No Rule Day- Best Day Ever

A few months ago my girls and I were running our usual routine.  The usual, usually means we got up, went to the gym, cleaned, and set off on any adventures or errands that I felt like going on during the day.  

Addie, being the cute little preschooler that she was started crying.  She was frustrated and tired of following my rules all day.  I tried to take a step back and look at it from her tiny person, 5 year old point of view and I realized it would be pretty annoying having someone tell you what to do all.  Day.  Long.  

"Let's go to the gym.  Put on your shoes.  Eat another bite of broccoli.  Flush the toilet." Etc. Etc.  Yeah I'm already annoyed for her just thinking about it.  

So as I was talking to her I explained that I understood her frustration and that I had the perfect solution.  The next day there would be no rules.  We would do whatever she wanted all day.  

I didn't have any ulterior motives.  I wasn't hoping everything would go all wrong so at the end of the day she'd have a greater appreciation for my rules.  I was simply hoping she'd feel understood, and respected enough that I would allow her to take over for the day.  And also I love changing things up so I just thought it sounded like it would be tons of fun for all of us.  

So here is how the morning went.  

It started out with chocolate for breakfast, no trip to the gym, and she wore a cozy mismatched outfit.

Next up was her most creative idea of the day.  

We took the 3 dozen eggs I just bought at Costco, lined the bathtub with garbage bags, threw some swimsuits on and they smashed, stomped, and threw those eggs to their hearts content.  

They made a huge mess but it it was so worth it. They had so much fun.

Addie kept yelling "Best day ever!!!".  

Later that day she really let the power go to her head got into the spirit of the day, talking in the 3rd person and everything.  haha.  When I started doing laundry I believe she said something like "No, no, no.  It's Addie's rules and Addie says no laundry!"  Then she proceeded to throw it everywhere and jump on my bed.  My instinct was to say no, but I had to just laugh about how much of a thrill she was getting out of it.  Who am I to care about tossed laundry in a moment of pure joy!?  

Especially on "Addie's day"!?

While Sienna was napping she thought it would be fun to have a little bake off.  So of course, that's just what we did.  She got out every ingredient you could possibly use to bake cupcakes.  She got flour, sugar, and various spices all over the floor and everywhere else, and made up her own little creation.

For lunch she decided we'd go get candy at Walmart.  She grabbed a Reese's then thought the candy at Smiths sounded delicious too, so we went there, and after that it was time for some frozen yogurt for dessert. (because what would a candy lunch be without dessert!?) The rest of the day included a trip to Del taco, a playdate with her friend, watching Curious George, jumping on her bed, dress ups, and anything else her sweet little heart desired.

The day was a complete success.  She loved the freedom and had so much fun doing all the things she wouldn't normally get to do.  In fact her biggest thrills came from doing all the little things I usually remind her to do like flush the toilet.  And changing into her pajamas to go play outside was her biggest thrill.

There were so many reasons that it was good for me too.  The house was a freaking disaster at the end of the day but, ya know what, who cares!?  I had no idea how often I would normally tell her no.  Throughout the day she kept reminding me of just how creative she can be.  So often she'll come up with the most random thing to do but I'll say no because I don't want to clean up a giant mess.  I resolved to let her creativity shine a little more often and to be more flexible.

After all she'll only be a kid once and she deserved to have the BEST DAY EVER!

My Birthday: 32 Ways We Paid It Forward

My birthday is just around the corner and I don't have anything special planned, so let's reminisce about my birthday last year.  Because it was awesome.  

I wanted to share, not to brag, but to hopefully inspire someone to have a day as fulfilling as this birthday was for me.  

I can't lie.  I've been pretty blessed in my life so I decided I wanted to spend the day paying it forward with an act of kindness for each year of my life.  It turned out to be an amazing day.  I don't know how many times I cried, but I know it was at least 3 or 4.  It was SO cool to see how even the smallest things were SO appreciated.  

So here is what we did.  

We left quarters in all the gum ball machines at the grocery store.

We collected coats, hats, and scarves from some generous neighbors 

and donated a huge bin of them to the homeless shelter. 

I made fun Christmas tree waffles for my girls.

We baked muffins for the local firefighters and gave them a card thanking 

them for all they do for our community.  They were probably the sweetest and showed the most gratitude out of anyone all day.  They said thank you so many times and wouldn't let Addie

leave without all kinds of fun little trinkets.

I got up early with Addie and Sienna and let Brandon sleep in.  

Personally I think this counts as like 5 acts of kindness because I definitely like to sleep in.

  Especially when its my birthday.  

I left Operation Beautiful notes on bathroom mirrors. 

I took a break to have lunch with my mom and sister (and the Little Angel, of course). 

 They insisted on treating me to lunch

so I left our server an extra tip.

We cleaned up tons of garbage in parking lots.  

With the help of Miss Adison, we passed out lollipops to

 siblings and visitors at the childrens hospital.  

We held doors open for people.  

We donated food to the Utah Food Bank.

We delivered a little "get well" package to a sick friend. 

Left a treat and a thank you note in our mailbox for the postal worker.  

We made and delivered gift bags for all the kids with cancer at the Primary Children's Hospital.  

We wouldn't have been able to do this one without generous donations from friends.  We gave the kids coloring books, stuffed animals, nail polish, toy cars, lip gloss, bubbles, silly puddy, etc. etc.  

We weren't allowed to go into the kids rooms but the nurses were really excited to pass them out.  

This one was one of the more spontaneous of the day but also my favorite.  EVERYONE should try this sometime.  Its SO much fun.  Seriously.

We noticed a cashier at the grocery store who seemed like she could use a little pick me up. So we grabbed a few different gift cards and went to her check stand.  I told her that I was shopping for someone I didn't know very well and asked her which gift card she would want if it was for her.  She said Macy's and went on and on about why she would choose it. After  I bought it I said "oh wait, this is for you.  Merry Christmas."  She was stunned and speechless, even though it wasn't a huge amount.    She just stared at us as her eyes started to well up.  It felt so good to make her happy.

We took donuts to our favorite story tellers at the library.  

While we were at the library my cousin Abby and I left encouraging notes in the self help books.

We got a gift certificate at Walmart for Walmart and handed it to the woman behind us in line. 

We were oh so sneaky and hid dollar bills in the dollar toy section, with notes that said "For you.  Merry Christmas."

We bought toys to donate to Toys For Tots.

We tried to pay for the car behind us in line at Del Taco but after stalling for a while no one showed up behind us.  So instead we gave the cute little lady who worked there a note and little tip.  

I bought my cousin lunch.  

This one was the most meaningful to me.  My 3rd grade teacher was one of the most caring, kind, good hearted people I've ever known.  My mom was out of state in the hospital for a few months while I was in her class and she filled a little bit of that "mother" role for me.  She was always interested in how I was doing, and she'd stay and talk to me during recess when I'm sure most teachers are dying for a break.  I've thought about her over the years so I sent her a letter telling her how much I appreciated her.  

We passed out HotHands to the Salvation Army bell ringers and donate some money while we were there.  Bless their hearts, its freakin' cold out there in the winter!

We smiled at everyone we passed, and tried to be extra friendly all day.  

We donated to this cute boy who has Leukemia.  

We returned carts for shoppers at the grocery store.  Let me remind you it was FREAKIN' FREEZING so that is one that I would totally love if someone did it for me.

We went to the Laundromat and left quarters on each of the washing machines.  Those slick moves of Brandon's were a nice little bonus. 

It was a freakin' awesome birthday!  Everyone should do this at least once.  It's a lot of work but, as cheesy as it may sound, you're the one who really benefits from it all at the end of the day.  TRUTH!