11 Participate in a school event

Back during parent teacher conferences were being held, there was a signup sheet for helping out with various events throughout the year in the classroom. I signed up to help with the Christmas party.

It turns out, I was the only one that volunteered... So I ended up being the class parent for the day and orchestrated several games and activities for all the children to do.

To be honest, when his teacher called me to confirm that I would be able to help out with things, I almost chickened out and said I wasn't able to get off of work. But, I'm proud to say that I didn't chicken out and did the party for them. I do admit I was scared out of my mind to stand infront of 25 children and expect them to listen to me.

Our activities were to decorate a Christmas tree (one of those foam ones from Michaels) with foam ornaments. It could have been a lot messier if we had added in glue and glitter, but that didn't happen! They seemed to enjoy it and were all very creative!

The second activity was to play Bingo. We played Bingo several times. The first game was a black out (where they have to cover the entire board). We did 4 corners and a game of regular Bingo too.

After those activities, I was able to read them "The Night Before Christmas" by Jan Brett. Nathanial thought it was funny that I said "He turned his head with a jerk."

It was super fun to host his holiday party! I may have to make it a yearly occasion to help out there. :)

25 Go to a concert

I went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the GIANT Center in Hershey on November 13, 2010 at 8:00p. In one word, it was AMAZING! This was truly an experience of a lifetime! I was fortunate enough to bring my mother-in-law and have box seating too!

8 Get together with an old friend

Today I got together with an old friend! It was so awesome to see her and her son again. I first met Nichole when we were living in Virginia in 2003! A couple years ago, life took us different places. She moved to Washington (state) and then onto Texas, and we moved back to Pennsylvania. With Nichole moving back to the east coast, we were finally able to get together again.

A full weekend together almost feels like we've not missed a minute together! The kiddos got together swimmingly and it was great to have someone to spend the weekend with.

Nichole and I took our boys to Hersheypark on Saturday. They had so much fun despite the chilliness of the weather. We were all exhausted by the end of the night.

It was so great to see Nichole again and hope to be able to do it more frequently now that she's living only a couple hours away again!

29 Build something from wood

Earlier this year, I found Ana White (formerly Knockoff Wood) and fell in love with the idea of building the piece called "Puzzle Bookcase {Crate and Barrel}" I knew right then that it would be perfect for Nathanial's bedroom - not as a bookshelf but as an entertainment center.

In his room, he has a loft bed. His only complaint about the bed is that he can't watch television from it without leaning off the side and looking down over the rails. Valid complaint, it would drive me bonkers too!

Anyway, as I was saying... this piece would be perfect for his bedroom putting his television on the top cubbie of the shelf.

The materials for the shelf were purchased back in June. However with mom getting sick, then getting sick myself the project was put on hold several times delaying the process of actually finishing the thing. It is finally done, albeit nearly the middle of October but done none the less.

It's even better than I had envisioned. The cubbies were adjusted by increasing them 6 inches in length to accomodate the television. On it, Nathanial now has room for a heck of a lot of legos (his 'Lego City') which we didn't have nearly enough room for before. The bottom cubbie is just high enough for the two benches that are used when he has friends over - making it easier for them all to play the Wii which has also been brought up into his room.

The best part about this is, my mom and I made this whole bookshelf together! It was awesome to spend some quality time with her. Spending the time together was amazing. She truly is an awesome and talented person.

#4 Donate my hair to a cause

I'm not sure I was ready to have it all taken off, but it's over with now. 10 inches to Locks of Love. It was a lot more hair than I thought it was going to be. Leaves me with barely nothing left, but it's for such a good cause. Afterall, it'll grow back soon.

Locks of Love uses 6-10 braids to make one hairpiece. They'll need a lot more hair than what I could provide, but every little bit helps! My hair is so fine it looks like such a minimal donation. Trust me, it looked like a lot more hair on my head than in the little braids that are being sent in!

Before:


Donation:


After:

#13 Go Para-sailing

Para-sailing was so amazing!  I shared this experience with Nathanial.  We both enjoyed ourselves immensely.  It's unbelievable how quiet it is 1000 feet above the Atlantic.  The view was breathtaking.  I scored some major cool mom points for this!

#28 Donate in a blood drive

Today I donated blood at work. It kind of hurt and made me a bit nauseous but it was a good experience all around. I have A positive blood and I'm a super slow bleeder. This time though, I was able to fill the bag completely in the allotted time.

It also gave me the opportunity to explain to Nathanial what donating blood is about and why it should be done.  One donation can save up to 3 people's lives.  One such donation in 2003, saved Nathanial's life.  In 2003, we learned that Andy has the rarest blood type of AB Rh negative.  While they couldn't use his blood for Nathanial's transfusion, I'm positive that it went to good use to help save someone's life.