Monthly Random Acts of Kindness - December

Well, I made it through the year with my monthly Random Acts of Kindness.

I found out that I do quite a bit of Random Kindness Acts every day.  It was hard to keep track of them and write about them every month.

Here is my update for December.  My monthly Random Acts of Kindness.

As I said in my January post, it's pretty easy to reach a goal of one random act of kindness a month.  Especially if you look at all of the little things that you do.  This is a summary of some of the kind things that I have done this month.

Gave the customer in front of me 5 or 6 coupons for her order
let people ahead of me in line
Greeting people on the paths during my walks
Helping customers pick out gifts for their grandchildren
help carry packages to customer's car
Help customers save money on their purchase (at work)


How did your list for Random Acts of Kindness look this year?

Looking for ideas for Random Acts of Kindness?  Check out this post here.

The Best Hiding Place

We all hide things.  (don't we?)

Everyone has that special spot in their home where they hide things.  Maybe it's gifts for the kids for Christmas or a birthday.  Maybe it's chocolates from your husband and kids.  Not that I would ever do that.....  

We have a couple of spots where we hide gifts for our kids.  I can't give out the exact location in case one of them decides to read this blog.  I think two of them already know one of our hiding spots.  (it's locked, so they can't go inside).  I have several other places around the house where I hide things.  The problem is when I forget where I put the gifts.  That's when I can be seen tearing the house apart.

RT made an interesting point the other day.  He said that we should start using the dishwasher as a hiding spot.  You see, we think the kids are afraid of the dishwasher.  They never put their dirty dishes in it.  Instead, they leave their dishes on top of the counter.  They don't bother opening the dishwasher to check and see if it is full or if there are dirty or clean dishes inside.  Which makes the dishwasher the perfect hiding place.  The kids would never think to look in there!

Do you have a good hiding place for your secret gifts / chocolate stash?*

*don't worry, I won't tell anyone about the secret chocolate hiding place.

**By the way, I know where RT's secret chocolate stash is hidden.

Santa Visit

Every year we visit Santa Claus at one of his remote locations.  It's a family tradition.  One that, believe it or not, everyone attends.

I think it's really cool how both Nick and Alex go along and get their picture taken with Santa Claus.  I don't know too may teenagers that would be seen taking a picture with Santa.

When I told the boys that we would be visiting Santa they both said OK.  You would expect an eye roll or, "Do I have to go?"  I didn't get any of that.  I told them that it's for their sister.  That's all they needed to hear.

I'm really proud how they approach the Santa visit (asking in front of Bella "When are we going to visit Santa?) and making a list and saying that they are going to ask Santa for certain items.

I'm afraid this might be our last year with Santa.  I'm trying to enjoy every last minute.

Merry Christmas!

The Bad Receiver

This is an appropriate time of year for me to write this post.  Lots of gift giving going on this month.  Lots of gifts being delivered from the North Pole on Christmas, too.

This holiday, RT has told me that the kids put a lot of thought into their gifts for me.  He went on to say that I need to be a "better receiver."

I'm not sure where to start, so I guess I'll just start at the beginning.

Hi.  I'm Fontaine and I'm a bad receiver when it comes to getting gifts.  I don't know when this started. I'm very happy when I get a gift.  I show appreciation.  I teach my children to appreciate all the gifts that they receive.  Also that the person took time to pick out a special gift just for them.  And, that they should respond by being kind, grateful and thankful.  I think my downfall is feeling that the person shouldn't have gone to all that trouble.

RT will tell you that I return everything he buys me.  He jokes that he is going to buy me something really expensive, return it and give me the return receipt just to save me the trouble.

Maybe I think too much as a receiver.

Maybe I just need to live in the moment that the giver is creating and accept the gift.

Maybe I should just stop being a bad gift receiver.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Felt Banner

Found the idea here to make Ugly Christmas Sweaters out of felt.

Bella and I decided that we were going to make some ugly Christmas Sweaters and create a banner and hang them every year.  We figure we can decorate a couple felt sweaters each year and add to our collection.

Materials Needed:
Paper
pencil
scissors
felt
glue
hot glue gun
buttons, sequins, stickers, fabric paint, glitter glue, rick rack, pom poms, bells, string, etc.
imagination

It was easy to do.

Draw a template for your sweater.  It's really easy if you fold your piece of paper in half and draw one side of the sweater.  Cut it out and you are ready to go!

Trace the sweater template onto your felt, cut it out and Decorate!

These can be hung on twine with small clothes pins and used as a Christmas banner.

Looking forward to making more next year to add to our collection!

My Phone

If you read this post, then you have a little background on my phone.

Currently, my phone has a cracked face and the case is being held together by two rubber bands.

The other night it was an open class for Bella's dance class.  That's where the parents get to watch the class and we get a special performance of their Christmas dance.  There are only five or six kids in the class.  During this class, the teacher announced the costume that they will wear for their recital in May.  The students did not remember the costume she chose, so the teacher told them to visit the website when they get home.

So, I decide to whip out my trusty phone and look up the website.

You know where this is heading.

The teacher comes over and starts flipping through the website on my phone and pulls up the costume (it's cute).  The teacher then takes my phone and shows the class the costume and then walks around showing the parents.

All the while, holding my phone, for all to see.

I relayed the story to RT and mentioned that I was a little embarrassed.  He said, "So, now you'll get a new phone?"  I said, "Probably not."

Pippen

Our next door neighbor had some work done on they outside of their house.  The workers put up some scaffolding so they can get to and work on the chimney.  Of course this is on the side of our house that has a door where we let Pippen out in the morning.

The first day I let Pippen out, he freaked out and escaped out the front gate and was in the middle of the street.  I brought him in and let him out the back door.  Unfortunately, he has to go down the deck stairs which are on the side of the scaffolding.

I could not have the blinds on the door open while Pippen was in the laundry room.  In fact, one morning I had to sit and pet him while he ate his food.  Yea.  The things you do for your dog.

The same neighbors had their roof done (no scaffolding) right after the chimney work.

Poor Pippen.  Unable to do his business in his own yard because he saw the men walking on the neighbor's roof.

I ended up walking Pippen before work for several days.  I think he enjoyed it and would like it to continue.  Unfortunately, there isn't enough time (plus he does go a little crazy on the leash when other dogs are near).

RT said that in the future all of our neighbors will have to get approval from us (and Pippen) if they decided to get work done on their house.