Rare Disease Day

Okay folks, get your jeans on because it's time to support a great cause.  Rare Disease Day is held annually on the last day of February ~ usually the 28th, but sometimes the 29th.  February 29 is rare itself, happening only every four years ~ in a Leap Year.

Why Rare Disease Day?  The Monkey Princess has a skin condition called Ichthyosis and it is considered a rare disease.  You can learn more about Ichthyosis by going to www.firstskinfoundation.org (Monkey's specific form is Lamellar Ichthyosis, if you're interested!).

Even if you don't know us, even if you're not interested in Ichthyosis, wear jeans on February 28 and tell everyone you're doing it in support of World Rare Disease Day and the Global Genes Project.  And in support of a special little Monkey.

All the Small Things

It's the holiday season  Christmas time and it seems that most of the world starts to love each other a little more. Sure, there's the crazy stories of people crushing other people in efforts to get the perfect Black Friday sale item, but the stories that come more frequently (and the ones on which I choose to focus), are the stories of goodwill toward men.  

Last week one of the locals here went on his second annual quest to make December 1 "Pay it Forward" Day.  I love that he is trying to make life a little more loving and I definitely participated, but I think we should remember to pay it forward more often than just once a year.  Now, I know for some people, one day of paying it forward is a stretch and making it a specific day gets those people to think outside their comfort zone and do something a little different, but I imagine that all of you reading pay it forward a little more frequently than just once every 365 days.  So, what do you do? 

How do you decide when to do something? Do you pick one specific day a month or do you do it everyday? Or maybe you just do it when the time is right and it hits you that you should do something.  That's generally the way I do it, but I find that I go through spurts of giving, sometimes doing it a lot and sometimes forgetting for days at a time.  I also tend to neglect those times when I might give just a small bit of my time and not consider that as paying it forward.  But, you know what?  Just a simple smile to the mom whose demon spawn child is having a meltdown, might be the best thing you could ever give her that day.  

So today, almost a full week after "Pay It Forward" Day, I challenge you to do a little something for someone else for the next 7 days.  It could be as big as paying for the groceries for the person in front of you or it might be as small holding the door for open for the parent with the stroller.  And you should feel good about whatever you do, because I've been that parent before and I promise ~ holding the door open for me when I'm trying to finagle the stroller through it is one of the best presents you could give me.  

Will you take the Pay It Forward 7 Day Challenge? 

The Bathtub Diaries

So this is what it comes down to:  the only time I have to blog is when my child is in the bathtub.  Now, before you go and judge me as a terrible mother because instead of playing with my child, I’m instead blogging, let me make you aware of a few things. 

1.     1. Bath time is one of the very few times during the day when the Monkey has active, independent play.  I’ve try to encourage many small periods of independent play during the day, but she always wants a playmate (Partly because she’s an only child? It’s a theory I’ve considered, at least.).  When we realized over the summer that she plays happily and independently in the bathtub, we ran with it.

2.     2. I'm sitting on the bathroom floor watching her in the tub and I do talk with her.  I’m not that neglectful.

3.     3. Because of the Monkey’s skin condition, she must take a bath every single day (No matter what. Seriously.) and it has to be a MINIMUM of thirty minutes, but forty-five minutes to an hour is really better.  Okay, that’s a long time to be in the bath tub and it gets a little boring. 

Now that you know the full story, feel free to judge away.  (Keep in mind though, that means I can judge you next time…)

Back to my original point though, how is it that the only free time in my day is during bath time? I think it’s time to go back using the system I discovered in Managers of Their Homes by The Maxwells.  I encountered a small amount of criticism from other moms when I first started using it because you literally schedule everything during the course of your day (with the only exception being bathroom breaks).   Those who criticized felt that too much emphasis was placed on the timing of the day and that there was no spontaneity in it.  I found that it worked really well for me because there was a good amount of “found” time in my day this way.  When I originally used the program, I was able to schedule an hour long nap for MYSELF every day, have myself in bed by 10pm (which I love because I function better the next day), and even found time during the day to be a little crafty.  All of those little scheduling perks happened in addition to my regular duties that occur during my day as a domestic goddess and personal assistant to a two year old.


Regardless of where we "find" the time, I think it's important that everyone takes at least a little bit of time for him or herself each day.  Even if we find that time in the bathroom...

Dr. Drew, how I love thee.

Dr. Drew is on Conan tonight. Oh. My. Hotness.  The problem is Conan comes on at 11pm and in an effort to not be a lazy waste of space, I need to be in bed by 11pm.  Have no fear, technology saves me once again.  Do I have my DVR set so I can watch it tomorrow? Is Pink too school for cool?

Prince Charming was just making fun of me as I got hot and bothered thinking about Dr. Drew.  He said, "Oh yeah.  Isn't he your 'wanna be boyfriend'?"  I replied with nothing but the truth: "He IS my boyfriend.  He just doesn't know it."  He asked if he should be jealous, but I told him there's nothing to worry about because Dr. Drew and I don't get to see each other very often.  Don't you hate it when your boyfriend isn't as committed to the relationship as you are?  It's okay, Dr. Drew.  I love you no matter how committed to me you are.

And now I have a little something for you as I head off to bed.  How can you not have sweet dreams after looking at that?  Mmmm.

Lazy Days of Winter

Today I was less than productive.  You  might even say that I was a waste of space.  Or perhaps the best way to term it would be to say I was lazy.  Yup, I was All-around, Grade A, 100 proof, L-A-Z-Y.  Not something to be proud of, but necessary every once in awhile.

However ~ It is now 4:43pm and I am freaking out over my little non-expenditure of energy during the first part of the day.  I'm thinking about all of the things I needed to do when no one was home that still need to be done now that everyone's home.    At least a little bit of motivation has jumped into my pants to finish off the day.  And by the amount of things left to do, my day will be ending around 2 a.m, thus restarting the vicious cycle of not getting enough sleep, being lazy in the morning, and freaking out in the afternoon.

But...
- The child went to school with the required milk in her lunch, so I didn't receive a note from the school discussing my child's lack of dairy (...again).
- I completed Christmas shopping for all family members with the exception of The Monkey and Prince Charming. (Thank you, Cyber Monday!)
- The bed got made...eventually.
- School uniforms for The Monkey are clean for tomorrow and Prince Charming currently has at least one clean pair of underwear for work tomorrow.

Perhaps I wasn't a total waste of space after all.

2010 Christmas Card

Bright Merry Cheer Christmas 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Shutterfly's Super Holiday Cards

I love the holidays.  I decorate. I shop. I purchase baked goods at the grocery store then put them in my own containers to play it off like they're my own.

I especially love to send and receive Christmas cards.  Photo cards are my favorite to receive, so that's what I send. I first started making photo books on Shutterfly a few years ago.  When the thank you cards I created after Cate was born were such a big hit, Shutterfly was an easy choice to create this year's Christmas cards. 

I truly believe the hardest thing about using Shutterfly's card maker is choosing a design!  There are over 350 designs for Christmas and Holiday cards ALONE - I am having such a hard time deciding!!  Luckily uploading photos and inserting them into the cards is super easy!

I am LOVING that Shutterfly offers Erin Condren cards! Top Ten Moments is a serious contender for this year's card.  Its bright colors are fabulous and I love that I can personalize it with what we've done over the last year without all of the 'blah blah blah' of a Christmas letter. 

My other top choice is Partridge Pear Tree by Yours Truly.  It's simple, it's eye catching and I love it!  I really like the red background and the big bold writing.  I definitely think that sometimes simple is better.  

Are you a blogger? Want to receive 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly?  Rush over to http://bit.ly/sfly2010  to signup for the Shutterfly Holiday Card Collection promotion. I don't know how long it's going to last, so make sure you do it soon!

Disclosure Statement:

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. Participating bloggers are reviewing the new Shutterfly cards and sharing their faves, and have been compensated with coupon codes for 50 free cards.