Cookies for Charity

The girls and I found this AMAZING non-profit in our area that does a ton of great charitable projects. One of many that are very family oriented is their Cookies for Charity program. Once a month, volunteers can come to a local church and spend a few hours mixing the cookie ingredients, baking them, and packaging them up for distribution. Our first month there, we made (as a group) about 800 cookies! We made 500 the next time. It's so fun, and the girls love it. 

The cookies are bagged up and given along with small care packages that include toiletry products. These bags are distributed to women and men who are experiencing homelessness in Camden and/or Philadelphia. I am hoping to take the girls on one of those outings soon. I think they will really get a lot more out of that face-to-face contact and see the impact of what one small act of kindness can do.

In the meanwhile, we'll be trying to bake as often as we can with this amazing group! Please message me if you are local to South Jersey and would like to learn more about getting involved. 

A Hodgepodge Following Radio Silence

I've come to realize that a long period of 'radio silence' after a big announcement of cancer does not go over well. For those who see me around the community, they know I am okay. But the others who rely on my blog updates? I have received more than one inquiry asking if I'm alright.

So first, I'm sorry for neglecting the ole blog. Second, no worries ... I am alive and alright. I'm actually doing awesome. Like anything else, when you get out of the habit and overwhelmed with too many irons in the fire, you fall off the wagon. I've mixing far too many metaphors, I know. Just bear with me.

What have you missed? Not a whole heck of a lot. Valentines Day, bitter cold, snow days. My slow progression on the book. The typical winter blues. I read my favorite bloggers in California and Florida and I ask myself "WHY am I in Jersey?!?!" It's a rhetorical question, of course. I'm here, and that's that. Snow, cold and all.

Soccer just started despite snow on the first day of spring. The three little ones have been braving the fierce cold on the windy fields, when they aren't snow covered or soaking wet. The seasons want to turn so badly, but they just aren't ready yet. We're waiting, peeking at the garden to see the first hints of crocuses and dandilions. Waiting, eyeing up the shorts stuffed away in the bottom drawer.

 Spring means flowers and pedicures. It means CB turning 20 and a mama in disbelief. It means summer is right around the corner which is my favorite time of year... kids off of school and up in my face and all.

Most of Spring, for me, will be spent in Radiation Therapy. I started today, actually. Day one.
I had two planning session, 9 tattoos (seriously, they tattoo little dots the size of freckles on you), and today was the first day of 6-week, Monday through Friday therapy. Fun times.

Today, I began which makes me one step closer to finishing. Twenty-nine days left. Not that anyone is counting, but me.

I'm thankful for my friend, Jenn, who invited herself along with me on my first official day and sat in the waiting room for an hour and fifteen minutes (it took extra long due to some last minute adjustments prior to starting). I'm thankful for my father-in-law who sat on the soccer field with Pink until 8:00 pm tonight so I didn't have to freeze with the three other girls. I'm thankful that I'm 29 days closer to closing this chapter. I'm thankful that even though the snow just melted in Jersey and the temperatures are still in the 40s, my boob will be sunburned which might make me fooled into thinking summer is almost here.

This weekend, before embarking on the final leg of my treatment I got to do something really amazing with my family. We spent Saturday night volunteering with Hearts United Against Cancer at their big Care and Comfort Bundle Event.

Hearts United Against Cancer is a non-proft organization that delivers Care & Comfort Bundles to men, women and children going through treatment for any and all types of cancer. They deliver these care packages to hospitals in our tri-state area and to individual homes, bringing cheer and well wishes to each Cancer Hero.  They will also ship the personalized baskets anywhere in the U.S. 

I was a recipient of one of their amazing personalized baskets right after my surgery. A friend, who is also a Board Member, nominated me. Can I tell you, I didn't cry when I got my diagnosis. I didn't cry during the invasive tests or when I told my husband or told my kids. But, I cried when I received this touching gift. The card, made by a child volunteer, with a handwritten note inside and all the personalized items including a gorgeous crocheted blanket just made me feel so loved and encouraged. I cannot explain the positive effect it had on me. The first thing I thought was that I wanted to pay it forward.

So, we joined over a hundred volunteers of all ages last Saturday night and it was the best Saturday night I've had in a long time. We made no sew blankets and stuffed homemade pillows, made rainbow loom bracelets and crafted bookmarks. We assembled care and comfort bundles for delivery to local hospitals and we decorated cards. All in all that night, we made 272 care and comfort bags, 351 craft items, 208 note cards, 130 homemade pillows and 25 large homemade blankets. I can't wait to become more involved with this organization!

If you know a Cancer Hero anywhere in the U.S. (defined as anyone actively in treatment for any type of cancer), you can visit the Hearts United Against Cancer website and fill out a simple form for a personalized care and comfort bundle delivery! Want to help? You can make no sew or crocheted blankets if you are crafty by joining the blanket brigade HERE. This is a great girl scout project, by the way. Please visit their website if you want to learn more about donating your time, treasures or talents.

You can follow Hearts United Against Cancer on Facebook or visit their website for more info!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Tricking and Treating

Another Halloween Night has come and gone, but the candy wrappers remain. It was a fun, busy day and it reminded me that this season too will pass. Meaning, it is such a "holiday" for the little ones. Sure, you can get all dressed up when you're older and hit the bars. Sure, you will give out candy as an adult and oooh and ahhh over the little kids that come to the door dressed as the latest princesses or video game characters. But it's not the same. That excitement you see in your children's eyes and all the ramping up for this sugar-filled night of dress up? It's just not the same.

I appreciate these days.  

Hectic as it was.

Pink's parade was at 9:00 am. The costumes were amazing at her school, which is grades 4 through 6. Simply amazing. Lots of homemade. Lots of creativity. Lots of quirk. Loved it. 

After that, I raced a few towns over to pick up my 50 rolls from the bakery and rushed back home. There, I did my last minute cleaning and food prep. Though I stayed up until 1:00 am to do the lion's share the night before, there was still a bit to do in anticipation of the  40-plus people that would be congregating at our house for the "post trick or treat" party for our neighbors!

Then back to the elementary school to help in Rella's class with the little party, the changing into costumes, and the parade. 

Since I was marching IN the parade with Rella's class, I wasn't able to see Tink in the actual parade. But, luckily, I caught her queuing up in the hallway and snapped my picture (to her mild embarrassment). 

I've never had the chance to volunteer in the classroom on Halloween before. It's a very coveted spot reserved for the room moms and one extra volunteer. This was probably my first, last and only time and I was grateful to get the chance with my last little girl. 

Upon arriving home it was the last minute pre-party frenzy while trying to keep four kids out of my hair. But luckily, it was a nice day so they could stay entertained outside.

Pink the Nerd.

Tink the 50s girl. 

Rella the "Swiss Miss Girl"... who looks like she's been a bit wind blown.

And CB, the ticked off cat. 

Her school has a Halloween party, but the kids don't dress up and parade anymore. At the ages of 19 through 21, it's just a bit juvenile I suppose. 

But, I kept her in the spirit with the cat ears. She's thrilled, as you can tell.

Our whole street trick or treats together, along with a few of their friends who live around the corner. This year, Dr. Fabulous went out with the little ones while I stayed home with CB who doesn't 

a) like to walk 

b) like candy or 

c) like crowds and chaos.

So, this is clearly not her holiday. Nor are any of the others.

Hence, the many photos of the other girls and only one of her. 

I did sneak up the street with the group, because I'm the dork who thinks "I'm gonna miss these days" and just don't want to squander them. 

The post-party was super fun, as it always is. I don't say that to take credit for it.  It's the company, not my stellar entertainment skills. We all 'pot-luck' it and I supply the seasonal beers and local apple wine which gets warmed in a crock pot with mulling spices and just screams FALL!

I also doctor up some of the best homemade hot chocolate for the kids which is simply decadent. 

We partied like rock stars... kids passed out on the couch while parents talked until after midnight. That's the beauty of a Friday night Halloween.  

I didn't really take photos because I was too busy having fun and hostessing, but this one of the two 'besties since pre-K' cracks me up. If you fast forward a few years and substitute red solo cups and a sorority house background? Yeah... it's funny.  And not. 

The girls know the drill with the candy. They pick out a few days worth and then donate the rest to Operation Gratitude. We have donated our excess Halloween candy every year for the past six years to this organization. 

Operation Gratitude is a non-profit organization that assembles and distributes care packages to our active soldiers overseas, veterans, wounded soldiers recovering in hospitals and their families/caregivers. This past year, Operation Gratitude delivered 150,000 care packages. Inside they will have items specific for the soldier's particular needs, like toiletries or magazines and books. They include a homemade card and often a bit of candy... like the candy donated from Halloween! 

Three years ago, a local dentist office started a Candy Buy Back program for Operation Gratitude and we have happily donated our loot to them - I simply LOVE these guys! They make it a big party with a card making station for the soldiers, free hot dogs and lemonade and prizes. They are the warmest, friendliest practice! My girls look forward to the candy donation every year and never balk about giving up so much of their loot. 

Two years ago, we donated about 28 pounds between us and a few friends. The next year we spread the word even more to our friends and neighbors and collected 66 pounds. This year? Thanks to the generosity of so many people and the help of our local coffee shop who set up a donation collection site for us, we were able to donate 81 pounds of candy to the troops! Whooopppppeeee! Can I get a fist bump?

All in all, it was another fun Halloween.  I love my neighbors and friends. I love my kids friends. I love this time of year. I don't love all the candy, necessarily... but I love that we can do something good with it and make this random holiday a little charitable.  

I'm feeling the love, if you can't tell. Feeling it something fierce. 

Kicking off Spring Break

It's the first day of Spring Break!  Everyone is pretty psyched about some family time and some sleeping in.  But before school let out there was the adorable Kindergarten Spring Concert. 

Out of tune singing, and cuteness galore.  My last Kindergarten concert ever.  It made me kinda sad.

CB headed to her Dad's in Maryland for her Spring Break.  

Her new stim has to do with flashcards.... dumping them out of the box, putting them back in.  

There are a million flashcards all over the place.

On this first day, Good Friday, the girls were scheduled to have haircuts and Pink, who has been begging to donate her hair to help people with cancer, finally got her wish.  

She literally has been asking if she can donate her hair for two years and I always talk her out of it.  I was worried her hair would be too too short and I really like her hair longer.  But, after running into a friend at the coffee shop this morning whose daughter just donated HER hair, she told me about Pantene Beautiful Lengths. The great thing about this organization is that you only need a minimum of 8 inches instead of 10. Also, the wigs they make are given FREE of charge unlike Locks of Love who charge their clients several hundred dollars.

Not to judge, because Locks of Love does great stuff, but I really like to support an organization that doesn't put an additional financial burden on people already paying for medical bills.

Here was Pink's hair on Christmas, and it grew a little bit longer since then.

And here it is 9 inches shorter! 

It was all really spontaneous actually.  The haircuts were already scheduled today since they were off of school.  Then, I ran into my friend.  Then, Pink started in on her whole "dream of donating her hair" again. Then, I took out the tape measurer and realized, her hair really wouldn't be that short.  So, we went to the hair salon as scheduled and I just left it up to her.  

She didn't bat an eye. She was so excited!  I've never seen a kid so proud of herself! 

The cool thing is that every kid I know who has donated their hair (and I actually know quite a few) have always 

1. Come up with the idea on their own and been very passionate about it and 

2. Feel so amazing after they do it.  

Plus, kids have the PERFECT hair because it has never been processed and it's not gray!

I think for young kids, it really means something for them to make a decision like this and give one of the few things they can to help another.  It's such a great opportunity for kids to really feel that charitable spirit. 

If you or your child are interested, please check out the Pantene Beautiful Lengths webpage where they have simple instructions and guidelines. 

 

That's my girl. So proud.

The Big Chill and Our 12 Days of Charity Wrap-Up

It's been Artic cold around here the past few days. The kind of cold that makes you not even want to leave the house. So, I haven't.  I think the high yesterday was 7 degrees but with the windchill it felt like -20 or something like that.  I don't remember. My brain is frozen.

Our gas bill is gonna be a million dollars.

Anyway, today was nice and toasty compared to yesterday which means it just barely made it out of the single digits.  Man, Florida is looking better and better to me.

I can't believe this entire blog post is going to be about the cold.  I just can't bear that.  Has that been what I've been reduced to?  I sound like my grandparents.

Okay, something of substance... something of substance.

Oh yes!! I can recap our family's commitment to do our "12 Acts of Kindness" at the holidays! (Phew!)

So here is how we spread some love and charity in our own small way. Perhaps you can adopt some of these ideas for your family next year and start your own charitable holiday traditions! The best kinds of activities are the ones where kids don't sit on the sidelines and watch you donate stuff.  However, when you do donate to drives and collections, try to talk to your child about what they are doing and why and involve them in the shopping/packing/delivery of the stuff.

The best is when they can get REALLY get involved in the activity or deed.  Those opportunities are harder to come by for the younger guys, particularly when they are under 12.

Hopefully these ideas will help jump start your own creativity and places to look in your own town! Most of these fell into my lap.  I only had to search for the Holiday Cards project.  I didn't have to organize anything, just respond to the opportunities that came our way.  Plus, we spent very little for our good deeds.  It's not about spending a ton of money. If lots of people do something small, it all adds up to something big.

12 Days of Kindness

1. Holiday Mail for Heroes - The girls made a slew of holiday cards with handwritten notes for US soldiers in combat and recovering in hospitals. It's a great way for young children to get hands-on with a charity project! Want to do it next year? Mark your calendar at the end of November because the deadline is always VERY early in December to ensure Christmas delivery. Visit the American Red Cross to learn more about this activity.

2. Volunteered at Santa's Workshop sorting toys in their toy drive. My husband's non-profit organizes a huge, extremely successful holiday shopping experience for the families who receive their services.  Set up like a store complete with wrapping paper, batteries and stocking stuffers, parents are able to "shop" for their own children (up to 3 gifts per child) and pick out what they know their child would like. There are literally thousands of gifts donated!  This year I volunteered to do some counting and sorting. In the past, I have been a volunteer helping parents shop on the day of the event.

3. Volunteered at the Wreaths of Remembrance Ceremony - Our county has a huge veterans cemetery where 1100 vets are buried. People For People is an incredible organization who hold this Remembrance ceremony every year. Anyone can sign up and volunteer with either a small monetary donation of $5/wreath and/or to be a wreath layer.  Families are encouraged to help. We will make this a family tradition every year - it was a great experience for the kids and we talked to them about the sacrifice of soldiers and the hardships of wars.

4. Spread some Holiday Cheer with 'Kids on a Quest' at a local nursing home - We are fortunate enough to have a Young Philanthropy group in a nearby town. They meet once a month and orgainze charity and community betterment projects for young children.  This month, we made Christmas-type crafts and distributed them to the residents.

Don't have a group like this in your area? You can still visit a nursing home with a small group.  Also, charity opportunities exist within girls scouts, cub scouts and religious organizations so check there OR make a suggestion to those groups!

5. Pink volunteered to sing in the Children's Christmas Choir which involved 4 weeks of rehearsals and singing in the Christmas Eve Mass.

Any volunteer work at your school or religious organization would work! Or something like shoveling snow in a neighborhood or cleaning up in a park or beautifying your street in some way.

6. We donated new books to the book drive helping underprivileged children. Our collection was at the library but Barnes and Nobles does these collections too.  Our school also had a gift card tree in the lobby for children at the holidays, so we contributed a Walmart Gift Card to that.

7. We sponsored a child to attend a local Holiday Rollerskating Party. A local charity (who also organize the Young Philanthropy Group) hold a big rollerskating party complete with food, games, activities and a visit from Santa! It is $15.00 to sponsor one child, so that's what we did and just the thought of that child having such a fun time still warms my heart.

8. Donated old toys and games we don't play with anymore to a local charity. Every year around this time we move out the old in anticipation of the slew of new toys!

9. Donated a new toy to a toy drive at CB's school which distributes them to chronically ill children spending the holidays in the hospital. Another idea is to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House around the holidays (just google the organization in your area).

10. Donated items to a girl scout troop's Pet Drive for a local animal shelter. This time of year there is always a Scout Troop collecting pet items. They drop a bag off right at our house and we set it out at a specific time on a specific day and they pick it up - the easiest thing ever!

11. Donated food to a local Food Drive. - Tink's Girl Scout troop had a little food drive and also made "Snowman Soup" to distribute to the shelters too and decorated a little stocking to go with it.  Our church also holds a food drive which we donate to basically year round.

12. The girls made "Rainbow Loom" bracelets as part of a fellow 5th grade student's service project. This girl is having her school make as many bracelets as they can and they will be shipped to children who survived the typhoon in the Philippines to lift their spirits and let them know children all over the globe CARE. I thought this was a great project that kids could get very "hands on" with. Very creative!


Want more inspiration?  Visit some of these sites for ideas and encouragement.

Kids Care Clubs 
generationOn
The Grow Love Project 
Learning To Give

Mid-Week Highlights Because I've Got Nothing

During the day there are so many blog posts floating around in my head.  They are amazing and profound, let me tell you. Sheer brilliance. But I'll be honest, after a long day with the kids by the time I clean up the house, organize stuff, and sit down at my computer it's like, 9:30 if I'm lucky. Then I return emails and get myself focused and by the time I'm ready to blog I feel much less inspired and a lot more mentally and physically tired.  

Which explains why I'm laming out yet again on a post and just doing some highlights of the week thus far. Yes, I know it's only Wednesday but we already have highlights.  

Rella earned her Tot Soccer trophy for participation in a recreational, day soccer program.  She's been walkin' around town showing this to everyone and anyone who will listen.  

We have been enjoying the warmer weather and spending more time outside.  We made some old school bird feeders yesterday with peanut butter and birdseed slathered on a pine cone.  

The birds haven't shown much interest in it yet, and I'm really wondering if peanut butter is even good for them, but I'm sure the squirrels will sniff it out soon.  

Tonight, the girls participated in another of their Kid Philanthropy Group's monthly projects, decorating flower pots for earth day and spring; one to keep and one to give in an "Act of Kindness."  They also passed out several flowers to the nursing home residents.  The best part is when the kids can see the smiles they put on the faces of others.

Then THEY got a smile on their face with complimentary water ice sponsored by a donor to the program.  Plus, CB was really good this time and her "buddy" was there so she had someone to pal around with... which for CB basically involves tolerating her sweet friend sitting near her and not spitting on her in the process.  

 And no diarrhea explosions like last month's meeting.  

Giving and kindness and water ice and no dirty diapers. Can't beat that day!  

A Day of Service

Okay, there technically is a "Day of Service" and November 8th was not necessarily that day.  In our household, though, it sure ended up being a full day chock full of giving back in small ways.

The girls are all off for the NJ Teacher's Convention Thursday through Monday. (Even though the actual convention itself was cancelled due to the hurricane, our district continued to be off).  I drove CB to Maryland for a long weekend with her Dad, so it's just me and the three little sprites. The days off were good because our first official snow fall came on Wednesday.
 

Not quite enough to do much with.  This was our snowman.  

What I love about kids is that they get so flippin' excited over anything - even 1 centimeter of snow!  

So, on the first morning of our long weekend we hosted a 2-hour Kids Care Club meeting.



I just started this Club in late August in conjunction with another organization I am part of.  It is a little group of 'young philanthropists' who meet once a month and work on a service project.  Our first couple of meetings have had modest attendance but this meeting had 19 children!  It was so encouraging and rewarding to see many of my friends bringing their kids out to discuss our month's philanthropy project and get prepared.  We made signs, read a story, talked about Thanksgiving food and those who go without, made cards for the soldiers, and collected donated halloween candy for Operation Gratitude.



After the morning meeting my girls and I grabbed a quick lunch and ran to the VFW to sort clothing donations that will go to Brick Township on an 18-wheeler for those in shelters from Hurricane Sandy.  My kids and I helped sort, fold and pack mounds of clothing for almost 4 hours.  They had fun with some friends who were also volunteering their time and got all jacked up on soda (which I never let them have) so they actually really hung in there!



We then went directly to the dentist's office to drop off our 25 pounds of donated candy from the members of the Kids Care Club!  Turner-Wood Dentistry did such a nice job with this event by providing free grilled hotdogs, warm soft pretzels, lemonade, and a letter writing station for kids to make cards for the soldiers.  This was a "buy back" program which paid out $1.00/pound (up to 5 pounds) for donated candy.

The staff was super friendly with the kids and it really felt like a party complete with little goodie bags.  All of the collected candy gets sent to an organization called Operation Gratitude who use the treats in care packages for the U.S. Soldiers overseas.  They do great things to help support deployed soldiers all year long.  Visit their website to see what Operation Gratitude does and bookmark them to find a participating dentist NEXT year and start your own candy drive!!  We put the five bucks we made on our candy in the Kids Care "Kitty" and are saving up for a project later on to benefit those in need.



It was a really, really busy day.  The kind of day that makes you feel really tired... especially if you are four feet and under.  I know I was draggin' ass by 5:00... tired, thirsty, hungry and a bit mentally fried from all those hours surrounded by my own kids and their usual shenanigans.  But, it was the kind of "tired" that made you feel good.  Like it was a day well spent.  A day that mattered.  A day that benefited others more than it benefited yourself.  I want my kids - who are rather over-priveledged I must confess - to understand that it is important to take time to be there for others and make a difference wherever and whenever you can.  I hope they get it.







I cooked some vegetarian chili after arriving home and then headed out to a friend's house to participate on a committee which is raising awareness for Mental Illness in 2013 by sponsoring educational workshops and other fundraising events.  I'm really excited about this great opportunity to be involved.

I have to say though, that from 10 am to 10 pm I was going non-stop with no break.  So, I think the girls and I deserve a little R&R for today.  I'm planning to take them to see Wreck It Ralph this afternoon, and then I have a birthday dinner in Philly with my sister which will be awesome.  But for now, we're loungin' around recouping...

To start your own Kids Care Club:

Visit The Kids Care Club program at generationOn and sign up.

Or, browse the free lesson plans and creative ideas at generationOn and create your own club or just use the ideas for your own family!