This Full House Archive

Category: Because Nice Matters!

  • Outing (and then dousing) my social media-shy husband for the #IceBucketChallenge!

    Many of you already know my husband, Garth (not his real name) does NOT allow me to use his real name, let alone post pictures of him, here on my blog.

    Aaaaaand, especially for new friends visiting with us for the first time, here's why: because living with a professional dork is hard, yo.

    Tagging him on Facebook? Yeah, that would be a big HELL NO and FUHGEHTABOUTIT!

    However, one of our mutual Facebook friends tagged him for the #IceBucketChallenge to help bring awareness to ALS, because she knows my husband has a REAL BIG heart and will out (and douse) himself for charity.

    He waited until our oldest daughter got home from work (at well past our bedtime o'clock) and here's the most awesome part: he got the whole family involved!

    Our youngest was in charge of the cue card…what?…it was late o'clock!…while our middle girl took the video and our son…ummmm…well, he DID cheer his dad on and then just sort of…you know…stayed out of the way. He hates ice. And water.

    So, here's how it went down:

     

    It took all of 11 seconds (and a $25.00 donation) to give ALS the virtual bitchslap it deserves.

    Here's the REALLY MOST AWESOME part: now that it's on video, I get to watch my husband work his awesome, all over again…and again…and again…but, shhhhh…don't tell him, okay?!?

    Unless you happen to be reading this post, Garth (not your real name)…then RELAX!!!…if you actually click on the darn thing you'll see, I did NOT post the ENTIRE video.

    [one beat, two beats]

    It's a gif and you're welcome!

    ©2003 -2014 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook, a way for you to subscribe to receive This Full House blog post by Email and everything!   

  • Help us share breakfast with a child in need.

    I am very proud to once again partner with my friends at Kelloggs, Action for Healthy Kids and the Team USA athletes in helping to spread the word about the #GreatStarts program’s effort to provide breakfasts to kids who might otherwise go without.

    How?  By sharing ways in which you can help share breakfast with a child in need, too. This is my fourth year helping Kellogg’s give childhood hunger the virtual bitch-slap it deserves. Why? Long story short, because my family is no stranger to hunger: 

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  • Asshats have not yet completely taken over the world!

    I shared an update on Facebook, praising a good Samaritan for stopping to check if I was alright after having negotiated some very icy roads, earlier this morning. I then added to the comments:

    Long-time blog readers will understand EXACTLY how very proud I am, of myself, for NOT losing my sh*t.

    I feel the need to expand on this morning's discussion (which is EXACTLY why I love Facebook, btw!), because I am extremely lucky to have been introduced to lots of brand new online friends over my eleventy years of blogging — someone once called me the "grandmother of blogging", but let's not open THAT wound, m'kay?!? — and it's sort of awesome to able to share something nice, with you.

    Especially, living (and driving) ova here in Jersey.

    You might want to grab a warm beverage (or a cold one, if it suits you, I'm easy!), because I'm going to tell you a little story about how I know…FOR A FACT…that asshats have NOT yet completely taken over the world!

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  • World Toilet Day: show your support, pledge to save water and a $200.00 gift card giveaway.

    FlushForGood_LogoAlone-02-150x150

    Did you know that today, November 19th, is World Toilet Day?!?  I know what you’re thinking — seriously, what’s next, National Bathtub Week?!?  

    Okay, here’s the thing, but what most folks don’t realize (and I’m including myself, here) is that over 1.5 billion people in the world are STILL living without access to sanitary water or a proper toilet.

    The statistics of children dying due to things we tend to take for granted, like clean water and proper sanitation, are staggering.

    Today, I am once again very proud to partner with the good folks at American Standard to help share information about the Flush For Good campaign and, in doing so, help 40 communities in need.

    Oh, and we get to share a $200.00 gift card to Lowe’s or Home Depot, because we roll like that.

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  • Kellogg’s #GreatStarts 2014 Olympic Team & My Teen Idol, Jim Craig: sharing their stories to help kids in need.

    Team Kellogg's

    Kellogg’s #GreatStarts bloggers, standing left to right: Deanna, Caryn, Jaime, Crystal, Me, Danielle (that’s Jim Craig, SQUEEEE!!!) and Fred standing next to the adorable Charlie White.

    I am very honored to once again partner with Kellogg’s, as well as U.S. Olympic legends and athlete hopefuls representing Team USA, as a Champion of #GreatStarts blogger and…yeah, I KNOW!!!…who EVER thought a dork (like me) would EVER be able to say that, out loud.

    Last week, I was invited to meet with these awesome athletes in New York City (I know, RIGHT?!?) to help kick-off the 100 day countdown to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and to personally hear each of their great start stories, including that of 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal hockey team goalie (and my teenage crush) Jim Craig.

    After bumping into him and nearly breaking his foot, I mean. 

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  • How (and why) We Opened Our Door to a Stranger

    Welcome to my brain

    I love watching ghost shows:  stuff like Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters and My Ghost Story can really get my adrenaline pumping.  

    Thing is, I just get myself too involved in the storyline, sometimes the really scary scenarios can carry over in my real life, too.  

    Like, when there is someone knocking on the front door…in the middle of the night…then "OMG, the zombies are here…DON'T ANSWER IT!!!"

    Thankfully, it's at this point when one or ALL of my kids are kind enough to remind me "Really mom, you think zombies are gonna knock?!?"

    Then about 1:30 a.m. this morning….

    [knock-knock-knock]

     

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  • A Brief Encounter, With a Doorman, In New York City

    Creepy Mannequins

    I hate fake people  ~  Yeah, me too!!!

    Day 1 into NaBloPoMo…[scratches head, blank stare]…and NOW I remember why I haven't NaBloPoMo-ed since 2011…this blogging every day (even on weekends) thing is hard…YO!!!

    The really cool thing about NaBloPoMo-ing is that there are daily prompts to help get my blogging juices going, but today's prompt was a little too hard (i.e. made me think more than I really care to) for a Friday.

    Instead, I'd like to tell you about a brief encounter, with a doorman, in New York City:

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  • #FlushForGood: how we can help communities improve sanitation conditions, worldwide.

    With sincerest congratulations to Robin (comment #42) we are super-thrilled to be able to share a $200 gift card with you — check your email for further instructions, thanks!!!

    FlushForGood_LogoAlone-02-150x150

    Back in the days before kids (B.K.), I used to work for American Standard in their corporate offices here in New Jersey.  I worked in their transportation and logistics department and my job was to make sure that product got to where it needed to be, as quickly as possible.

    Which later would prove to be quite helpful, A.K. (after kids) raising 4 children attending 4 different schools.

    Today, I am very proud to partner with the good folks at American Standard to help share information about the Flush For Good campaign and, in doing so, help 40 communities in need!

    Oh, and we get to share a $200.00 gift card to Lowe’s or Home Depot, because we roll like that.

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  • How we can help Kellogg’s & Scholastic give families free books!

    1st day of school 2013

    Disclosure: As a Champion of #GreatStarts blogger, I am honored to partner with Kellogg’s in helping families (like mine) achieve great starts to their days. I am being compensated for my services for the length of the program.

    It’s the first day of school, here in Jersey (I know, it is kinda late, but the kids seemed okay wit-it!) which means my crew was up and ready to get out of the house by…wait…for…it…6:30, this morning.

    Aaaaaand, I couldn’t help but get all caught up in the tide of nervous energy flowing throughout the house.  

    I was showered, dressed, baked a loaf of pumpkin bread, and then a batch of pumpkin cookies (for good measure), rounding out the morning with 3 loads of laundry washed and folded by…get…this…before lunchtime!!!

    Okay, I lied:  the laundry isn’t folded…YET!!!…which means I should be crashing anytime now and when the kids get home.

    Before that happens, I want to tell you about how we’ve partnered with my friends at Kellogg’s and the equally awesome folks at Scholastic to help give families free books!

    On second thought, I’ll let my celebrity dad-friend and children’s book author Taye Diggs explain it (seriously, we spoke on the phone and everything!)  Why?!?  Well, I love his voice and he’s way prettier to look at:

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  • Donate a Photo: Taking Selfies for Good & Healthy Essentials Giveaway

    Our Beach
    We are currently vacationing in Cape Cod, MA (a.k.a. my pretend home), and with our oldest girl working full-time and our middle girl entering her senior year in high school (no, I’m not quite sure how THAT happened, either!) we’re taking advantage of sharing every possible moment, together:  oh yes, there will be selfies 🙂

    Today, I’m very excited to partner with my friends at TheMotherhood.com and share with you information about Donate a Photo: a free app developed for Android and iOS platforms that allows consumers (like you and me) to
    give back to causes we care about by taking those selfies and
    turning them into a way to do good — #SelflessSelfies.

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