Amazing Mom takes care of Military Families While Husband is Deployed
September 5, 2009 by Danielle Smith · 7 Comments
On a typical day, Tammy Munson’s alarm clock wakes her up at six o’clock in the morning. She gets herself ready, feeds the dog, wakes her daughters, sevenyear old Rebecca and 11 year old Kiersten and gets them off to school.
Then she is off and running – blogging at her own site, ArmyHousehold6, managing the PTO as its President, cleaning her house, and talking to her husband for 30 minutes a day, sometimes on the phone and sometimes by instant message.
For the last 90 days, Tammy has done her job as a parent alone. Her husband, Sgt. Dan Munson is in the middle of a 365 day deployment. This mother of two does it all with a smile, knowing her husband’s job is dangerous, but necessary, “He is protecting our freedom and providing for our future. I just keep things going until he can come back to us.”
Being the one at home is challenging, as much of the information she gets about her husband is ‘need to know’ only. She explains, “You don’t know what he is doing, if he is safe, if he is hot or cold.”
So Tammy keeps busy, very busy. She checks on the needs of her ‘adopted troops’, gathers expired coupons for military families abroad to use, generates donations for care packages for the troops in her husband’s platoon, and does everything in her power to honor the men and women who serve our country.
The program she is most proud of is Help A Service Member Out (HASMO). HASMO is a rapid reaction team that responds to the needs of military service members and their families. Just about a year ago, Tammy learned of a young soldier severely, Pfc. Hunter Levine wounded in Iraq. Moved beyond words, Tammy created HASMO to help soldiers like Levine and their families get the support they need. HASMO has an email list of people willing to help as well as a list of those in need.
Tammy comes by her respect of the military honestly – her grandfather spent more than 30 years in the service and her father was a member of the National Guard.
Now, her husband, her children’s father, fights for freedom. He will be home in the Spring for a short time and then he will be gone again. His deployment ends in Summer 2010. He is guaranteed to be home for 12 months once he is comes back to his family.
Here at home, Tammy counts the days, takes care of her own children and protects her extended military family with her every thought and action.
About the Author: Danielle Smith is a mommy to two smart and sassy small people, as well as the founder and primary author of ExtraordinaryMommy.com. You can catch her hosting a brand new live show, The Spin Cycle, on MomTV.com every Wednesday at 9pmEST. She also hosts a show on Blog Talk Radio and contributes to WhyMomsMatter. Danielle is thrilled to be contributing to MomItForward as ‘giving back’ has always been an important part of who she is and what she hopes to teach her children.
Giveaway—Three Lucky Winners Will Win a Dyson Vacuum Cleaner
August 29, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 1,203 Comments
This week, Dyson is giving you the chance to win one of three vacuum cleaners!
Prize
Three lucky winners will receive one of the following. (See entry requirements below.)
- Grand prize: Dyson DC 31 (handheld)
- 1st place: Dyson DC 24 (upright)
- 2nd place: Dyson DC 23 (canister)
Entry Requirements
To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do four things (make sure you leave a separate comment for each of your entries).
Note: Entries that do not follow all of these requirements will not be considered.
- Become a fan of the Mom It Forward Facebook page.
- Join Mom It Forward Google Friend Connect (see right sidebar).
- Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
- Post these messages on Facebook and/or on Twitter and leave comments here, linking to your messages:
Check out these housework/cleaning nightmares & share your own: http://facebook.com/momitforward PLS RT
GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 a chance 2 win a #dyson vacuum cleaner (3 winners) http://bit.ly/7cqtk Ends Sunday! PLS RT
Extra Entries
You can earn up to five extra entries for this week’s giveaway. Leave an additional comment for each.
Share your best or worst housework experience on the Mom It Forward Facebook fan page.- Read the Summer of Service post this week and either share how you completed the challenge or leave one cleaning or organizing tip.
- Nominate a mom to be featured in the “inspiring moms” section of the Mom It Forward blog.
- Join the Mom It Forward Facebook group.
- Post the “Mom Is a Verb” button on your blog. (See right-hand sidebar for button with code.)
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Dyson and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, September 6 at midnight PDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older.
This Summer’s Last SOS Challenge—Giving the Gift of Cleaning and Organizing!
August 29, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 31 Comments
Does your spring cleaning ever turn into fall cleaning? Or, do you feel that the housework is never done? This week is the last in 14 weeks of Summer of Service challenges and is sponsored by Dyson, because it is all about making this week—starting with today!—squeaky clean for you, your friends and family, and/or your community. Here are 10 ways to do that.
- Make time to clean or organize one area of your house/apartment each day this week no matter how big or small.
- Put the days of the week on a different piece of paper and have your children draw a different day out of a hat. On the assigned day, help your child clean his or her room, teaching the skills needed to do it on their own.
- Go through all the sock drawers in your house, matching up all the pairs and throwing out those without a match.
- Have a family cleaning party. One example is to play songs like “Whistle while you work!” and see who can pick up the most things or get the most accomplished before the song ends.
- Be a clean person by living according to your values. For example, be honest and fair in all of your dealings, be a person of integrity, etc.
- Identify a friend or family who is sick, having a difficult time, or who could use a break. Stop by their house unannounced and do their dishes, empty their garbage, sweep and mop their floor, or clean the guest bathroom. If you know this person well and have access to their house, do it anonymously!
- Take your children to a local park or cemetery and spend 15 minutes picking up the trash.
- Call a local non-profit agency or church and make arrangements to help weed, pick up trash, or clean the facilities. If appropriate, take your children along to help.
- The next time you are at a friends, family members, or in laws for dinner, offer to do all the dishes after the meal.
- Have a laundry folding party as a family and play games as you fold and put away the clothes.
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for being squeaky clean this week?
- What are things that get in the way of cleaning for yourself, your family and friends, or your community?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has being squeaky clean this week made a meaningful difference for you? For others?
Remember to enter this week’s giveaway where 3 lucky winners will get a Dyson vacuum cleaner!
Make Today Unexpected
August 22, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 18 Comments
Do you ever feel that one day runs into the next without a lot of difference between them? This week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Famous Footwear, is about making this week—starting with today!—unexpected. Here are 11 ways to do that. If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments!
- Make today loud by screaming with excitement when good things happen.
- Make today pop by wearing bold colors.
- Make today frisky by… well, I’ll leave that up to you
. - Make today playful by flirting with your spouse.
- Make today lyrical by playing and bringing classical music to life in your home and making up and telling fun stories to your children about what the music means.
- Make today glamorous by being beautiful on the inside!
- Make today fearless by stepping outside your comfort zone to serve someone you may not know well or at all.
- Make today heroic by being someone’s hero in whatever way they need to be saved, served, or made to feel special.
- Make today huge by making a triple batch of cookies and surprising your kids with some when they walk in the door from school, sharing some with your neighbors, and giving some to your friends as a thank you just for being in your life.
- Make today electric by shocking someone. Call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Drop in on someone unexpectedly just to let them know you care about them. Do something for yourself that you don’t typically do that will make you feel really good.
- Make today dangerous by taking a leap of faith. Only you know what that will be, but do it. You know you’ve been wanting to for a while. Don’t hold back!
These ideas were prompted by this fun video by Famous Footwear!
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for making today unexpected?
- What are things that get in the way of adding variety between the days in your week?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has making today unexpected made a meaningful difference for you? For others?
How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?
Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:
- Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
- Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
- Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
- Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Famous Footwear.
- Click here to join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
10 Ways to Brighten Someone’s Day
August 16, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 67 Comments
This week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Crayola, is to brighten someone’s day by doing one or more of the following creative things. If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments!
- Run up to a loved one and give him or her an enthusiastic bear hug.
- Smile to those you pass on the street.
- Ask someone how they are doing, listen to the answer, and comment on it.
- Give others heartfelt compliments.
- Give someone a bouquet of flowers just because.
- Together as a family, identify another family whose day needs brightening, prepare some artwork (each person preparing something that is special to him or her)—even something as simple as coloring a page from a coloring book—and deliver it to the family together.
- For a date night with just you and your spouse, get some butcher paper and finger paint a picture for your children, hang it on the wall, and let them see it when they wake up.
- Kiss everyone in your family at least five times in a day!
- Gather your family together, turn on some upbeat music, and start dancing. Dance with each of your children, even if you have to do it while holding them.
- Give each member of your family a gift that relates to their favorite color (this can be store bought or homemade).
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
What other ideas do you have for brightening someone’s day this week?- What are things that get in the way of brightening someone’s day?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has brightening someone’s day made a meaningful difference for you? For others?
How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?
Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:
- Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
- Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
- Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
- Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
- Click here to join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
Ten Ways to Strengthen Your Relationships This Week
August 9, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
This week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Crayola, is all about building and strengthening your relationships and helping your children to do the same by doing one or more of the following creative things. If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments!
- Write a list of ten questions you’d like to know about a family member or friend and schedule an interview with them to get to know them better. Encourage your children to interview someone they’d like to get to know better as well. If they are younger, help them create the list of questions.
- Write a note to a family member or friend, telling them how much you appreciate, love, or admire them. Use your talents in drawing, painting, stamping, hand writing, letter writing, or your favorite form of creativity to put your personal stamp on the card.
- Involve your family in putting together a progressive dinner right within the walls of your own home. Assign each person to be in charge of a specific room and portion of the meal. Work together to make the meal and set up the rooms. Award prizes for most creative, yummiest, most colorful, etc.
- Welcome your spouse home from work or your children home from school with a picture or note on one of your windows or mirrors using Crayola’s window markers.
- Encourage your children to welcome their mom or dad (or both!) home from work or other outing by helping them write a love note using Crayola’s sidewalk chalk on the driveway.
- Have a family art gallery night where each of you prepares a drawing, painting, photograph, Model Magic sculpture, or other artistic project and showcases it for each other. Award participants with certificates or ribbons, indicating most creative, best use of color, best use of black and white, best use of emotions, etc.
- Encourage your children to get to know their grandparents better by having them record (through audio and/or video) an interview with them about what life was like when they were growing up. Help your children prepare the questions, get the recording equipment ready, and set up an appointment. Then help them put together the audio/video project and share it with the rest of the family, including their grandparents.
- Have a girls’ night out that’s a blast from the past with activities like finger painting, running through sprinklers, jumping on the trampoline, or other fun things you enjoyed as a child. Make sure to feature your favorite childhood snacks and drinks. Tang anyone?
- Have a “walk down memory lane” party with your family, your friends, other couples, or others where you all bring photo albums and share your favorite memories. One fun group date is to all bring your wedding photo albums and each take turns sharing favorite memories from your wedding and your newlywed years.
- Schedule a family coloring night, where you each choose a favorite page from a coloring book or your own coloring books and color together while chatting and enjoying your favorite snacks.
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for strengthening your relationships this week using creativity?
- What are things that get in the way of strengthening your relationships using creativity?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has strengthening your relationships this week using creativity others made a meaningful difference for you? For others?
How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?
Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:
- Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
- Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
- Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
- Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
- Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
Take the Summer of Service Challenge This Week by Including Others!
August 2, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 5 Comments
10 Ways to Include Others This Week
Feeling included is a great feeling. Walking into a room—whether it be at an event, an activity, a conference, church, a school function, or otherwise—and not knowing a single soul in the room can be difficult. What a difference it makes when, in that same situation, someone extends the hand of friendship, reaches out and introduces themselves to you, takes up that empty seat next to you, starts a conversation, and helps you feel welcome. Taking a step outside of our comfort zones to help someone else feel included and a part of things is an amazing act of service. It is also an important skill and characteristic to teach our children, especially as they transition from summer activities to back to school, where they will meet new kids, join sports teams, etc.
You can take this week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsored by Crayola, by doing one of the following things. If you have more ideas for including others, please share them in the comments!
- Invite someone new to an event you’ll be attending soon—a book club, scrapbooking club, school meeting, play group, a church activity, a professional club or organization, etc.
- When you attend an event, look around for someone who is sitting by themselves and sit next to them and introduce yourself to them.
- Invite someone you have recently met, but don’t know well, to lunch just to get to know him or her.
- Plan a girl’s night out activity with your friends and encourage everyone to bring someone new.
- Invite a family in your neighborhood or from your children’s school over for dinner.
- Write a thank-you note to someone who has made an impact on your life recently, but who you don’t know well.
- Identify five people you’d like to get to know better and determine what you will do this week to take steps toward doing that.
- Role play with your children the act of including others at school—inviting them to their lunch table, including them on their sports team, playing with them at recess, etc.
- Have a date night with your husband and invite another couple you haven’t done something with before.
- When your friends are successful in their endeavors, pour on the compliments and share the love publicly. A little affirmation and abundance thinking goes a long way to strengthen friendships!
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for including others this week?
- What are things that get in the way of including others?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has including others made a meaningful difference this week for you? For others?
How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?
Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:
- Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
- Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
- Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
- Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
- Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
Giveaway—Crayola Back-to-School Survivor Gift Pack (Retail Value $200)
August 2, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 274 Comments
Getting ready for the back-to-school rush? Got your supplies list and coupons in hand? Have your strategy down? Crayola knows that back-to-school shopping can be stressful and wants to help make it easier by awarding one winner with a back-to-school survivor gift pack (see product details below).
Prize
Coupon
Everyone’s a winner. Enjoy a discount toward Crayola products by downloading a Crayola coupon here (good through August 31).
Grand Prize
One grand-prize winner will receive the following products in a Crayola Color Pip Squeaks back-to-school survivor gift pack (approximate retail value: $200). And, don’t let their small size fool you. Pip Squeaks are packed with a big punch of color and lots of fun! (See entry requirements below.)
- Pip-Squeaks Washable Telescoping Mini-Marker Tower
- Pip-Squeaks Mini-Marker Portfolio
- 16 ct. Pip-Squeaks Washable Markers
- Pip-Squeaks Mix ‘Ems Markers
- Pip-Squeaks Colored Pencils
- Pip-Squeaks Washable Glitter Glue
- Mini Twistables Crayons
- Color Surge 100 Piece Set
- Ultimate Wipe-Off Activity Book
- Crayola Crayon Maker
- Twistables Colored Pencils
- Erasable Twistables Colored Pencils
- Twistables Crayons
- Twistables Slick Stix (5 and 12 ct.)
- True to Life Tri-Color Tips Colored Pencils
- True to Life Tri-Color Tips Markers
- Color Wave Liquid Ink Markers
- Window Mega Markers (School Colors)
- Classic 8 ct. Washable Markers (Broad line)
- Heads ‘n Tails Colored Pencils
- Erasable Colored Pencils
- Classic 24 and 64 ct. Crayons
- Window Crayons
- Poster Crayons
- Triangular Crayons
- No Drip Paint Brush Pens
- Prismatic Chipboard school accents
- 2 Hassle Free 3-in-1 Paint
- Crayola Chalk
- Crayola School Glue
- Crayola foam accents (84 alphabet pieces)
Entry Requirements
To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do four things (make sure you leave a separate comment for each of your entries):
- Leave a comment on this post, including your e-mail address.
- Join the new Crayola Facebook Page.
- Post a back-to-school picture or a picture of an arts & crafts project using Crayola products on the Crayola Facebook Page.
- Post these messages on Facebook and on Twitter and leave comments here, linking to your messages:
Join #gno Tues from 9-11 ET for back-to-school survival chat w/#Crayola. RSVP: http://bit.ly/b9Fuc PLS RT
GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 a chance 2 win #Crayola’s Pip Squeaks back-to-school gift pack @ http://bit.ly/YkAai (ret val $200) PLS RT
Extra Entries
You can earn up to five extra entries for this week’s giveaway. Leave an additional comment for each.
- Subscribe to the Crayola site at http://crayola.com.
- Post something you learned during #gno this week on the Crayola Facebook Page wall.
- Take the Summer of Service Challenge this week and comment on that post.
- Post a back-to-school picture or a picture of an arts & crafts project using Crayola products on the Mom It Forward Flickr group. (Note: This picture may show up on the Mom It Forward homepage.)
- Join the Mom It Forward Friend Connect (in the righthand sidebar).
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Crayola and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, August 9 at midnight PDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.
Giveaway—Crayola Color Wonder Gift Package ($200 Retail Value)
July 26, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 450 Comments
Do you and your kids love art, creativity, and all things Crayola? Then this giveaway is for you, because Crayola is excited to reward one winner with an amazing Crayola Creativitycast gift package, including tons of classic as well as new products, perfect for arts and crafts and back to school.
Prize
This week, everyone’s a winner. Whether you win the grand prize or not, you can enjoy a discount toward Crayola products by downloading a Crayola coupon here (good through August 31).
One grand-prize winner will receive the following products in a Crayola Color Wonder gift pack (approximate retail value: $200).
- Color Wonder (CW) Coloring and Fingerpaint Art Set (Dora the Explorer)
- CW 3-D Glitter Kit
- CW Magic Light Brush
- CW Glitter Paint
- CW Stow & Go Studio
- 2 30-page Drawing Tablets
- CW Fingerpaints & Paper
- CW Large Paper
- CW Twist-Up Crayons & Coloring Pad
- CW Markers & Coloring Pad (Disney-Pixar Cars)
- CW Markers & Coloring Pad (Disney)
- CW 6 Mess-Free Markers & Coloring Pad (Disney-Pixar Finding Nemo)
- CW 6 Mess-Free Markers & Coloring Pad (Disney My Friends Tigger & Pooh)
- CW Learning Book (Numbers)
- CW Watercolor Paint Set
- CW Markers & Paper
- CW Glitter Paint Set (TinkerBell)
- CW Glitter Paper Set (Disney Princess)
- CW Markers & Coloring Pad (Disney Princess—Sleeping Beauty)
- CW Mess-Free Paint (2 Paint-filled brushes)
- CW Mess-Free Soft Sticks
- CW Watercolor Paint Brushes
- CW 10-ct. Markers
Entry Requirements
To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do three things:
- Leave a comment on this post, including your e-mail address.
- Join the new Crayola Facebook Page.
- Post these messages on Facebook and on Twitter and leave comments here, linking to your messages:
Talk affordable fun 101 (kids arts & crafts) Tues on #gno w/ #Crayola 9-11 ET. RSVP: http://bit.ly/IrbM8
Enter to Win @Crayola’s Color Wonder gift package @ http://bit.ly/INj9Q (ret val $200) PLS RT
Extra Entries
Take advantage of all the many fun ways to earn extra entries this week. Leave an additional comment for each.
- Tweet and/or Facebook the following:
- Love Crayola? Become a Fan of the brand new Crayola Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/Crayola.
- Post something you learned during #gno this week on the Crayola Facebook Page wall.
- Take the Summer of Service Challenge this week and comment on that post.
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Crayola and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, August 2 at midnight PDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.
Is Service Sexy? Take This Week’s SOS Challenge and See!
July 19, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 17 Comments
10 Fashionable Ways to Make a Difference This Week
Service doesn’t have to be stodgy! Make service sexy and “in” by taking on this week’s Summer of Service challenge, sponsorsed by Lifetime TV. How? By doing one or more of the 10 ideas listed below!
- Buying or making some beautiful stationary and writing a thank-you note, congratulations card, birthday greeting, get-well wishes, or other thoughtful sentiment and delivering it to a friend or family member.
- Planning a date for your significant other and getting all dressed up for it.
- Taking care of yourself inside and out: Treat yourself to a new hair-do, mani/pedi, spa treatment, or makeover. Pay attention to your overall health and well being.
- Have your family pictures taken.
- Treat your daughter(s) to a spa day. Paint their nails for them, wash their hair, help them try on different outfits, and have a special luncheon just for them
- Decorate the table beautifully for a special family dinner you plan.
- Go through all of your closets and give any old or unused clothing to charity.
- Comment to one person each day during this week’s challenge on how beautiful he or she looks. Watch the difference it makes in their countenance.
- Have a family activity where you share the things that make each of you beautiful on the inside. Share with your family the importance of internal and external beauty.
- Encourage your children to take care of their outward beauty by eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and taking care of their health!
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for serving in style this week?
- How has serving in style made a meaningful difference this week for you? For others?
How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?
Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:
- Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
- Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
- Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
- Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Check out this week’s prize from Lifetime TV.
- Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
