An Open Letter to Baylor and Amalia

In each of my kids' baby books there is a place for the mom to include a letter to her child (there's one for the dad, too - no worries).  Ever since Baylor was born, I have been trying to figure out what to write to him, then to Amalia ... and I finally figured it out.  I thought I'd share it with you.  Hope you like it!

Dear kiddos,

There are many things I want for you in this life, some of which I can't even articulate.  Obviously I want for you health, happiness, and love, but I feel like those are the broad strokes of life.  There are other things I want for you, more specific things that I want you to reach for, be, and embrace. 

These are those things.

Kindness above all; to be kind is everything.

Be stewards of the earth; we only have one and we should all do our part to keep it healthy.

Speaking of health, be good to your body.  It can take you a long way if you take care of yourself.

Live life with joy in your heart.  Find happiness in the everyday.

Patience is indeed a virtue ... apply it liberally.

Don't let people walk all over you, and don't walk all over other people.

Live simply.  Try to surround yourself with only the people and things you love.

Cultivate a love of reading and writing ... there are no greater outlets or escapes.

Do good, be good - not because you'll get something out of it (e.g., money, fame, a spot in heaven) but because it is just plain the right thing to do.

These are the things I want for you, my little miracles.

Love always,

Mama

Revisiting NICE

Remember when I posted about Operation NICE? Well, Melissa is celebrating her two year "blogiversary" today and has asked people to participate in a little assignment. Leave some of her NICE notes around, send them to nice people, etc. and take a picture of the act. Then e-mail it to her and tell your story. That's it! And in return? Three dollars will be donated to The Hunger Project. How cool is that? Or rather, how nice is that?!

You can read more about the assignment here. And join in, will you? I have already sent out one NICE note and plan on doing many more soon! Sometimes the littlest things can make the biggest difference in someone's day, you know?

Celebrate niceness today!

Not a Laughing Matter

The hitting continued.

At one point, he even motioned for me to bend down towards him, like he was going to hug me, then he slapped me on the cheek.

(He also unraveled a roll of toilet paper, put an air freshener in the toilet, and tried to climb out of his crib.)

I wouldn't have minded the other stuff as much, but I cannot abide the hitting. As proud as I am of how smart Baylor is, I would rather have him be dumber than a stick than be a mean person. There are too many mean people in this world as it is, and I would consider it a failure on my part if he grew up to be a mean man. Or even a mean child. Kindness is highly underrated, and hitting should never be funny - which he thinks it is.

So I'm asking for any help or advice you can give me. How do I teach him that hitting is not okay? And before anyone suggests it, we do not spank at our house; that's just another way to hit someone in my book.

Give me what you've got. I've tried telling him how nice people don't hit and how sad it makes Mommy (which he should have gleaned from me starting to cry after he hit me - it didn't hurt but I was at my wit's end). How people who hit don't get the things they want. But I'm not sure it sank in.

Help! Please!!!!

Kindness is Underrated: A Reminder Ring to Consider

A week or so ago on one of the blogs I read there was a contest to win a String-Ring. What is that, you ask? Well, it is a sterling silver ring with a groove in it that is to be laced up with a string of any of a number of colors. Depending on what you want to remind yourself of (to be kind, to laugh, to be tolerant, etc.) you can put in a different color and wear it around to remind yourself of your personal goal.

So what do we think? I personally think it's a fantastic idea! Our world could do with a little more of some of the nicer things in life, and this ring is there to help remind us to be better to one another (and ourselves). Plus, the ring itself (which is adjustable and comes with twenty strings) is only $24.95!

Thoughts? Opinions?

Beautiful People

I just read an article on The Huffington Post about an amazing little girl named Phoebe who raised money to donate to the San Francisco Food Bank. After seeing a hungry, homeless man on the street holding a sign asking for money, she decided that she wanted to help this man and others like him who were hungry. She sent out 150 letters to friends and family, asking for pop can donations to help her meet her goal of raising $1000 in two months. Only 50 people responded initially, but as more and more people heard about her efforts the donations started flooding in. By the end of her two months she raised a whopping $3,736.30 - enough for the SF Food Bank to feed 17,800 people! To read the full article and see a video put together about 5 year-old Phoebe and her project, click here.

The article, and the little girl in it, made me feel hopeful - hopeful that there are good things happening out there today. Today's news is so often filled with sad, dismal information, that it is refreshing to hear about people who are doing good things, being good to one another.

Another site I came upon through the Huffington Post article was goinspirego.com. As they put it on their website: "We value the sharing of ideas, talents, and resources with others to create a community filled with compassion and respect." I love this. Though it is a fledgling website and project, I see a lot of potential in this cause and its creator Toan Lam. He plans to publish inspirational stories of people helping one another in hopes of inspiring others to be kind to their fellow man.

Then, of course, there is one of my favorite sites that I know I have mentioned previously: Operation Nice. Melissa, the creator of the Operation Nice blog, wants to encourage people to be nice to one another. In her words: "I believe that kindness can change the world, so it's my mission to spread the concept of being nice, as simple as that may sound." Simply by being nice to someone else, we can make the world a better, happier place to be. How great is that?!

I hope you guys enjoy the article and the websites I've included on this post! Have a beautiful day!

Blog Addiction (Pt. 3) - Operation NICE

One of the blogs I follow is Operation NICE. Its goal is simple: encouraging people to be proactively nice. We need more of this in our world today.

The blogger, Melissa, gives assignments as hints on how to be nice to other people. You can download notes, signs, tips, and more to assist you on your quest for niceness. You can even nominate a nice person of the week!

All in all, it is a refreshing site that reminds us it is important to just be nice.