Cancer Steals: Let's Fight Back!

Cancer is a robber. It steals life. It robs futures. It takes and it destroys. I’ve written before how my father passed away when I was only two months old. He was taken in the absolute prime of his life. He never saw me crawl, walk, say my first word, grow up, graduate from college, or get married. I can’t honestly tell my children that much about their grandfather because I never knew him myself. Cancer stole him from me – from us.

Cancer also stole from my husband. His father passed away from Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was only seventeen years old.  Instead of enjoying his high school years, he was watching his father unsuccessfully fight for his life. His father left behind a wife and thirteen children. He also now has twenty five grandchildren – he never met any of them.

Sadly, our stories are all too common. 

Our friend Becky was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the age of 34 while pregnant with her first child. What should have been the most exciting and amazing time of her life quickly turned into a nightmare. Becky battled through and has her life and a healthy daughter to show for it. She also co-started the group “We Will NOT Lay Down 2 Cancer.” I am honored to now join her on the committee of this Dana Farber charity.

On Saturday, July 21, 2012 “We Will NOT Lay Down 2 Cancer” will be hosting the third annual Run, Walk or Crawl 5K in Franklin, MA. Last year the race had over 400 participants and raised over $14,000 for cancer research. Are you a runner, walker, or crawler local to my area? Well then I invite you to join us for a great day filled with inspiration, family fun, and some exercise!  Click here to register for the event. If you are not local (or are but can’t make the race) but would like to make a donation, please click here. Last but definitely not least, if you are a business owner and would like to be a sponsor, please click here or contact me directly. Together we can make a difference.

Last year's race was a soaker so we cheated and held up under a tent. Don't worry, I ordered sunshine for this year.

Six Wedded Years in the Blink of an Eye

This coming Sunday is our six year wedding anniversary which got me thinking back on our wedding day. We were engaged for only three months before we said “I do.” I didn’t need a long engagement with a big, fancy wedding. After all, I had done that before and never ended up walking down the aisle. So we had a very small wedding with only 35 close family members attending. We rented out the function room of a local restaurant for an afternoon lunch (mainly so that my mother who was not in great health could easily attend). It was a rainy day and the officiant (my good friend from college) was almost two hours late due to a bad accident that had closed down part of the highway. Even with that hiccup, the day was perfect. I can remember other people kind of frantic about the delay while I casually sipped champagne. I looked amazing, I was surrounded by the people I loved the most, and was marrying the man I knew that I was meant to be with. What was there to be stressed about? The ceremony (although late) went off without a hitch and the rain cleared up enough for us to be able to take pictures outside. The day flew by and it was the start of our happily ever after. 

Oh, and I can still remember our vows! "I, Diane take you Tim to be my husband, my partner in life, and my one true love. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live." 

A New Visitor In Our Yard

As I’ve talked about before Daniel is obsessed with birds so last month we put up a couple of bird feeders. I had to take one of them down because it was a losing battle with the squirrels but the other one has been a huge success. We get tons of birds that are all different varieties. They are not even scared away when Daniel yells “BIRD! BIRD! BIRD!” at them. They have just become used to the screaming toddler and continue on with their business. So as if the ongoing bird show out the window is not enough excitement for Daniel we know have a new visitor…

A Turkey!

  

All the kids are pretty excited about our new feathered friend. He’s been strolling the neighborhood alone for the last few days but I can only imagine that one day I’m going to walk out the door to find an angry gang of turkeys blocking my car. Until then at least Tom the Turkey is providing some free entertainment for the kids.

I'm off to get my friends. We'll see ya soon.

A Very Unexpected Find in the Woods

I decided the kids and I should enjoy the beautiful weather today and have a picnic lunch and go for a walk at a local state park. I ended up rushing lunch short because the spiders, inch worms, and bugs were out of control there. I mean I get it, it’s nature and all but can’t they leave just one picnic table alone for me to enjoy?! Anyway, so after potty trip number two we headed off down the trail to explore nature at its finest. The kids loved running in the woods, collecting sticks, throwing rocks, and watching the water. The "highlight" of my day though was finding an elderly man on the ground on one of the paths. At first I thought he was just sitting taking pictures because he had a camera around his neck. Upon further evaluation and seeing his belongings scattered around it was clear that he had fallen and wasn’t able to get up on his own. Lucky for him, I’m an old pro at helping the handicapped get around (shout out to my Mom!) so after a few attempts I was able to help him back up to his feet. I then handed him back his cane, gathered his items, and helped him back to his car (which had handicapped plates). Conveniently, he had parked nearby basically in the middle of the woods on a path where I am 99% sure that you are not allowed to park. I can just see this man’s family telling him to stop taking his elderly, handicapped, cane ridden body out to the middle of the woods to take pictures of birds and him flat out saying no. The thing about old people is that they are stubborn. God love them. But it turns out the real lucky person of the day was not the injured stranger who I helped but it was actually me because when I was helping the man this is what my kids were doing…

It’s a MIRACLE that one of them didn’t end up in the water. Karma at its finest!

Three happy, dry kids!

Mommy Bear Media: Family Friendly Movies

We’ve recently started a tradition of Movie Night at our house. We do it up with bean bag seating, popcorn, candy, and all the works. The kids get a big kick out of it and ask constantly when we can have the next movie night. I try to choose a new movie each time that both big kids will like (and won’t put the hubs and I to sleep!). It can sometimes be tricky so I was super excited to learn about Mommy Bear Media. They only offer family friendly movies including some of the best new movies on DVD. I can easily search their site to find movies that are a great fit for us and a great price. I love that I can search by Rating, Top Picks, and even by Age. I also love that Mommy Bear Media is a small, Mom owned business. Us moms need to stick together!

 

For our most recent movie night, I chose Lilo and Stitch. I ordered the movie on Wednesday and it was waiting in my mailbox on Friday with…wait for it…wait for it…FREE shipping! Doesn’t get much better than that. The kids loved the movie. It was just the right mix of aliens (for the boys) and adorable cuteness (for the girls). We’ll definitely be watching it (over and over) again.

So go check out Mommy Bear Media and order a movie today. Be sure to also check out their Facebook page and tell them Dollops sent you!

*As a Premiere Blogger for Mommy Bear Media, I received a coupon for a free movie. All opinions are my own.*

A Warning to All Visitors to our House

Please ignore the…
Cheerios on the floor,
Crayon on the wall,

Sticky substance under the table,
Dust bunnies who have made our home their home as well,

Fingerprints on the windows,

Endless toys under your feet, and
Dirty dishes in the sink.

Happy, healthy children are hard at work and we are busy making memories. 

Four Year Olds Don’t Lie

Isabelle’s preschool had an adorable Mother’s Day brunch for us yesterday. The kids sang us songs, made and served us lunch, and presented us with presents. It was super cute. Each child also made a placemat for their mom with questions on it that they had answered…