Knitting Zeal

Alex's Million Mile-Run. Walk. Ride.

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation is a cause my family likes to support.  Our annual lemonade stand this past June raised double the amount from last year, over $350!  For a little lemonade stand hosted by a six year old, we were proud of our contribution this year.  Starting in September I'll be participating in another fundraiser for ALSF, Alex's Million Mile-Run. Walk. Ride. 

In an effort to raise the profile of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation will go the distance this September, launching Alex’s Million Mile – Run. Walk. Ride. With firsthand knowledge of just how far parents of children with cancer would go to find a cure for their child, the Foundation will challenge supporters everywhere to go the extra mile this September, collectively running, walking or cycling one million miles to work toward better treatments and ultimately cures for all kids with cancer. 

In its inaugural year, Alex’s Million Mile (formerly known as the Million Mile Run), mobilized more than 5,000 participants to log 250,000 miles and raise over $500,000 for the cause. Among the various ways that miles were logged by participants from coast to coast: parents walked their children to school each day, logging one mile each way; families walked to Friday night dinners and back; instead of taking public transportation, individuals ran to work or evening outings. The possibilities are endless, with each step being counted toward the ultimate goal of logging one million miles, and more importantly raising vital awareness of the number one disease killer of children under the age of 15 in the United States. 

 

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country carrying on her legacy of hope. To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 charity, has raised more than $80 million toward fulfilling Alex’s dream of finding a cure, funding over 450 pediatric cancer research projects nationally. For more information on Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, visit AlexsLemonade.org. 

I'll be tracking my miles of walking/jogging and the miles I complete in spinning class all month long in September.  Want to sponsor me or my team?  Check out our team page and consider a contribution.  Ever dollar counts!  Thanks!!

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Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and my little boy

Our Lemonade Stand

Our Lemonade Stand

Over the weekend we hosted our second annual Lemonade Stand in support of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation during National Lemonade Days.  My son was the inspiration for hosting it.  He just loves to do it and had so much fun getting ready, setting up everything, and selling the lemonade and snacks.  He helped make rice krispie treats to sell at his stand too.  He made lots of signs and we spent the evening before decorating the neighborhood with them.  It was a great success too!  Lots of neighbors came out as well as just people driving by and many of my knitting friends too.  

At the end of the day, the stand raised $203 and change and another $110 from online donations!  He collected more than twice what he raised last year.  He was very happy with the results and we are very proud of his efforts. 

Thank you to everyone who supported his lemonade stand this year!  Let's hope that someday lemonade stands won't be needed anymore because a cure for childhood cancer will be found.

If you would like to make an online contribution to my son's stand, you can at his lemonade stand page on the official Alex's Lemonade Stand website.  Thanks!

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Happy Earth Day!

To celebrate Earth Day, we attended a butterfly release at a new Pollinator Garden at our local Whole Foods Market.  My son got to "unwrap" the sleeping Painted Lady Butterfly and release her into the garden.  There was plenty of fruit out for the new baby butterflies to enjoy their first meal. "Our" butterfly immediately flew over to a piece of mango and began to chow down on the nectar.  The Market is working in conjunction with a local nursery to build the Pollinator Garden to encourage bees, butterflies and birds to flock there in a safe atmosphere.  There were free popsicles too, which delighted my little guy!

At home we planted some seeds in egg cartons to get started for replanting in our garden in mid May after the danger of frost.  We'll hopefully have some sunflowers, basil, poppies, strawberries and coleus growing.  I have many more seed packets to plant, but they will have to be sowed directly into the ground in May.  

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One year later: Hurricane Sandy and kids

It's been one year since the devastating Super Storm, hurricane Sandy, hit the Mid-Atlantic area of the US.  It's destruction levelled some towns, ruined homes, schools and businesses, and changed the way the shore will look forever.  

 

January, 2013. Not quite three months after the storm. Holgate, NJ

 Children were the youngest victims of the storm.  They lost their homes and schools, had to live in temporary housing without their belongings, and watched their parents and caregivers suffer through emotional and financial stress.  Children are still affected by this storm, even a year later.  Here is a great video produced by Save the Children.

 

Below is an infographic filled with information about making a safety plan for your family in the case of a disaster.  Find a full sized graphic here  on the Save the Children website that you can print and use at home.  It's important that your children know how you will help them and protect them in case of another storm or other emergency.  My son at age six still regularly talks about Sandy.  We were lucky and only lost power for four days and had some food spoilage.  We were really lucky that one of the huge trees that surround our home didn't fall.  The house we rent each summer for our week at the beach was flooded and subsequently gutted.  The owners raced to complete the repairs in time for rental season, as that loss of income would be financially devastating. So while our family did not suffer drastic loss, the impact of the storm was still felt by my son.  I can't even imagine how the children who lost everything are coping now at this year anniversary.

While everyone hopes that another devastating storm never occurs, the reality is that it's likely that we will all endure another hazardous weather-related or emergency event in the future.  Having an emergancy preparedness plan for your family is essential.  Being sure that your children are protected when away from you is just as important.  Inquire at your children's schools  and day care centers about their emergency preparedness plan.  If they don'thave a clear plan, offer to help them develop one.  

 

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and my little boy

It's that time of year again, time for Lemonade Days, the annual weekend dedicated to raise money across the country to support Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF).  It seems that everywhere we visit during the spring and leading into summer we see that familiar lemonade stand logo.  My lemonade loving son is quick to notice the logo.  We first noticed signs in Five Below and at Rita's Italian Ice stores.  My son hosted a lemonade stand last summer and he immediately asked if he could do it again.  Since he was aware of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, I talked to him about hosting a stand to support helping sick kids for the Foundation.  He agreed that he wanted to help.  

On Friday we were scheduled to host our stand, but with Tropical Storm Andrea hitting the coast, we are saddled with a day of rain and flash flooding all day!  Ugh.  So we post-poned our stand to Sunday.  If you want to come and support a wonderful cause, and you know where I live, please stop by from 2-4 pm.  If you would like to make a donation and buy a "virtual cup of lemonade," send me a message and I'll send you my son's donation page link.  

The Foundation sent my son his lemonade stand kit to help his fundraising efforts. It included the storybook about Alex and why she started her lemonade fundraising.  We have read this book multiple times each week since receiving it.  It is a really sweet story that gives just enough information to kids about Alex and her lemonade stand while being completely age appropriate.  I cry almost every time I read it.  I know that Alex had childhood cancer and passed away at age 8.  My son just knows she was sick and wanted to raise money to support the hospitals and researchers that helped sick kids.  I highly recommend reading this story to kids at least once.  

Rita's Italian Ice stores have dedicated raising funds for the ALSF cause by selling paper  lemons from June 5th through 18th for a $1.  During the past 7 years they have raised $3.5 million!  This year Rita's has announced that they have established Rita's Fund of Hope which will raise money to aid with the travel needs of families whose children are battling cancer.  My son is a frequent customer at Rita's and has always been a fan of the Alex's Lemonade flavor.  Seeing that this business supports ALSF encouraged him to help out by raising money on his own.  

I hope that if you see kids running a lemonade stand this weekend that you are able to support it, every penny counts!  Or stop by your local Rita's and contribute a dollar and see your name on a lemon!  The funds raised really do go to support research in finding a cure for childhood cancer.  This is a great organization to support!  I'm proud of my son for helping out, even at age five!

 

Disclosure: ALSF and Rita's sent me promotional information about their fundraising efforts.  Included were coupons for food items.  No financial compensation was received.  All money raised during my son's lemonade stand will be sent to ALSF.  

Consignment Sale finds at Just Between Friends

I had a fun time shopping at the preview sale at the Just Between Friends Sale in Oaks, PA this week.  I got a media preview of the sale and was amazed at how much stuff was for sale at low prices!  

Since it's almost spring, it was time for me to find a cute argyle sweater vest for the kiddo.  Not only did I find a cute vest, but also a matching tie, which is the kiddo's favorite dressy items, since then he looks like daddy! I was also able to buy three bathing suits for the kid for $3.50 each!  He is set for summer and swim lessons now.  Another great find was a navy windbreaker from Gap for $3.50.  

I big find for me this time were Legos.  One gallon sized zipper bag filled was $6 and a box set of basic bricks was $6.50.  For Easter I have been planning to fill those plastic Easter eggs with Legos instead of candy, since we STILL have Halloween candy.  (He'll still get a small amount of candy in a basket, but we don't need 50 eggs filled with  more!) I had been planning to buy a new box of Legos for filling the eggs, but the two packs of used Legos I bought at the Just Between Friends Sale is more than enough.  I am thinking I'll wash them in a laundry bag in the dishwasher without the dry cycle to clean them.  

My son approved of all the clothing items I purchased for him except for a pair of crazy plaid shorts that I thought were fun.  I gave him one toy, and hid the Legos for now.  I bought him a tool box kit to make from Home Depot that was $2.  He loves going to the build-it clinics and this would give him a good project to make with his dad at home. 

It was an amazing site to see a warehouse sized room filled with all kids and baby stuff!  From strollers and car seats to Easter baskets and even new Melissa and Doug toys, there was everything needed for kids at great prices.  Check out the sale this weekend if you are in the area!

 

Disclosure: I attended a preview sale for bloggers and received a gift certificate to shop. No review or post was required.  I have been a long time fan of consignment sales!

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Getting ready for holiday shopping with the Mom Mixer

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had a fun time mingling with area mom bloggers last weekend at the Holiday Mom Mixer in Philadelphia.  It was held at the lovely Bellvue hotel in their top floor restaurant called XIX.  Look at that ceiling!  It was actually dripping with pearls!  It was such a pretty setting for a party.

The main sponsor was Hasbro and they had a large display of their latest toys available for holiday wish lists for the little ones.  I personally loved the new Flying Super Grover 2.0!  He is so cute!  (Of course I missed taking his picture!)  Unfortunatley their reps couldn't make the event because of the recent Hurricane.  I loved that the display toys were donated to area shelters for local kids of need.  

I had the chance to chat a representative from Kids Headquarters about the holiday line of boys clothing from Tommy Hilfiger available at Macy's.  I often see so many things for little girls, it was so nice to see a cute line of boys clothes!  I really thought this dog sweater was adorable.  

Cute Tommy Hilfiger sweater for boys

I had my first chance to check out some of the jewelry and scarves from Stella & Dot by Star Stylist Jen Thomas.  I had heard about this line of jewelry before, but never actually saw it in person.  I loved the leopard spotted scarf!   I received a current catalog of Stella & Dot jewelry from Jen and love some of the pieces in there!

Beautiful scarf from Stella & Dot 

The event was a lot of fun, gave me some holiday gift ideas, and I came home with a fun tote bag from Lands End filled with some great items.  I don't often go to blogger events, so I really enjoyed having the chance to meet other mom bloggers in person.  Thanks to Colleen and Whitney for hosting such a fun holiday Mom Mixer!

don't forget to VOTE!

I had an assistant with me today who helped me cast my final ballot.  He was happy that I let him push some of the buttons for me.  We are thankfully in agreement as to who we want for president.  Did you vote?  Get out there before the polls close!

Getting back to normal

Today was the first normal day we had all week. Last night, just as I was tucking the kid into his sleeping bag at my sister's house, I got the message that our power was back on at home. I also found out school would be in session today. So, we packed up and came home to lights and heat at home!

It was great to see all of the kids playing after preschool today. They really missed each other. The hurricane may have ruined the Halloween parade at school, but the kids didn't care.

This afternoon was the start of the next session of soccer. The kiddo had a blast running around chasing the ball. We got to come home and actually cook a meal for dinner.

I haven't seen much news coverage of the storm except for some video clips on Facebook. What I've seen of the Jersey coastline is heartbreaking. Our favorite beaches on LBI have washed away. I hope that the shore will be able to rebuild. They won't be back to normal for a long time.

Oh Sandy!

That's what my son keeps exclaiming, in addition to saying how mean Sandy is. The hurricane last night was scary. We lost power at 9:30pm and still are in the dark now at 3pm. I haven't opened either packed freezer, hoping that before 48 hours is up we are restored so I don't loose all the sauces and fruits I 'freezer' preserved! Or the chicken from the farm! Next year I'll just can it all! I am sitting in my car charging up my phone while writing this.

We don't have a generator but my son built us one (see second photo!!)

We were lucky in that we only lost one big tree branch and have lots of tree debris, nothing damaging. I don't know how, since at some point last night I was convinced our house would blow away. Around midnight it suddenly became calm when the eye of the hurricane passed over us. By 2am the winds calmed down again. Thankfully we did not get as much rain as expected and the basement did not flood. (Yay!)

We have natural gas powering our hot water, fireplace and stove so we can at least get warm. I was able to cook French toast for breakfast, since I had to use up eggs and milk. I'm not sure what to do about dinner. I have homemade marinara in the freezer I could use up. I'm not so sure about cooking and cleaning up in the dark. Candles and flashlights only do do much.

Halloween is tomorrow. I wonder if our town will postpone trick or treating. The kiddo is worried! We will have to carve our pumpkin today for a fun distraction.

So, we survived Hurricane Sandy with just some minor annoyances and sleepless nights. Hope you faired well if it affected you!