It’s a Good Day

On September 11, 2014May 14, 2018 By JillIn Mommy Musings, Uncategorized, What's Going On?6 Comments

“Well, I’d say it was a good day then,” text messaged Allison to me after I told her that a Kohls employee decided to take my expired Kohls cash.

Yes, my life is pretty mundane that I’m texting with my friends about Kohls cash…but the point of this post is her message to me…

IT WAS A GOOD DAY

I kept looking at her message and re reading the words to me (Forewarning you friends – I obsess and re read your messages over and over…kidding)

But then and there, feeling the kindness of a sweet employee who decided to give me a break, it was a good day.

Never mind the 23 other things that weren’t so perfect that week…all of a sudden it was a good day because I got to save ten dollars! Woo hoo! I need to start jumping up for joy from now on with the little wins in life!

It’s called the power of positive thinking, right!

It’s amazing how you can turn your whole mood around with the smallest things….

First day for Arianna picture

Mostly everyone saw this on FB, but a second view of these cuties won’t kill ya!
Yesterday, I picked my little one, Arianna, from her very first day of school and she had the biggest smile on her face…she said she had a great day, and that’s all I needed to hear. That smile took me through the night…( never mind that we asked her what she learned and she said “to sit down.” )

This admission of what she learned causing a slight pondering, thinking of the check we just payed to their school…oh and my older one said that she played in the park….yikes, I could do that with a bunch of kids, and it’s free…

Just joking – I have a lot of friends who read my blog and we send our tots to the same school…we love it there! But, it does make you think…

Kids are funny- they have such selective memories (kind of like men, well, most men, not those anal, obsessive, neat freak types that clean their houses while their wives get to relax…boy are those women lucky! I once met a woman who told me her husband had adult ADHD, and he couldn’t sit still so he would organize drawers, sweep the garage, alphabetize the spice rack, that sort of a thing – could you imagine! Can I rent one of those husbands once in a while?

One can dream right?

Back to the topic at hand – The point of this post was to relish the little things that go right in the day…some people are naturally more positive and optimistic, while some are more brooding and pessimistic – I tend to fall in the latter category, but I am ready to treasure my little wins!

In fact, I am currently writing this in absolute peace and quiet – while Gia is at school and Arianna is napping! Win! I should be cleaning or putting clothes away… But, the peace was too glorious to pass up…and I haven’t posted in a while…

IN FACT, my rank has plummeted on Top Mommy Blogs …. I’ve just been so darn busy with kids’s school and activities starting up…So might as well click!
Please click on the banner – every click ( which just takes you to the top mommy blog site) counts as a vote for me! You can vote once a day! Thank you so much, I truly appreciate you taking the second to click for me!

Child safety and personalized belongings

On September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 By JillIn Child Safety, Guest bloggers, Mommy Musings, Uncategorized3 Comments

By Brenda

Last week there was a human interest story in the newspaper featuring a mom who packs her children’s lunch and believes that parents should “take time to educate their kids on nutrition and pack healthy, appealing lunches daily.”

The article sited all the wonderful things the mom does to teach her elementary school children healthy eating habits. She mentioned how little it costs to pack a healthy lunch (a quarter lb. of cut up home-grilled chicken breast 47cents a half cup, five carrot sticks 16 cents, a cheese stick 33 cents, banana 43 cents and so on).

She’s clearly an awesome involved parent, is Vice President of her child’s Parent Teacher Organization, and classroom volunteer. Further down in the article, a picture was shown of their beautiful custom-designed lunch boxes and matching backpacks… and I cringed!

“AAHH what was she thinking?! ” Her children’s names were beautifully embroidered across the tops of the oh-so cute matching backpacks. Obviously, she doesn’t know that her children’s names are a powerful tool for child predators!

Please, for the safety of your children do not personalize any of their belongings on the outside ( any stranger can see their name and call the child by first name, thus confusing a child into believing someone knows them.)

Unfortunately, this includes getting rid of those cute license plates with their names on it for their bicycles. So, yes, let’s teach our precious kiddos the importance of keeping their bodies healthy on the inside but remember to do all you can to help keep them safe on the outside too!

Please continue to click this banner for me! You can click once a day.

Girly becoming Womanly

On August 29, 2014August 30, 2014 By JillIn Guest bloggers, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hi all!

So, I mentioned that I was going to have guest bloggers coming to this blog.

Thank goodness I named this blog thegirlyreports.com. I hadn’t realized back then that we would be having some new women on board. I suppose I should change it to the womanly reports but …eh…I’ll just keep it because really it’s just a name…

So, let me introduce you to a guest blogger. Her name is Brenda and she is a mom of two boys, ages 19 and 26. She resides on the Gulf Coast of Florida. A former Jersey Girl who fled the Garden State because of ridiculous property taxes, pollution, political corruption, and the ever-popular auto insurance rates.

She says, “It wasn’t easy making the big decision to leave our Victorian-style dream home on a beautiful piece of lakefront property, my BIG wonderful family, lifelong friends and Favorite pizza joint to move to Florida but it turned out to be the best decision we ever made!”

She pursued a career in teaching but ending up on a slightly different track. She founded LET’S B SAFE, her mission to create a safer world, one child at a time.

She wrote a book entitled Let’s B Safe

A read-together book for school or home.
Addresses some of the most common child lures.
Teaches rules that every child must KNOW & FOLLOW!
Bumblebee character guides and praises children.
Fun-to-read…not scary.
Rhymes make the rules easy-to-remember.
Fully illustrated. Multi-cultural.
Includes a Parent/Teacher Review Guide.
Includes a Certificate of Achievement.
Helps busy parents get two things done at once…daily reading with your child & a safety lesson!

LET’S B SAFE combines Brenda’s passion for child safety with her desire to promote literacy. She works with schools to create innovative child safety and literacy programs, provides Parent/Teacher Workshops, corporate “Lunch & Learn” seminars and classroom-based programs for children.

She is the past chairperson for the New Jersey State Special Commission on Child Abuse & Missing Children in Passaic Cty., and has appeared on the cover of BUSINESS NEWS NJ as a 40 Under 40 Award Winner.

As a child safety advocate, Brenda is the founder of the K.O.P.S. (Kids on Patrol for Safety) FOUNDATION, a 501(c)3 non-profit for at-risk youth ages 8-13. She is proud to have worked to help pass legislation designed to protect children from predators including: Joan’s Law signed by former NJ Governor Whitman and The Child Predator Protection Act signed by former President Clinton.

Brenda has a Masters Degree in Education with ESOL, Reading and ESE K-12 Certifications along with 14 years experience as a child safety specialist and advocate for children. She is also a Guardian ad Litem for children in fostercare.

So that’s her! Looking forward to her thoughts on life…check out her site at http://www.letsbsafe.com.