The Broken Foot

It didn't start out sucking so bad. It was actually tolerable because she started out like this:

 Look - she's even smiling!

After breaking her foot over spring break, Em was in a boot for 4 weeks. Not great but at least it was removable and she could put some weight on it at the end of the month.

My Broken Heart

Unfortunately, the foot did not completely heal. So instead of taking a chance, the doctor put her in a cast for another 3 weeks.

A hard, itchy, non-removable, don't-get-it-wet, non-walkable cast for three weeks. JUST as we are preparing to surprise them with the Disney trip to the Disney Social Media Moms Conference.

I nearly broke down in tears right there.

THANK GOD we had not told them. They have been on a DSMM conference trip before. They would know far too well what they are missing. But it just didn't seem fair to drag her along when she could not fully enjoy it. And, even if you have a wheel chair at the parks, all the getting around at the airport, the hotel, and everything else would exhaust her. And me. I thought about going solo but remembered my husband was NOT going so he could get work done. Leaving the girls with him was not fair to him.

I had the tough job of relaying our bad luck to the folks at Disney who had already shipped us a little @DisneySMMoms surprise:

Yes, a gorgeous, raspberry colored 4-wheel spinner suitcase from AmericanTourister! @AmTourister on twitter if you want to follow them and definitely track the #PackMoreFun hashtag to see all the colorful bags they have.

The important folks at Disney insisted I keep the bag and because they are so generous, I decided the best thing to do is to pay it forward. It will take my mind off missing the trip, it will keep my daughter (who is bored out of her mind NOT doing any after school activities) busy helping me gather and brainstorm ways we can...

share a little Disney Magic with others less fortunate

While The Twofer are not aware they are missing out on the trip, they are Well Aware of the blessings they have received from previous DSMM trips and they actually love it when we shop for toys and things to donate. We do it a few times a year including around the holidays and back-to-school.

So, my mission this week is to fill my new American Tourister bag with goodies to donate and include a little Disney in each delivery. First up... food for Manna.

We have always collected and donated food for Manna, but The Twofer's Girl Scout troop actually had a chance to see the warehouse for the first time this year and even spent 2 hours sorting. What surprised me most was the baby food. It never crossed my mind to donate baby food but then I remembered how expensive it was. This trip I stocked up on baby food, Girl Scout cookies, and some Disney fruit snacks!

Your challenge:

Think about how you might spread a little Disney Magic this week. Think of one thing you might be able to do by Friday and share it here! I have some ideas but I can always use more.

Janine

And Twitter is all a buzz.

I'm especially excited to be going again this year to the Disney Social Media Moms conference, but even if I wasn't, I would still be enjoying the clues and figuring out what is in store.

Take a look at the latest reveal:

image via Disney

Here's the accompanying tweet:

We've gone Hollywood today - only 14 more days 'til #DisneySMMoms. Need directions? A map? Get 'em here!

Can you guess what fun things they have planned?

Fun Before the Fun Has Started

I have to say, as much fun as it is to try and guess, it's just as much fun knowing there are a bunch of surprises in store for us when we get there! And this is exactly how Disney excels. It's one thing to consistently plan a conference that is filled with amazing experiences. And yet the Disney team keeps reaching. This game of revealing clues keeps us guessing and talking about the conference in an entirely new way. It's about having fun way before the real fun has even started!

Learn From the Masters

I'm excited about the lineup of speakers Disney has planned for us during the conference. I'm also thrilled to have the opportunity to learn about customer service, word-of-mouth marketing, and how to incorporate FUN into a project from the folks at Disney. Every time I'm invited to a Disney event I make mental notes of things I want to use in my own line of work. Things that will motivate people to share ideas. Things that will keep people excited. Things that keep the focus on the positive.

As much as I plan to enjoy this experience, I also plan to learn.

I'll be at the Disney Social Media Moms conference May 9-12 and yes, I believe we can all expect a fabulous Mother's Day! We have NOT told the Twofer. I'm not sure how I'll pull another Disney Surprise on them or when we'll do the big reveal but you can bet I'm getting ideas from the masters of surprise at Disney!

Janine

ME NEITHER!

We love popcorn in this house.

We love it when it's cold out and when it's warm out.

We love it plane, with butter, or with some other funky seasoning.

But we had to say farewell to popcorn last year.

Orthodontists don't like popcorn and the expanders that were costing us a small fortune are not forgiving when it comes to popcorn.

So as a family, we decided that we should let these very expensive expanders do their job well, the first time, and we ditched popcorn.

Until NOW!

Expanders have been removed and popcorn is back on our snack list!

I told the girls we could eat it every single day until the next orthodontist appointment in August.

Have you ever given up a certain food for a whole year?

Janine

I so wish they had these when my twins were born.

I love that they are unisex.

And who doesn't love the Twin Discount?

Janine

For example, my kids knew how to set the TV, Direct TV, and cables to get the Wii to working in the basement before I did. In addition, they knew how to use many of the features on my iPhone before I did.

So when we received a Wii U from Nintendo, I was both excited and a little worried because the Wii U has many more opportunities for players to interact with people outside of their home. What I learned after hosting a Wii U party is that Nintendo KNOWS how kids think and how parents worry, and they have plenty of controls that can be put in place.

But first, we played

A parent in the hot seat during Mario Chase

One of the best ways to play Wii U is parents vs kids and the new Wii U tablet controler allows game designers to create games where the players using the Wii remotes are actually playing against the person with the tablet!  One of these games was Mario Race. In this game, an adult was Mario and using the tablet. As Mario the goal is to avoid being caught by the other players (in this case the kids).

I am NOT a huge gamer but this game had me sweating, squeeling, and bouncing in my seat.

I WON! They could not catch me!

And then we sang and danced!

Sing Party offer lots of opportunity to dance too!

The Wii U Sing Party game was of course a group favorite. Part karaoke, part dance lessons, this game brought kids and parents togethe to sing (using microphones the song lyrics on the tablet), and follow the dance moves shown on the TV.

At last, we set down the Parental rules

With the Wii U you can use the internet connection to chat with friends, play against someone in another country, and shop the Nintendo store among other things. All great features, but a parent's nightmare. And so the party leaders (trained in Wii U) showed us how to set Wii U parental controls so that kids can only connect when we want them to.

 In all we learned why we love the Wii U.

Tons a new ways to play together and against each other. Lots of additional features that even parents can figure out. Easy parental controls.

Have you tried the Wii U yet?

Janine

Disclosure: as a Nintendo ambassador I received a Wii U and three games at no charge for the purposes of having a party to showcase the system. All opinons are my own and this post was not reviewed nor approved by anyone.

The other day I heard this clank right out of my Campbell's soup can as I was pouring it into a bowl:

RIGHT?!?!

Of course I immediately posted on Facebook and everyone started telling me I would soon be a millionaire!

Wait, what?

How does a bolt in my soup translate to a windfall of money?

I didn't eat it.

I didn't chip my tooth on it.

I wasn't emotionally scarred.

Yet for some reason people assumed I would, what? Call and threaten Campbell's because, you know, nothing bad happenend but it could have?

That's not me.

I'm not on this Earth to drum up trouble.

I immediately called the number on the can and reported it. Within a few days I received a prepaid envelope (to send the bolt in for evaluation) as well as a collection of Campbell's coupons that cover above and beyond what I spent on the original can with the bolt in it.

Some of those coupons will go to people needier than me.

That makes me feel like a millionaire.

What's the strangest thing you've found in soup?

Janine

Last year we had a huge hit on our hands with this card.

This year, we decided to try something new.

I Hope Your Day Glows Valentine's Day Card

Glow stick can be removed and worn

Item's you'll need:

card stock (red for the heart another color for an arrow)

tube of mini glow stick bracelets (I found a tube of 25 for $1 at Michael's)

scissors or cutting tool

stickers, stamps or glitter to decorate

doilie (optional) to glue to the back of the card for additional decoration

Hope your day glows!

How to assemble the card:

Create a heart with 4 to a page in a Word document then print enough for the entire class (and teacher) onto red card stock

Make marks where the glow stick will go in and out in the heart

Decorate the heart and address the cards around the area where the glow stick will go (I thought adding a doilie to the back of the red card and having the edges a little frilly would be cute but my daughter nixed it)

Use a scissors or Exacto knife and cutting board to score an X on the spots marked for the glow sticks.

*TIP - score the X's farther apart so the card bends less when you put the stick through

My daughter then used a pencil to poke a cleaner hole through the X

Be careful not to bend the glow stick when you insert it through the holes or it will activate the glow!

Use another color card stock to make arrow tips - either another smallter heart or a triangle and tape these to the tip of one end of the glow stick

Add the glow stick bracelet connector (comes in the tube) to the other end

Kids can pull out the glow stick, activate the glow, then connect the two ends around their wrist to wear it home!

She left us, way to early, one year ago today.

She blogged here.

She made an impact here and here.

For the two or three years that I knew her, and through her ability to share what it was like to LIVE with cancer, I realized that it's my duty,

no matter what is going on in my life

despite whatever struggles I have

despite whatever worries or stress I have

that as a healthy person,

I MUST LIVE, truly live and embrace every single day.

Money is money.

Stuff is stuff.

What matters most to me are the people I love, and being able to really BE with them. To embrace each day, whatever it brings. To LIVE each day, each moment to it's fullest. Good. Bad. Ugly.

It's life.

And one day it will be gone.

I want to look back on my life, however long or short it is and see that I spent more time being thinking about what I'm grateful for, than thinking about what troubles me.

I want to be at peace because I chose to be happy.

I owe it to myself, to my family, and I feel that I owe it to Susan who no longer has that choice.

But when she did, she chose to LIVE.

Please consider donating to these organizations in honor of a Susan:

Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation: http://www.ibcresearch.org/

Crickett's Answer for Cancer: http://crickettsanswerforcancer.org/

Janine

So far each weekend in 2013 I have tackled at least one drawer, counter top, or cabinet to organize and it's working! I have been purging and trying to find ways to better organize what is left. Sometimes it's easier to organize a drawer or cabinet after I've emptied it and I see I only need to keep a portion of what just came out. I have been tossing and donating items as I clean out certain areas. Not only does this give me extra room, it makes it easier to look at the space and put things back in an organized way. And donating extra items (did you know I had 3 extra coffee makers??) to homeless shelters and needy people means it's staying out of the landfill and helping someone else.

Start Small

The thing with getting organized is that you can become paralyzed by the fact that you 'don't have the right storage'. Instead of looking for an entire wall unit to clean up your famly room, start small. Look for something that will help organize just one area - books, board games, socks and underwear, computer equipment, or whatever else is getting out of control. It's also easier to get started on a small job. Mentally and physically it's easier to dive into cleaning up just one area or one category of 'things'. Just as people often say, "One day at a time", they could say "One drawer at a time".

Look for Multi-Purpose Pieces

The trick is to find the right storage that can work in any room of the house. Whether it's the twins' room, the family room, my home office, or my bedroom, I need a storage unit that can be moved where I decide I need it most. What I have found in my search is that Staples has a great selection of storage units that work in all areas of my house. When the folks at Staples asked me to review a product from their site I opted for a light-weight, fabric storage unit.

It's perfect as an end table as the top of hard and solid. It will work in my family room to keep the library books and magazines from getting scattered all over the floor. This piece would be great in the guest room to hold extra sheets and towels. I might use it in my home office to hold the supply of papers, labels and ink cartridges for my printer. It will even work in the girls' room or in my closet as the perfect place to keep socks, or other accessories. This piece costs around $50. Not a bad price considering how versatile it is.

Staples Rewards you for getting organized

What I love about Staples are the rewards. They basically PAY you to shop! The Mister just went to Staples last week and use our rewards to get almost $100 worth of computer equipment, offices supplies and cleaning supplies ALL with our Staples Rewards! If we have to get these things, we might as well get them at Staples where we not only get a good price, but we are rewarded.

Where do you go to get organized?

Have you ever found the perfect storage unit to help you get organized around the house? Do you jump in and commit to organizing an entire room or do you prefer to just work on one small section?

I'd love to know what tips you have!

Janine

Disclosure: Staples provided me with this Altra storage unit for the purposed of a review but all opinions are my own. To see the full line of storage cabinets visit Staples.com.

One could interpret the term "Knock them out" several different ways. Some people might think I'm referring to some kind of corporal punishment - I AM NOT.

Some people immediately think - "Oh, drug them!"

I AM NOT.

I AM referring to my favorite Knock Knock Good Night Playtime Note Pad that has helped my kids in the past to fall asleep, and stay asleep with good dreams.

Every once in a while a friend complains that their child is either having trouble falling asleep, or is waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares. This will be my officla go-to link from now on because I've referred these note pads on several occasions.

For one, I LOVE that they prompt kids to look back at their day. Then they are prompted to think about what they want to dream about AND how they envision the next day is going to turn out. I always feel like if you think positive, it will be positive. Or at least you'll go to bed thinking it will be and you'll get a better night's sleep!

Make Your Own or Buy Knock Knock

Try this - encourge your child to keep a journal next to their bed and each night you can sit with them and ask them certain prompts. You can use the Knock Knock prompts, or try some of your own. The key is to help get them set up for a good night of sleep so keep it light and positive.

Want to buy the pre-made note pads?

You can find Knock Knock Good Night Note Pads at Amazon.com

Sweet dreams!

Janine

Disclosure: I'm not working with Knock Knock in any way, but some links are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.