Dominik's House of Joy

Thursday, May 22, 2014

When Your Child Encourages You!

Today my oldest( 9 years old) presented me with this certificate on the ride home from school. It had been a rough day, yet this instantly made it better. Like any other mushy mom, my eyes filled with tears and it felt so nice to be thought about and appreciated, especially from one of the least expected sources, my child. Normally I'm giving them tokens of encouragement weekly and this week, they surprised me. What an AWESOME gift of encouragement!!!

Ice Cream & Smiles

Today we visited Yo Mama Frozen Yogurt for the first time and the kids had a blast. You pick and fix your own and they have a large variety of toppings to choose from. The kids tried to put as many different toppings as they could fit. I was thanked with hugs and smiles!!!

Be sure to check them out this summer!

http://www.yomamagoodness.com/

Monday, May 19, 2014

Red box Movie Night

Tonight's Movie Monday consist of a Redbox movie (Baby Geniuses) at the McWilliams Family Theater. A total Dollar Tree kind of night.
~It's not about what you don't have, it's about how you use what you do!
Time trumps money any day in my household...

My boys are always ready for Movie Night!

Welcome to the McWilliams Family Theater!

Nachos & Popcorn

Candy Anyone?

Thirsty?

Pizza & Pretzels

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Awesome Deals!!!

http://www.getmyperks.com/deal/milwaukee

Special Unexpected Moments

As often as I can, I look for sweet, memorable, or unexpected things I can do for my kids. I feel like I shine as a parent when I make the everyday things special - these moments fill me up as much as they do for my boys.

So, here are a few ideas I have up my sleeve that I know will both surprise and delight my two boys. They are easy, frugal, and don’t require much more than my time. There are going to be lots of smiles around here!

1. Give their bedrooms the hotel treatment.

While your kids are outside playing, taking a bath, or otherwise occupied, sneak into their bedrooms and fancy them up a bit. Make the bed and put a candy on the pillow. Set out a vase of fresh flowers or a new magazine. Maybe you could even offer room service for dessert!

2. Bring something surprising to the dinner table.

The kids are expecting noodles and veggies and you bring a tray of ice cream sundae fixings – how’s that for delightful? Other fun and unexpected dinners could be smoothies and popcorn, a cold cereal bar, or chocolate fondue.

3. Make an I Love You poster.

Make a big poster of all the things you love about your child and hang it on his bedroom door or above her bed. You could continue adding to it week after week, too. What a sweet thing to read each day!

4. Celebrate a crazy holiday.

You could make-up your own holiday or choose one of the many unusual holidays that already exist. For example, August 31 is National Trail Mix Day and September 9 is Teddy Bear Day. Make a snack, do a craft, or play a game that goes with the holiday. (For more unique holidays, check out the lists at About.com’s Family Crafts.)

5. Play a game with breakfast.

Set-up a favorite board or card game at night so it’s ready to greet your child first thing in the morning. Play, visit, and enjoy your toast with a game.

6. Go all out for story time.

Yes, usually bedtime stories are a time for snuggling and winding down. Make an exception and show-up for story time in costume! Don’t forget to do all the characters’ voices and special sound effects, too. I know my boys would really love it if my husband and I performed a story together. We’ll call it Bedtime Theater!

7. Weekly Special Notes.

You can get very creative with this one and it can serve as encouragement for your children as well. Visit my post in Encouragement.Praise.Kindness for more visual examples.

What ideas can you add to this list? Do you have time to plan a simple surprise for your kids this week?

Random Acts of Kindness

This year in February, I was blessed to see 29. I decided that I would use my Birthday to be a blessing to others! My boys & I did 29 Random Acts of Kindness to celebrate my special day. I created cards so that when people stumble upon the act, they would know it was meant Just for them! It was pure awesomeness seeing the smiles on people's faces.This will be our family's new birthday tradition. We had a blast, Hope you enjoy!!!

1st Random Act of Kindness-Sons made police officers a picture & we took them donuts & a thank you card.

2nd Random Act of Kindness-Let the boys hide/leave one dollar for someone to find in Dollar Tree.

3rd Random Act of Kindness-Let the boys leave a dollar in our local bookstore for someone to find.

4th Random Act of Kindness-The boys made the Firemen a picture & we took them cookies & a Thank you card. The boys were too excited to see the inside of the station.

5th Random Act of Kindness- Left quarters on candy machines. My sons are always asking for one, so thought this was cool.

6th Random Act of Kindness-Left Quarter on Plush bear grab machine.

7th Random Act of Kindness-Left popcorn on 3 Random Redbox machines.

8th Random Act of Kindness- Laundry on us today:)

9th Random Act of Kindness-Cheer someone up with a flat tire. ~Air on Us Today:)

10th Random Act of Kindness-Gave a Transit Worker a gift card & a Thank you card. The boys love the city bus!

#11-Left some pampers & wipes in a restroom for an awesome parent!

#12-Gave a gift to a checkout clerk. The note on the candle says "Hope your day doesn't stink." She loved it!!!

#13. Taped an encouraging note to the mirror in the ladies fitting room. ~Really love this one because I dislike trying on clothes!

#14. Left two dollars in the Dollar section in Target.

#15-Left this Encouraging note on the scale in a local gym.

#16-Left a gift card & encouraging note on the car window of someone's car.

#17-Left money on soda machine
~Soda on us today:)

#18-Gave cookies & a Thank you card to the workers of a local McDonald's. They work so hard & are so unappreciated...This was one of my favorites!

#19-Gave a basket of items to the Humane Society

#20-Gave men at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission Blessing bags.
They were so appreciative!

#21-Left coloring books & crayons in the waiting room at the hospital.

#22.Left money in random places in Walmart.

#23-Left notes like this all over the city:)

#24-Left quarters on the ride & shop machine at Walmart.

#25-Doubled our waitress tip and bought her a gift. Since our family LOVES movie nights, we bought her a movie, popcorn, candy, soda and a throw blanket.

#27-Left quarters on the snack machine and on the game machines at the bowling alley.

#28-A Thank you card for our mail person.

#29-A gift card for the Awesome employee at the bowling alley. She cried & couldn't believe that I was giving to her on my birthday. She is sweet & such a hard worker!