Buy Girl Scout Cookies and Maintain Your Healthy Diet: 3 Simple Tips

How can you resist buying cookies when those sweet little Girl Scouts come knocking on your door? Or when “cookie booth” time rolls around and they’re standing in front the stores peddling their boxes of yumminess? It’s almost impossible, which is a good thing. The Girl Scouts use the money from cookie sales to keep their program running. It’s also a great lesson in sales, budget planning, and goal setting for the girls who get to decide what to do with their troop’s portion of the sales amount.

But are you eating clean? Or are you trying to lose a few pounds? If so, you’re probably thinking you should resist the urge to buy a box or two (or ten) so that you won’t be tempted to eat them. But you don’t need to resist. Here are a few ways to purchase cookies and not find yourself sitting in the pantry chowing down on a box while the kids are in school:

1.  Donate cookies to Troops to Troops   Many Girl Scout troops participate in this program. You purchase cookies, and instead of them being delivered to your house, they will be sent to military men and women serving overseas. How awesome is this? Those pesky little bites of minty chocolate never have to enter your house and whisper sweet nothings when you walk past the pantry.

2. Give a Random Act of Kindness   Purchase a box or two (or ten), attach one of the tags below, and hand them out to brighten someone’s day. The possibilities are endless, but here are a few ideas of who you could pass them on to:

• neighbors
• co-workers
• friend having a bad day
• police officer
• fire fighter
• mail carrier
• cashier at the store
• your waitress
• office staff at your kid’s school
• bus driver
• receptionist at your doctor’s office
• clients
• random unsuspecting STRANGERS (my favorite!)

3. Give someone else the opportunity to do a Random Act of Kindness  Buy cookies, but ask the Girl Scout to perform a Random Act of Kindness of her own and pass them on to someone else. You can feel especially good about this one. You won’t be eating the cookies, you will be doing an act of kindness yourself, AND encouraging someone else to do an act of kindness. And this works well for Girl Scouts you know that don’t live nearby. Just print up some Random Acts of Kindness tags below and mail them with your check when you place your order.

Click on image to download tags

So go buy some cookies.  It’s a great excuse to do a Random Act of Kindness.

Enjoy!

-Kristi

P.S.  I don’t have a Girl Scout in the house any more. But I have a rule that I adopted several years ago from my  then Brownie Co-Leader: I’ll buy one box of cookies from any Girl Scout who knocks on my door. I never say no. Our family eats a few, but I also buy them to spread kindness to others.

 

No Coincidences

I recently took my kids to our local Chick-fil-A for breakfast.  It had been a long week of weather-related school closures and we needed a change of scenery.  I also needed to not have a kitchen full of dirty dishes before 9am.  We ordered our food, quickly scarfed down our Chicken Minis, and the boys then ran off to the play area for some fun while my daughter and I enjoyed a few precious moments of quiet time together.  We basked in the peaceful bliss for as long as we could, but eventually had to leave, grabbing our belongings and a handful of mints as we headed out.  Well, at least I thought I had grabbed all of my belongings.

Thirty minutes later, I realized that I had failed to grab the most important item: my wallet.  I immediately went into panic mode.  Of course this happened at the exact time that my two youngest began an epic battle of “he touched/hit/looked at me.”  After reasoning with (okay threatening) them to be quiet for 2 minutes, I dialed the number to Chick-fil-A while saying a string of prayers in my head.

Although I am aware that a lost wallet is not the worst thing that could happen, it is still overwhelming, scary, and a huge hassle.  Aside from worrying about what damage was possibly happening to my bank account at that very moment, I was freaking out that I was without any means of making a purchase for the next several days.  My bank isn’t local and and it would take days to even expedite a new bank card.  I could write a check, but what store would accept a check without an ID?  Hubby?  He happened to be out of town at the time .  And I needed to grocery shop.  Oh, and put gas in the car.  It was definitely not the best scenario.

My phone call was answered on the second ring.  The female voice on the other end was very polite but did not have good news.  No wallet had been turned in.  To my surprise, she kept me on the line while she asked questions.  When exactly had I been there?  Where had I been sitting?  What did my wallet look like?   She  walked over to the seating area and began to look for my wallet.  I could hear her asking guests if they had seen it.  And then she excitedly told me that she had found it.  My prayers had been answered by a very kind employee who went out of her way to help and and a very honest customer who spotted it next near her seat.

I was able to pick up my wallet 30 minutes later.  I didn’t get to see either of my wallet-finding angels, but I had at least been able to thank them both over the phone.  As I slipped the strap of the wallet over my wrist, I wasn’t at all worried about anything being missing.  I somehow knew that everything would be inside.  My angels had been looking out for me.  I couldn’t help but think that it must have been my reward for the several times that I had found a wallet or a credit card and made sure that it had found it’s way back to it’s owner.  Good karma, right?

Fast-forward four days.  The hubby was still out of town and I needed to run a few errands around the dreaded dinner hour.  I’ll admit it – I bribed the kids with Chick-fil-A.  (Hey, we lived 5 years without a Chick-fil-A nearby and my kids intend to make up for lost time!)  When we walked in, we happened to be greeted by the owner who was sitting in the lobby talking with another man.  After some time there (again, the kids had to spend time in the play area), I could no longer resist the urge to talk to him.

He was very gracious as I interrupted.  He listened intently as I told him how grateful I was for the help of his very kind employee.  Had she not taken those extra steps to help me, I’d have been in a mess.  I was there to thank him for his staff, but he ended up thanking me.  He then quoted Proverbs 11:25 – A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.  He said that because I had been generous with my words, he wanted to pass on the kindness and handed me a coupon for a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich.

We talked for a few more minutes as I thanked him again and mentioned my passion for random acts of kindness.  Eloquent is not an adjective I’d use to describe my side of the conversation – I was too preoccupied with what had occurred.  My head was swirling.  How had I been so lucky to get my wallet back?  What motivated me go back to Chick-fil-A so soon after my previous visit?  It’s not really a norm for us, even it was convenient.  Why did the owner happen to be sitting in the lobby that night?  What made me to feel so compelled to talk with him that I would interrupt his conversation?  And what prompted him to counter with an act of kindness?

And I remembered.  There is a bigger plan.  There are no coincidences.

The cycle of kindness had continued.  I was able to be the beneficiary of it.  Proof that the cycle of kindness continues if we make the effort to continue it.   Perhaps with something as simple as a smile, a “thank you”, or a chicken sandwich.  We can make a difference by our actions and our words.  We have the ability to impact someone’s mood, change the course of their day, their week, and perhaps even their future.  Every time I have been a recipient of a random act of kindness or witnessed one, it has encouraged me to do more and to try harder to leave a positive mark on the world.

Random Acts of Kindness matter.  We may not  always get to see the impact of our kindness.   And we probably won’t always get a chicken sandwich for it.  But there is always an impact.  We will be refreshed.  At the very least…in our own hearts.

-K

P.S.  My oldest son (aka the bottomless pit, devour-er of chicken sandwiches) is going to be very disappointed to learn that I will be passing that coupon on to someone else (other than him) to continue the chain of kindness.  Maybe we just shouldn’t tell him…

Spread a Little Love

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner…  I’ll be celebrating the day by spreading a little love (okay carbs & sugar, but isn’t that the same thing?) into the universe.   Heart sugar cookies is one of the treats I’ll be delivering to people.  The kids and I have done this with sugar cookies before and it was a huge success.  They had so much fun handing out the cookies to unsuspecting people around town.  It ended up being one of their favorite RAOKs  – especially of the super shy, won’t talk to any stranger kid!  It must be cookie courage.

 

And here’s my other must-do RAOK for any occasion.  A Starbucks gift card ready for a new owner 🙂  I’ll attach the Valentine RAOK tag to it and have it ready for Valentine’s Day.

What ideas do you have for a Valentine’s Day Random Act of Kindness?  Download the Valentine RAOK tags here and use them when you spread a little love this Valentine’s Day!  Want to send a little love my way?  Share with me how you use the tags!

-K

40th Birthday Random Acts of Kindness

The big 4-0.  It’s a pretty big milestone.  Instead of being freaked out about this new number and age bracket, I chose to embrace this birthday and set out to make sure it would be a memorable one.  Last year, I chose to do to Random Acts of Kindness (RAOKs) for my birthday.  It was an immensely rewarding experience – I hadn’t realized how much I would enjoy doing kind things for others and making people smile.   Even more special and gratifying was that my Random Acts of Kindness had a magical effect on my own kids.  They began thinking of ways to be kind to others and were excited about it.  Positive parenting moment – priceless!  This year I chose to celebrate with Random Acts of Kindness again and give rise to a birthday tradition.  My goal was to do 40 RAOKs and I well surpassed that goal.  My birthday was not just memorable – it was my best birthday to date.  The following is what I did during my week-long “celebration”.

Gave away cookies

I baked and decorated 60 sugar cookies and packaged them individually with a tag explaining that is was a RAOK.  The kids and I distributed the smiley face cookies all over town.  Surprisingly, this was the favorite activity of my super shy kids.  Cookies must bring out their inner courageous beasts, because they wanted to give cookies to everyone.  We handed them out at the gas station, to travelers waiting for the airport shuttle, employees and customers at the post office, our waitress, strangers at the gym, the cashier at Target, people at the library, and the barista at the coffee shop.  Everyone was very gracious and thankful for the treat, which may be why the kids enjoyed it so much.  It might also be the fact that several of the cookies broke in transit (I’m sure it was accidental) and became a yummy snack for them.

We also took a basket of the cookies to the patients and employees at the Seacoast Cancer Center.  I had been wondering what to do with a stack of the cookies and the idea came to me that morning when I logged onto Facebook.  A friend battling cancer had posted an update regarding her treatment and ended her post with the following request:  “Please do a random act of kindness today for someone.”  It was a clear sign that those cookies had a purpose – to brighten the day of someone battling cancer.  Unfortunately I know two such people, but they live hundreds of miles away.  So I packed up the cookies and took them to the Seacoast Cancer Center in their honor.

Delivered cupcakes around town

You can’t have a birthday without cake!  Well at least that’s what my kids tell me.  They’re pretty smart kids, so I don’t like to argue with their wisdom when it comes to dessert.  I baked 13 dozen cupcakes and boxed them up to be delivered around town.  I took them to the children’s museum, the police department, the post office, an assisted living home, the humane society, the elementary school, the middle school, the library, and to the food bank volunteers.  And if you’re wondering what kind of cupcakes they were, I made Grasshopper Cupcakes – chocolate cupcakes baked with bits of Andes mints inside and topped with mint buttercream and a sprinkle of Andes mints pieces and Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes – chocolate cupcakes topped with caramel buttercream and a caramel drizzle.  They were pretty tasty, if I may say so myself.

Left inspirational notes

I printed little inspirational and motivational notes and left them in various places around town.  There are notes to be found in the library, at the police department, the grocery store, the gym, and all over Target.  There, I slipped notes in boxes of diapers, purses, luggage, lunch boxes, books, and even picture frames.  My most favorite note is attached to the scale in the ladies’ locker room.  It reads “This number does not measure how beautiful you are.”

Left quarters on gumball machines

I did this last year with all four kids in tow and it didn’t go very smoothly.  They begged for every gumball and rocket ship ride they saw.  I could easily have used my entire stash of quarters on my own kids and left without doing a single RAOK.  Only Noah accompanied me this year and it was quite a bit easier.  It only cost one quarter for a handful of Chiclets to satisfy his sweet tooth.  We left quarters on gumball and candy machines at Toys R Us and Pizza Hut and on the bouncy ball machines at Old Navy.  We saw one happy little boy running up to claim one of the quarters at Old Navy.  Which means that there was one not-so-happy mom chasing a bouncy ball all over the store while she shopped.

Left money on soda machines

There have been several times that I have wanted something to drink and realized that I didn’t have enough change on me to make the purchase.  It seemed like a good idea to help someone out in that predicament.  So I put the cost of a soda in a clear bag with a RAOK note and left them of several drink machines.  And if we’re being honest, the money was most likely used by a changeless mom to hush the “I’m thiiiirrrrrsty” whining from her offspring.

Left money in the dollar section at Target

Are you familiar with the area of Target that has bins of items for sale for $1?  (If not, then I’m sorry to say that we could never be friends.)  Well did you know that the area has a name?  I’m ashamed to say that I had no clue until the other day.  It’s called the Dollar Spot.  After countless Target trips over many years, I just found out.  Embarrassing.  Well the kids and I placed several dollars in the toy bins of the Dollar Spot with the hope that kids would find them and buy themselves a treat.  While there, we noticed a little boy around the age of 4 doing some window shopping while his mom stood nearby at the customer service desk.  My shy five year-old jumped at the opportunity to personally give him one of the dollars.  The little boy was so excited and ran over to his mom exclaiming “Look Mom!”  My boys were giddy to see how excited he was about their Random Act of Kindness.

Gave a gift card to person in line behind me

I was inspired by a friend who did this and couldn’t resist stealing her idea.  I purchased a gift card while I was checking out at the grocery store.  Then just when my groceries were bagged and I was ready to leave, I handed it the lady behind me.  Well, I tried to hand it to her – she wouldn’t even take it at first.  She stared at me like I was either speaking a different language or had completely lost my mind and needed to be committed.  (I probably do need to be committed but that’s for completely different reasons.)  I insisted she take it and told her to read the attached note – my RAOK card.  I quickly slipped away while she stood there speechless, reading the note that she received a gift card for my birthday.  I did see her in the parking lot a few minutes later on her way to the car, scanning the lot for the gift card-giving stranger who was trying very hard to remain anonymous…

Left a gift card on a car window

More fun at Target!  On another of my daily (sometimes twice daily) Target runs, I finally thought of something fun to do with a $5 gift card that I had gotten free with a purchase.   I noticed a family getting out of their van and decided to surprise them with the gift card.  I attached a RAOK note to it and taped it to the driver side window of their van.  I love the idea that they will never know who left it for them.

Paid the toll for the car behind me

If you have an E-ZPass, be sure to put it safely away before trying this or you’ll end up being charged twice.   The toll collector was kind enough to give my RAOK card to the couple behind me when she notified them that their toll had been paid.  The couple in the car was so sweet – they drove up along side me with a note that said “Thank you!  Happy Birthday!” held up against the passenger window for me to read as they passed by.

Donated items to the humane society

My kids have always had a soft spot for animals so it seemed natural that we would do something to help them.  The Cocheco Valley Humane Society maintains a wish list of items they need for the animals.  We checked it out and dropped off items including food and office supplies that were the most needed at the time.   We also took a cupcakes to the volunteers working that day.  And as a bonus RAOK, we didn’t stay long.  Look closely at the photo and you’ll see that I was protecting everyone from one of my mischief makers.

Delivered donuts to our babysitter

The sweet ideas of a 3 year-old…  I was on my way to the gym with Riley and we had to stop at the grocery store for a few items.  So I bought him a doughnut.   Super healthy snack, I know…    Once we were in the car to leave, he decided that he wanted to save half of his doughnut to share with Makenzie, his babysitter and a favorite childcare provider at the gym.  He absolutely adores her.  He must love her a lot, because this kid would fight you to the death for dessert.  I was highly impressed that Riley wanted to share, but I also wanted to save Makenzie the horror of having to pretend to love the half-eaten drooled-on chocolate doughnut that he was about to offer up.  So we made a slight detour for Dunkin Donuts and bought munchkins to take to her instead.  I’m not sure I should really count this RAOK as my own, but I’m claiming it any way 🙂

Bought coffee for a stranger at a lacrosse game

I love it when an opportunity to do a RAOK presents itself as nicely as this one.  My RAOK recipient was a mom watching her son play lacrosse.  They had traveled early to play my son’s team and she was very disappointed that she hadn’t passed a coffee shop on her way.  She had asked me before the game where she could find the closest caffeinated beverage, but she never had the opportunity to leave during the game.  When I realized that she would be staying for a second game after our game was over, I offered to get a coffee and bring it back to her.  She politely declined, I insisted, and of course I won the match.  You can’t turn down someone who wants to get you a coffee as a birthday gift to themselves.  There’s no logic to argue against it.

Donated blood

First time ever too!  As a bonus, I remained conscious the entire time.  And not to brag or anything, but I am the super hero of blood donors since my blood is compatible with anyone.   Okay, maybe “super hero” is overdoing it considering this was my first time.  But hey, I’m not a big fan of needles, so this was a big step for me.  And since I am considered a universal donor, I do feel compelled to donate regularly now.  Regardless of your blood type, there is currently an emergency need for blood donations.  You can click here to schedule an appointment with the American Red Cross to make a donation.  Hint, hint.

Mailed care packages

Let’s be honest, any trip I take to the post office should automatically be considered a Random Act of Kindness.  My mother will attest to this – she usually has to wait months for a package that I swear I will mail within the week.  The post office is literally five minutes from my house and the line is never very long, but I seem to have some kind of mental block about going.   I will leave a package by the door in my basement for 6 months before I will finally stop stepping over it and think to drop it off.  I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.  These packages were truly RAOKs though.  They were planned specifically to put a smile on a few unsuspecting faces and they were even mailed out in a more timely manner.

Let people go ahead of me in line

I did this one several times.  It was usually when the person behind me only had a few things or when I  was shopping without the kiddos.  It’s possible that I may have let everyone in a store go ahead of me one night so that I wouldn’t make it home in time to cook dinner.  It’s possible, but I won’t confirm the validity of that statement.  I’ll be pleading the 5th Amendment for my own protection.

Left a large tip at the coffee shop

I happened to be at Aroma Joe’s one day buying a coffee (I just had to use the gift card that someone so kindly gave me for my birthday) and I happened to have cash on me (miracle for sure).  Since I didn’t have to pay for my coffee, I used the cash to leave a nice tip.  The girl working saw how much of a tip I left and thanked me several times.  She seemed more than a bit surprised.  It wasn’t a crazy amount, but more than I would have paid for my drink.  

Put money in parking meters

I always get burned by the parking meters around here.  Some only take cash and some will accept credit cards.  After 2 years of living with meters, I’m still not used accustomed to remembering to have a stash of quarters in my car.  I put quarters in a bag with a RAOK note and left it on a Pay and Park Meter machine downtown for someone to use when they needed it.  I also filled several parking meters at the beach that were expired or close to expiring.  Hopefully I saved at least one person from getting a dreaded ticket.

Collected food for children

It’s difficult to single out one charity as a favorite, but End 68 Hours of Hunger is at the top of my list.  Thinking about kids being hungry and not having enough to eat breaks my heart into pieces.  I can’t fathom telling my kids that they have to go to bed hungry because there isn’t enough food in the house.  I hope and pray that I never experience how that feels.  End 68 Hours of Hunger  is an amazing organization.  They help feed kids during the 68 hours between the free lunch they receive Friday afternoon and the free breakfast they receive Monday morning at school.  Volunteers pack backpacks full of food to be sent home every weekend to any child in need of assistance.  I purchased food to donate, but decided to go a step further and do a food drive in my neighborhood to collect food.  And as a special treat for the volunteers who give up their time to help, I stopped by one night as they were packing backpacks and treated them to some cupcakes.

Welcomed military members home from a deployment

We happen to live just a few minutes from Pease International Airport.  Pease is the last stop for troops before heading overseas and the first stop when they are returning home from deployment in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other area of conflict.   There is a very dedicated group of people called the Pease Greeters who are there to welcome the troops passing through Pease International Airport.  They are there to greet every flight, no matter what time day or night.  You’d be surprised by how many flights pass through at 2:00am.  They provide a warm welcome home with lots of clapping, hand-shaking, and hugs as well as drinks, snacks, and phones to call home.  There was a flight returning home on Memorial Day and the kids and I were there to greet them.   It’s pretty overwhelming to be there as they’re stepping foot on American soil for the first time in a year, knowing that they are on their way to hug their families after such a long time.  And the flight we welcomed happened to be a very special group of soldiers – the 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles) returning home from their deployment in Afghanistan.  My boys were completely in awe of them.  Click here to learn more about the Pease Greeters.  It’s a great experience if you have the opportunity to be there.

Donated items to domestic violence shelter

It’s unfortunate that there are women and children in need of these services.  A Safe Place was founded to eliminate domestic abuse and provides free shelter and support for those who need it.  I can honestly say that I was in a bit of shock when reading the information on their website.  Seeing the “quick escape buttons” on their site was a major reality check – there are actually people around me living in fear for their safety.  I took a basket of toiletries and cleaning supplies as well as a basket of little toys for the kids to their administrative office.  I have no idea where the actual shelter may be, they keep things pretty hush-hush for safety reasons.  For future reference, domestic violence shelters may not want to give toys with any connection to guns or violence to the children at the shelter.  It’s common sense if you stop to think about it.  Of course I didn’t, so a few of those toys joined me for my ride home.  Oops.

Donated items for homeless pregnant women

New Generation provides shelter and services for homeless pregnant women and their babies.  I delivered diapers, wipes and other supplies for them to use.  I also donated a full van-load of household items to the Second Generation Thrift Shop which they operate in order to help fund the shelter.  I was able to help a good cause and de-clutter the playroom.  Yay!  Please don’t tell my boys though.  They would completely freak out and I’m not sure how good our mental heath insurance coverage is.

Sent cards to injured soldiers

My kids, their friends, and Noah’s preschool class made cards for Wounded Warriors to be sent to the the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.  The Wounded Warrior Project‘s mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors.  The cards will be given to injured military members as they arrive at the hospital for treatment.  You can even send your own online card by clicking here.

One of my favorite RAOKs this year was also one of the simplest.  It involves one of the smiley faced cookies mentioned at the beginning.  On one of my visits to a local coffee shop, I gave a cookie to the barista working there who was always so nice to me.  Not only is he super sweet and friendly, but he makes the most delicious espresso drinks.  Several days later, on my actual birthday, my neighbor went to the coffee shop to buy me a gift card.  He recognized her from being with me and took advantage of the fact that she lives across the street from me.  He prepared my favorite drink, wrote “Happy Birthday” and “Thanks for the random act of kindness” on the cup and asked her to deliver it to me.  It was such a sweet thing for him to do, but it was what he said to me when I thanked him that touched my heart.  He told me that he was so inspired by my Random Acts of Kindness that he wanted to do one himself.  He was inspired!  That one little word encompasses everything I wanted my birthday to be – to do nice things for others in hope that they will want to do the same for others.  That coffee he gave me was the best, most delicious espresso drink I have ever tasted.

Want to do Random Acts of Kindness for your birthday?  Feel free to “steal” any of my ideas and you can click here to download the larger RAOK notes and here to download the RAOK mini tags.  Have fun!  And I would love to hear what you do!!

-K

“When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.” – Dalai Lama

Bargain RAOK

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to do something nice for someone.  Here are some ideas for Random Acts of Kindness that cost nothing or very little.  Some of the best things in life are free 🙂

So go do a Random Act of Kindness!

-K

Back-to-School Random Acts of Kindness

It’s back-to-school time!  What a perfect opportunity to perform a few Random Acts of Kindness!  In honor of teachers, schools & students, I celebrated the start of the new school year by completing the following acts of kindness..

1.  Goodies for teachers.  I don’t think anyone works harder than a teacher.  They spend their days in a a small room with 25-30 kids, all with different skills, abilities and behaviors.  They protect them, nurture them, and fill their heads with knowledge.  The work they do impacts our children’s future success.  It’s tough work.  Their work days don’t end when the bell rings and our kids get on the bus.  They still have tests to grade, lesson plans to prepare, and notes from parents to answer.  They must do it because they love it, because they sure aren’t paid what they deserve.  One hour trying to get one kid to finish his homework is enough to send me off to raid the liquor cabinet for some “mommy juice”.  Twenty five kids?  I can’t even imagine…

So my kids’ six teachers were the first beneficiary of my RAOK.  I gathered goodies and put them in little buckets to deliver on the first day of school.  We went in after the school day had ended and left the buckets in classrooms and hung them on the doorknobs.  Most of the teachers were there so I got to enjoy a game of “ding dong ditch”.  Super fun!  Two of the teachers saw me in action, but I’m pretty confident they didn’t recognize me.  Especially since I was so lightning fast.  (I had the kids in tow, so that last comment is a bit of a stretch.)  If you look at the photo, you should see the Tic-Tacs in the bucket.  The three year-old noticed them right away.  I caught him chomping away on a mouthful on the way to the school.  It turns out that he actually does have lightning speed and ninja stealth when it comes to pilfering candy.  Thank goodness I had extras.

2.  Goody bags for the new kids in the neighborhood.  We had a family move in across the street a week before school started.  Of course they were a little anxious about moving to a new place and going to a new school.  I wanted to do something for them to brighten their morning and hopefully distract them a tad from being nervous.  We made up goody bags for each of the kids and left them on the porch for them to find in the morning before getting on the school bus.  Surprise!  It turns out that my new neighbors have super-sleuth detective skills.  I received a text a few hours later thanking me for the goody bags.  I can’t believe my cover was blown so early in our relationship.

3.  Donate school supplies.  I am blessed to have enough money to buy school supplies for my kids.  I am also very blessed to have wonderful, kind friends who do inspiring acts of kindness and give me great ideas.  A few weeks ago, my friend Mandy took her son back-to-school shopping and also purchased a backpack full of school supplies for a foster child.  I knew I had to do something similar since we have foster children and other kids in need here where we live.  Don’t we all?  I purchased a variety of school supplies and took them into the guidance office at the middle school.  I knew that the guidance counselors would be able to distribute them to the kids who really need them.  They were very surprised and super excited when we dropped of the supplies.  I could tell instantly that the supplies wouldn’t go to waste at all.  You could almost hear them thinking in their heads who they should give them to.  This is definitely a Random Act of Kindness that will be a back-to-school tradition for our family.

4.  Donate Box Tops.  If you have school age kids, you probably already collect box tops.  I find myself rescuing them from the recycling bin when someone has committed the no-no of throwing one away.  If you are not familiar with them, some brands such as Pillsbury, Ziploc, Betty Crocker and Cheerios (to name a few) have little coupons on the packaging worth cash to schools.  Each Box Top is worth ten cents.  It doesn’t seem like much, but they really do add up fast when everyone collects them.  My son’s school raised over $3,500 s last year.  I have been collecting all summer so I dropped off our stash while we were at the school.  You don’t even have to have school aged kids to collect Box Tops.  Most schools collect them and it’s fairly easy to find a school-aged kid nearby willing to take them off your hands on a regular basis.

5.  Donate Coke Rewards.  The lids on Coke products have a code on the inside that can be redeemed for prizes or rewards.  Our local elementary school collects them so I have been saving those as well all summer.  Since I no longer have a student at the elementary school, I gave mine to a neighbor who does.

6.  Purchase from fundraisers.  The kids were barely back in school five minutes and had already started fundraising.  I purchased a coupon card for local restaurants to support the high school field hockey team.  I also bought wrapping paper from the kids who came to my door selling items for the elementary school fundraiser. It’s a bit expensive, but it will save me a trip to Target.  And let’s be honest, a roll of wrapping paper at Target would normally cost me $100 in other stuff that I don’t need.  As for that coupon card, the boys will get a lot of use out of it.  It will be a great excuse for them to stop for a snack at Subway after football practice. 

7.  Treats for the kids.  I couldn’t forget my own kids on their first day of school!  Especially since it was also Josh’s first day of middle school.  I hid little treats in their lunch boxes and backpacks for them to find during the day.  I wrote a little note wishing them a great day and tucked it in with one of the goodies.

8.  Bake Treats.  I will be busy baking cupcakes for the teachers’ lounge soon.  Back to School Night is fast approaching and it seems like a good day to leave something yummy for the teachers.  I’ll sugar them up before they have to deal with all of us parents asking obnoxious questions and telling them how wonderful our kids are.

9.  Pay for a field trip.  I also plan to “sponsor” a child when there are school field trips this year.  Parents here usually have to pay a few dollars to help cover the cost of a field trip and some are unable to.  It breaks my heart to think that some kids might miss an opportunity to go on a field trip because of three or four dollars.  So every time there is a field trip, I will send in a few extra dollars to cover another child’s field trip expense.

Happy back to school time!  Hopefully these little acts of kindness will make the start of school a little happier for a few people.  If you have any great RAOK ideas or stories to share, I would love to hear them!

-K

Lucky

I am very lucky – I have an incredible mom.  I am not just saying that because we have lots of fun together and she is my best friend.  Although that alone does make me pretty lucky.  I am lucky because she is a wonderful person and has set a wonderful example for me and for my kids.

She always made school a priority when I was growing up.  She taught me that what is inside matters most.  She taught me that judging someone based on their skin color is just as ridiculous as judging someone for having green eyes.  She taught me forgiveness, but she also taught me to be strong and not take crap from anyone.  She made me strong.  And strong-willed.   (Although that one came back to bite her in the rear when I was a teenager.)  From her, I learned that being happy wins over being wealthy any day.

I could go on and on about all the wonderful things I learned from my mom.  But at some point my fingers would get tired of typing and your eyes would get blurry from reading.  Plus I don’t want anyone to feel jealous of me for having such a great mom.  It would be rude for me to rub it in and make someone feel bad.  That’s pretty nice of me, isn’t it?  Yeah, I got that from my mom too.

I will tell you one of the most special things about my mom: her kindness and generosity.  My mom did an act of kindness the other day that touched my heart and reminded me of why she is so special.  She got very lucky and won a $100 gift card from the grocery store.  (Side note: completing those surveys on your receipts really can pay off!  Who knew?)  I’m sure any one of us would love to get an extra $100 to buy groceries.  I would be thrilled.  Josh could probably eat that gift card in a day.  Well, she was pretty excited too.  But instead of using it for herself, she turned around and mailed it to someone special in her life who has been struggling financially.  It’s a wonderful example of generosity and I’m so happy that she decided to share her story.  You can read it here at bythebayblog.com.

As you may know, Random Acts of Kindness has been a recurring theme with me lately.  It is something that I want to integrate into my life on a regular basis.  I want my kids to learn to be kind and help others without expecting anything in return.  I also want others to be inspired to do the same.  How amazing would it be if everyone strives to do this?  What kind of impact could we have if everyone we knew did one kind thing tomorrow?  And what if every recipient of those kind things turned around and did one random act of kindness the next day?  It’s amazing to imagine…

Along with my mom’s special person, I know of someone else who could also use a little extra help these days.  And I know they aren’t the only ones.  Right now I’m praying for a way to be bold and do something to help out.  I’m not sure what I can do, but I do know this: I will never look at a “freebie” the same way again.

A Gift to Remember

There is one birthday gift that I received this year that I will cherish forever.  It’s a pretty special gift given to me by some very special people.  In order to explain what this gift is, I need to share a story…

A few days ago, a dad took his two young boys to a bookstore to play and shop in the children’s section while their mom was at an appointment at the hospital.  He had been working long hours recently and hadn’t been able to spend much time with his boys for a while.  While they were enjoying their time together, the four-year-old little boy pointed to a paint book and said to his dad “I want to get this for a kid in the hospital.”  The little boy then picked up two books – one for a girl and one for a boy.  He was insistent that they buy them.  The dad was so moved by his little boy’s request that he took him to a nearby store where they shopped for toys.  They put the toys they bought into two gift bags – one for a girl and one for a boy.  They then drove to the hospital to meet up with their mom and surprise her with their good deed.   She was overwhelmed with joy and pride as she saw her two little boys and her husband walking toward her with their packages.  She knew the gifts weren’t for her; she suspected they were something far more special.  Tears ran down her cheek as they explained that the gifts were for children at the hospital.  And she was especially touched to learn that it was her four-year-old’s idea.  How does a four-year-old come up with such a wonderful idea?  The teary-eyed mom was amazed as she walked into the hospital with her boys and accompanied them to the Pediatric Unit to deliver their Random Act of Kindness.

My sweet boys

My eyes tear up and my smile gets bigger very time I read that story.  Perhaps it is because that four-year-old little boy is my four-year-old little boy.   My sweet little Noah came up with a Random Act of Kindness on his own.  He finally had an hour with his dad and he wanted to spend it doing something nice for someone else.

So my most precious birthday gift came almost a week after my birthday.  It was that my Random Acts of Kindness had such an impact on my child that he was inspired to do a Random Act of Kindness of his own.  He chose to do something to brighten up someone’s day and in doing so he melted my heart forever.

-Kristi

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop

RAOK – The Last Installment

Well, they’re done.  Phew!  I have completed my birthday Random Acts of Kindness.  It took over a week, but I finally completed my to-do list.  I’ve baked, delivered, and I tried to be kind.

13)  Buy a coffee for someone in the drive-thru.  I bought a $5 gift card with my order, popped a little note into the gift card holder, and asked the girl to give it to the car behind me.  I tried to do this several times earlier in the week and NO ONE pulled in behind me at the drive-thru.  No complaints from me because it meant that I got to visit my favorite coffee shop, Aroma Joe’s, a few extra times.

Treat for the mailman

13)  Leave a treat for the mailman.  I baked jumbo chocolate chip cookies and boxed them up.  We scurried out to put the box in the mailbox when we saw him coming down the street.  Noah was so excited he insisted on staying in the front yard to watch the mailman find his surprise.

14)  Open doors for people.  I made an extra effort to hold open doors for people.  I also tried to run ahead to open the door for people with strollers or bags in their arms.  That one was not always easy with my wayward ducklings (Noah and Riley) in tow, but I tried.

16)  Donate clothes and toys.  The day before my birthday, a local thrift shop put up a large sign saying they needed donations.  Talk about a sign!   So I gathered up all the clothes and toys I had been saving and dropped them off.  It turns out that the thrift shop funds local emergency response volunteers.  Not a bad use for my old things…

17)  Take treats to the Fire Department.  Boys love fire trucks.  So off to our local fire station we went.  The third time was the charm – the firefighters were  out on a call the first two times we went.  I didn’t want to give them stale cookies, so I started over and made another batch of those Mocha Caramel cupcakes.  The Dover Fire Department is absolutely amazing.  They were so appreciative.  Somehow we ended up leaving with goodies.  They gave the kids fire hats and music CDs about safely.  (It’s actually our fire fighters singing on the CD and the kids think its the best thing ever.)

18)  Take treats to the Police Department.  That cupcake recipe makes a lot of cupcakes, so we took some over to the Police Department too.  The officer we gave them too seemed genuinely surprised that someone would do such a thing for them.  I’m guessing that they don’t have a lot of strangers bringing them treats.  I hope they didn’t think they were laced with poison.

Basket of toys for the Birth Center

19)  Take toys to the Birth Center at the hospital.  We took a bin of small toys and coloring books for the nurses to have on hand if there is a little visitor that needs a extra entertainment.

I always made sure to have little gifts and snacks in my labor bag for my kids when they visited their new brothers so they would feel special too.  Plus it can be boring when you’re confined to a small room while everyone oohs and aahs over the new poop machine in the family.  Plus I know what it’s like to have a 2 year old that can’t sit still for more than 1.3 seconds and try to contain him in a small “holding cell”.

20)  Send a treat to a friend.  I baked some sugar cookies and sent them priority mail to a friend of mine.

21)  Write a letter to my son’s teacher.  She is pretty wonderful.  I don’t know how she has a social life at all with the time and effort she puts into teaching.  She has done amazing things for Josh this year and I’ll always be grateful.  I want to make sure she knows how much I appreciate her hard work.  I also sent a copy of the letter to the principal.  The person who gave me this idea happens to have been Megan’s 2nd grade teacher.  I wish I would have thought of this idea on my own a few years ago so that I could have written the letter to her.  Thank you Cynthia for the great idea and for being such a wonderful teacher.

22)  Share the experience.  This part hasn’t been easy for me, but it’s been worth the effort.  The responses have been so kind and encouraging and I thank you for it.  It makes my heart happy to hear that some people were even inspired to do Random Acts of Kindness themselves.  If you are one of them, I’d LOVE to hear what you do!

My original plan was to do all of my Random Acts of Kindness in one day.  It’s a blessing that I didn’t.  My kids were able to join me on my journey, and I hope they never forget it.  The Random Acts of Kindness became a regular topic of conversation for us as we planned our adventures.  So regular, that it seems to have become the “norm” in our house.

What began as a birthday adventure for me has become something much more now.  This may be the Last Installment, but it is not the end of my Random Acts of Kindness journey.  It is just the beginning….

-Kristi

“Never get tired of doing little things for others.  Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.” –Anonymous

Happy Birthday Random Acts of Kindness

My second day of doing Random Acts of Kindness was my actual birthday.  I knew it would be a busy but low key day for me.  My hubby was out of town and wouldn’t be back until the weekend.  I had planned to go the the gym (I’ll do anything for that stress-free shower), pick up a few groceries, volunteer at Josh’s school, and enjoy doing an afternoon full of Random Acts of Kindness.  Of course things don’t often end up the way I plan.  Maybe the universe is trying to teach me to be more flexible.  I’d like to think it’s some special life lesson rather than the universe toying with me for it’s own pleasure.  I am a little suspicious though..

I still got to go to the gym and shower,  shop for groceries, and volunteer at Josh’s school.  I got to do a few Random Acts of Kindness, but not as many as I planned or even the ones I had planned.  But sometimes what you have planned isn’t really what needs to be done the most.

Here are my Random Acts of Kindness continued:

5) Be home to wake up hubby.  Sound like a weird one?  It is.  In a surprise twist, I woke up on my birthday to a text from Jesse that he was coming home early from his trip and would be here soon.  Aww, sweet right?  Leaving a business trip early to spend the day with his wife?  Yep, my hubby is a pretty sweet guy, but remember – the universe likes to toy with me.  (I mean, teach me life lessons.)  It was duty calling that cut his trip short and brought him home.  Something very serious had happened at work that needed his attention.  He showed up at the house first thing in the morning looking pretty exhausted.  Instead of sleeping that night, he had driven three hours and gone in to work.  Talk about dedicated.  The only thing allowed to intrude on my sleep is a tiny person that shacked up inside my womb for nine months.  There are four such creatures on this earth and even their all-nighter privileges have been revoked.  So this exhausted & stressed hubby of mine was home for a nap before showering and heading back in to work in a few hours.  On his way upstairs, he asked me if I would be home at noon.  And if so, would I make sure he was awake so he could get back to work in time for a meeting.  Well, no I wasn’t planning on being home then.  Remember those RAOK I had planned to do?  I would surely be out doing random nice things for strangers.  Busy crossing random acts off of my kindness checklist.  Thankfully it didn’t take me long to realize that a Random Act of Kindness for someone I love would be the top priority that day.  So my answer was yes, I’ll be home to make sure you wake up on time.  I knew he was exhausted.  And I knew that once his head hit the pillow and he stopped worrying about work for two seconds – that man was going to crash and crash hard.  No alarm clock is a match for that kind of tired.  So Jesse went upstairs to squeeze 8 hours of rest into a three hour nap and I headed to the gym for that shower.  It was 12:01 when I shook him awake.  There was no sign that an alarm clock had ever even attempted to pry open his sleepy eyes.   It must have admitted defeat and turned itself off to avoid further humiliation.

6)  Leave money on a soda machine.  I did this in the teachers’ lounge at Josh’s elementary school.   It was the perfect place.  As I taped the money to the soda machine, I realized that I should to do little random things for them more often.  Maybe I’ll sneak in and drop off cookies or leave a dollar on the soda machine once every week or so.  With all the talks of budget cuts and larger class sizes, they could use some random kindness along the way.

Leaving quarters for the gumball machines

7)  Leave quarters on bubble gum machines at the mall.  Amazingly, this might have taken the most effort.   I think the universe tried to get to me to go home and enjoy a glass of wine, but I was stubborn and refused to listen.

I took all four kids.  To the mall.  At dinner time.

Our first stop was for food.  Well, actually cash, because Noah wanted Teriayki chicken from the Japanese place in the mall and they don’t take debit cards.  I had money for the candy machines, but not enough for dinner.  So a quick stop to the ATM and I’d be on my way.  Have you ever swiped your ATM card and had the machine completely freeze for five minutes?  I have now.  It instills a bit of panic as you wonder why and are afraid to leave in case it spews money and a receipt with your bank balance on it the moment you walk away.  Finally, it started working again, but it was out of cash.  “Go home” said the universe.  I can’t bring myself to admit what we ended up eating for dinner that night.

Please can I have gum?

Next stop:  get quarters.  The local mall has what seems to be about 900 quarter machines for gum and candy.  And about 200 of those lovely ride-on toys.  You know, the rocket ship, ice cream truck, and monster truck that take 3-4 quarters for each 30 second ride.  And I can’t forget the 50 machines where you try to maneuver the mechanical claw to grab a prize from a bin crammed tight with stuffed animals and toys too big or too heavy for that claw.  (I may exaggerate my numbers a tiny bit.)   Kids all over New Hampshire must be in therapy from shopping and having to pass by a gauntlet of toys taunting them with their shiny colors and bright flashing lights.  Taking kids to the mall here without a quarter is like taking them to Chuck E. Cheese only to eat pizza. With all those machines, I knew they had to have a change machine.  But where?  Unfortunately the guy working at Guest Services had no idea if there was a change machine in the mall nor where it would be if they did have one.  I found it though.  On the absolute other side of the mall.  With four kids in tow.  Did I mention they weren’t getting along very well?  (Perhaps it should be one of my Random Acts of Kindness that I didn’t leave them in a dressing room at the Gap.)

Finally we were able to leave quarters on the machines.  It was fun thinking about the excited kids that would find them.  Noah and Riley both thought they should be one of those lucky kids.  So we re-taped them back to the machines and disappeared to let them be discovered.  Then I scurried home for the night to avoid further punishment so I could continue in the morning.

8)  Take snacks to the guys working with my husband.  Remember how it’s been really stressful for him at work right now?  If they are too busy to sleep, they probably aren’t taking the time to eat either.  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to send some love their way.  I thought they might need a bit of nourishment to keep them fueled during their marathon work weekend.  I bought bottled water, apples, bananas, strawberries, granola bars, pretzels and nuts for the guys and we surprised Jesse at work with our goodies.  It was a bonus for the kids, because he happened to have a few minutes to spare to hang out with them.  Hopefully he dropped one of those apples in his pocket before he rushed back off to save the world.

9)  Let someone go ahead of me at the checkout line.  It felt good.  It might have taken me an extra two minutes to check out.  But it sure did make the lady happy.

10)  Pick up an item someone drops.  I wouldn’t normally go out of my way to pick up a lady’s Chap-stick when it falls right under her feet.  But I was making an effort to do Random Acts of Kindness and I couldn’t let an opportunity pass me by.  She thanked me and went about her business.  But then she turned back and started a conversation with me.  I was thrilled.  This time I got to reap the rewards of my good deed.  It’s not that I wanted to get something back from it.  It was that I saw firsthand that it made a difference.

Surprise in the Target dollar bin

11)  Leave dollars in the dollar bins at Target.  Target is my second home so naturally I should do a RAOK there.  We left a few dollars hidden among the toys and jetted off to spend more money on things we don’t need.

Megan at the Open Barn

12)  Make an extra effort to thank someone.  Us introverts don’t always like to say nice things to strangers.  We think them, we just don’t always say them.  Now I always try to say “thank you”, I just don’t elaborate very much.  So I made an extra effort to say a proper thank you.  The local high school has an Animal Science program and they have a barn.  Yes, they have an actual barn with a cow, horse, sheep, alpacas, bunnies, geese, a donkey, etc.  The school held an “Open Barn” which was staffed by the high school students in the program.  They shared cute facts about the animals and let us pet them.  We were there for almost an hour and one student in particular practically followed us around so she could tell us about the animals.  As we were walking out to the car, I realized I hadn’t thanked her since she was busy talking to another family when we left.  I walked back in and thanked for volunteering her Saturday so we could enjoy the animals.  I felt great leaving there with her knowing that her time and effort was appreciated.  As a side note, newborn bunnies must be the most adorable things on the planet.

These were all the Random Acts of Kindness the kids and I were able to do in two days.  Since I want them to experience this with me, I have to work around school schedules and sporting events.  The kids are having fun but they’re most looking forward to the Random Acts of Kindness we have planned for tomorrow.  I love that they are excited about it.