"The Girl Effect" - You've Gotta Watch This

Can Moms Get Ear Infections?

It turns out that they can... (but shouldn't)...
After three weeks of everyone else getting sick, I finally succumbed to it. I now have an infection in each ear and a sinus infection.
And yes, I blame my children and husband - and this nasty weather! :)

I'm in Love...

We have been spending a lot of time indoors again due to the horrible weather we've been experiencing. It's sad really... Liam has been putting on his goggles and he tries to swim underwater in the tub. He has been taking two baths a day in order to practice. We really need it to be sunny. Our tub isn't that big.

I just thought that I would show you all how adorable my two boys are. I never knew how crazy I could be for my kiddos!

Finny and the Goop

Finn had "the croup" (or do you call it "croup"?) He had the croup two weeks ago and he has never totally recovered. He has been pretty chipper during the day but he has been up A LOT at night crying and acting generally miserable. I am talking up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It is starting to kill me. He cried on and off for a couple of hours last night and I watched him pound his little head on his mattress while trying to go to sleep via our video monitor. I think that all moms know what that means.

So... I took him to the doctor this morning. He was in a great mood and super flirty with his doctor. I told her the symptoms and told her that his eye had kind of started gooping a little. She took a look at his ears and diagnosed him with a double ear infection and said that the gooping in his eyes was caused by the puss in his ears (not pink eye - thankfully). Sad. The kid can't catch a break (and consequently neither can I). He woke up from his nap looking like this - much worse than when we were at the doctor's office. I thought that I would catch it on camera. He certainly doesn't seem upset about being able to see out of one eye.

I LOVE THIS!!! LET'S GET INVOLVED!!!

I was just reading a little parenting newsletter that I receive via email and came across this little idea in the blog. I LOVE that people are doing this and wanted to pass it on. By the way, I followed all of the links and it seemed legit... I have copied the blog below.

Sending toys to Iraqi children

Yesterday I wrote about cleaning Pikachu’s closet to prepare for all the goodies he’ll soon bring home from school. I mentioned that we’d found a bunch of toys to send to Iraqi children. This is just one of the many great ideas I’ve picked up over at Parent Hacks.

Back in 2006, Asha wrote about Edmay Mayers, a female member of the Army Corps of Engineers stationed in Iraq who was collecting gently used stuffed animals and distributing to Iraqi children.

This was great news because most US-based charities and even many resale shops will not accept used stuffed animals, even ones that look like new. Also, I was thrilled with the idea that Iraqi children might have a reason to like the US soldiers.

We’ve sent two boxes already and each time received a nice note (though it takes months to arrive) with a report of what the Gulf Region Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers has accomplished. The list includes things like hospital and school renovations, water treatment and other projects that address Iraqi quality of life issues.

Each time we prepare a box the boys are a little more generous in letting go of their possessions, though I can’t say whether they are motivated by altruism or, ahem, clearing out more room for Pokemon cards.

This time, our box was filled with “tiny treasures.” Small boxes of crayons, spinning tops, stickers, cute key chains, and colorful new pencils…essentially a decade’s worth of goody bag booty.

I included other items like an outgrown baseball mitt and a bit of hard candy, but you could have knocked me over with a feather when the package was weighed at the post office: 13 pounds! (And you thought I was exaggerating when I said ten year’s worth of treasure.)

You can prepare a similar box and send it to:

Commander
USACE-GRS
APO-AE
09331

You have to fill out a customs form at the post office and I think it generally costs about $15 to send (this time it was about $25). But if it’s building a little love for our country, it’s a good investment.

I realize there are many recent natural disasters at home and abroad that deserve our attention and donations right now, but this is a simple way to give and it’s easy to involve the kids.

Pictures for a Purpose

Deja Vu? NO! I am just obnoxiously passionate about this event and human trafficking!

The morning time slots are almost all filled so if you want a prime time and have been meaning to sign up, visit www.picsforapurpose.com and sign up now!


Your child's smile could help save a life...

Eastside Women of Purpose is launching their 1st Annual Pictures for a Purpose fundraiser! We have five super talented photographers lined up to photograph your kiddos on Saturday, June 28th from 9am to 6pm. To coolest part is that every photographer is donating their entire day and all profits to Eastside Women of Purpose! Everything we make will go towards programs that help protect children at risk from being trafficked in SE Asia.

Experts estimate 5.7 million children are trapped in forced or bonded labor. About one
million of these children are exploited in the sex trade each year. (Source: UNICEF) Many
times, unwitting parents hand over their children to slavers under false pretenses, such as
promises of schooling.

You can help. Take advantage of this opportunity to secure a lasting memory of your child. All proceeds will be used to pay for desperately needed educational and training resources used
by World Concern to combat child trafficking throughout SE Asia.

Your $30 sitting fee goes directly to this cause. Pick the photos you like from our easy-to-use
website—flexible a la carte pricing lets you pick the photos and sizes you really want. The site will even change the picture to black and white or sepia tone for you! There is
no obligation to buy. Again, all of the proceeds from this event will go towards this project.

We are selling these photo sessions at OCC (across from the info booth) on Sunday mornings or or you can visit www.picsforapurpose.com and sign up from there. If you live in the Seattle area and would like to participate but have absolutely no idea where OCC is, feel free to comment on this posting or visit picsforapurpose.com to schedule an appointment!

My New Favorite Song for the Summer

These days, I can almost always be found dancing and bouncing around my house to Coldplay's new song, "Viva la Vida." I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song. It makes me feel happy and energetic (and we all know that I need this). I cannot make out all of the lyrics but I sing out what I know and make up the rest of the words. I am not going to write a mini critique or anything... I am just going to tell you that you HAVE to hear it. Jesse and I keep playing it over and over again and even little Finny loves dancing to it. Liam is the only one that seems indifferent towards it and I think that he is getting a little sick of hearing it. Go on iTunes and listen to it or just google it... I think that you will love it too! (I can't figure out how to have it playing on my blog).