More photos from our Washington, D.C. visit…

Here are a few shots from Washington, D.C. taken earlier this week (now you know why my blog has been so quiet).

]]> http://theunemployedmom.com/2012/05/09/wordless-wednesday-family-fun-in-washington/feed/ 3 http://theunemployedmom.com/2012/05/02/wordless-wednesday-4th-birthday-fun/ http://theunemployedmom.com/2012/05/02/wordless-wednesday-4th-birthday-fun/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 11:59:03 +0000 The Unemployed Mom http://theunemployedmom.com/?p=16063

To say my kid had a magical day is an understatement! Here are a few photos from the day!

Opening presents.

Shopping spree at Target!

He selected 2 awesome LEGO sets!

The Orlando Mounted Police must have heard it was his birthday, they brought the horses by to say hi!

Dining with Mickey at Garden Grill!

Visiting with Pluto.

Loving on the birthday boy!

Cutest birthday cake ever!

Wow, 4 years already?!?! So hard to believe. These past 4 years have been such a blessing, I cannot even remember what life was like before you!

Your first birthday, we had your one year check-up which left you with bandaids (from shots). Despite the doctor visit, you still had a wonderful day. You just didn’t really “get” the whole cake thing. You entertained us though so I was able to capture kodak moments!

Birthday #2 had SO MUCH cake since we celebrated your birthday in Orlando (character breakfast at Ohana, then a day of Disney magic)! A few days later, we jumped on a plane! Your Maw Maw had a very special Mickey birthday party with all your family and friends!

Birthday #3 we were so eager for you to say goodbye to the terrible two’s! We spent the day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and celebrated Dr. Seuss style! Afterwards, we tried to expand your palette with coconut cake (my absolute favorite…), but YOU decided that The Yum Yum Cupcake Truck still has the best cupcakes on the planet!

Tonight, we will celebrate Disney style! You just woke and opened some presents and NOW it’s time to go enjoy your special day!

Stay tuned for my Wordless Wednesday because it will be filled with birthday celebration photos!

The other day, my kid heard me call my dog “princess” and he quickly exclaimed “Bailey is a boy and NOT a princess mommy“. So that opened up the following discussion.

Me: “Bailey is a girl dog honey, so she IS my princess.”

Kid: “No mommy, she is a MudBud and NOT a RoseBud.” ..he’s referring to the adorable golden retriever puppies on the Buddies movies.

Me: “Sorry buddy, but Bailey IS a girl. Do you think her name is a boy name?”

Kid (hysterical at this point): “Yes, Bailey is a boy. She is MudBud mommy”.

At that moment, it all made sense about a recent shopping trip to PetSmart! I tried to grab Bailey a pink monkey toy and the kid INSISTED on a yellow one. He also wanted her to have a blue or orange bandana and NOT a purple one. Hmmm, I should have caught on then!

I told him it didn’t matter if she is a girl or a boy, it doesn’t change the fact that he loves her and vice versa. She loves playing ball, running with him, and rolling in dirt (I guess that’s why he thinks she’s MudBud).

His little heart was clearly hurting, he wouldn’t even say the words “Bailey is a girl” instead he sobbed. He exclaimed he wanted a boy dog and NOT a girl. I was going to tell him technically she’s an “IT” but figured that would be way too confusing.

A week later, he still asks “why is Bailey a girl dog mommy?“.

Sigh.

My dog is SO patient and loving, she allows my toddler to do things like this…

And this…

But he DOES stop to give her some love after all the torture!

These two have a VERY strong bond! At one time, I NEVER thought they’d be friends! Boy was I wrong!

A few weeks back, I shared my plans and involvement with the Champions for Kids Odwalla Game Day Challenge. My goal with this simple service project was to help local kids who may not have the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle by playing sports and enjoying nutritious juice. All children deserve the opportunity to get outside and be active, having financial worries shouldn’t be something they are burdened with. I wanted to locate an organization and/or community center that supports needy and homeless children, providing a safe and loving environment.

Without hesitation, Restore Hope Orlando, Inc., a non-profit, 501-c3, faith-based community center was identified. Their vision is to raise up a generation of people who are spiritually, physically, intellectually and emotionally equipped to use their God-given abilities to bring about a positive and permanent change in their families and community.

In addition, Restore Hope Orlando, Inc. also:

• Distributes family food boxes to those in need.
• Have after school, tutoring and mentoring programs that assists 65-75 kids per week.
• Provide daily meals for children of the community (serves an average of 70 children per week).
• Offer adult education programs to provide instruction with basic computer skills and life skills.
• Rehabilitate homes to provide much needed houses for those in need.

I hit the mother load my first weekend out yard saling! When I mentioned to sellers I would be donating sports equipment to Restore Hope Orlando, Inc. and some very deserving kids, the response was overwhelming. Suddenly, prices were slashed! A family had an enormous bag of lacrosse equipment and the price dropped from $20 to $3. Then, a youth softball coach had a 5-gallon bucket filled with softballs, bats, catcher equipment, helmet, etc and he charged me $5 for the entire stash. He then told me he felt bad charging me since the kids deserve to have fun and play sports (the big guy even wiped a tear!).

I also tweeted to my local friends asking for sports donations. Instead of letting equipment sit in a garage collecting dust, why not pass it along? I received some tweets about roller blades and ice skates, but I wasn’t sure those would be items the charity could use (but I was beyond grateful for the offer and all the retweets)! My son and I also decided to make a pile of equipment he no longer uses so we could donate items as well.

The consignment stores didn’t have as much as expected and their prices were steep. So, I stuck with the yard sale concepts and grabbed as many bargains as I could. In the end, we collected the following items for the wonderful kids at Restore Hope Orlando, Inc.

New items purchased from Walmart:

• Football
• Basketball
• 2 baseballs
• 1 softball
• Inflation needle
• An assortment of Odwalla juices

I have been beyond excited to deliver our goodies and meet the fine folks at Restore Orlando, Inc.! My son didn’t want to give up the Lacrosse gear, he is having way too much fun with it!

Our trunk as well as our hearts have been overflowing! Anytime we see sports items at a yard sale, my son will ask “are we going to donate these for the little girls and boys that need them“. Obviously, this mission has exceeded my expectations because not only are we helping others, but my little guy is learning about generosity. How many 3 year olds know what the word “donate” means?

Restore Orlando, Inc. is actually getting a generous renovation sponsored by Texas Roadhouse, and they have been out for a few weeks. As soon as my contact is back in touch this week, my son and I will be delivering everything we collected including Odwalla juices. We are also going to learn about their volunteer opportunities to see how we can get other local bloggers involved.

To learn more about Restore Hope Orlando, Inc., check out these YouTube videos. I also encourage you to get involved and visit Champions for Kids at the following links:

• Website: http://championsforkids.org/
• Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/#!/champions4kids
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChampionsForKids

* This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias; however, all opinions are my own. #OdwallaCFK #CBias

Today, I had to share photos from beautiful Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. I love this place.

Mark your calendars for the Odwalla Champions for Kids Twitter Party. The fun takes place tomorrow afternoon!

Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM EST

Hashtag: #OdwallaCFK

Prizes: (3) $25 Walmart gift cards & (1) $100 Walmart gift card. Make sure to RSVP here so you’re eligible for prizes and join the fun!

Also, see what I am doing for the Champions For Kids Odwalla Game Day Challenge. My trunk is loaded with sports equipment and Odwalla juices, I’ll be delivering all my goodies to Restore Orlando, Inc. Click here to read my post.

Red Gold to donate over 15,000 lbs. to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida in Conjunction with Billboard Unveiling!

Elwood, Indiana (April, 2012) – Red Gold Tomatoes unveiled the country’s largest tomato cans on a rare, oversized 3-D billboard in Orlando along I-4, 0.3 miles South of East-West Expressway. In conjunction with the large display, Red Gold will deliver over 15,000 pounds of tomatoes to Orlando’s regional food bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, on Wednesday, April 18, at 10:30 a.m.    

The tomato cans on the billboard are capable of holding the contents of more than 100,000 normal store cans, and enough tomatoes to make Red Gold Chili that could feed a full house at Shamu Stadium at SeaWorld for more than 30 shows. Red Gold has been producing premium quality tomato products since 1942 and is known for canning tomatoes that are harvested from their Indiana, Ohio and Michigan farm fields.

“We wanted to do something dramatic,” said Greg Metzger, director of marketing at Red Gold. “We thought that oversized tomatoes and vines were a great way to reinforce the big tomato taste of Red Gold Brand canned tomatoes. With this program, Red Gold is making a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.”

Minneapolis-based advertising firm Clarity Coverdale Fury, an expert in such spectacular billboards, created the sign. “The board itself took more than 9 weeks to construct,” said Rob Rankin, VP Director of Brand Development. “While this is not the first 3-D board in the country, it is relatively uncommon given the difficulty and time necessary to create such a display.”

In addition:

• There are 5 tomatoes: 5 feet tall by 13 feet around, each weighing about 150 lbs
• There are 140 feet of tomato vines
• The leaves on the tomato vine are 8 feet tall by 4 feet wide
• The volume of the cans total 1,617,093 cubic inches – a typical 14.5-ounce can of Red Gold Tomatoes has a volume of 30.9 cubic inches
• Each Red Gold can is 16 1/2 feet tall by 12 1/2 feet wide
• If the two giant cans were filled with Red Gold petite diced tomatoes, that would make enough salsa to serve over 400,000 people

The 3D billboard will be up through May.