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.
Touch Other’s Hearts by Going Through Their Stomachs!
July 12, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 24 Comments
10 Delicious Ways to Make a Difference This Week
Service doesn’t have to be bland or boring! Spice it up. Sweeten the pot. Make it delicious. Think of people that need a little love and touch their heart by going through their stomach during this week’s Summer of Service Challenge, sponsored by Campbell’s. How? By making and sharing a tasty treat, including one or more of the 10 ideas listed below!
For more ideas, join us for a great Girl’s Night Out (#gno) on Twitter this Tuesday night. And, please share a comment on this post with other ways to serve others by sharing a tasty treat.
- Make some baked goods—cupcakes, cookies, bread, muffins, etc.—and take them to a neighbor.
- Take a meal to someone in your community that is sick or needs a night off from kitchen duty.
- Spend one-on-one time with your children by having a cooking class with them to prepare dinner for the family! For a special treat, do a craft activity beforehand to make paper chef’s hats.
- Have a family activity where you make a tasty treat together, such as suckers, decorated sugar cookies, chocolate-dipped strawberries and pretzels, etc.
- Have a couple’s night in! Invite your closest friends over with their significant others for a fondue party. Play the newlywed game no matter how long everyone has been in their relationship.
- As a family, choose another family that needs some love or an act of kindness/service. Drop off an anonymous treat on their doorstep with a nice card telling them how much you love them.
- Organize a girl’s night out with your closest girlfriends and have a progressive dinner where you rotate houses during the meal, starting with appetizers, moving on to salad, heading to the main course, and ending somewhere else for the dessert.
- Treat your spouse or close friend to a dinner at his or her favorite restaurant!
- Make your family’s favorite meal and decorate the table special just for them. Devote the evening to family time by turning off phones, TV, etc.
- Make your children’s favorite cookies, making a different batch once a week until you’ve made all of their favorites. Don’t forget to include your favorite as well!
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for sharing a tasty treat?
- How has touching other’s hearts by going through their stomach 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 prizes from Campbell’s.
- Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
The Easiest Random Act of Kindness—A Smile!
June 20, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 1 Comment
10 Ways to Make a Difference This Week By Smiling
1. Smile inside to give yourself a compliment or a pat on the back for a job well done.
2. Start your day out on a positive step by smiling at yourself in the mirror as you are getting ready.
3. Smile at each family member first thing in the morning.
4. Have a “best smile” contest with your kids to see who has the silliest, funniest, prettiest, nicest smiles. Have each child vote and win prizes in the different categories.
5. Have a “smile stare down” contest with your kids, family members, or friends to see who can stare the longest with a big grin on his or her face.
6. Go on a walk with your family members or friends and count who can smile at the most people. As an added bonus, count how many people you can get to smile back at you.
7. Take pictures of your kids doing their “best smiles.”
8. Make a smile photo album, where you capture each person in your family, smiling in several different settings.
9. Keep a smile log of how many times you smile during a single day and how many times someone else causes you to smile.
10. Keep a smile journal for a day. Write your thoughts and feelings about what smiling at others and others smiling at you does to your mood, your emotions, and the overall tone of your day.
How Will You Be Prepared This Week?
Please share with us:
- What other ideas do you have for smiling?
- How smiling made a meaningful difference this week?
This week’s SOS Challenge is sponsored by Kodak.
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 prizes from Kodak by clicking here.
- Join #gno this Tuesday to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.
Mom Blogger Spreads Holiday Cheer That Lasts All Year
June 14, 2009 by Danielle Smith · 1 Comment
It doesn’t matter how cold it is outside when there is someone in your life—or in your own blogosphere who is willing to warm you up with kindness.
Georgie Johnson, author of the Decisionally Challenged blog, is just that kind of someone. As a married mother of 3 living in Oklahoma, and an avid blogger, she decided to spread a little cheer, right when everyone needed it most.
This past Christmas season Georgie decided to do a little outreach. She create the SSS—Secret Santa Soiree—as a way for bloggers to spoil each other a little—but in a sweet and secret way. The rules were simple: fill out a questionnaire so your exchange partner would know a little about you, buy a gift in the $10-15 range, ship it off, and most importantly, keep it a secret.
In no time at all, more than 70 women had signed up. And better still, not ONE of those women neglected to fulfill their promise of a gift and of course, keeping it quiet.
Georgie wasn’t trying to grow her own blog. She was simply trying to spread a little joy. And she certainly did—in 70 big and small ways. After all the gifts were exchanged, the gift givers were revealed, creating new friendships and recognizing these women, who were willing to give of themselves in such a hectic time. So many of these women enjoyed the giving feeling so much that it carried over into their daily lives.
True to her giving spirit, Georgie says much of the credit for the entire event goes to her friend Amy who did a lot of the work and ‘kept her sane.’
And don’t worry, if you missed the SSS last year, Georgie will be ‘Momming It Forward ‘ again. The 2nd annual SSS will be taking place this holiday season!
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—Win a Popcorn Gift Pack for the Perfect Family Night In!
June 7, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 30 Comments
Orville Redenbacher’s understands that quality family time at home is made better with a big bowl of popcorn. And, to help Mom It Forward moms meet this week’s Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge to Focus on Family, Orville Redenbacher’s is giving away coupons for popcorn to Mom It Forward’s #gno community as well as awarding a total of 20 lucky winners some great gifts—four winners on this site, six winners on participating mom blogger’s sites, and 10 winners Tuesday, June 9 during #gno (click here to join the party and win).
Enter to win this week’s giveaway here by reading the rules for entry below. You can also enter at these terrific parenting blogs: Make and Takes and I Never Grew Up.
Giveaway Prizes
Four lucky winners from this site will be randomly selected to win a gift package, including:
- A popcorn bowl
- Three boxes of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn
- Kathy Peel’s most recent book, The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home
Entry Requirements
To enter to win, you are required to do the following four things:
- Take this week’s SOS Challenge to Focus on Family by completing one of the post’s 10 suggestions or by performing one random act of kindness that fits within this week’s theme.
- Share your experience by leaving a comment on that post.
- Tweet about this giveaway sponsored by Orville Redenbacher, including this link: http://momitforward.com/giveaway%E2%80%94win-a-popcorn-gift-pack-for-the-perfect-family-night-in.
- Leave a comment on this post by Sunday, June 14 at midnight EDT, including your e-mail address and information about your extra entries, if applicable.
To receive extra entries (for a total of five extra entries):
- Click here to join the Mom It Forward Facebook group.
- Post about this giveaway on your Facebook wall.
- (For 3 extra entries!) Join and post a picture of your favorite family activity to the Mom It Forward Flickr group.
In the event that you do not win a giveaway, Orville Redenbacher’s would still like you to enjoy family fun with a big bowl of popcorn. Click here to download this coupon for a box of Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn.
The Fine Print
You may enter in all giveaways, but you may only win once. No purchase necessary to enter this giveaway. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. ConAgra employees and Mom It Forward, Make and Takes, and I Never Grew Up family members are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, June 14 at midnight EDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.
Enter Giveaway for a Chance to Serve & Score!
February 1, 2009 by jyl johnson pattee · Leave a Comment
3 Different Giveaways. 3 Amazing Prizes.
3 Ways to Enter: Vlog, Blog, or Photog.
1 Great Purpose: To Mom It Forward!
Click on the links and images below to learn the entry requirements, see the specs for each prize, and find where to enter each giveaway. Please do not enter in this post.
Vlogging Giveaway 1
HP Mini 1535NR Laptop Specs
Click Here to Enter
Deadline: Saturday, February 14
HP Photosmart 6380 All-in-One Printer Specs
Click Here to Enter
Deadline: Saturday, February 7
Photogging Giveaway 3
Muvee Reveal Movie Editing Software Package Specs
Click Here to Enter
Deadline: Monday, February 2
Thanks to Sugar Jones from Living In Theory for awarding us winners of the HP Magic Giveaway. Giveaways 1 and 2 include prizes from that contest and these giveaways are an effort to spread the HP Magic even further.
Topic Talk—Final Installment You RAwK!
December 26, 2008 by jyl johnson pattee · 2 Comments
So many amazing stories, so many amazing women. Mom It Forward wants to thank everyone who participated in the Happiness Headlines Challenge. We think you all RAwK! Here’s five more:
Debra at 9 to 5 to 9
Shannon at Shanno Sez So
Michelle at Wanderlust and Lipstick
Jyl at Mommy Gossip
EcoMom at You Can’t Diaper Their Faces
9 to 5 to 9 tells how her little boy crashed into a Christmas tree at the grocery store. And how when he realized it was a giving tree and that there was a little boy named Rigo who needed warm clothes and a few toys, she couldn’t say no to helping out that little boy.
Here’s what she said:
I’m quite good at telling the guys “no.” I even have an international string of “no” in several languages that I break out when they can’t grasp the concept in basic English, and they’ve heard it a lot since September.
But there was no way I could say “no” to that. Not when Big Guy had just given me a glimpse of a heart of gold buried beneath alternating layers of Sam Zell and Hanibal Lector.
After getting those gifts for Rigo, Deb was the grateful one:
Merry Christmas, Rigo.
And thank you, Big Guy, for giving me a glimpse of your light.
Shannon Sez So was worried she missed the challenge. But since we are moms with crazy schedules our deadline changed about 3 times, so if you told us your RAK we are thrilled to have it! She commented:
I wanted to let you know that I did give an elderly woman a ride to the Metro so she wouldn’t have to wait in the cold for a bus. Does that count?
And I’ve said before. Ain’t it the small things that make the season bright? Thanks Shannon.
Wanderlust and Lipstick has been hosting a fabulous Passports with Purpose the whole month of December. What is it? Well, it’s awesome for one thing. It’s also a fundraiser. With the proceeds going to Heifer International. And there’s all these great items! Amazing travel deals and travel books, even a travel related scrapbook supply basket. But here’s the twist. It’s a virtual raffle! For only $10 you get the chance to ‘win’ hundreds of dollars of great stuff!
Michelle says:
I am a sucker for Christmas. I love the lights, the presents, the trees and the celebration in general. But, as I shop for gifts for my friends and family, I can’t help thinking of the deeper meaning of this season of goodwill: of this urge to reach out and help others.
The Raffle fundraiser for Heifer International is going on until the end of December! You can still qualify! There were so many items, I lost count at 40+!
Our very own Jyl at Mommy Gossip made some cookies, and not just any cookies. These are Reindeer Cookies people! (She’s very proud). She and her kids gave away the cookies and some candy canes to neighbors this year. And this video of hers is great. It’s worth the few minutes of watching it I promise! If nothing else watch long enough to see her little boy sitting up on the counter helping with the M&Ms! Precious.
You Can’t Diaper Their Faces says All I really want for Christmas is…. nothing. But she then points out…
Okay… I want world peace and an end to famine, war, discrimination, pain, suffering and the other usual fodder of beauty pagent contestants.
She goes on to say:
Beauty pagent jokes aside, what I want, what I really, really want (are you listening, Spice Girls?) is a better world for my children. That’s kind of hard to stuff in a stocking or put in a bag under the tree. But when I sit and think about what I want… that’s it. A safer, cleaner, healthier, more intelligent world.
Ecomom has come up with an innovative way to give back this year. She hosted a contest and each day right up until Christmas Day, she picked a winner and donated $$ to Christmas Future! This organization lets the ‘winner’ choose the place the money will be sent to and both the donor and the recipient get to see where the money is going. I love this method of kindness. Using Random Generator probably to create a random act of kindness!
What a great time of year, to look back and think about the good things you did for others. We truly believe women make a difference. Moms. Daughters. Grandmothers.
In the coming year we want you all to help us Mom It Forward.
Help us change the world, one mom at a time.
