Day 11: Happy Halloween!

Today is a very busy day. It is my son's first day back to school after his 11 day fall break, we were in charge of snack so we made and brought 54 Eyeball Muffins to class, it was my turn for carpool, I still hadn't bought candy for trick or treaters tonight (dang I am a slacker), I had to run to another store to get large envelopes so I could go to the post office to drop a few things off, plus make sure the house is tidy for my mother in law who is coming in 30 minutes and that is all before 11am this morning. And that's not to mention all the plans for the rest of the day :) Why am I telling you all of this? Because with all of this going on, and it being a Holiday, I thought there was no way I was going to be able to cram in a Good Human Act, but actually because of all these errands I was able to do one very small act many times over. My younger sons and I wished almost everyone we came in contact with today, everywhere we went, a Happy Halloween and we will continue to do this little act all day long. Halloween is so fun and it has made our crazy chores so much more enjoyable today to try and spread that spooky spirit a little. Happy Halloween!

Day 10: 5k for RunFit

Today my oldest son, a couple friends of mine, their kids and I all participated in the Great Pumpkin Chase. It is a 10k, 5k and kids 1k and the proceeds benefit RunFit. It was a great chance to get some fresh air, some exercise and have some fun. The atmosphere of the race was fun and light, most of the participants dressed up in costumes and the kids chased a giant pumpkin for their race. We all had a great time. During the day I was able to return two lost items to worried owners also. That was a bonus and was made even better when I walked away from one return and heard the mom tell her daughter, "See, someone found it and returned it, that is the right thing to do. If you ever find anything you should try to return it too and be a good person." So motivational! It was a wonderful Good Human Day!

RunFit:

"RunFit launched the spring of 2006 as a bold initiative aimed at curbing the growing epidemic of childhood obesity by creating a running and/or walking program for children at after-school (or before school) programs across the district. The program is provided free to public and private elementary schools, as well as homeschools. Physical educators, classroom teachers, and parents can incorporate RunFit into their curriculum, after school programs, and at home with their families.

RunFit is a not for profit organization designed to help youth of all sizes, fitness and ability levels utilize the discipline of running to improve health, build character and provide opportunities for children to showcase their talents by participating in a number of RunFit sponsored events throughout the community,” said RunFit founder Stephen Pino. “Before, During and Afterschool programs such as RunFit play a vital role in the lives our communities by keeping kids’ safe, creating healthy habits and helping working families.”

RunFit is a fun program which motivates and trains children 5-13 to run one mile to 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) through active participation on a RunFit team. Participants learn to set and achieve challenging personal goals and are awarded incentives for attendance and improvement and culminating in local RunFit running events. RunFit, while intended to be physically challenging, is designed for children of all fitness and athletic levels.

RunFit provides opportunities to assist schools with their school sponsored jog-a-thons.

While RunFit is designed for elementary aged children, parents are encouraged to participate."

The kiddo line-up!

Me and my awesomely fast friends!

Day 9: Unblocked a Road

I actually had a plan today for my Good Human act but on my way to do it my husband called and told me it would not work today. I was totally bummed. I headed back home instead to work on some last minute details for a Fall Festival/ Trunk or Treating event I was going to tonight. On my way there was a huge cardboard box in the middle of the road that was slowing down traffic and making everyone swerve around it. I was about to do the same, when I had a light bulb moment. "Hey, I can move that box!!" So, I went around it, pulled over as soon as I could, hopped out of my car, ran in to the street, grabbed the box, shoved it into the back of may car and drove on home. I have never done that before. I see obstacles in the road all the time and I have never been the one to move it before, I have never even thought about who moves the stuff in the road before. It was an eye opener for me about the Good Human acts that must go on all the time. Thanks, whoever you are, for moving junk out of the road!

Day 8: Paperless Billing

Today is bill paying day, boo! But in silver lining type fashion I was able to turn my annoying chore into a Good Human act! It took me a while, but I was able to change 5 of the 6 paper bills I still get to paperless billing! One company is still working on getting it up and running but the rest are a go and I am now very close to being bill related tree wasting free!!

I found this cool image at a green website called: Green Life Style

Day 7: Make a New Friend

Sometimes as we get older it seems it is harder to make new friends. It is comfortable to just hang with family or with people we have known for ages. But think of how many amazing people we are missing out on getting to know. How much we could grow as people with what others have to offer us. How much better the world could be if everyone was a little bit friendlier. I find it really difficult to put myself out there and meet new people, I would definitely not say I am shy, just very guarded, I guess. So for today,  I am taking a lesson from my kindergarten son who loves meeting new people and playing with new friends.

My son can't stop talking about a few of his friends from school, and at a recent family parade and potluck his school had I was able to meet a couple of the mom's of those kids. They were so easy to talk to and seemed just as excited as I was to meet the mom's of their kids playmates. So, this week all our kids have off for Fall Break and it just seemed natural to have them over for a playdate. It went fantastic! The kids and their siblings had a wonderful time and in 3 hours, with 9 kids, there was not one fight or tantrum (a couple accidental owies :), but nothing that a brownie couldn't quickly fix). My boys loved having them over and I thoroughly enjoyed talking and getting to know 2 new, what I hope to call, friends. We can't wait to do another playdate!!

As another side act we had some extra brownies, since I made 2 batches, so my big boys ran some over to our older next door neighbors! They loved doing a "special delivery". And the brownie recipe is so delicious and easy I will post it!

Simplest Homemade Fudgy Brownies

recipe from GoodLifeEats

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons Salted Butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla, orange, or peppermint extract, optional

3 large eggs

1 cup flour

A heaping 1/2 cup chocolate chunks, optional 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Set a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Next, add the granulated sugar and your choice extract. Stir well. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl and whisk in with the eggs until well combined. Stir in the flour and chocolate chunks, but do not beat.

Pour batter into the previously prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. Cool completely, on a wire rack.

Remove parchment paper (with brownies) from the pan. Peel away the parchment paper and cut the brownies into serving size pieces and store in an airtight container.

Day 6: Neighborhood Halloween BOO!

For today's act of being a good human I am reverting to a tradition that we have done every Halloween for the last 5 years. It is simple but, unfortunately not free. It is so fun and really builds the excitement around Halloween. It's a Halloween BOO! You drop off a little Halloween goodie bag/basket filled with whatever spooky tricks or treats you are able to and drop it off anonymously at a couple of neighbors houses. With the basket you include a little poem, that I will include the link for at the end, that ask for the neighbors to do the same and you watch as it spreads around the neighborhood. People put a ghost in their window, that you also include with your delivery, if they've been BOOed so no one gets done more than once and it is just a great way to build a sense of community in a neighborhood! We just dropped off our 2 BOOS!


Link with 2 different poems you can include, instructions and BOO signs. Or you can draw or write out your own. Happy Haunting!
Minions Web

Day 5: Rental Clean-Up

Today was our last day in Colorado for our vacation :( We had a great time, that was accentuated by the fact that we decided to stay in a rental house instead of a hotel. With three little boys, unless we rent an expensive suite we have found that staying in a hotel room is really hard for us, and can make vacation a bit frustrating for all 5 of us. We need space for the boys to run around and would love separate "parents" space. So, for this trip we decided to see if we could rent a house in the area we wanted to be in and pay a reasonable fee. And man did we luck out! We got a 2 bedroom house/duplex, fully furnished, in a really nice little area for only $100 a night! And it made the trip so wonderful, I mean I am now a vacation house rental convert! Anyway, I am babbling about some irrelevant stuff...for today's act of being a good human before we left the rental house this morning, while the kids played, I cleaned the house as if we had not been there, I'm talking sweeping, vacuuming, glass cleaning, surface sanitizing, the works. Yes, there was a cleaning fee that we paid, but I felt like it was least I could do to give back for such an amazing experience. And in case anyone is wondering we found the vacation rental on an awesome website a friend turned me onto called VRBO, which is vacation rentals by owner- it worked great for us!

Day 4: Compliment a Stranger

I just noticed that all these posts I am making are going to post with today's date, that is because unfortunately our rental's internet had some issues and we have been webless for a while. The bugs have been fixed and we are back online today, YAY! Today we spent our day around Downtown Denver. There are a ton of things that can be down to help others, especially in a downtown area, but my husband challenged me to do something that didn't cost any money. It took me  quite a while today to figure what I could do for free. I finally came up with a most basic plan. I complimented, sincerely complimented, 5 people. That may seem like a walk in the park for some people but I tend to be quite reserved when it comes to talking to new people and quite tight lipped on the compliments even when I know someone super well. This was such a great step outside myself and I really enjoyed it. I was able to, by noticing something small about someone, start little conversations and fill my bank of smiles up a little. It was something that I will  personally be trying to do much more often. I loved learning that Nancy got her purse from her daughter for mother's day and looks forward every year to getting a new one to sport proudly and that Bill loves walking his dog Gracie and letting them both get daily fresh air.

Day 3: Trash Squad at the Zoo

On day 3 we were off to the Denver Zoo. I hadn't planned any particular activity to do to be a good human but the opportunity presented itself better than I could have hoped for. Our family became the Zoo's personal Trash Squad! Everywhere we saw trash we tried to pick it up and throw it away. At first the boys were annoyed that they had to pick up other people's trash while they were on a fun trip to the zoo, but by the end of the day they were racing to see who could get to the trash first to protect their animal friends. We talked about how littering is not safe, especially when it is by animals who can get it and eat it. And, we also were able to talk about the importance of helping out, even if they were not the ones who created the problem so that the zoo, or any other place, can still be a clean and safe. I got a few shots of the boys on Litter Patrol that I  posted below.

Day 2: A Quick Bathroom Clean-up

After my motivating yard sale day we headed out of town the next morning. With 3 kids in the car on a long drive I thought maybe I should postpone my movement until after we got back from our trip, so I didn't go out of my way to do anything to be a better human :( There were probably a hundred things I could have done, but my mind was preoccupied and I took the easy way of just thinking of myself and my family. The next morning I woke up with the guilt of skipping a day in a journey that I just started and that I really feel is important. All the things I could have done came to me in my dreams and I decided that vacation or not, or rather, especially because we are lucky enough to be able to go on a vacation, that being a good human shouldn't wait until I am ready. So the next day as we headed about our sightseeing I decided to keep going and do 2 things, one for day 3 and one to make up for missing day 2. It felt great and I was able to get my kids in on the actions too, which was amazing and really emphasized the message this movement could have on myself, my boys and anyone else who takes the time to give it a try.

So, for my day 2 project I cleaned up a very public and very dirty bathroom. Ya, not the funnest task, but quite a quick fix. I picked up loads of paper towels that had been carelessly thrown on the floor, washed, dried and removed all the trash from the sinks and washed down the mirror and door nob. In total, after completely santizing my hands after my work (I am quite a germaphobe), I was probably done in 5-7 minutes and left the bathroom looking much better than when I entered. It was Toileriffic!

Day 1: Charity Yard Sale

I am in a MOMS Club. In our club the focus, besides supporting each other and our kids, is to donate our time, efforts and money (we raise) to local charities to help other moms and children. I have been thinking about doing something, like this blog, for a couple of weeks now, but it was not until yesterday and today that I decided to actually do it. I donated about 8 hours to setting up and running a yard sale with our MOMS Club in the last 48 hours. All donations were made by our members and all proceeds go to charity and nothing gets you more in the mood to give back and be a good human better than giving back and being a good human. I sorted, I folded boxes, I lifted, I baked (for the bake sale), I haggled, I laughed, I cleaned up, I donated clothes, books, toys  kitchenware and baby stuff, I got a sun burn on my neck, I bonded with other moms and all of it, because it was for a cause bigger than me, made me feel like I was being a better human. So, with that motivation and helping high, I am off to continue the giving journey and try to make it a goal, for at least 100 days, to be A Good Human.

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MOMS Club

A Good Human Movement

My name is Angela. I am a stay at home mom of 3 boys, ages 6, 3 1/2 and 1. I am a good mom, not perfect by a long shot, but good. I am married to my high school sweetheart, we have been married for 8 happy years and been together for 12, I try to be a good wife, some days I surpass that and unfortunately others I don't quite reach it, but in general I am a good wife. I have 3 sisters and 1 brother, not all with whom I am extremely close, but all of whom I respect for their individuality and love tremendously, I am a good sister. I have a small group of friends that I could not be happier to share small adventures and activities with, I am a good friend.

I am about to be 30 and have recently found myself having a 1/3 life crisis. I feel like I am missing a piece of life that I should be focusing on. I am a good wife, mother, sister and friend. But I have found myself wondering, am I a good human? All of the things I do in my life are centered around myself and my family, which is wonderful, but I feel like I can do more. I need to help the needy, maybe my neighbors, perhaps the planet. I need to use what I am good at and help where I can. I am not trying to save the world, but I need to do my part to make it a place worth living.

I have decided to try my hand at a new idea to make this a reality. I want to put my desires  and efforts down permanently so that it will be easier for me to follow through and not just talk a pretty picture. I am going to try to be a good human daily for 100 days. Being a good human can mean a million different things and I am going to try to tap into those and do 1 thing a day. For myself,  I am going to start A Good Human Movement. I would love if anyone wants to join me in this movement or would like to share their ideas on what I can do.