Junk in the Trunk: Part 2

Another set of pictures of our ridiculous car-load-fulls of garage sale bargains! The past three weeks have been insane garage saling...my aunt was here from Boston, and she and her son LOVE to garage sale, but there aren't really garage sales in their area, only church rummage sales.  So, yes, another two people to add to our caravan! Plus, my other aunt is on her summer break from her in-home daycare, so she has been out with us on the lookout for new toys for the kids!  Here's a peek at what our cars look like after a full day of bargain hunting...no joke!

Trunk #1:  This day they actually went without me...only because I had been having a lot of contractions and needed to lay down at home.  But no worries, they called me about the bargains and they picked up some cute stuff for my baby girl, as always!

Trunk #2: This was the day we all went out together...I think there were about 12 of us!  Needless to say, with that many people scoping out the bargains for our houses, kids, daycares, etc., we fill up cars pretty quickly! And this one is a Suburban!  That's a LOT of stuff!

"Trunk" #3:  I ran out of room in the "trunk" of our van pretty quickly this day.  So here's a picture of my son Sam, in the midst of all of the bargains piling up in the front of the van.  He is wearing his Batman outfit (from a garage sale) and playing with a broken piece of cardboard tube, his "sword". We are quite the frugal family! Haha....





Stay tuned for more junk in the trunk updates.......as you read this post, we will be out at the sales filling up our cars.  And this time we will be joined by Laura, who just found out she's having a baby girl...I have a feeling you will see a lot of pink in the next round of pictures!

Dinner: A Love Story

I heard about this blog recently from my aunt Kathy. She knows I’ve been looking for good blogs to read, and she knows how much I love food, so this is a perfect match! If you haven’t visited this blog yet, I highly recommend it (www.dinneralovestory.com) .  I’m sure a lot of you have heard of it…in fact, the author of the blog has recently published her first book, with the same title (Dinner:  A Love Story).  I haven’t made it to the book store to buy it yet, but I will be soon hopefully!

The idea behind this blog is simple:  the blog-author, Jenny, has attempted to make dinner with the family easier.   Yes, easier.  As she says, sometimes we want to “surrender the flag” and admit that making dinner every night and getting our family members around the table to share it together is just an impossible task.  But no! She helps us by sharing easy recipes, reminding us the importance of keeping a food diary, and much, much more.  She even has a recipe index right at the top of the blog—easy access to easy dinners! What more could we ask for?

I know there are a lot of food blogs out there, but I highly recommend this one. The stress she places on family dinners is something that is unfortunately being lost in today’s world…don’t let your family be one of the lost ones!  Keep eating dinner together!  I also can’t wait to get her book and read it, as well.  Make sure to check out this great blog and let me know what you think of it! 

Also, what are some blogs (food or otherwise) that you would recommend? We need to get a list going to share!

Luckier Than Most

On Saturdays we look for the good in people.  Well, this Saturday there’s only one thing I could tell you about, and that is how lucky I am to have the people that I have in my life.

Yesterday I took a turn for the worse (yet again) in my pregnancy.  I had severe pain in my legs and my back was killing me, so I made an appointment with the chiropractor. I dropped my boys off at my grandma’s house, where everyone had congregated after a day of garage saling (my aunts, cousin, and all the kids).  I went to the appointment, came back and laid down for a bit.  Unfortunately, I only started to feel worse.

A few hours later, the contractions had gotten closer together, and then all of the sudden I spiked a fever of nearly 103 degrees. We called the doctor’s answering service, and when my doctor called me back, he said I had to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I was not a happy camper.  This would be my third trip to the hospital this pregnancy, and the thought of going again and getting sent home again just made me cry.

And so, the whirlwind of my helpers had begun yet again.  My aunt Jeannie, “aunt Barb”, aunt Kathy (who’s visiting from Boston…lucky her!) and Grandma Shirl took care of my kids all afternoon, and then when it was time to head to the hospital, my cousin Elyse was there within minutes to meet me, Matt, and Kathy.  They hooked me up to the monitors, checked me for the usual complications, and yet again everything came back negative.  And of course my temperature was back to completely normal by the time we got there.  Only the leg pain remained, and they had not a single suggestion for that.

So, around 10:30 last night, we headed home.  My dad had come to relieve everyone else, taking my kids to his house (where my mom also happens to be sick…what a mess!).  Matt headed straight to bed, because he works at 1:30 am on Saturdays.  My aunt Kathy stayed with me, helped me get to bed, and then my aunt Jeannie came for the overnight shift to make sure I was ok during the night.  She was there when I woke up, made me some toast (and even cut it the way I like it…maybe she can teach Matt a thing or two!), and when she headed off to church this morning, Elyse was there to replace her.  Elyse stayed all morning with me, helped me get up and get ready, and drove me over to my grandma’s house so that I could be with my boys.  And yet another day today of everyone helping us…as I write this, at 9:30 tonight, they are all just now getting back from taking Sam for a good walk down by the river, and I will now be heading home to get the boys to sleep.

How many people can say they are this lucky?  To have a literal army of helpers, family members, who love them and are willing to show up at a moment’s notice to take care of your every need.  I hope that I never take for granted what I have in my life.

The Party House

When we first called the realtor and came to walk through our house, it was in foreclosure.  Every wall was covered in beer (and other) stains, there was not a single interior door left in the house, and every room was painted a ridiculously bright color.  As we guessed, and was later confirmed, it had been quite the party house for Ambrose students (only a few blocks away).  Long story short, by the time we moved in nearly a year later, there was no evidence left of the "party house" days.  However...

A very special wedding reception at our house.

...as we brought more and more of our family members to see our new home for the first time, the consensus was:  "every event will now be held at Sara and Matt's house!".  This scared Matt a little bit (our family is big, and very close...I'm sure he was picturing our door hanging open with random family members walking in and out at all hours of the day).  But for me, it was exciting...I love being the hostess, and the truth is we didn't get to host too many things at our first house because we lived the farthest away from everyone.

And so, very quickly, our house returned to its "party house" status.  Definitely not the same kind of parties (I can count on one hand the number of times we have even had alcoholic beverages in our house at all), but still parties...and some great ones, if you ask me!  Not only have we had birthdays and family get-togethers...we have hosted three baby showers, a cook-off, two Super Bowl parties, a Mafia-themed New Year's Eve party, and even a wedding reception!  Every single one of the parties has been a blast, and I look forward to so many more!

Blue and Brown Owl-Themed Baby Shower!

Our Mafia/Casino New Year's Eve Party!

So why post about this today?  Because today is a special day.  My grandma Shirl, one of the best people in the whole entire world, is 80 years old today.  And you guessed it...we are hosting the party at our house.  My mom and my aunts will be invading the house to clean and decorate, and Laura (or Chef Laura, as you all know her) will be here to set things up and help us look fancier than we actually are!  And to make it even better, it's technically a surprise party!  I mean, she knows that we (the family) are having dinner at my house, but she doesn't know that a lot of special people are coming to celebrate her 80 years.  I'm so excited!  I know it will be yet another great time with our favorite people, our family and our friends, and my grandma deserves a celebration more than anyone we all know!  (And for those of you who don't know, I can't write this post without mentioning that it is also my mom's birthday, too! Such a special day for our family!)

Happy birthday to my mom and happy 80th to my grandma Shirl!

Summer Challenge!

Who doesn't love a good challenge, right? :) It's a proven fact that people achieve their goals, challenges, etc. much faster and more efficiently if they are working towards the goal with a friend, or two friends, or lots of friends. And so today I'm posing a challenge to all of you, but it's actually coming from my own goals. As I've mentioned before, I grew up in this community, but I feel like I could really get out there and do more to be involved and to be more familiar with our city and the surrounding area.

Here's the deal...I am challenging myself to do 10 things this summer (AKA before my baby arrives!) that will get me and my family more acquainted with our lovely hometown. My challenge to you is to do the same--not necessarily the same 10 things, but I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone, to pay more attention to the people in your daily life, and to grow to love your community!

Sara's Summer Challenge:

1. Get to know my neighbors. Do any of you have neighbors that you've never even talked to? We do, too. We have lived in our house for two years now, and we've only gotten together with our neighbors once. This should change! I'm challenging myself to invite some of them over for dinner...at least one time before the summer is up!

2. Visit the library. Now, this is something my boys and I already do, but I know we could do it more, and I really want them to love their library (remember the great post from my Aunt Kathy about loving your library?!). I'm challenging us to go to story time, check out some more books, and see what else the local libraries have to offer this summer.

3. Go to some new parks. I say "some" instead of a number, because I know this will be an easy challenge for us. My boys love the park--any park. A while back, a friend posted on the Quad City Moms Blog about some of our great local parks (www.quadcitymomsblog.com), and there were a couple on the list that we haven't visited. Those will be our first priority! Who doesn't love a good afternoon at the park? With or without kids, our local parks are something we really should not take for granted.

4. Buy local. If you know me, you know where I shop: Wal-Mart. And that's about it. Sad to say, but the main reason I do that is because it's easier--one stop shopping, as they say. However, in the summer when I'm not working, I'm really going to try and put some of my money into our local economy. The Farmer's Market, for example, is a great opportunity to see some of the wonderful local vendors and to support them in their endeavors. Small business owning is one of the hardest jobs on earth, and we as customers should keep that in mind! We have been to the market a couple times this summer, and I'd also like to find time to visit some of our local shops, bakeries, etc.

5. Eat out. This is something that Matt and I rarely do, and I'm actually OK with that. But, at the same time, I feel like we are so out of the loop about our town. When people are visiting and they ask us for suggestions for dinner, we only have a couple good answers, because we only go to the same couple places every time we get out of the house! I hope that this summer we can find the time to visit a couple restaurants that we haven't visited before...it's a great way to see a new side of the community, to interact with people, and of course to eat good food!

6. Go to church. It seems like so many people miss out on church during the summer months. It's a busy time for families, and we aren't in as much of a routine as we are during the "school year" (even if we aren't in school it seems!). I will admit to this myself, too. But my challenge to myself is to change that...my boys love going to Sabbath School, and it's my job to get them there. And it's another good way to keep connected with people in our community as well.

7. Visit some tourist sites. This is a good challenge to give ourselves, because we don't often visit the tourist sites in our own towns, for obvious reasons. But why not check them out? By doing so, we can teach our little ones about their home town, and most likely learn a little bit ourselves, too. And again, going to these places and supporting them financially only adds to our communities.

8. Pay it forward. After buying local and visiting some parks and tourist sites, I really want to focus on passing the word along and sharing our experiences with others. Obviously, my way of doing that is this blog! But if you are doing this challenge with me, just share with your friends when you talk to them...tell them the places you've been, why you liked them, etc. You just never know how much business you might be sending to a small business owner in your area, and they would really appreciate that!

9. Make the blog more interactive. Again, if you don't have a blog, this probably doesn't pertain to you. (Although you could make yourself a challenge to start a blog!) Anyhow...I'd really like to start hearing more feedback from all of the great people who have been reading this blog. I'd like to do some surveys, some interactive posts with your comments, etc. So if you are reading this today...post a comment! Either on here or on our facebook page (search for "The Good" on Facebook). Hearing from all of you is the most rewarding part of doing this blog...plus we are forming our own little community here at "The Good", and I think it's a great community to be a part of!

10. Take a different route. I'm ending with a super easy challenge, to make us feel like we really can accomplish all of this! :) This last challenge is to take a different route--to work, to church, to the grocery store. Instead of taking the same streets you always take, force yourself to make a couple turns, to "take the scenic route" (even if it's not even that scenic!) I want to do this challenge for a couple reasons...the first, is obviously related to the community. It's amazing how many parts of our own city we have never seen...I've learned that through garage-saling! :) Another reason I want to "take a different route" is that I've read it can really help our brains and strengthen them against dementia, Alzheimer's, etc. Always taking the same route and following the same routine can make us unaware of our surroundings, which brings me to the last reason I want to do challenge #10...it's scary to even think of, but we hear those stories about moms (or dads) who drive to work and forget that their kids are in the backseat. When you hear the story, you think "how could anyone ever do that?" But I am the first to admit, there was one day this year when I had my boys in the back seat and instead of turning on the road to my aunt's daycare, I kept right on driving towards work. I made it about 5 or 6 minutes down the road before I realized, and when I did, I was scared to death. Not to end the challenge on a bad note, but let's just start taking a different route, keeping our brains active! :)

Think you can complete your own list of summer challenges? Make them to fit your life. Maybe you are already involved in your community, and you feel the need to focus on a different area of your life. I'm sure I could make 100 lists of challenges and still need to do more! But for now I'm starting with this, and so for our Friday "look for the good in your community", take the time to make a list of things you could do in your own corner of the world, and challenge yourself to complete it! And please...keep me posted on your progress! You know I will be updating you on mine!

Happy Friday!

Why We Love Kohl's

I realize that Bargain Thursdays have become mostly about garage sales...not a surprise!  However, when the garage-sale season is over and the weather gets cold, you can find all of us crazy bargain-hunters at one place:  Kohl's!
If you don't shop at Kohl's...let me be the first to tell you that you should!  As someone who doesn't do a lot of retail shopping, I really hate going to the mall.  It's so expensive, and let's face it...a lot of the employees are just flat-out rude.  The coupons always have exceptions, and if you try to do a return at some of those places, it's literally like pulling teeth.  No thank you!
This is not the case at Kohl's.  Not only do they have great sale prices, but you can also use your coupons on top of the sale price!  Now that's more like it!  If you have a Kohl's card (which I don't...but I have plenty of connections!), you receive 15-30% off coupons in the mail frequently. And on top of all of that, the best part--Kohl's cash!  Basically, if you go and spend money in their store, they give you money back to come and spend some more!  And lots of it!  Whenever they offer Kohl's cash, you can find all of us running to the store...it's such a good deal, we can't miss out.
And to me, one of the greatest thing about Kohl's is their return policy.  They never give you any trouble, there are no deadlines, and sometimes we have even taken in our receipt and told them that we didn't realize that Kohl's cash started the next day, and they've given it to us anyway!  That's what I call Customer Service!

My last trip to Kohl's was last week, with my best friend Laura.  We spent a ridiculous amount of time looking around the baby section...since we are both having babies before the year ends! Plus, I had a gift card from my baby shower, which makes shopping even more fun!  Laura had a coupon, and when we got up to the register, it turns out the coupon didn't start until the next day.  But, the cashier said not to worry, she would give her the discount anyway!  (Plus, Laura had debated getting an item that was on sale for $25...when the girl scanned it, turns out it was on clearance for only $8!)  We had such a great time that night, and I guarantee we wouldn't have gotten as much stuff at any other store around here for those prices.

So, that's why we love Kohl's.  We always have a good time, and the savings can't be beat! It's my favorite go-to place for birthdays, Christmas, baby gifts, etc.  If you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should!

The Raley Girls.

Because today is Mother’s Day, I am obviously dedicating this post to my mom, Patti.  But I would also like to acknowledge some other very important women in my life, all whom have loved me and cared for me throughout my entire life.  Let’s call them “the Raley girls”…

The Raley girls (AKA my grandma, my mom, and my four aunts)
with my cousin Elyse on her wedding day

My Grandma Shirl:  Where to begin?  She is my namesake (we both have the middle name Hope), she has always been one of my favorite people in the whole world, and she has been a shining example in our family of what it means to be a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a friend, and most importantly, a Godly woman.  She is the closest thing that I know to a saint…always taking care of us, all three generations of our family, and always with a positive attitude about it.  I could go on for days, but let’s just leave it at this:  I have the best grandma in the entire world.

Joan: As the oldest of the Raley daughters, Joan has always been a loving presence in my life.  Some of my fondest memories as a child are running up and down the hallways of the Quad City airport (where you can no longer run, it’s so sad!), waiting for our Aunt Joanie to arrive, all the way from California!  She was always so happy to see us, and we were always so sad to see her go back!

Becky: My aunt Becky loved to take my cousin Elyse and I out shopping when we were little girls, because she never had a daughter of her own (she has two boys).  We loved going with Aunt Becky!  And we still do! She’s always good for a laugh, and she has the sweetest, sweetest heart.

Jean:  My aunt Jeannie is the closest thing I have to a “second mom”.  Nearly all of my childhood memories include Jeannie, and I would not be the person I am today without her in my life.  She is such a positive influence on all of the children in our family, and there is not another daycare in the world where I would rather have my children while I’m at work.  I cannot imagine my life without my aunt Jeannie in it!

“Patti” (AKA my mom!):  The reason I said that Jean was almost like a second mom to me is because I really didn’t need a second mom!  I had the best mom (and still do).  My childhood was filled with happy days—reading stacks of my favorite books(Chicken Soup with Rice, Come to the Doctor Harry, Over in the Meadow…), watching our favorite movies (the Sound of Music, Pollyanna, the Swiss Family Robinson…), and going to our favorite places (Wild Cat Den, Scott County Park…).  My mom didn’t work until I went to school, and I am so thankful for all of those days with her—and all of the days since then, too!  She has helped me become the woman I am today, the mother I am today, the friend I am today, the wife I am today…she is always here for me, always loves me, and every day when I see her loving on my children, I am reminded of how truly lucky I am to have her as my mom. My boys are so lucky to have her as a grandma!  And the very best part about my mom?  She’s all mine! (I’m an only child!)

Kathy: If you read last Friday’s post, you already know that my aunt Kathy and I are “soulmates”.  When I was only 12 years old, I flew across the country by myself to spend a week with her, and then it became tradition.  Soon my cousin Elyse joined me, and those were some of the best times of our young lives.  Kathy was always the “cool, fun aunt” because she didn’t have kids of her own (yet) and she let us do whatever we wanted!  She is still the cool, fun aunt, and we love heading to the airport to wait for her and her son Bruno to arrive for a visit!

And there you have it…my grandma Shirl raised five beautiful, loving daughters, and I am lucky enough to call one of them my mother.  I thank God for putting me in a family with such strong women to look up to, and I pray that my daughter will learn as much from them as I did.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and anyone else who has the incredibly hard, yet incredibly satisfying, job of raising children in this life!

*And a special Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law, Debbie.  Thank you for raising the wonderful, wonderful man that I am lucky enough to call my husband.  He is loving, fun, respectful, and all of the things that his mama taught him!  My children are so lucky to have "Dede" in their lives....we all are!

One Proud Niece.

My Aunt Kathy and I have always been two peas in a pod.  In fact, we jokingly call each other "soul mates".  One of our shared passions has always been writing, and to be honest, I couldn't be more proud of what she accomplished last week.  She recently entered a contest at her local library--write an essay about "Why I Love My Library".  When she emailed me a copy of her essay, I made the mistake of reading it in my classroom while my students were taking an exam.  Needless to say, they saw me shed a few tears (I'm sure they blamed it on the pregnancy hormones!).  The essay is WONDERFUL--a beautiful testament to the importance of a local library, and to the beauty of the journey we mothers are on with our children.  Please enjoy her essay...

     There I was in between the stacks of book at the library, directly in front of the section on pregnancy, fighting the nausea as I started my journey down a new road called motherhood.  Little did I realize how often that road would lead me to the library.  I had visited this wonderful old building infrequently before this new experience began, but now it was going to become a familiar friend that I looked forward to seeing often.

       When my little boy was about five months old, we discovered the joys of story hour with Miss Kelly each Friday.  It became a special part of our week.  He loved the other children, the stories, the songs and especially the librarian.   Eventually he would outgrow this story hour and find the courage to attend a new story hour by himself, as I looked in through the glass, wishing time hadn’t gone by so quickly, but happy that the library could keep up with his growth.  In addition to the weekly story hour, there was the happy occasion once a month of donning  night clothes and choosing the special stuffed animal that had the privilege to attend pajama story hour, featuring not only books and songs, but juice and cookies, so much better than the ones at home.  This was another opportunity to see his favorite librarian, Miss Kelly and later on, the equally loved, Miss Jean.  It was a sad day when we realized he was too old for any of the story hours, but fortunately he had not outgrown the children’s department.

     There were lots of other wonderful programs that he could participate in and we took full advantage of the opportunities offered such as puppet shows, magic shows, animal presentations, bingo games with prizes, duct tape workshops, lego fun, weekly learning activities, monthly featured authors  and many others.  Every time there was a signup sheet, most likely our names were on it!  It wasn’t just the programs that attracted us to the library either, some days it was just the warm, inviting atmosphere.  A peaceful stroll among the quiet of the books (but not too quiet, it is the children’s department after all), finding old favorites, discovering new favorites, realizing we have read all the titles offered in a much loved section, playing a game on the computer, searching the movie section for a treat to watch at home;  all components of a happy morning especially when it was gloomy outside. 

     And then the happiest library day of all, when my son could write his own name and receive his treasured library card, almost like having his own key to the building.  It was a proud moment for not only us, but all the Facebook fans, one of the few times that I posted on my page, but it was worthy of the merit.  He worried whether he would have to pay his own fines or if I would do that for him, but so far his record is clean. 

     We have found our place not just in the children’s department, but in every nook and cranny it seems, like the shelf where he found the “library’s biggest book” which had to go home with us.From the time as a toddler when he pushed the emergency button in the elevator to the present time when he marches up the stairs to the Simoni room, we have enjoyed exploring the other areas in this beautiful old building.  Often he is the youngest attendee at the programs, sometimes by a span of sixty or seventy years if you overlook his parents, but he enjoys them still.  This is where he watched “Born Free,” where he sat enthralled as he listened to Michael Tougias tell of the tankers that ran aground, where he learned how to help the world one penguin at a time and this is where  history came alive for him with Beth Goldman.  This is where we have shared so many enlightening hours together.

     This is where we have travelled another road together, our homeschooling journey.  Where else would we be able to bring home stacks of books for free?  Or pay a little at the book sale, still a bargain even when you each fill up a box of your own?  How else could we have afforded all the field trips to the zoos and museums, if not for the library passes?  Where could we find all the information we need on a topic and personalized help if we can’t find it, along with advice and resources to broaden our quest?   There’s one place that fulfills all this and adds so much to our learning experience, our very own  library, complete with our helpful librarians.

     There are a few library moments I steal for myself now and then, a vegan cookbook, a good biography, even a movie sometimes, but mostly the focus is the journey with the boy.   Many nights I spend in the library after hours via my computer perusing all the books and resources available, carefully choosing the ones that interest us.  Then we excitedly wait for the email notification to pick them up, so we can hear a new story in the car on cd, listen in the house to the playaway, choose from the tall stack which book will be read at bedtime,  settle in on the couch to just look at pictures or decide if we have time to watch a movie tonight.

      The library is like a giant present that you love to open again and again, always finding something good inside.  This is why we like to spend time there, why it is one of my most visited websites, why I carry in my purse a duct tape wallet with a blue card inside it, why it feels like home.  This is why I love my library.

*Note:  Kathy won second place.  I would LOVE to hear the essay that beat this one.  Seriously, I would. It must be great!  Congratulations, Kath. We love you.


**Second Note:  For those of you living in the Quad Cities, please check out the website for Drew's Faithful Feet.  It is a 5k run/walk (plus activities for the kids!) being held in Geneseo this Saturday, May 12th.  The race is in memory of Drew Schaaf, who died accidentally at only 2 1/2 weeks old, and also Drew's younger brother Owen, who was stillborn.  If you are not busy this Saturday, please come out and support Drew's mom, Devon, in this beautiful tribute to her sons.  I will be there with my family!  (For more information, visit www.faithfulfeet.org) THIS is what community is all about!

Love Where You Live

I am a true Quad-Citian.  My parents were raised in Davenport, I was born in Davenport, I grew up in Davenport, and after 5 years away during college, I moved back (with my husband, who was also born and grew up in Davenport!).

However, I hate to admit this, but I feel like I’ve never really gotten to know Davenport.  I mean, yes, I have a lot of childhood memories in this town, and there are parts of the city that really have significance for me.  But we were never big on “community” activities…we rarely went to any concerts/events downtown, we didn’t join any city councils or go to any town hall meetings, and I rarely even watched the local news.

But……I am currently in the process of changing this! I promise!  And I have to give credit where credit is due.  A big factor in my community-awareness “awakening” has been the Quad City Moms Blog (www.quadcitymomsblog.com).  This wonderful group of local moms, founded (in part) by a friend of mine from high school (Miss Camye Halvorson), has grown to be quite an institution around these parts!  Shortly after starting the blog, Camye and her co-founder Erin asked me to join a group of 10 moms who would regularly be contributing writers to the blog.  As a life-long writer, and mommy of 2 little ones (at the time), I was glad to participate!  However, I didn’t know just how much I would enjoy this new adventure!

Writing for the Moms Blog has led me to meet an amazing group of moms, and the best part is that they all live right here in the Quad Cities!  (Even though I’m from here and a lot of our close friends live nearby, not many of them have children yet, so I was eager to meet some fellow mommies!)  I have immensely enjoyed being a part of what Camye and Erin have started in our community. 

We recently held our first Mama’s Market in downtown Davenport, an opportunity for local moms to promote and sell their hand-crafted and home-based businesses.  What a great opportunity for all of us entrepreneur mommies (you can check out my personalized baby blankies at www.justduckieblankies.blogspot.com , just thought I would throw that out there….), and we had an amazing turn out!  Such a great response from a great community!  Along with great events, the Moms Blog is a daily reminder for all of us moms, both locally and nationally, that we are all living a similar experience, and that there really is someone out there who knows what we are going through.  It’s so inspiring!

And so,I have now become more involved, and more interested, in my local community.  So interested, in fact, that one day a week we will be celebrating it in this “Look for the good in your community” section!  But no worries, if you are reading my blog and you do not live in the Quad Cities, I have not forgotten you!  I plan to do lots of research into finding the best activities for any community you may live in, and how to both enjoy and give back to the city in which you live. 

For example, next Friday’s post about community will be from a very special guest-blogger, my aunt Kathy, who lives in Massachusetts.  She will be sharing her piece on why she loves her local library, which is a great asset to any community (who doesn’t love the library?!).

In the meantime, what do you love most about your community, whether it be here in the Quad-Cities, your hometown, or a community you have lived in at another time in your life?  And what are your best tips to get involved and give back to the community?