein.  Scrambled eggs and cold chicken for all!!....  it hasn't worked!!  I MAY have to take the remainder and either a) pass it off to a neighbor or b)   throw it in the outside trash.  I could throw it in the inside trash but I MIGHT go crazy and try to fish it out!!!  (not really!... well maybe!!  Nooo!!!.... possibly.  Best to be sure. )

Anyway, it really was an Act of KINDNESS to give it to our lovely post mistress.... SHE has self restraint!!!  We went for a walk in the glorious "winter" air ( 50+ degrees?? Please. ) and took her her fudge! She was delighted.  We were pleased!  ...and a little sleepy.

oh fudge. 

:D

Day Twelve!

OK... today was another example of expecting one thing to happen and instead doing something else!  Firstly, it should be noted that today is 12/12/12.  Insert obligatory shot of kids and kitchen clock at 12:12 12/12/12......

We got our gingerbread baked ready for our Gingerbread House Day on Saturday then we headed out to Barnes and Noble to perform today's act!  

We'd planned, since it was 12/12/12 to get a copy of the Twelve Days of Christmas and give it to anyone in the store who had a 12 year old OR who KNEW a 12 year old!! :D  ....  our plans were somewhat thwarted when it was discovered that the only version of the 12 days was A Pirates 12 days of Christmas.  

 

That wouldn't have been SO bad but it was about 20 bucks!!   (The price of books in this country just staggers me.  In the UK books are SO inexpensive AND tax free...!!)   anyway....  It turned out that Barnes and Noble was having a book drive for the Children's Home in Lincoln.  They had a selection of books that you could buy and donate to the home.  We checked them all out and Jessie picked 
A Smart Girl's Guide to Sticky Situations.  It must have been a pretty good book as she read it all the way up to the checkout counter! We purchased the book and gave it to the clerk to put into the donations pile.  It felt like the right thing to do, even if it wasn't the original plan!  A stop by Trader Joe's on the way home to try the Dark Chocolate coated Peppermint Joe Joe's made the afternoon complete.... oh my....   where have those things BEEN all my life?!?!? 

The absolute kicker though, the piece de resistance, so to speak, is when my littlest girl LAUGHED for the first time in her entire (almost four months) life!!!  Yeahy!!  Life is pretty awesome around here!!

So there ya have it.  Day twelve!!  We are getting this thing down I tell ya! ;D 

Day Eleven!

Isn't it a STUNNING bus!?!?

Oh today's act was FUN!!!! : D  We took 9 $1 bills and wrote a little note for each bill saying  "Merry Christmas" and "random acts of kindness".  We headed to the bookmobile where we have spent many an hour over the years.  We hadn't actually been since the summer... it was SUCH a hot one and I was pregnant.  Pregnant and summer heat don't mix for me.  I stayed home in the A/C.  Well, we CERTAINLY didn't have to worry about heat this time! :D  It was COOOOLD as we headed out.  We tracked down the bookmobile ( it had changed locations since we were last there! ) and were amazed to find it was a totally different vehicle!!  A BRAND SPANKING NEW BUS!!!  Wow!  It was lovely!!  We hustled on board and the kids went giddy!  They LOVE the bookmobile and were so excited to scan the shelves and pile up books to take home.  I headed to the back of the bus to chat with the librarian, Becky, and also to select some of my favorite Christmas books.  Into nine of these books we slipped the dollar bills... somewhere in the middle of the book so it will be a delightful surprise to any little reader!  One book had a CD in the back and we hid a bill back there too... just to see if anyone listens to it!! ;D

It was really fun for some reason!  The idea that some little reader will be sharing the holiday spirit with Mum or Dad and will suddenly come across a whole dollar bill!! ;D  Warms my heart right up it does! ;D

Day Ten!

Today started out as one way and ended up another!  We had originally intended to go to the Goodwill Store and drop off a ton of donations, then whilst we were there we were going to hide dollar bills in the pockets of pants and coats so that people would find them when they bought them.  Then we got to thinking, finding a dollar isn't that big of a deal anymore, I mean it will be for children when we hide the bills in the Target toy section, but for an adult to find a dollar in a pair of pants well, it won't really raise any pulses.  I often find myself wishing I had $100 bills to hide!!  How exciting it would be to find one hundred dollars!!! ;D Anyway, we then thought it might be better to just hide ten dollars all at once for one person to find.  We taped two $5 bills together and added a note saying "Merry Christmas" and got ready to find a nice winter's coat we could seclude the loot in!

We got to the store and headed in, looking for winter coats.  ...  ...  ...  No winter coats.  Really?!?  Really.  I didn't see any anyway.  Hmm.  We continued to browse the store and the kids picked out books they wanted to buy.  I noticed an older man shopping too.  He looked through the houseware section, he was in the sweater section and finally I noticed him picking out a pair of pants.  He's the one, I thought.   We hustled over there and I rather forwardly handed him the money and note and said "This is for you!!"  .....  "Why?"  he asked.  Suspiciously and not unreasonably in my opinion!!!  I explained that we were doing 25 Acts of Kindness and he said "Nooo.... buy the baby some formula!"  ( as a FERVENT Breastfeeding advocate I thought that was hilarious!! ) "We're fine there..." I said "She's a breastfed baby!" ... this left him no wiggle room so he took the money and smiled.  "Thank you!"  he called out.  "I'll remember this Act of Kindness and pay it forward" .....!!


Awesome. :)

Day Nine!

We made another batch of cookies today, Norwegian Butter Cookies no less!  They are so delicious and simple to make too.  It was Jack's turn to be "Santa" today so he put on his hat and coat and made ready to deliver cookies to the retirement home up the road.  It was about 26 degrees outside.  You'll note Jack's outfit...  Ahem.

Yes Folks, those are shorts.  And Wellington Boots.  And an enormous coat that will make you sweat.  Still, he was in the mood and Ho Ho Ho'ed with me all the way up there!!

Once we arrived we found a staff member and told her we had made cookies for the residents and staff.  She seemed quite grateful, if confused!  Jack said "Ho Ho HO!  I'm SANTA!"... she smiled at him nicely and we headed home!  Jack asked if perhaps we could have "warm chocolate milk" when we got back.  Not hot.  Warm.  I'm on it, Kiddo.  :D

We presented the cookies with an ingredients list also, incase any of the residents had any dietary restrictions. 

Day Eight.

Today Jessie had a partner in crime!!  Both girls donned Santa hats and headed out in the chilly air to find someone walking in town.  (I kept Jack home with me!! ) When they found someone the girls were instructed to hand them a bag of delicious Lindor Truffles and explain that this was a Random Act of Kindness.  Apparently the lady they stopped as she left the post office was most delighted at their offering and left with a big smile on her face! ;D  Mission accomplished!!!

Day Seven!

Today's Act was a quickie but appreciated none the less! ; D  We put a $5 Starbucks Gift Card in the mail box for our mail carrier, Becky.  She is so lovely and works hard all year long, a little unexpected pick me up should brighten her day we hope! ;D  

We were peeking from behind the curtains when she drove up today and she looked for us when she opened our mail box and found her treat!!  She waved and mouthed "THANK YOU!!" to the kids!  

Spreading the Starbucks love!! ;D  

Day Six

This was a cheap, easy and effective Act today!  We baked a big batch of sugar cookies and took them to the gas station where hungry folk on their way to work could help themselves to yummy cookies to go with their coffee!  Those who took one whilst we were there were very grateful!  Frankly I was surprised they let us leave them there and had banked on telling the staff to eat them for themselves if that was the case but the manager didn't seem to blink!  The benefits of small town living I think! :D

Day Five!

Today's Act of Kindness was heaps of fun!!

We bought 12 Candy Canes and made little cards that said "Something Sweet for Someone Sweet.   Join us in our 25 days of Random Acts of Kindness."  We cut two slits in the cards and poked the canes through.  We set them in a basket and Jack and I donned our Santa hats.  At the appropriate time he and I headed across the street to the bus stop where the kiddies were due to get dropped off home for the day.  It was pretty breezy out there but Jack and I amused ourselves and kept warm by jumping up and down and dancing as we waited for the bus.  Since we were both in our Santa hats, every car that went by felt obliged to wave to us for some reason!!!  It was hilarious to see them but of course we obligingly waved back!!   When the bus finally arrived Jack walked up to it and as the children departed he offered them each a Candy Cane and wished them a Merry Christmas.  The children were really excited ( and the children who remained on the bus were intrigued and probably frustrated...!  :)  )   If I'd have been thinking I'd have had enough for each child on the bus too, but I didn't this time.  (Hmm....  you can get those tiny candy canes... there's about 60 in the box....  *Note to self...!!)  The children were all smiles and very grateful AND there were three left so we each were able to dip one in a nice hot cup of cocoa when we got back home!

Perfect!

The Candy Canes ready to go!

My Handy Helper Hander Outer !

Passing out the loot!