Wordless Wednesday: Snow Man

Arent my boys so cute?!?!

Pack A Peanut Butter Sandwich Day

This morning I packed a pb&j sandwich for Little Dude’s lunch. While this may seem like a common occurrence on any given day, I chose it for today’s lunch as part of “Pack a Peanut Butter Sandwich Day”, an initiative to end child hunger in the United States.

Here’s more info from the press release.

This month, families all over the country can join Peter Pan® Peanut Butter and Kimberly Williams-Paisley in the fight to end child hunger by participating in “Pack a Peanut Butter Sandwich Day.” Peter Pan Peanut Butter is kicking off the effort with a $200,000 donation to Feeding America that will provide more than one million meals.

“Pack a Peanut Butter Sandwich Day” will take place every Wednesday through the end of February. Peter Pan Peanut Butter is encouraging parents and their children to pack a peanut butter sandwich as part of their lunch instead of buying lunch, and then donate that lunch money to Feeding America. Based on an average school lunch price of about $2.00[1], for every lunch packed and lunch money donated, Feeding America can provide up to 14 meals for those in need.

“As a parent, you want to give your kids the tools they need to grow into healthy adults,” said Kimberly Williams-Paisley. “Every Wednesday through February, I will pack a Peter Pan Peanut Butter sandwich for both myself and my children to help make sure children struggling with hunger have access to regular meals.”

To participate in “Pack a Peanut Butter Sandwich Day,” parents can log on to the Peter Pan Peanut Butter Web site at www.PeterPanPB.com. The Web site contains resources to encourage participation in “Pack a Peanut Butter Sandwich Day” such as posters and note cards, as well as a link and instructions on how to donate lunch money to Feeding America.

[1]The average price for a school lunch for the 2008-2009 school year was $2.08 (based on the School Nutrition Association Cost Survey of Members, September 2008.)

For the complete press release, visit EarthTimes.org.

Fight For Preemies: Starts With Education For Mom

I’ve blogged many times before about my preemie boy (Preemie Posts). And I really don’t know what else I can say about our experience with his premature birth (12 weeks early).

Except that I feel so incredibly blessed to have a happy, healthy, full of energy, super inquisitive 4-year-old. He was born 2 pounds 9 ounces and 14 inches long. He’s now 40 pounds and 42 inches tall.

Little Dude and I are active volunteers for the March of Dimes – we fundraise and we are also local ambassadors.

One of the missions of the MOD is to provide education to expecting mothers. This is often overlooked in their mission – after all, it’s about the babies, right? Well a healthy mom brings you a healthy baby.

I truly believe that educating moms is extremely important. I luckily received a lot of information during my pregnancy – which probably saved my son’s life. In a round-about way, my husband and I were given the signs needed to question the doctor which in turn put me in the hospital days before I had my son.  I knew to pay attention to these signs because of the education I received.

The chain of events, “Cliffs Notes” version:

• I tested positive for the cystic fibrosis gene which meant my husband needed to be tested for it.
• At his doctors visit to draw blood for the test, they discovered Hubby had high blood pressure. So they insisted that he monitor it on a daily basis with a home blood pressure cuff. This was in May.
• Fast forward to Thursday September 1, 2005: I just hit 7 months (28 weeks) and left my job early because  I wasn’t feeling quite right. I was unusually tired, had a headache and my feet and hands were puffy. I decided to test my BP on Hubby’s cuff and it was high. So I called my OB and had an appointment the next day.
• At the appointment they discovered my true BP was 190/95. Plus, I had very high protein levels in my urine. I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and was admitted to the hospital Friday, September 2 – the start of Labor Day Weekend.
• I spent the long weekend lying in bed (on my left side) and was receiving some fluids as well as steroids – a “just in case” measure to help the baby’s brain and lung development.
• Tuesday, September 6 we were scheduled for another ultra sound and an appointment with a perinatologist. But before any of that happened, I started bleeding – I had a placental abruption.
• So into the ambulance I went to another hospital with a Level 3 perinatal center and NICU to have my son – via emergency c-section.

Basically, if I wasn’t provided the information to have a healthy pregnancy, I wouldn’t have thought to check my BP and question my doctor about it. I would have been at work that Tuesday when I had my abruption. I don’t even want to think about what might have happened.

One of the very important missions of The March Of Dimes is education to expectant moms. And they need your support! Please visit their site and find a way that you can help The March Of Dimes Fight For Preemies!

PS: Here are a “then” and “now” pictures of my Little Dude:

I’m Calling On My Blogging Friends To Fight

BloggersUnite.org Partners with March of Dimes to Fight for Preemies

SAN ANTONIO, TX; Oct. 13, 2009 BloggersUnite.org, a social awareness initiative supported by 200,000 BlogCatalog.com members, is partnering with March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health, to expand a global social awareness campaign about the need to prevent premature birth and give all babies a healthy start in life.

The campaign, BloggersUnite: Fight For Preemies, asks bloggers from all over the world to post on the same day – Prematurity Awareness Day on behalf of the more than 13 million babies that are born too soon each year worldwide. Collectively, their posts will reach millions of people all over the world during November, Prematurity Awareness Month.

{Read Full Press Release}

As some of you know, I’m the blessed momma of a “28 weeker”. My little dude was born 12 weeks early due to the sudden onset of pre-eclampsia. He weighed just 2 pounds 9 ounces and was only 14 inches long. After our very dramatic emergency delivery via c-section, he spent 55 days in the NICU.

I wholeheartedly believe that Little Dude is alive (and a very active 4-year-old) today thanks in part to the March Of Dimes. From the education on prenatal care they supply to the continuing education of the NICU staff they provide, The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign is a multimillion-dollar research, awareness and education effort that helps families have healthier babies.

Today more than 1,400 babies in the U.S. (1 in will be born prematurely. Many will be too small and too sick to go home.In about 40 percent of premature births, the causes are unknown. To solve this problem, scientific research is of paramount importance. The March of Dimes is funding medical studies to find the answers.

Join me in the campaign BloggersUnite: Fight For Preemies!

You probably know a baby that was born too soon. Take some time to honor them, and the research funded by the March of Dimes that has made the survival of so many preemies possible by participating in the Fight for Preemies. Grab a badge from the Bloggers Unite site and post it on your blog for the moth of November. Then take some time on November 17th to write blog about prematurity. Click Here: http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/fight-for-preemies

We need to fight because babies shouldn’t have to.

Please Support The March For Babies

For the 4th year in a row, we’re walking to celebrate our son Joey who was born 12 weeks prematurely — and to show we care for all babies, those born healthy and those that need our help to survive and thrive.

Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death; and birth defects affect more than 120,000 babies every year.

The March of Dimes is investing millions of dollars in Nobel Prize-winning research offering hope for preventions and solutions for babies born premature or with birth defects. The March of Dimes fights for health insurance, pushes for newborn screening, provides comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care, and supports research offering hope for preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with a birth defect.

You can support these efforts by sponsoring our team!

Everyone donating to Joey’s Posse Family Team will receive a free report from me “The Household Helper’s Quick Start Guide To Organizing”. All donations are made directly to The March Of Dimes. The report will be emailed to all sponsors via the email address used in your donation.

Thank you!
Cara

Joey’s Fundraising ecard

Click here to help me reach my goal!

In Memory of Maddie

It is with a heavy heart and tear filled eyes that I begin my fundraising efforts for the March For Babies this year. Being that my little dude was a “28 weeker” the March of Dimes has always been our primary organization to support. But this year is more poignant. This year our walk will be in celebration of Joey and in memory of Maddie.

Madeline Alice Spohr has been our “cyber” friend for a few months now. A fellow preemie (a “22 weeker” I think”), I frequent Heather’s blog on a regular basis. Today, the interwebz community is full of saddness as we learned the passing of Maddie. While we’re not sure yet what the cause of her death was (either RSV or pneumonia) it is such a shock.

Meghan posted today on Heather’s blog “Heather and Mike have asked that in lieu of flowers you contribute to the March of Dimes in memory of Madeline Alice Spohr.”

I was going to ask for donations to sponsor my little dude. But now we also ask for donations in memory of Maddie. Everyone donating to Joey’s Posse Family Team will receive a free report from me “The Household Helper’s Quick Start Guide To Organizing”. The report will be emailed to all sponsors/donators through my March Babies site. (click on the link above or use the widget to the right).

Now having said all of that, I need to go smother my little dude with hugs and kisses. And pray for Maddie and her family.,