Educational Consultant
Now more than ever, teachers and school administrators are looking for ways to bring innovative techniques, lesson plans, learning experiences, and curricula into the classroom. In addition, parents want to become more active in the education of their children and are looking for ways to expand learning at home. From homeschooling, to educator professional [...]
I wanted to talk a little bit about other ways that you can help babies and families by volunteering with the March of Dimes.
In 1996, while attending college, I had the opportunity to work with a local organization charged to help women of childbearing age learn about prenatal care and gain access to health care. I was young and completely self-absorbed, but even then I knew that there are far too many women in the United States- the world- without the means or information to provide their babies with the best start possible.
As an adult, I never imagined that I would experience pregnancy loss after 12 weeks. I never imagined that losing a baby to pre-term labor would be something that I would endure. But when my family faced our greatest pain, we did so with the support of the March of Dimes- as Heather’s family is doing now.
In March of 2003, I recommitted myself to working with the March of Dimes. Apart from fundraising and participating in March for Babies, I decided that I would volunteer as well because donating a few bucks and one day was not enough. I volunteered in my state to make sure that March of Dimes has all the support it needs to do what they do best: help fight the causes of premature birth. I talked to women at clinics about the importance of prenatal care; I made calls to raise money and I even created flyers, banners, and other marketing materials to draw attention to the plight of premature babies.
With that in mind, please note that April 19-25 is National Volunteer Week and I urge you all, to take a few hours a month and volunteer for your local March of Dimes chapter. There is so much that you can do and while donating money is nice (after all research cost money) volunteering is priceless.
Because, you see, for the third year in a row, I’ll be drinking away my sorrows under a broken street light on the corner of “Sucks For Me” Road. I plan to send my daughter and my husband to my mother-in-law’s house so that I can spend the night complaining about them while staring down the bottle of a Mad Dog 20/20 (the drink of the broke and broken).
But don’t you worry! I promise to vlog with my Nikon CoolPix Digital Camera (and not my FLIP because I STILL cannot get it to work on my PC and unless I have an online meeting with The Powers that Flip, they cannot help me despite the fact that my camera has not worked on my PC since I first got it and instead of just sending me a new one they are making me spend time that I don’t have doing things that don’t work which is just another example of how they keep screwing mommy bloggers), and make a Whrrl story about how I antagonized a cop so badly that he had to beat me with a Dunkin Donuts Cruller and dragged me to jail.
You know that feeling you get when you start to understand that no matter what kind of person you are- no matter how well you treat others and give of yourself to others- that bad things will happen and you can only take it on the chin and move forward?
Well, I’m having that feeling now. Nothing is going right. Nothing. Just when things started to go well- when my business starts to make money, hubby gets a promotion- we are faced with one financial crisis after another. And the financial aspects would be bearable if emotionally, we were not so stressed.
Yes, this is about my sister and my family and the stuggle that has become part of our normal routine.
But it is also about my Father-in-Law who, just four days before my sister died, was admitted to the hospital with one problem after another. He was diagnosed with C.O.P.D a few months ago and has been struggling to breathe for a long time and what we thought was a result of just his stubbornness and reluctance to take his meds, turns out to be more. He has lesions on his diaphragm, MRSA, some issues with his kidneys and failing organs. He is doing better now that they switched him to a Tracheotomy ventilation rather than the oral tube. But, there are still so many issues and we can’t even begin to imagine what is going to happen.
Oh, and did I mention that financially we are just as worn out as we are emotionally?
Bills. Debt. Loss. Stress. Pain. Misery. No end in sight. I need a break. I need people to stop telling me abot their religion. I don’t want to hear God has a plan because to be honest, that does nto help. It really doesn’t. It just sound sadistic and empty. And I am sorry if I am offending people right now, but if leaving 2 kids without a mother or a mother and father without their child, a father who just want’s to rest and breathe or a struggling family without air, is part of a greater plan, then the greater plan really sucks!
My family has created a team- Team Samantha Michelle- and is joining in the March for Babies with March of Dimes in an effort to raise money to study and combat premature births and birth defects. This is a cause that is very important to my family as in 2003 we lost our first daughter, Samantha Michelle, when I went into pre-term labor at 19.5 weeks. Our second daughter Mya was born 4 weeks early and spent 5 days in the NICU because her lungs were underdeveloped. If you have ever had a child in the NICU or know some one who has, then you know just how hard it is for a family to watch their baby struggle to live.
I am asking for your help in helping us reach our goal. I know times are hard and that sometimes it’s hard to imagine donating anything to charity when the economy is falling down around us. However, I am a firm believer in Karma and i know that if you can find it in your heart to give just $2 dollars, you will invite good energy into your life.
Please visit my personal page at http://www.marchforbabies.org/momontherise to read more about March for Babies and to donate if even a small amount.
I thank you in advance for your support . Please now that your donation is very much appreciated .
On March 24, my husband and I headed to the Time Warner Center in Manhattan for “Tuition Tuesday,” a UPromise event kicking off the UPromise Tuition Tales video contest. the celebration was emceed by Maria Bailey, of Momselect, MomTalkRadio and founder of Newbaby.com. Guest speakers included UPromise President, David Rochon; ”Living Rich for Less” author, Ellie Kay; and even included a humorous performance from last year’s contest winner Caleb Shreve.
UPromise is an amazingly simple way to save money to offset the insanity of college cost. When you purchase products- many that you probably buy anyway- a portion of that purchase will be added into an account that you can use to fund your child’s college education. Additionally, you can link your UPromise account with a 529 or similar college savings plan. [read more about UPromise]
Tuition Tales is a video contest beng held by UPromise. Anyone who knows someone, or is someone, who needs money for college is free to produce a 30-second video to earn a chance to win one of three $10,000 prizes. There are three categories: saving for college, in college, or paying it back.
Last year’s winner, Caleb Shreve, made a music video in which he sang about his college-tuition woes.
Of course, the UPromise event did not just provide us with great information about saving for college. Ellie Kay, a mom of seven who managed to send her children to college loan-free, discussed how she and her husband were able to live life well without going bankrupt. I took her attandance at this event as a omen. I won a copy of her book, ” Living Rich for Less: Create the Lifestyle You Want by Giving, Saving, and Spending Smart,” from Books-A-Latte a while back, and after hearing her speak, Iam more motivated to take control of our spending. Of course, I must also mention the awesome networking that took place during this event. Maria’s ability to conenct people is unmatched and I am so glad that I met her back in October.
among the many people I met because of Maria. I am sure there are many others that I am forgetting- don’t get mad if you don’t see your name here. Just leave me a comment and remind me that we met. LOL
At first, when I attempted to install my Rain-X Latitude wipers and thought they were replacement blades. This was very upsetting as I had removed the old blades and bent them up to fit in the trash can.
After consulting the directions, I quickly deduced that these were in fact the full wiper blades and proceeded to install them. They were very easy to install and since they lacked a spine seemed to vacuum seal to the windshield. Because of this seal the wipers do not streak and really provide an even wipe.
Some of the wipers that I have used in the past made streaking sounds, but these wipers are very quiet. I used these wipers during and after a snowfall and they really did a great job removing the salty slush that gets kicked up from other vehicles. I am very pleased with these wipers and will purchase in the future.
It hit me. At 11:53 PM, I was sitting on my computer making sure that I had approved all of the comments left on the Legacy Site that I set up for my sister, and it hit me. A knot formed in my stomach and it quickly moved up into my chest and released its self in a steady flow of tears.
I realized that death is permanent.
No matter how many times I swallow, or take a deep breath, or try to remember the fun times. The good times. When were were the Three Kennedy Girls. No matter how many times, I end up right back here.
I miss my sister. I miss her so much. And while I had a hard time accepting many of the choices she made in her life, I miss her freshness and her spontaneity. I mourn for the sister that so many in her life did not know. The sister that taught me about boys, and Aunt Flow, and braided my hair no matter how much I cried. She was my bodyguard back then. And my cheerleader at HS basketball games. She was my friend.
My heart is so heavy.
I keep telling myself that things will get back to normal, but normal no longer exsists. Normal died on March 8, 2009. Without warning. Without farewells. Normal was my life before. It seems so long ago.
The road ahead is going to be so hard. My nieces will need so much. My youngest needs to be here with me and I fear that we will not be able to make that happen. I don’t know where to start. Or even how. I worry that not only will my nieces have to endure the pain of losing their mom- who despite her faults, loved them with all of her ailing heart- and now have the pain of being separated.
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On March 24, my husband and I headed to the Time Warner Center in Manhattan for “Tuition Tuesday,” a 
Tuition Tales is a video contest beng held by UPromise. Anyone who knows someone, or is someone, who needs money for college is free to produce a 30-second video to earn a chance to win one of three $10,000 prizes. There are three categories: saving for college, in college, or paying it back.
Of course, the UPromise event did not just provide us with great information about saving for college. Ellie Kay, a mom of seven who managed to send her children to college loan-free, discussed how she and her husband were able to live life well without going bankrupt. I took her attandance at this event as a omen. I won a copy of her book, ”
,” from 
At first, when I attempted to install my 
