making our R.A.C.K. truly RANDOM!!!!

bless me readers for I have slacked.  it's been 8 months since my last blog....


wow!  so, many people have asked  us about "RACK'ing" this year.  what we're doing... give us an update.... 


weeeellllll...... hmm.... my little A.D.D. brain is running all over the place.... how to explain....


1.  this has been a different kind of year.... I became "unemployed"... so we're learning to live on less.
2.  my step-dad is terminally ill, which consumes emotions, mental strength, and time.
3.  adjusting to being "at home" has been more challenging than I expected.  I LOVE it, but I really have to focus to get stuff done!!


with everything going on... I didn't plan our 24 days of RACK's.  and that brings me to point 7.2b on my list of crazy things going thru my head!    PLANNING our RANDOM Acts of Kindness seems.... THE OPPOSITE OF RANDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  so what are we teaching our kids???  only do kind deeds when the envelope mom made tells you to????????  as my children get older, I want them to really learn to observe the world around them!  LOOK for ways to be kind and helpful!  I personally feel this is a major weakness of our culture.  we all "mind our own business" to the point of being OBLIVIOUS of those in need around us!  and "NEED" can be so much more than food, money, shelter.... the person in the cubical next to you may need a smile.... the lady at the check out may need a kind word... even the smallest gestures can mean so much!!!


so this December, the gonsers have been purposing to seek out people and organizations to help.


*  gave hats & gloves to a friend who posted she was collecting them for 5 women
*  donated a huge box of men's dress clothes/suits to a local church
*  gave a pair of shoes to a friends son who's having a growth spurt (we know how that goes!)
*  gave my kitchenaid stand mixer to my sister-in-law
*  gave our RACK jar of change/money to the Jimtown HS Band
*  made a toys for tots donation
*  we are giving away another RACK jar


and I'm sure we've been kind in other ways as well!


but, enough suspense... you really want to know about our EPIC experience!!!  here goes!!


sometimes, when a plan falls together so perfectly, you know that you know that you know, it HAD to be God!  that's what happened to mike and I this week.  ....  Tuesday, we received an email at our furniture design business.  mike was out of town... I read the email....

Good Morning,

I have an antique solid wood teachers desk I am looking to sell. I bought it with the intent to re-purpose it into a kitchen cart. I began stripping some of the white paint off of the drawers and it has set since. I am a single mother and home owner and with the Holidays here my septic backing up into my house has created reason to sell. As much as I dont want to part with it I have seen your work and wanted to see if you would be interested in purchasing?

I made an initial response.  the end. 


not really!  


a couple emails later.... I had a plan.  somewhere along the line I let mike in on my plan :)


and... I got my dad & mom in on it....


and here's what happened...


I made an appointment to go look at the desk this evening at 6:00
this morning I texted the customer to "randomly" ask her if her septic had been taken care of...
she let me know she'd called Middlebury Septic and they were coming out this afternoon...  she was especially thankful they were allowing her 30 days to pay.
I called middlebury septic (we use them for our rentals) and explained that my dad and I wanted to pay for the job they were doing that afternoon in Bristol. 
6:00 this evening... mike and I (with kids loaded in the truck) go to "buy" the desk.
a very sweet young mom greeted us and showed us the desk.
mike asked about the plans she'd had for repurposing the desk.
as stated in her initial email, we could tell she was sad to sell it, but needed to do what was necessary.
mike asked if her septic had been pumped.
she replied "I don't know... I just got home from work... but I hope it did!!"
and then mike says:
      "every December, our family likes to look for people who could use a Random Act of Christmas Kindness.  so today, we took care of your septic bill.  it's paid and you don't have to worry about that"
now... I WISH we had this on video... because it was awesome.  the look of SHOCK and APPRECIATION was priceless!!!  she was almost speechless.  she thanked us and was just so utterly grateful! 
then mike goes on:
       "and here's what we'd like to do with your desk... we would like to buy it.  but we aren't going to take it.  we want you to keep it.  finish your plans for it and enjoy it"


AND AT THIS POINT I AM FULL ON BAWLING!!!  this lady.... all 5'2" of her.... is looking up at mike... then over to me.... and she says "you can't do that!  you've already done so much!" 


and mike tells her:
       "yes we can!  it's what we do.  we just ask that you pay the kindness forward!  show someone else love and kindness and have a blessed Christmas"  .... that's paraphrased because of the snot... and tears... and blubbering!!! 


that was honestly, the most amazing experience ever!  it was awesome to meet a young single mom... who works... owned her own home.... who had a need, but instead of whining and begging, SET OUT TO CREATE A SOLUTION!  even if it meant selling something she really wanted to keep!!  and her pure grateful spirit.... was beautiful!!


about 15 minutes after leaving, still on a rush from the experience, we received a text:


I don't know how I could ever thank you in words to describe the way I am feeling.  you are all such wonderful people and I appreciate this blessing more then you will ever know.  thank you so much!
I'm still in shock!  I came into the house crying and my 1 year old looking at me like I was crazy.  miracles for Baby Jesus's birthday :) merry Christmas!




and THAT my friends... is how Jesus wants us to celebrate His birthday!!!  and every day!

the truth about brittin

as brittin has gotten older, i've found that half the battle is admitting she has special needs.  "special needs".... that so ridiculously PC.   today is brittin's annual IEP... Individualized Education Plan.   basically, it's where mike & i sit down with all her teachers, therapists, and para-pro... and listen to what she can't do and how far off track she is.   it's a great time.  i'm starting to become numb to them really.  

as i was psyching myself up for this... and having a particularly rough few days with britt...  i thought, it's time for a REAL blog about brittin.  one that may sound harsh.... but when i stop to think HOW MANY PEOPLE I KNOW with "special needs" children, i'm hoping this blog will let them know, they aren't alone with their REAL thoughts and feelings.

**************WARNING****************** THIS BLOG WILL BE FREE OF TECHNICAL JARGON RELATED TO BRITTIN'S CONDITION AND WILL BE MY REAL FEELINGS.

BRITTIN DOESN'T "FIT IN" 

.... this is probably the HARDEST for me to accept.  personally, my life revolves around "fitting in".   and to watch my daughter... NOT fit in... may be more difficult for me than it is for her.  

she's too "average" to be placed in Special Needs programs, and she's too "slow" when trying to function in an average class.   there's no "some where in the middle" program!!!   and really, this applies socially as well.  average children are nice to her,  but don't understand her... and she doesn't understand children with more intense special needs. 


BRITTIN STARES because her processing time is really delayed.  and on top of that, she doesn't understand facial expressions.  those issues together equal some awkward moments with strangers!   we've only had a couple of truly RUDE people say something about the staring... but it's just awkward.  and don't ask about "teaching" or "training" her not to... we've tried.  that's like training your average child not to speak.  

BRITTIN "LOOKS NORMAL", WHICH ALMOST MAKES IT WORSE... if brittin is sitting, not moving or talking, you would NEVER know anything is different.  even when you strike up your first conversation with britt, you probably won't notice right away.

BRITTIN HAS NO CONCEPT OF TIME... seriously, NO.  CONCEPT.  OF.  TIME.  she may tell you "we went to Disney World last night" but we really went last year.  or she may tell you "I'm going to see my grandma today" but it could really be next week!  

or if she knows we're going to do something that is exciting to her, she will ask EVERY 10 MINUTES IF IT'S TIME YET!!!!!  really... not kidding.  i try to NEVER tell her she's going to Aunt Traci's, or to a friends until it's time to put the coat on!  i made the mistake of telling her about the Daddy/Daughter Dance 10 days before it happened. BIG.  HUGE.  MISTAKE. every morning when she woke up "am i going to the daddy/daughter dance today??"

BRITTIN DOESN'T UNDERSTAND VOICE INFLECTION... you know that "sassy tone" that your child uses when they are so mad at you???  hear it in your head ... "yes MoM!"  OH... it's sooo annoying!  well, brittin does NOT understand how to NOT do it.  we've tried.  i'm not sure if she doesn't hear it... or can't stop...  

she also doesn't understand when we use a different tone of voice.  

BRITTIN DOESN'T UNDERSTAND SARCASM OR HUMOR ... everything brittin does or says is literal.  really literal.  it's almost like living with Amelia Bedelia.    brittin doesn't even like when we laugh... and we don't know why.  

BRITTIN NEEDS STRUCTURE AND CHANGE IS HER ARCH NEMESIS... it's like Amelia Bedelia and Rainman... with a splash of Monk.  and if you know ME... my idea of a routine is "wake up in the morning, go to bed at night, and do some stuff in the middle".  britt needs to know the hour by hour plan, it needs to be the same every day.  she knows "school days" "stay home day" aka Saturday, and "church day".... school breaks, snow days, vacations, throw her outta whack!  we spend the first three weeks of summer vacation just reassuring her she WILL go back to school in August... which of course means NOTHING to her.  

BRITTIN DOES NOT SHARE... what a touchy subject.  our society is all SHARE SHARE SHARE!!!  i think we train our kids that way so when 20% of their paycheck is missing later, we can just say "you're sharing!!"  anyway... BRITTIN DOES NOT SHARE.  if it's hers, it's hers.  if it's yours, she'd really like to borrow it, but will gladly return it to it's original place when she's ready.  if you attempt to borrow something of hers, be ready for a  FULL.  ON.  FREAK.  OUT.  i mean FULL ON!  i wanted to borrow her heart scarf on valentine's day.  it went something like this:

me - "brittin, i would like to borrow your scarf.  is that ok?"

brittin-  "yes.  are you going to give it back?"

me- "yes.  after work."

brittin "ok.  are you going to give it back.  give it back.  give it back.  that's my scarf"

the next 15 minutes were spent attempting a "scarf trade", unsuccessfully... getting in the car... driving to the sitter... getting into the sitters house... and it sounded like "THAT'S MY SCARF.  I HATE SCHOOL.  I FEEL SICK.  I NEED TO STAY HOME.  I HATE DOGS. THAT'S MY SCARF.  FIRE FIRE, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE".  

and lexi, brady, jared, and i just listened... i'm pretty sure there was snot... and tears... oh, and the throwing of an egg sandwich all over my car.  

ALL BECAUSE I BORROWED A SCARF.

now... you're probably asking yourself, "did she give the scarf back??"  NO.  did i do the right thing??   i have NO IDEA.  but she made it through the day.  i gave the scarf back as promised when i got home.  i don't plan on borrowing it again any time soon! 


BRITTIN HAS NO CONCEPT OF NUMBERS OR MONEY ... money means nothing.  she has walked into walmart with $5 and wanted to buy a lawn mower.  the other day, when her brother and sister loaded the cart with stuff they wanted, brittin was totally satisfied with the EOS Lip Balm she found.  it didn't matter to her that they were each spending $40+... and she had a $3 item.  she was happy!  i know this is going to be both a blessing and a curse throughout her life.  

BRITTIN DOESN'T UNDERSTAND TRUTH VS. LIE ... it's difficult to say "lie".   to me, "lie" means you are intentionally deceiving someone.  i don't think brittin is a malicious liar, she just can't seem to understand the difference between TRUTH and NOT TRUTH.  some of my very favorites are "today is my mom's birthday!!"; "my mom has cancer and the doctor says i have to stay away from her"; "my mom and i like to go to the movies to watch spiderman!".       wow... they all involve me :\

BRITTIN HAS NO SENSE OF DIRECTION... which is why, after THREE YEARS at our church, brittin still can't leave her seat, go to the bathroom, and come back to her seat.  not.  gonna.  happen.  she WILL get lost... or sidetracked by a squirrel.  she can't cross the street to play with a friend.  she can't use the restroom at a restaurant.  she really can't even go downstairs and make it to brady's room.  

WHY ***********  WHY ************  WHY**********

so WHY is brittin like this???  well, i didn't want this to be a technical mumbo jumbo blog, so the answer is this:

she has a brain birth defect that keeps the 2 sides of her brain from communicating with each other.  and on top of that, she has brain damage from a stroke.

so there... that's basically the tip of the iceberg.  when people wonder WHY i want to quit my job... its so i can be with her.  there's sooooo much more to Brittin than meets the eye.

in less than an hour, i'll head to her school... listen to all the things she can't do... and then i'll come back here and make a list of things she CAN.  :)

ReInVintaged Designs is Selling .... Chalk Country Paint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

check out the BEFORE and AFTER on this French Provincial Night Stand!!!

"Our Haley's Rose"

******************************************************************

"Kermit's Green"

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"Teal Ocean"

*************************************************************************

"Clementine"

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Mike and I are so excited to be offering Chalk Country Paint for sale in our booth at Hart City Resale in Elkhart, IN!!!  

ReInVintaged Designs

2301 S. Nappanee St.

Elkhart,  IN  46516

574-322-1538

www.facebook.com/ReInVintagedDesigns

Quarts- $32 (including tax)

8 oz jars- $12 (including tax)

* NO fumes!!  You can paint a project in your house!

* Easy to Apply

*  Easy to Distress

* 1 Quart paints more than you can imagine!! (2 dressers + a night stand!!!)

*  Add water to create a wash

Don't get new furniture, give a face lift to the furniture you have!!!

Clearly, I'm trying to sell paint, but I also want to save people money!!  When I look at the cost of NEW furniture, it takes my breath away!  And the majority of the time, the quality is appalling!  If you're tired of your furniture, give it an ECONOMICAL Face lift!  You won't believe what a can of Chalk Country Paint can do!!

another Underwear story?!?!?!?

maybe you read my first underwear story:  30 pairs of underwear...  if not, to sum it up:  everyone in my family needs a Bunch of underwear to relieve the LAUNDRY PRESSURE i feel!

well, i'm the worst offender of this rule.  and it drives my husband batty that i won't just go out and buy some underwear!  for some reason, i hate spending money on that... tho underwear are seemingly a necessity... i don't know what's wrong with me!

so for Christmas, my loving thoughtful husband put a pack of underwear in my stocking!!  :)
thanks babe!!

a couple of thoughts on my new underwear:

1.  hipsters... thats a good style.  very practical.

2.  my husband flatters me... they're about a size too small.  they will fit perfectly after i hit the gym!! 

now...  here's where its about to get REAL UP IN HERE!  you may want to stop reading now...

i am SERIOUSLY behind on laundry.  so here's my thought process this morning:

oh no!  i don't have clean underwear!!!
what am i gonna do?!?!
ugh, i guess i could wear one of brittin's again.

STOP!  if you know me, you're thinking... "but Brittin's 9!?!?"  ok, well, the last time i bought HER underwear, i bought them a size too big... so she's not wearing them yet, and if i breathe just right and twist to the left, they stretch right out!!!

i really don't want to wear britt's underwear!!
WAIT!!!  mike got me NEW underwear!!!!
i don't care that i haven't washed them yet!!  i am going to wear them!!

so i go... grab the pack... open it up... take out the first pair.
my immediate thought:

hmm.... these seem a bit big... and don't look like hipsters... but honestly, they DO look comfortable... a bit like "granny panties"... oh well.

then i look at the tag!  yeah, they look a bit big because they're a 3X!!!  and NOT hipsters!! 
don't think for a second i didnt contemplate trying them on!!  it actually did run through my little head! 

so this is the picture i sent mike this morning! 

 the REAL underwear on the LEFT, mystery underwear on the RIGHT!!!

we got a good laugh!!  and i hope you did too!  after all, what's a good underwear story among friends... and the entire Internet?!?!?

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!!

confessions of a REAL mom

pinterest has us all JACKED.

confessions of a REAL mom:

1.  i don't like going on field trips with my children.

2.  i did not cry when any of them went to kindergarten.

3.  by the beginning of august, i yearn for school to start.

4.  i have cleaned the spaghetti stained high chair in the bathtub.

5.  i've had the kids have "sprinkler time" because i didn't want to clean them all up after spaghetti.

6.  i buy food i like and hide it.

7.  i buy frozen yogurt i like and they hate so i have a sliver of a chance of getting some.

8.  when my children tap on me to get my attention, i want to karate chop them.

9.  sometimes, i hide from my children.  they always find me.

10.  when my son had a gecko, i think i liked it as much as he did.

11.  places like Chuck E Cheese or McDonald's Play Place give me anxiety.  they are dirty and loud.

12.  i found a stray oatmeal cream pie in the pantry and hid it until i could sneak it to my room without the kids hearing the crinkle sound of the wrapper.  then i hid and ate it.

13.  i told one of my kids that candy was "vitamins" so they wouldn't want any of my candy.

14.  i think school cafeterias smell funny and avoid them at all costs.

15.  when my car is super gross and dirty, i just blame the kids.

Christmas Movie Themed Party

i'm not going to make this blog all fluffy and pretty.  lets skip to the nitty gritty.

 

my friend karrie and i hosted the church Christmas Party this year.  we thought it would be fun to have a theme and went with Christmas Movies.  "Lights, Camera, Christmas".  so of course we jump on pinterest and there were lots of ideas for "Elf" parties... but not all different parties... so we sorta started from scratch.

 

what we knew:

 

we'd be having 9 tables to accommodate our guests

we wanted to play 3 games

we would give 3 door prizes

we wanted the food and decor to go right in with the theme

 

what we did:

 

after much googling, we

 

picked 9 Christmas Movies to base the party around:

1.  Charlie Brown Christmas

2.  Elf

3.  The Santa Clause

4.  A Christmas Carol

5.  A Christmas Story

6.  Christmas Vacation

7.  White Christmas

8.  It's a Wonderful Life

9.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas

 

games we played:

 

Christmas Movie Character Mingle Bingo

this was incredibly chaotic.  we needed a game that required people to mix and mingle.  we assigned everyone a (semi)famous Christmas Movie Character at the beginning of the night.  we had bingo cards.  they had to find the characters to get a bingo by walking around and asking who people were.

 

Christmas Movie Quotes

played as a table (rather than individually).  we gave a list of movie quotes i compiled with the help of google...

easy and fun

 

Name that Christmas Character

this game got changed a jillion times.  originally, i thought it would be fun to have a "fashion show" with people dressed as characters.  but that was too complicated. 

then i created a Power Point with 15 famous characters...

only to realize, we didn't have the necessary equipment in the cafeteria.

soooo... thankfully Karrie took the 15 power point pics and printed them on 1 sheet of paper and numbered them 1-15... each table got one... and a paper to fill in Character and Movie.

i think this was the funnest game.  yes, funnest IS a word!!

 

Decor

we wanted to room to resemble the explosion of paper chains and snowflakes in Elf.  turns out, our husbands have limited patience for hanging said chains and snowflakes.  still, i think it turned out nicely :)

 



 



Centerpieces

i wanted each table to be decorated like one movie and have iconic items from that movie.  of course i procrastinated on shopping, so my vision was complete.

 

anyway... first i found the Movie Posters for each of the nine movies... printed them and framed them in cheap dollar store frames.

 

i alsoo picked one famous quote from each movie and made little... stick things.  you'll see...

 

 

 i tried to use different food from "elf"

 

 

 

try finding a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree when you want it.  i thought i was going to go nuts chasing one down.  when all was said and done, like 4 people came to me and said "i have one you could've borrowed!"  ugh.  now i have my own!!

 

for the "Christmas Vacation" table, we did a "jelly of the month" centerpiece.  guests also took jars home with them :)

if you've seen "White Christmas" i took this idea from the train scene when they are singing about snow.

 the quote i used for "It's a Wonderful Life" was about the bells... and getting wings... so i used bells for the centerpiece.  could've been better... next time :)

 OMGosh.... this table drove me NUTS!  i have a cute standard Christmas centerpiece there... and i WANTED to put my husbands novalty rifle lighter in it!!!  but we couldn't find it!!!  nor could we find one to buy!!  but this great movie has plenty of iconic items to choose from:  leg lamp, red rider bb gun, bunny pj's... i should've bought a few ornaments to stick in there.  ugh.

 at the Grinch table, our friend created a little dog pulling the sled replica from the movie.  GREAT JOB TRACY!!

yeah, i couldn't pull this one together at all...

  
or this one...

 

  Jelly of the Month Club Cupcakes

yellow cake.  strawberry jelly filling.  for half of them, i baked the jelly right in.  for the other half, my fabulous hubby did the cone cut out, fill with jelly, put cut out cake back, then frost.  buttercream frosting dyed pink (and some left white)

 Grinchy Cupcakes

Chocolate cake, green buttercream frosting, and a serious lack of planning on my part!  the eyes should be yellow not orange.  and i should have done these first.  by the time i did these, i was SO OVER IT!! 

 

 

 

 Swirly Twirly Gum Drop Cupcakes                              White Christmas Cupcakes
white cake dyed,  swirly buttercream frosting.               white wrappers, white cake, white
gum drop on top.                                                             buttercream frosting, white edible glitter.

Candy Cane Forest Cupcakes... white cake mix, crushed candy canes baked in and sprinkled on top of the buttercream frosting.

 

 

background music

karrie and her great hubby downloaded music from each of the movies, and that was played in the background :)

 

 

so that's pretty much it.  dinner was catered, so that was just regular.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 



i'm so excited i could burst!

sometimes i'm just in shock at how everything falls into place!!

yesterday, i sat at my desk and typed up three simple sentences.  and then i stared... all day... unable to find the right closing phrase.  i didn't want to say sincerely or yours truly and especially not respectfully yours.  so at the end of the day, i shut down my computer, didn't save the letter, and prayed i could write it the next day.

WHAT DID THAT LETTER SAY?

that letter was written to the management of the store where mike & i have our ReInVintaged Designs booth.  it was the letter ending our booth rental.

MAN DID GOD KEEP ME FROM MAKING A BIG MISTAKE!!!

we have been struggling for months, trying to make the right decision on what direction to take our little business.  we knew something had to change.  but i could see no solutions!  i swear i was giving myself an ulcer thinking about it!  every single "solution" came with it's own set of issues.  it was like a circle of domino's! 

so i sat at my desk this morning.  sorta thinking about that letter again... basically avoiding it.  i strongly dislike ANY confrontation or unpleasantries!  and then i got an email.  it said "Exciting Changes Coming to Hart City!" and was from someone i didn't know...

and so i read it.  and my jaw dropped a bit.  Hart City Super Center has a new owner!!!  and there will be changes!!!
*  friendly staff
*  taking credit/debit
*  offering affordable delivery
*  clean facilities
*  new marketing
*  an On-Line Store!!!
*  and i can do WORKSHOPS!!!!

i am still in shock!!! i have been putting nearly 0 effort into my little business over the past several months because i've been downright depressed not knowing what to do!!  i prayed God would give me a solution.  i never fathomed this solution, but it literally IS THE BEST!!!

so once again, i have to say, God always has a plan!!  it may not be what we envision.  it may not be in our time frame.  but he ALWAYS knows best!

i am so thankful and excited to get NEW PIECES in the booth and completely Re-Decorate our space!!! 

now, i have to try to contain my excitement and go Ring Bells for the Salvation Army!!!

laurie