The Bluebird Patch

Don't educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy, so the know the value of things, not price.

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” ― W.T. Purkiser I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving. I decided to take a day off from social media and focus on the one thing that I care the most, my family. Thanksgiving is all about slowing down and reflecting on all the blessings that has been given to us thought out the year.  This year we had a different approach and decided to have a stress-free, kid-friendly Thanksgiving. I simplified our traditional Thanksgiving menu, set the table with mason jars for a more Southern feel, and spent all day reconnecting and enjoying each other.  There are a lot of things to be thankful this year but the one thing I'm most grateful is you. I'm eternally grateful for all of you that read our blog and support our mission. It means the world to me to know there's people out there that believe, as human beings, we all have the potential to be ha...

    “Never search your Happiness in others which will make you feel alone, but search it in yourself, you will feel Happy even if you are left alone.”  Unknown

Redditors from all around the world are coming together to celebrate giving. This time of year they send each other gifts for no reason other than it makes them happy! If you're unfamiliar with reddit, this reddit holiday (Arbitrary Day, June 25th) was created as a response to the overwhelming outpour of happiness and joy that was experienced during reddit first Secret Santa in 2009. Since then, Secret Santa has grown to have close to 60,000 participants and setting Guinness World Records. Here's a TEDx video where kickme444 discusses how this all happened , take a few minutes and check it out! In a nutshell, you sign up below, answer some questions about yourself, on June 10th they'll pull names out of their computer hat and send you an email with details on who you need to send a gift to. You look at the questions they answered, pick out the best gift in the world for them, send it and when they receive it, they post a thank you note with photos an...

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the obituary column. The news papers had reported the death of the wrong person by mistake.  His first response was shock. Am I here or there? When he regained his composure, his second thought was to find out what people had said about him. The obituary read, “Dynamite King Dies.” And also “He was the merchant of death.”  This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words “merchant of death,” he asked himself a question, “Is this how I am going to be remembered?”  He got in touch with his feelings and decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered. From that day on, he started working toward peace. His name was Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great Nobel Prize.  Just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, We should step back and do the same. What is your legacy? H...

  Ask yourself: Have you been kind today?  Make kindness your daily modus operandi  and change your world. Annie Lennox *Ahimsa means kindness and non-violence towards all living things including animals; it respects living beings as a unity, the belief that all living things are connected. Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi strongly believed in this principle. Avoidance of verbal and physical violence is also a part of this principle, although ahimsa recognizes self-defense when necessary, as a sign of a strong spirit. It is closely connected with the notion that all kinds of violence entail negative karmic consequences.   Image credit: Broga Melbz

Happier, a happiness company inspired by research that shows focusing on the positive and sharing good things with people you care about makes you happier, healthier, and more productive has created a brand new mobile app. The 'Happier' mobile app is a simple and beautiful way to collect the happy moments you find in every day, share them with close friends and family, and be inspired to do more of what makes you happier. What the Happier teams believes about happiness:  Happier is available on itunes  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/happier/id499033500 . Check out the screenshots!  

Giving back is a huge key to your happiness and success. How will you give to others to find your own happiness today?  Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have. *Jim Robin free printable by S unny Slide Up

Fun slides, ferris wheels, funnel cakes and carousels, Oh My! We had the most wonderful time at the Atlanta Fair. Celebrating its 31st year at Turner Field in the grey parking lot the Atlanta fair is packed full of spectacular rides for every enthusiast, all your favorite carnival foods and fun games for everyone. At the FAIR, safety is a top priority and a "Fair Parental Escort Policy" is strictly enforced: Friday and Saturday evenings youth under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older from 8 p.m. until close.  One adult may supervise up to 4 youth.  During the Parental Escort hours, anyone 21 years or younger should be prepared to show FAIR Security a GA State or Government issued Photo identification card.  Fair Hours of Operation Monday- Friday Opens at 5pm  Saturday Opens at 12pm (Noon) Sunday Opens at 1pm Fair closes at 10pm on Weeknights and 11pm on Weekends.  Times may be extended due ...

  Did you know? Spring cleaning can improve your happiness and productivity. De-cluttering gives us an opportunity to start afresh, get organized,and let go of things that no longer serves you. Researchers at Princeton University Neuroscience Institute published the results from their report “ Interactions of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms in Human Visual Cortex ” and concluded that physical clutter negatively affects your ability to focus and process information.   " The first and most fundamental prediction of biased competition theory is that objects compete for neural representation in visual cortex. A large body of evidence from both single-cell physiology and neuroimaging suggests that multiple stimuli present at the same time within a neuron’s receptive field (RF) are not processed independently, but interact with each other in a mutually suppressive way. In single-cell physiology studies (Britten & Heuer, 1999; Luck, Chelazzi, Hillyard, & Desimone, 19...

Thirteen-year-old Logan LaPlante is a very talented, curious and creative teen that is taking a different path in his education.  He combines the “hacker mindset” with a network of do-it-yourself friends, family, and community organizations to optimize for health, happiness, creativity, and wisdom. He calls it “hackschooling” or "unschooling". On his free time Logan enjoys skiing and public speaking. He has been watching TED videos for as long as he can remember and hopes that with his opportunity to speak at TEDx he can inspire some kids, parents, and educators to think differently about education and to make health, happiness, creativity, and wisdom a priority.   

Simon malls are encouraging children across the country to develop a love for literature and learning with books.     On February 23, Simon Kidgits Club at Mall of Georgia is hosting its free annual Book Blast event and inviting families to participate and be inspired to read together at home. and beyond. Simon Kidgits Club’s Book Blast is offering an assortment of fun book-based activities to ultimately help kids reap the many benefits of reading. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, children who are read to at home enjoy substantial advantages over children who are not.   Book Blast event offerings include a read-aloud session presented by Atlanta Falcon’s Cheerleaders and the Gwinnett County Fire Department, set to take place from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.  Books to be read at this event include Jack and the Beanstalk , Ladybug Girl , Little Critter's The New F...

Personalize and Send a Variety of Valentine’s Day, Birthday and Everyday Cards with the Touch of a Button Send happy thoughts and glittery gorgeousness with the new Taylor Swift Greeting Card Mobile App by American Greetings Corporation available now in the iTunes store and on Google Play . These digital greeting cards feature ambient music from RED , and are for sharing a little happiness with all the awesome people in your life…on their birthday, a holiday, or any day you’re feeling especially grateful and want to let them know right now that you’re thinking of them. This app helps you find the perfect card, and then make it all your own. Add your own message, a favorite photo…you can even sign it on your touch screen. Then send it on its way via text, email, Facebook, or Twitter.  The app includes a jukebox that plays snippets of the RED CD that can easily be turned on while browsing the mobile card rack, as well as a reminder service that lets users conne...

Is being busy the secret to happiness? A recent study, “Americans Less Rushed But No Happier: 1965–2010 Trends in Subjective Time and Happiness”, suggests the key to a happy life is to be busy but don’t feel rushed. “Respondent reports of feelings of being ‘always rushed’ declined by 6–9 points from those reported in 2004. The decline was found both among employed and unemployed respondents, indicating it was not simply a function of higher unemployment.” However, feeling less rushed didn’t seem to have much benefit:  “people reported feeling no happier even when they were less overwhelmed. The highest levels of happiness were found among people who reported almost never having excess time but almost never feeling rushed.  In 2009 – 2010 time-pressured people continued to report being less happy even after controls for marital status, employment and other important predictors of happiness.    Somewhat higher correlations with happiness w...

  Wealthy Habits is a 2-day powerful financial workshop for children 11-18 that puts fun into finance using student interaction and engaging games. It provides a great opportunity for kids to learn the importance of money and the part it plays in building a successful future.   Through activities like The Money Game, teens and pre-teens understand the benefits of making goals, building assets, and being accountable for their financial choices. The program is tremendously valuable to developing students as it provides the knowledge and tools to help create “wealthy habits” and catapult them into successful, prosperous futures.   Classes are free to all students ages 11-18, and covered topics include:  •       How to make money through jobs         and entrepreneurship •       How to manage money by budgeting •       How to multiply money by investing •      ...