RAK #29

We are getting so close to RAK #30... yikes! This week's random act:

RAK#29: Stick a dollar near the dollar spot toys for a child to find.

I thought we already did this one but it's still on the list so maybe not... and even if we did, it's a fun one I'm sure will be appreciated by another child. Stick a note to the dollar letting them know it's a special treat for them and if you're extra sneaky, you can 'shop' in the next section over while a child comes to get the dollar. It's fun to see their reaction.

Please join us (you can either catch up or just start where we are)! Check out this post for more info.

Happy RAKing!

RAK #28

We are getting so close to RAK #30... yikes! This week's random act:

RAK#28: Pay a bill (or give money towards a bill) for someone.

Nobody likes bills! Once upon a time we had a friend who was cutting costs so we added them to our phone line and paid their cell phone bill for awhile. It was fun to serve them in that way until they went back to work. Maybe you know someone that's skimping on the AC to save on the cooling bill or someone who could use help with another bill. I've even had friends/family members of clients that have contacted me asking if they can pay the photography bill for a client- how fun is that?

Help someone out this month and leave them some cash or master card gift card that they can use towards a bill. Stick it in a card letting them know what it's for and why. It can be for someone you know, someone you just met, or a complete stranger. I'm sure they would appreciate it!

Please join us (you can either catch up or just start where we are)! Check out this post for more info.

Happy RAKing!

RAK #26/27

I'm going to cheat again and put two in one week so I'm covered for this week's too. :)

This week's random acts:

RAK#26: Donate items to the church nursery.

Last time we worked in the nursery, I noticed they could use some new items. I'm sure your church nursery would take donations too. Toys, books, and bubbles! are always fun. Cleaning supplies, paper towels, napkins are always practical. If you're not sure what they could use, ask and I'm sure they'll have ideas for you!

RAK#27: Make a meal for a neighbor.

I thought this was already one but maybe not? So if you've done this recently, choose a new neighbor and make a meal for them. Maybe someone you don't know well (or haven't even met). We are spoiled with great and friendly neighbors. They feed us way more than we feed them so we have some major catching up to do on this RAK.

Please join us (you can either catch up or just start where we are)! Check out this post for more info.

Happy RAKing!

RAK 23-25

So.... I may have gotten a LITTLE behind on posting to the blog.

I have a lot of really great excuses and most of them end with how much I love summer. Let me try to get caught up first then maybe I'll share some of those awesome excuses with you. In the meantime, you can follow me on instagram at @heididh33 to see what all we've been loving this summer. Also, that's how I'm following what all of you are up to as well. I hate to admit this but it's been a LONG time since I've been caught up on reading all my favorite blogs. If you've blogged awesome goodness lately, please let me know. :)

On to the RAK!

Okay I'm 'cheating' a bit this time. I went to our 'still to come' list and hand-picked ones I've actually done these last few weeks. I noticed we are down to just a few left on the list so if you have some ideas PLEASE let me know! Would love to use yours. :)

This week's (and some catch up...) random acts:

RAK#23: Help a friend clean.

Because who doesn't love this? I've had friends come help me clean and I've helped friends. Cleaning (especially deep cleaning) is so much easier (and dare I say more 'fun') if you have a buddy. I've done some of this lately and absolutely love it. Well. As much as you can love cleaning. ;)

RAK#24: Use your spiritual gifts to bless someone.

What talents has God blessed you with? Are you creative? Good with kids? A great listener? Great in the kitchen? Think about your God given talents and come up with ways to use them to serve others. 

RAK#25: Smile at (and say hello to) strangers.

I heard somewhere that most smiles start from another smile. 

I pretty much share mine with 'strangers' all the time because I'm from a small town where if you don't say 'hi' to someone that 'knows' you (whether you know them or not), they think you are stuck up. So I just do this to cover my bases in case I see someone I should know. It's interesting to me though to see some people's reaction to this. I especially love greeting the elderly. Bonus points if you ask, "How are you?" then actually stay to hear their answer.

Where are some ideas you have for this week's? 

Please join us (you can either catch up or just start where we are)! Check out this post for more info.

Happy RAKing!

Salted toffee chocolate chunk cookies

FKA Ultimate chocolate chip cookies. 

AKA tornado cookies. 

I stole this recipe from my neighbor. We changed the name to tornado cookies because when she introduced them to me we were hiding out in her house surrounded by life threatening tornadoes (but decided chowing down on these cookies wouldn't be such a bad way to go). 

I later changed the name again because I added sea salt to the mix and decided it needed an introduction of it's own. 

I took these cookies to bunco and nearly everyone asked where I bought them. (Cause we all know I can't bake a cookie this awesome. Seriously they are that good!) A few people less familiar with my baking asked for the recipe. If I can bake a cookie that praiseworthy, you know you should try this recipe. Like now. 

P.S. In addition to the sea salt, I also changed the chocolate chips to chunks but purely because I think they are cuter. The less discriminating bakers may choose to not hurt the chips' feelings. 

That's what he said v.2

B is saying hilarious things all the time and I went to write them in his book and couldn't remember them for the life of me. :( I need to get better at recording them as they happen so you'll probably see more posts like these in the future. 

His speech continues to grow and he's starting to speak more around people other than mommy and daddy. When he does, people always comment on how clear you can understand him. The boys a chatter box. 

Yesterday: 

Me: What do you want for breakfast?

B: pancakes. I looooove pancakes. Yum yum yum yum yum. Bite! Oh yuuuummmm. So good! 

Earlier this week:

B to me as I was brushing my teeth: You're doing good!!

And to Dakota: Where are your eyes?? (Points to them.) There they are. Good boy!! 

When he gets in his playhouse: Beckett's home!! 

When I change his diaper: 'Good job!' Or 'Thank you!' (Seriously how sweet is that??) 

He's in love with basketball lately. If we are in the basement: 'We need to shoot!'

If we are outside: 'I need a ball out here!' 

If he sees the neighbors playing: 'Me shoot pwease!' 

If the neighbors garage doors are open he bends down with his hands on his knees and looks inside and starts shouting their name. He typically assigns one name per a family so all the girls in one house on our street are 'ko-ee' (Chloe). He also knows most of the nearby animals by name and if they are barking he will say their name and tell them shhhh!

A loud motorcycle drove by and he covered his ears and said 'say sorry!' 

When playing his jungle puzzle: 

me: What is this? 

B: cow moo moo

Me: No that's a zebra. Bray. (Then pointing to the lion) What is this? 

B: lion. Lion says rooaaaarrrrrr. 

Me: You're right. Lion does say roar. (Then pointing to monkey) What does monkey say?

B: (who has a monkey lovey that he sleeps with) Monkey say nigh night!

And he didn't say much but last night R and I were dancing in the living room. B grabbed a large wooden block and hugged it in his arms and started swaying with it. It apparently wasn't a good dancer because he finally gave it a dirty look and threw it down then started crawling between me and R and trying to push R away from me. I asked him if he wanted to dance and he smiled real big and reached his arms up to me and said 'dance dance dance.' Melt my heart. :) 

RAK #22

Last week's RAK was to feed someone.

How did you do??   

This week's random act:

RAK#22: Do something nice for the dad(s) in your life.

It's Father's Day weekend so let's do something nice for the dads in our lives. I was going to eat a bowl of cereal this morning but realized it was the last of the box and that's R's favorite part so I saved it for him. Does that count. ;) 

Where are some ideas you have for this week's? Hopefully you have some better ideas than me this week. :)

Please join us (you can either catch up or just start where we are)! Check out this post for more info.

Happy RAKing!

365 wk22

28- All of this summer's house projects have a budget of $0. Good thing we have a lot of paint on hand! The faux dip paint method is a fast, easy and cheap way to update the 'blah.'

29- B's 'Papa tractor' came to see him. We've had a lot of visitors that come during nap time lately. :)

30- 'Coffee' date. Only no coffee for B and I.

31- B's idea of helping in the kitchen.

1- Outdoor movie night was a little chilly. We'll have to have a redo in the near future.

2- B used his good looks to get all the strawberries that were ready out of the neighbors' garden.

3- Do the zoo!

RAK #21

Last week's RAK was to babysit for someone. I asked several people if I could babysit for them and no one has taken me up on it yet. I promise I'm a pretty good babysitter if you need someone to watch your kids. :) For real. Bring them by!!

How did you do??   

This week's random act:

RAK#20: Feed someone.

Recently we had overspent our food budget for the week and we were out of fruit. We eat a lot of fruit and being out of it early in the week with no food budget left for a few days was a major bummer. My MIL (who had no idea we were out of fruit and have overspent our food budget for the week) brought us a bunch of fresh fruit. It was so awesome and just what we needed. Obviously we weren't starving and we would have survived the week without fresh fruit but it was just such a blessing at the time. This week's RAK is to bless someone with some groceries. In the past, we've gotten a shopping list through church and filled a bag that the church then donates to a food pantry. I was thinking about how I needed to get online and get that shopping list so I could share it with you for this week's RAK and wouldn't you know it..... guess what we got at church this week..... a grocery bag with a shopping list. :) 
So this week, fill up a shopping bag with food and feed someone who could use the groceries. It doesn't have to be someone living in poverty for it to be a blessing to them. I'm sure there are people down the street you live on that could be blessed by a bag of groceries this week. If you have a specific family in mind, consider packing a bag of groceries you know they'd love. 
If you are packing for a random family, here's the grocery list of suggested non-perishable items: 2 cans of meat (chicken or tuna), 1 jar of peanut butter, 1 box or bag of rice, pasta, or ramen noodles, 2 cans of fruit, 1 box of cereal, 2 cans of vegetables, 2 boxes of mac n cheese, 1 box of saltines, 1 personal hygiene product (shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste/brush, toilet paper).
If you don't know of someone to drop it off with, take it to your local food pantry or find an apartment building and just drop it by the front door. Leave a note for them letting you know it's for them (you can write this is for you, YES YOU! if it's for a stranger).
I'm sure someone will love finding this blessing this week!

Where are some ideas you have for this week's?

Please join us (you can either catch up or just start where we are)! Check out this post for more info.

Happy RAKing!

Better than Pinterest

Okay. Get off of Pinterest and go check out Say Mmm right now. Seriously, go. Sign up for a free meal planner and drag the Say Mmm Clipper to your bookmarks bar. Then go find the website for one of those tasty recipes you have pinned on Pinterest and 'clip' it with the Say Mmmm Clipper. (Or go to this recipe for grilled chicken & pineapple quesadillas... it's a current fave at our house.) Not only does this 'pin' your recipes to your meal planner but it automatically reads the recipe and gives you a shopping list for the ingredients in it. You can edit the shopping list too so if jalapenos aren't your thing you can take them off the list. Then you can 'clip' 30 more recipes and your meal planning and grocery lists are made for the month. How cool is that??

*Nobody paid me to write this post. I just thought Say Mmm looked really cool and wanted to share. If you want to pay me in the form of a meal you clip though, I guess I wouldn't say no. ;)