charity: water. also, my kids are awesome.

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All of my kids’ birthdays are within three weeks of each other. It’s a hectic and cake filled three weeks. Cake makes everything better. I actually love it. I love that they are excited for their own birthdays and equally excited about their siblings birthdays!

Last year we had separate birthdays for everyone. This year we diecided on one big bash. We had just been to Disney and spent a ridiculous fair amount of money and had told them it was part of their birthday presents. We knew that when birthdays rolled around they wouldn’t really remember it that way.

So one big party was planned. Next I wanted to fend off the present frenzy. I’ve been trying to pare down around here and the thought of 30 or so more plastic things in my house had me in hives. I approached the oldest with an idea about giving his birthday over to charity: water instead.

We discussed it.

We watched videos.

We cried.

I think the clincher was him seeing me cry over some of the videos. I really tried not to, but I’m a crier. At one point he reached out and put his hand on my back “You ok mom?” He’s such a sweet boy. We even won over the almost 5 year old after a few days. She kept asking to watch the videos and it started to click.

I want them to learn to give back. We don’t have a ton, but we have enough. More than enough. We live in a very wealthy town. I need for my kids to understand that most of the world does not live like that, or even like this.

So we started a campaign: http://my.charitywater.org/birthdays-help-kids

Then, like ya do, we made a video:

There should be an awesome video here. If not, please refresh your browser. It will appear like magic!

The charity: water team saw the video today for the first time and left a donation!

They left a comment that my oldest just thought was the best. “A donation for each of you — from the charity: water team. Thanks for being rockstars. We love your video!”

Rockstars.

Your Mission, List, should you choose to accept it.

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Your mission? To join The Mission List. I know I have a fair amount of readers who are connected, influencers, social media savvy ladies and gents, if you will. Wouldn’t you like to use your super powers for good?

Members of The Mission List are keen on using their social media influence to impact social good at home and abroad. Members receive opportunities to participate in social good campaigns involving issues such as child and maternal health, global development, women’s rights, and hunger. It doesn’t matter if you’re a mom with influence in your local community, a social media maven, an experienced blogger who writes about design, parenting, home, food, work, or a little bit of everything — as long as you have a desire to use your influence for good, you belong on The Mission List. ~TML

Now I’m going to tell you totally up front that if you join and you mention I referred you I will gain an entry into a contest for a trip to BlogHer. Now I’d be super excited if you did that. But I’d also be super excited for YOU if you joined The Mission List. Lots of amazing opportunities to do some social good. AND I’d be super excited for The Mission List to be gaining some of the aforementioned social media savvy super women.

I have been participating in campaigns for The Mission List for over a year now. Like campaigns for Oxfam, and No Kid Hungry. It really feeds my need for doing good while blogging. I really love that part of blogging. Being able to help a nonprofit or a cause. Or to just bear witness. It’s important.

Sometimes I feel helpless when I see all the different difficult things going on in the world. What the hell can I do about it? There’s only some many times I can text the Redcross.

Well, I have this little space on the big ole interent and a couple of people listening to me. So I can write about it. Hopefully something will connect with you. Hopefully you’ll click. Maybe you’ll tell someone else about such and such. Or you’ll make a donation, or buy a product. Who knows what will happen. But I do know one thing if I don’t do anything, nothing will happen here.

So let’s do something!
First step join The Mission List.
Second step, do some good.

A message from one of our fearless leaders. I am mean that sincerely. The women that run this place are fierce and fearless and full of awesome.

There should be a a video here. If not, just refresh the page and like magic it’ll be there!

Blankies for Boston

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My wonderful future sister-in-law (if my BIL ever gets off his duff) is running a project called Blankies for Boston.

They are collecting 1000 comfort blankets for victims, victims’ families, and first responders of the Boston Marathon bombing.

The four women organizing this project met knitting and crocheting scarves for the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School, which collected over 3500 scarves!  In just two days, Blankies for Boston, had participants from the UK to California.

Sometimes in tragedies like this, people feel like there is nothing they can do to help. Yes, of course you can give money, to funds like the One Fund (and you should) But this? This is different. It is a little piece of the soul of someone’s heart knitted all up into a blankie of love and sent to someone that really needs that love right now. Doesn’t that sound awesome? :-)

Know how to knit? Head on over to the Facebook page and check out the specs and get knitting? Know someone that knits (um MOM? Can you hear me?) then send them this link.

There are a ton of people from other parts of the country helping out, but now they need help getting the word out locally.

Get the word out my bloggy friends. Get the word OUT!

Also, please message them if you are directly connected to a victim or first responder, so that they can get them a blanket.

Thank you my lovelies.

#BostonStrong

Rwanda – Path to Peace

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Over the Holidays I received a beautiful cookbook and basket from Macy’s. My intention was to create one of the recipes and feature it IN the basket. This is what bloggers do. But then I got the flu. You know the one that made Boston declare a health emergency, yeah that one. So everything got put on hold for a while, a long while. There was no cooking, or blogging.

So here we are past the holidays and I have this amazing book:

And basket:

From Macy’s:
Rwanda Path to Peace is a healing journey and a source of sustainable living that utilizes the incredible skill of weaving that is passed down by generations of Rwandan women. A decade ago, these women saw their neighbors and their families destroyed by genocide and ethnic cleansing, leaving many of them broken and hopeless, lost in a country where women are considered second-rate citizens because of their gender. The recovery from a tragedy of this magnitude is a constant struggle. The sale of the baskets through Macy’s has given these women a source of sustainable income and pride.

The project and the income it generates has improved the lives of at least 18,000 children, providing access to education, health care and more. The weavers are now able to pay school fees, purchase essential supplies and provide shoes and clean uniforms. They can even afford kerosene and candles to provide light in the evening so children can complete their schoolwork.

Beyond the obvious benefits of scholastic supplies and health care, the children in weavers’ communities are benefiting in a number of less tangible ways. They feel immense pride in their mother’s ability to provide for them, praising them to friends and telling classmates that their mother’s baskets sell in America. The children are also enjoying strengthened relationships with their fathers who look after them while their mothers weave. The strong, cooperative relationships being forged between women and men are providing excellent examples for the future.

For more info go to www.Macys.com/Rwanda
There are also some amazing interviews with the weavers here.

I’ll be featuring some of the recipes in the book all year long!

World Food Day

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Today is World Food Day.

When you sit down to eat every day, do you think about how the meal you’re eating is the product of a complex, and broken, global food system? This World Food Day, Oxfam America is teaming up with a host of allies across the US and around the globe. We have a simple yet compelling idea—to host a World Food Day dinner on October 16th or sometime this month that fosters a conversation about where your food comes from, who cultivates it, and how you can take personal actions that will make the food system more just and sustainable.

~ Oxfam America website

Now we’re not hosting a hoity toity dinner party. We’re sitting down as a family and talking about our food. We do a fair amount of that anyway, but this night it will be all about the GROW Method in honor of World Food Day.

I have three kids under 6. I feel like I can still make sense of the 5 steps of the Grow Method so that they can understand and start our family moving even faster in a direction that makes our food system more sustainable. Even if that means just our own family food system to start. It starts at home.

Today we start with the first principle. Reducing waste. Tonight at dinner I’ll talk to them about how I either make enough food that I know will be eaten, or make more on purpose for leftovers. We eat what we’re given and don’t leave food on the plate simply because. I also try to use all of the parts of the food I’m cooking limting the amount of waste. What I don’t use gets composted and given back to the earth. We don’t go to restaurants often with our little terrors, but when we do we always take the leftovers home.

Here’s a super informative slideshow on the GROW Method:

Here’s a handy guide for your family to help you have a great discussion at dinner. Or maybe at your hoity toity dinner party. Go on – I dare you. PLEASE talk about the Grow Method at your next dinner party. It starts with you, and me, talking about it and then doing it. One billion people shouldn’t go to bed hungry. Do something.
This post (and my sharing on social media) was inspired by my participation in a compensated program initiated by Women Online/The Mission List to raise awareness about Oxfam America’s GROW Method. All commentary and opinions are, of course, my own.

Grow Method -Let’s Build a Better Food System

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In our home we do a lot to help the environment and I try to get my family to eat in a healthy way. But maybe I could do more? Maybe we could all do more.

I’m going to be posting and sharing a lot about this Oxfam campaign in the next few weeks: The Grow Method.

Here’s a fun way to kick it off…

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This post (and my sharing on social media) was inspired by my participation in a compensated program initiated by Women Online/The Mission List to raise awareness about Oxfam America’s GROW Method. All commentary and opinions are, of course, my own.