JOINTS in MOTION

I had the pleasure of spending Mother’s Day with my friend, Julie, the mother of one my daughter’s classmates. My family joined theirs for dinner and I had a chance to talk to Julie about this amazing thing she’s doing: walking in a 30k in Costa Rica and raising money for the Arthritis Society.

Since I have arthritis, Julie’s cause is particularly important to me. And when I wanted to find out more about Joints in Motion, Julie very kindly allowed me to ask her a ton of questions. (For brevity, I have summarized our discussion.)

nc: How did you get involved with Joints In Motion?
jb: A life-long friend of mine had participated in Joints In Motion before and got me involved for the walk that’s coming up in Costa Rica.

nc: A lot of people get involved in fundraising for organizations like this because they have the disease or they know someone who has the disease. Are you walking for someone, or is this just a cause you’ve chosen to support?
jb: It’s just something I’ve chosen to do.

nc: You’ve raised so much already. Are you the one brainstorming all these fantastic fundraising ideas or is there a “handbook” to guide you along the way?
jb: There is a fundraising guide to help out the fundraisers. I’ve gotten most of my ideas from a lady who was posting on the forum about different things that she had done and what had worked for her.

nc: What do you expect to get out of this amazing opportunity? (Besides raising money for a great cause.)
jb: It’ll be great to have a vacation and time to myself.

nc: What’s the training like? If you’re going to be walking 30K, you’re probably preparing for that in some way. Is there training support or are you going it alone?
jb: I am working with a trainer and closer to the date there will be more strict training schedules to really prepare for the walk.

nc: Have you involved your family in your fundraising?
jb: My husband and my family have been very supportive. My kids don’t really understand what it is I’m doing, but they support me.

nc: What other great fundraising plans do you have coming up before the closing date for raising the money?
jb: On June 8th I’m taking part in the annual Queen’s Drive Street Sale in Weston and along with garage sale items, I’ll be selling hot dogs and other goodies. The proceeds will go to the Arthritis Society. Also, on my blog you can link to Arbonne and purchase great products with 20% of your purchase going to the Arthritis Society. And recently I hosted a Tea Party with Steeped Tea which helped raise money for the Arthritis Society.

nc: It sounds like this has been a pretty good experience so far. Has anything stood out to you in this whole experience?
jb: Yes, the generosity of people. We have been so blessed and I’m blown away by the generosity of people.

nc: Thanks for taking the time to speak to me about all of this.

If you want to help Julie reach her goal, visit her Joints in Motion website to donate.

And keep up with Julie’s efforts on her blog!

Permission to let go

Tonight marked the first of six weeks of soccer for my kids.

It starts early in the evening, which was a requirement of mine when I went looking for soccer for them. (Currently, my daughter is enrolled in Beavers, and Beaver night is always a late bedtime night. Not good for kid in question. Not good for kid’s parents.)

So the deal for me to get them there on time and keep them nourished and hydrated throughout their playing time is to get a healthy on-the-go dinner packed up along with some interesting (read: junk food) snacks and plenty of water. Then I have to pick my son up at daycare, pick my daughter up at school (she normally takes the school bus home) and then scoot to the south part of the city and deliver them to the soccer field.

Determined Kid in the Kitchen

My daughter has always been independent (for the most part). Recently, she has unleashed that independence in the kitchen timed with a new-found desire to bake.

Normally, I might not encourage this desire of hers to bake and do it all herself, but I’ve been busy at work lately and it turns out that setting up some ingredients and letting her have at it can keep her busy for a couple of hours while I get some work done.

I’m blogging about our recent baking adventure over at This Mom Loves today. Pop on over and read all about it.

Just say “no”

I’m a joiner. Always have been. Probably always will be. What that means is I have a hard time saying “no”.

Admittedly, when it comes to being part of something, I want to get involved. The problem is I don’t have that much time. (Know anyone who does? Maybe they can lend me some?)

It’s McHappy Day!

Coffee gets me going in the morning. Sometimes I need a BIG coffee. Sometimes a small coffee will do. This morning, after days of being sick, a BIG coffee was required. And so, I acquired that BIG coffee from McDonald’s where it is McHappy Day and $1 from every hot McCafé beverage purchased will be donated to Ronald McDonald Houses and other local children’s charities across Canada.

It got me thinking, being sick these last few days at home, I have been surrounded by my family. My parents came over to help with the kids. My husband looked after things that I couldn’t take care of. And it was nice. I had my family to support me. And that’s what Ronald McDonald Houses do for children and their families. They support them and help them through their times of need.

Later today (assuming my illness does not force me onto the sidelines again), I will be treating my family to dinner at McDonald’s where $1 from every Big Mac and Happy Meal purchased will be donated as well.

What are you doing for dinner tonight?

Why not support a great cause and take your kids to McDonald’s?

20th McHappy Day in Canada!

Wednesday, May 8th is McHappy Day!

It’s that time of year again! Are you going?

We are! Wouldn’t miss it!

On Wednesday, May 8^th, McDonald’s will donate $1 from every Happy Meal, Big Mac, and hot McCafé beverage you buy to Ronald McDonald Houses and other local children’s charities across Canada.

Ultimate Blog Challenge – The End

And it’s over. 30 days of writing. 30 days of posting. Well, more like 15 days of posting for me. I started late with the challenge and had to do some catching up. By the 19th of the month I was on track to post once a day.

But hey, there’s a reason this little space on the Internet is called Life Takes Over. It happens. It’s a fact of, well, Life.

I lost five days in the last part of the month to mundane important parenting responsibilities. (Feeding my kids healthy meals does take a lot of prep time and a certain amount of planning genius, especially when dealing with picky eaters.)

But here’s what I learned by taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge:

Milestones of growing up

Little Brother dressed himself for bed the other night. Not an unusual thing, really. He is capable of it and he does it from time to time.

When he came downstairs, I said to him, “You’re all ready for bed. Great job buddy!” He was all smiles.

Then I asked, “Did you put your diaper on, too?” He sat down on the bottom step and said, “No, I have underwear on. I don’t need a diaper. I’m a big boy. Diapers are for babies. They don’t fit me now.”

The Responsibility for Life

I’ve been struggling with parenting decisions lately. Not one particular decision, but all of my decisions. As I struggle, it occurrs to me that we parents beat ourselves up a lot, but we have lots of reasons to do that since raising and forming and shaping a whole other human being is a HUGE responsibility.

The Missing Alphabet

My daughter is in Senior Kindergarten. My son is in preschool. Both are incredibly imaginative children at home. I can’t speak for what goes on at their respective schools. I would like to think that a fair amount of imaginative play leads them through their days.

As a writer, I spend most of time in an imaginary world. Yes, I exist in the real world and I function in “normal” fashion according to the laws and expectations of the society in which I live. But ultimately, my mind is going a mile a minute, always with a new idea, a new story, a new twist on an old idea. I never stop.