Maddie's Pay It Forward Project

Well it is back to school for most of us, and while I'm dreading it, I am also loving it at the same time. With so many mixed emotions, I do love the routine; and even though I always say I can't handle routine, I need it. The kids will be back and I will at least be on some sort of schedule. My oldest will be a senior (my how time flies!), my second will be a junior, and my youngest is still in middle school. The boys now are driving. (Did someone say this is suppose to be BETTER for us? lol. It is just the worrying is all....let's us not talk about gas though.)

So as we have been getting ready for all this back to school stuff, I wanted to share with you what our little "Maddie's Pay it Forward Project" is. I first have to tell you how this really all got started. As a mother of three, a wife and a business owner, I run like a mad woman most days. I was running late to pick up my daughter from school one day one day. As is normal, we are rushing to get her something to eat before we had to rush to dance class. All this running around can get very hectic, and as Maddie enter the car, I notice that she wasn't wearing her "Signature Bow" as I like to call it. In my rush to judgment, and again very stressed (let me add), I raised my voice and said "Where is YOUR bow?" I assumed she was just careless and dropped it somewhere and did not really care. But Maddie replied, "Mom I gave it to a girl, she really liked it and well, she kinda doesn't have much". At that moment I felt deep in my heart that I needed to be thankful for all the wonderful things in this world and that Maddie just opened my eyes to just how blessed we are.

I was so touched by her "giving ways" that we talked about this as a "Back to School Project" that we both wanted to do. You see, we always see the Back to School drives, uniforms and school supplies, etc. These are very important, but feeling good is too. Let's remember the simple things we take for granted, like brushes, toothpastes, even make-up. Maddie and I like to think that a simple bow can make any girl feel like a princess, AND EVERY GIRL SHOULD FEEL LIKE A PRINCESS. When I say this, I don't mean it in that 'Paris Hilton-way', really; I mean this in the confident to be who you are kind of way. (Believe me, I am not a fan of the girl who thinks she is owed everything). I teach my kids that you must work hard for everything in this world. I just like to look good and be confident when I work hard -- this is my motto.

Being raised by a single mom for the first eight years of my life, I totally relate to my motto on so many levels. We may not have had much but my Mom always had us dressed, combed and looking so cute...the one hard thing for her was that I was just such a rough little girl. I was into everything, messy and well, I should save that for another blog...lol. When we look back at pictures, I always ask why do I look so "mechuda". (Mechuda, I found out is really slang in Spanish for messy hair.) My mother, bless her heart, really tried with me. She always tried to make sure I was dressed and combed. My sister, on the other hand, had matching ribbons for every outfit. (Remember those ribbons that were really yarn-like shoes strings? Well she had every color to match every outfit. Always well-dressed and combed, and ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL. She still is.) This is how my daughter is, with my help as well. Its really hard to see that I was not a girly-girl when I am so girly-girl today. The girly really kicked in when during my preteen years.

So I put out a little request on my Facebook fan page and got such wonderful responses to our little drive here at Maddie Mac Boutique. So I want to thank everyone. It is a blessing to have such wonderful friends and customers! It amazes me that I can put out a little request and get such wonderful feedback and help with this. I would love to continue to carry this on to Christmas and Back-to-School again!

Back-to-School Besos!