Thrilled to to finally tell my story about abandoning my career as I knew it to get well after a health scare. Here it is on Wit & Delight. Look for more from me there, as I am now a regular contributor!
The Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young + WE Day
This post was sponsored by The Allstate Foundation. All opinions are mine.
This week, my 14-year-old son Aidan and I had the opportunity to attend WE Day MN, on behalf of The Allstate Foundation, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. This event and the WE movement inspires youth to engage in social good and real change. I had heard of WE Day MN from buzz in years past but had no idea the extent or mission of the WE organization. I was so impressed with their clear mission and values of inclusion and social justice.
Aidan and I with our group and actress Allyson Stoner! We were served a delicious breakfast by our hosts and got a backstage tour during our visit, which Aidan especially loved.
Important takeaways and facts from the big day:
The Allstate Foundation’s Good Starts Young initiative aims to inspire the next generation of leaders and history makers to reach their full potential, serve causes greater than themselves and make the world a better place.
The Allstate Foundation is the Title Sponsor of WE Day MN, enabling thousands of local youth to participate in WE Day to feel inspired to make good change in the world.
In 2017, more than 5.2 million youth have participated in programs sponsored by The Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young initiative, including WE programs like WE Day and WE Schools.
WE and The Allstate Foundation teamed up to create WE Volunteer Now, a campaign that enables youth to join with their peers and others in their community to address social issues by planning and leading volunteer projects.
WE is a non-profit organization that offers programs to broaden students’ understanding of social issues and help them learn how to take action.
The big stage and all the celebrities and storytellers from WE Day MN 2017.
I think some organizations of this size and scope have great overarching messages of "do good" but the WE organization and The Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young initiative have done a brilliant job of honing in and focusing on specific social issues that really align with my personal values. It was a refreshing and much needed change of pace to see people of all abilities, ethnicities, sexual identities, et al on stage telling their very personal stories. Aidan and I shared over and over through looks and words how special the individual stories were to each of us.
What really struck me after the event has been how long the impression and perspective the whole day gave us and how many times we’ve referred to it in our family conversations since that day. It gave us the perspective we really needed as we head into the holiday season and new year. We all need to focus more thoroughly on radical inclusion and ensuring all around us in our community have enough and feel loved and cared for. The saying that “we all do better when we all do better” was ever-present throughout the day and having so many people come together with such a huge and concerted effort made a lasting and powerful impression on Aidan and I, and thousands of others, who no doubt brought the messages from the day with them into their daily lives. Phenomenal.
Feeling inspired? Learn how to impact change with sponsored programs by The Allstate
Foundation Good Starts Young, including WE Volunteer Now.
This post was sponsored by The Allstate Foundation. All opinions are mine
Back to School with Scotch BrAND
Fair warning: there's a truth explosion inbound. This idea came to be because I was tired of the sound of my own voice. Every parent has been there, asking, then telling, their child for the eleventh time, to put their shoes on. I would love to tell you that it came to me another way—in an ultra-organized Mom epiphany—but nope. I was just tired of the sound of my own voice. It makes me laugh when I think of it now, since I always thought I had a pretty nice voice.
To make it a little better in the short term, I made a quick list below the clock on the wall in our kitchen, near where we eat breakfast everyday. It was on the back of a homework sheet, scribbled in marker: 8:00 - Eat breakfast. 8:15 - Go upstairs and get dressed. (Check weather.) 8:30 - Get your shoes and jacket on. 8:45 - Head out to the bus. Then, when I actually got them out the door to school, thought about it a little more. I realized this idea would be even better for my younger son (and therefore more helpful for me!) if it were represented on an actual clock so it lowered the barrier of learning with a visual tool.
In this moment, the clock assistant was born. I drew a clock on the sheet that looked like the one on the wall and added the times on my list to match the hands on the clock. Many friends have told me they've adopted this tip to much success, which makes me so happy, and I was thrilled when Scotch™ wanted to use my idea for their annual Back To School campaign to help families through the transition and encourage independence.
Use one or more clock assistant worksheet [click through for a FREE PRINTABLE] below any clock in your home to help promote independence and get out the door easily and peacefully.
Gather your Scotch™ Precision Ultra Edge Titanium Scissors and print a few of the free printable we made for you, or customize your own.
Use Scotch® Expressions Washi Tape for hands on clock and as a colorful visual indicator for each child in their favorite color and Scotch® Wall-Safe Tape or Scotch™ Double-Sided Tape to hang up wherever you need a little help encouraging your kids to be ready.
I use one in the kids' bedrooms and two in the kitchen area — one for each kiddo, made in their favorite color. Check out the Scotch website for more ideas from myself and some ideas for the younger set from Faux Martha!
If you're looking to save some time and nourish yourself in the meantime, check out the family-friendly recipe I developed for Double Stuff Fried Rice.
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