Entries Tagged 'Children' ↓

During these cold, harsh Florida winter days, a mom has to find a way to get warm somehow.

So this is how I roll.

Behold, my sweet Picasso. And before he ruined this masterpiece with one swipe of the magnetic eraser, I captured it for all the world to see. The MET will thank me someday.

Ok, I’ve had it. Call me uptight. Call me a helicopter mom. Call me an old fart for bringing down everyone’s good time this Halloween. But I don’t care. I’ve had it.

I can’t bring my six year old son into Target, Walgreens or a variety of other stores because he is terrified, utterly frozen with fear, by what he sees in the Halloween section. And my 3 year old, who is strangely curious about all the “scary mans” he sees is now convinced those same “scary mans” are under his bed every night. He cries out at about 3am, I go and calm him, “No scary mans” I promise – and curse my local Walgreens the entire way back to my bed.

They’re just kids, you say. They’re scared of everything. They just need to toughen up that’s all. This is just part of what happens on Halloween. Normal kids get used to this stuff. So relax.

Really. My Target alone has larger-than-life sized decomposing skeleton men towering over its customers, menacing witches that scream and cackle and an entire variety of ghoulish ghosts, sounds and things that jump out at you as you walk by. This is a picture (see at right) of one Halloween prop that I took this morning – quickly – while my son hid in the Christmas section a couple aisles over. It’s not a great picture because I wasn’t going to hang around long enough to perfect it. I wanted him as far from there as possible.

Because as much as he wanted to move far far away from all of it, maybe I don’t want my kid to be “normal” either. Maybe I don’t want him to eventually “get used” to gore like this any more than he does.

And as I mentioned, Target is certainly not the only culprit. These decorations are everywhere. I’ve seen automated butlers who remove their faces to reveal skeletal gore with bulging eyeballs. I’ve seen bloody appendages crawling across the floor. Oh and don’t even get me started on places like Party City. It’s every nightmare come to life in there. Check out some of what they sell.

It’s not just the Halloween props either. Its the costumes too. My kids would FREAK the frock OUT if they saw someone dressed like this walking down the road this October 31st.

What the hell am I supposed to tell them? Monsters aren’t real? Right.

Did you know my six year old refused to shop for a costume this year? He wanted to be Frankenstein but was too scared to even look in the costume section. While cowering in the cart with his face buried in my groceries, I picked up one mask that seemed to work. “Ok, OK! That’s it. Lets go Mama, LET’S GO!!!” And then there were tears, tears, tears. We’ll piece the rest together at home. This is ridiculous.

Here’s the thing. I get the joy of gory fear. I do. I think I owned every “Nightmare on Elm Street” there was growing up. I loved those movies and watching them with the lights off with my friends screaming and laughing and peering out from behind our pillows. I get that people have fun getting scared. And folks who want that kind of fun this Halloween should have it.

But these costumes and Halloween props on sale to terrify are set up out in the open, an aisle away from light bulbs, electronics and athletic gear. These costumes and Halloween props that I wheel my cart past daily without warning, if placed in a movie, have enough gore factor to rate that movie “R”.

They are simply NOT suitable to be seen by small children.

Teens, adults, sure. Knock yourselves out and scare each other silly. Good times.

But little kids, who still aren’t 100% sure what real and pretend is all about. Little kids who could never conceive what horror was, until now. Little kids who actually think monsters are real, no matter what parents tell them. Yeah, those little kids should not see this stuff.

Ok, look. You big corporations probably make a lot of money selling all of this junk. Some whiny mom’s post isn’t going to change your outlook on all those dollar bills rolling in. But how about this. Can we compromise? Can’t we at least put all the scary, gory, decomposing, bloody, skeletal stuff in one separate aisle? And then can we put all the cute pumpkins, whimsical ghosts and fun little kid costumes in another? Can’t we at least do that? Because from where I sit, I sure would be shopping at your store more often if I could actually convince my kid he didn’t have to see any of it if he didn’t want to. If you all care, Target and Walgreens are seeing a lot less of my business this October strictly because I can’t drag my kids in there. Not cool.

Alrighty then. I’ve had my say. And my kids are excited for Halloween. We’re watching a lot of “Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”, we’re planning a fun driveway party for the night of the 31st and we can’t wait for pumpkin carving time. We’re making this holiday fun, despite all of the unnecessary fear that now seems to go along with it.

And we only have 16 days until it’s Christmas decoration time. Rock on.

While we escaped without much fanfare from H1N1, the flu season has certainly made its mark on my family already. Because we’re dealing with more flu issues yet again. No, my 6yo didn’t get H1N1 – miraculously, he seems to have remained immune while his friends and brother all have succumbed to it. So I think we’re done with the pig.

However. I decided to get both of my sons the flu shot. Since it looked like we had made it through well enough with the Swine thing, I may as well cover all our bases, follow all the recommendations of our doctor and our school, and get my kids vaccinated.

No big deal, right?

That’s certainly been the case for my all swined out 3 year old. I don’t think he even cried when he was given his shot. And since then, all he has to show for it is a quarter sized red mark at the vaccination site. No biggee.

Not so for my 6yo. His leg hurt him right away after he was vaccinated. And by the time he got home from school that day, he was limping and the site was sore to touch. The next morning, he woke up with a 102 degree fever. The nurse I spoke with on the phone said that this is a normal side effect. He should take some Motrin and he should be fine in a day or so. Ok. The motrin worked wonders. But when it started to wear off, his leg actually started to swell and the vaccination site started to show a patchy rash that spread up and down his thigh.

What the hell? He’s had flu shots before, but they’ve never reacted like this!

Once again, I was on the phone with the Friday night After Hours office. I need an appointment. Now.

We were there in within the hour. By then my poor kid (who was due for his Motrin) was struggling. The fever was kicking his ass. And his leg looked awful.

What did the Doctor say? Yes, his reaction IS normal. It is not an allergic reaction since my son is not allergic to eggs (thankfully). He said he is just reacting to the inactive virus that is part of the vaccination. This is not the flu, just some side effects from it. Ok. And while my 3 year old’s reaction was simply a tiny localized red spot, my older son obviously reacted quite a bit more. He said to take Motrin* every six hours without fail for the next 24 hours. We should also keep a cold compress on his leg and the swelling should be better when he isn’t feverish. And that was that.

His fever has continued today, but the Motrin helps a great deal. So does the cold compress. I am assuming he will be back to normal tomorrow or the following day.

But still. It makes me rethink this flu shot thing. Sure, it HAS been pointed out to me that even with these fairly strong reactions to the flu shot, this is better than having the flu itself. And I agree. My 3 year old had a flu shot last year and did not get the flu. My older son didn’t get the shot and he suffered with a horrible flu for a week. So yes, this IS the better option.

That said, I can’t help but feel iffy about this whole flu shot business. This foreign “inactivated influenza” stuff being shot into my kid’s leg and putting him on his ass. My poor kid.

And with all of it’s bad press recently, I never even asked about thiomersal or whether it was being used in these vaccinations. (*hanging head in shame*) And I didn’t ask about it yesterday either. (*smacking forehead*) I gather it is rarely used any longer – or if it is, it is used in very small doses.

So where does this leave my kids? Well, they’re vaccinated – and my 6 year old does seem to be soldiering back.

But next year? Would I do this again? Not after a long, hard talk with my doctor to see what to expect. Because the Swine Flu was less of a hassle for my 3 year old than the side effects of the vaccination were for my 6 year old. I know we were lucky with H1N1 – VERY lucky. And fairly unlucky with the flu shot. So I am trying to keep my head about me through all of this – but I just can’t help but feel a bit iffy… maybe I even have a little flu shot remorse.

Flu exposures, flu shots, fevers, misery, side effects of all of it… maybe there is no escape. Maybe the flu gets you one way or the other – its just a matter of how MUCH it gets you.

Regardless, I am OVER this Flu season already. I hope we’ve paid our dues. We’ve done our time. So. Leave us alone now, ok?

*Note: While I followed the directions on the Motrin bottle, the Dr. actually noted that I had been under-dosing him for his size and that might explain his further swelling and recurring fever. It was a quick reminder that I should always check in with my pediatrician regarding dosage amounts. As they grow, so does their dosage. I should know better, Chandra Wilson told me so.

The inevitable happened. After learning about – and thus being exposed to – confirmed cases of Swine Flu at my son’s school and my husband’s work, we got it. My three year old son came home from school on Friday with a fever, all kinds of lethargy and a juicy cough.

At least I was prepared for it.

While rooting around the medicine cabinet for the children’s ibuprofen, I was already on hold with my Pediatrician’s office. And then, no there were no appointments available today but we could call the after hours office and schedule an appointment when it opened at 5:30. Ok. And then they gave me the Florida Flu Information Hotline: 1-877-352-3581 and encouraged me to check out this CDC website.

At the stroke of 5:30, I called. Again on hold. A few minutes later I was told the earliest appointment they had was for 2 hours from then. While I was on hold, that many patients had already beat me to the earlier appointments? Wow.

And what did the Dr. say? Well, the swab testing for the flu came back slightly positive. But my three year old had all the symptoms of the swine flu: fever, lethargy, chesty cough, diarrhea, and headache. He said it’s all he’s seeing right now and thinks we were lucky to catch it early. He prescribed Tamiflu and encouraged we dose him that night. And we did.

So. Here we are. Three days into the Swine Flu. And what does it look like?

Here you go… scary stuff.

I am sure we’re lucky since we caught it early and cranked the anti-viral meds within hours of the first symptoms. But, I gotta tell you, it ain’t so bad. Fever, sniffles, cough, a little ibuprofen, some Tamiflu and…? We’re good. It’s simply the flu people. Just a crazy kind of contagious.

So I wonder. Which of us gets it next? We’ll see.

I found out last night that there are four confirmed cases of H1N1 – aka the “Swine Flu” – at my son’s elementary school right now. One child is in my son’s “cluster”, another is in his teacher’s son’s class. Four days into the school year and it has already begun. What do I do? Should I keep him home from school? Or am I over-reacting?

While I considered what I was going to do, his teacher called me last night. She assured me that they are taking every precaution they can to sanitize the school. Children each have their own supply cases and are told not to share. They use hand sanitizer regularly, they wipe tables down between every “station” change or class change. They are encouraging children to change clothes and even bathe as soon as they get home. They are asking parents not to send children to school with any flu like symptoms. They are doing everything they can. (So many props to his teacher by the way, I can’t imagine how much work it is to try and keep 20 six year olds germ free.)

And I also should repeat what my wonderful mother in law (an experienced nurse and mother of four children herself) has been telling me since this flu began getting so much press months ago: “H1N1 is just another strain of the flu. It is NOT dangerous to those without compromised immune systems. Everyone is over-reacting entirely too much.”

Well, considering how fast this strain spreads, I am very grateful it is not as dangerous because it is impossible to protect children from germ exchange. My son’s teacher can sani-wipe those tables every five minutes but its all for nil if one kid (my kid?) picks his nose and high fives his best friend, right?

But another class mom decided not to send her son today. It’s Friday, one day off (plus a weekend) can’t hurt. If you can avoid being exposed to the flu as much as possible, you would right?

However, this is only the beginning. I have a feeling we will be seeing many, MANY more cases of H1N1 at my son’s school this year. A local Tampa school reportedly has 30% of their student body out with H1N1 so far. Am I going to keep him home every time another case surfaces? First grade won’t get very far if I do. I don’t think this is something we can avoid. Shoot, we were in Target yesterday – how many H1N1 germs did we brush up against? And I didn’t sanitize my kids when we got back to the car either. Oops.

So, if it were your child, four days into the school year with four confirmed cases of H1N1 (*SO FAR*), would you keep your son home today?

Me being me, I did some research last night. I found the CDC’s “Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials and School Administrators for School (K-12) Responses to Influenza during the 2009-2010 School Year” document interesting. Basically? From the way it reads it seems as if the horse has already left the barn. The virus is out there and spreading fast. So how does a school decide when to send their kids home? Well. It’s up to them. If there is an increased severity of H1N1 as compared to the Spring of 2009 (um yeah, I’m thinking there will be…), they suggest the following regarding school dismissal:

“School and health officials should work closely to balance the risks of flu in their community with the disruption dismissals will cause in both education and the wider community. The length of time schools should be dismissed will vary depending on the type of dismissal as well as the severity and extent of illness. Schools that dismiss students should do so for five to seven calendar days and should reassess whether or not to resume classes after that period. Schools that dismiss students should remain open to teachers and staff so they can continue to provide instruction through other means.

Reactive dismissals might be appropriate when schools are not able to maintain normal functioning for example, when a significant number and proportion of students have documented fever while at school despite recommendations to keep ill children home.

Preemptive dismissals can be used proactively to decrease the spread of flu. CDC may recommend preemptive school dismissals if the flu starts to cause severe disease in a significantly larger proportion of those affected.”

And along with hand-washing and proactive germ war-fare they also do suggest (parents, pay close attention here) that:

“Those with flu-like illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines. They should stay home even if they are using antiviral drugs.”

So after all this consideration, what did I do about my six year old going to school today? Well, I really wanted to talk to my pediatrician before I decided. But no go, they were closed when I found out last night and school starts before they opened this morning. So. As I lay in bed hemming and hawing this morning, I heard: “HACK, cough cough, HACK, HAAAACK.” Shocking. My six year old has developed a cold. Yeah but that’s all I needed to push my “on the fence-ness” over the side. It could be a cold, it could be a start of something else. So I’ve decided I am going to keep him home today.

However, I know I can’t keep him out every time I hear the word “H1N1″ so I am going to call his pediatrician (who tends to err on the side of caution usually) and follow their recommendations from here on out. I am waiting for their office to open now. So while I wait – we wait, really – please enjoy this  MUSICAL INTERLUDE.

(a blogger “on hold” if you will…)

(And I soooo love The Carpenters by the way so if you bust on Karen, you are going down….)

….Aaaaand we’re back.

I just spoke to a very helpful nurse at my son’s pediatrician’s office. She said the following:

• The Swine Flu (H1N1) is no different than any other flu and the preventative measures are the same: wash hands regularly, don’t share bottles, don’t drink from water fountains, use hand sanitizer, you know the routine.
• Stay home if you see any signs of the flu in your child. Symptoms at their office have included a very high fever, headache, very congested thick cough, runny nose, glassy eyes.
• If they do have this or any flu, they should stay home 5 days after the onset of the flu.
• So far H1N1 has been milder than the regular flu and they have not seen any serious cases at their practice yet.
• Those who should be especially concerned about exposure are those with young infants, pregnant women, elderly relatives or any folks with compromised immune systems.
• Be sure to get your child a flu shot this year since many strains are expected to be virilant. (I did some research on the H1N1 vaccine and here is what I found.)

So basically? Yeah, I am probably over-reacting by keeping him home today. Sure he has a cough but if its JUST a cough, it’s probably just a cold. She could not emphasize enough how important it is that we sanitize as much as possible everywhere we go – but these preventative measures go for ALL strains of the flu, not just the Swine Flu. The Swine Flu is just one of many kinds of strains going around this year – and it’s not even the most serious strain. But that strain just happened to get the most press.

If flu strains were actors, consider H1N1 the Lindsey Lohan strain. Not the most impressive of all the strains, but the one that gets the most paparazzi.

(Um, that’s my analogy, not the nurse’s.)

Oh and my mother in law? She was kind of right. Just for the record.

Happy three day weekend to my coughing (although it’s probably just a cold) six year old.

Update: My youngest did end up having Swine Flu very shortly after this post was written. Thankfully, after immediate treatment with Tamiflu, it really was no worse than any other flu experiences for us. And that has been the same for most friends and family members who’ve experienced it so far. But I do know that hasn’t been the case for everyone. It sounds as if this strain has had varied reactions depending on the person and the time it was caught. My best wishes for health and healing to everyone until this passes.

While the Lowry Park Zoo graciously offered me a day’s pass for my family to be guests at the Koala exhibit opening yesterday, I let them know I was planning to attend anyway. We love this zoo and happened to buy a family pass a few weeks ago anyway. We were thrilled to have another reason to roll in there.

The boys and I arrived at 10:30 that morning – fired up to meet Bundaleer the Koala . Honestly, though? Upon arrival, my kids took one look at the crowds gathered around the exhibit and then at the sprayground calling their name. Not surprisingly, their enthusiasm to see  Bundaleer faded a bit. But before I unleashed them into those fun fountains, I had them watch the ribbon cutting and check out the cool koala cake before I set them free. And then I did. It made sense to to wait for the crowds, news cameras and throngs of strollers to thin a bit before we went over to say hello. So they ran and jumped and sprayed and spun and giggled in the water while I listened to a wonderful diggeree doo player and watched various handlers introduce interesting animals to zoo goers wandering by.

We eventually made our way over to meet the sweet grey furry bundle of Bundaleer. He was very cute. But I don’t think he realized how much commotion was being made over him. Acting very “koala-ish”,  we found him sleeping off some of the 23 hours a day that they generally snooze, curled up behind a clump of eucalyptus. Luckily, a handler happened to go in right then so Bundaleer woke up a bit so I got a picture. They are adorable animals and Bundaleer makes a great addition to an already very fun Australian section of the zoo. Oh and check out his adoring crowds in the reflection!

After soaking themselves on the sprayground one more time, we spent the rest of the morning visiting animals. And finally wound up having snacks watching the rhinos in the “Africa” section before heading home. My boys cracked me up as they acted out the emotions of “grumpy” and “happy” for the camera (see below). It was a great day at the zoo for sure.

Jumping right out of bed at 5:45am with verve and vigor is usually not my thing. But I did this morning. Blurry eyed but fired up, I went straight to my closet and pulled out my purple. Today was the Tampa March for Babies walk. I had been looking forward to this for a long time. Go wake up the kids, we’ve got some walking to do.

We arrived early and made our way through the already gathering crowd. As we passed the registration desk, I saw two women sitting nearby with T-shirts that simply read “Friends of Maddie“. Ok. Here we are.

Our group gathered, bloggers chatted, kids played with freebie bubbles, babies nursed and the sun began to peek up over the buildings. Anissa Mayhew, our fearless team leader, and I chatted. How was Maddie’s funeral? How is Heather? How is she handling all of this new found (er, not sure what else to call it but) fame? Is she finding privacy to grieve? But our kids distracted us often, climbing up onto the wall, jumping off tree limbs, giggling and carrying on.

I was taken by a pic I snapped of Anissa’s Peyton and my five year old. Both had survived time in children’s hospitals. Peyton may be the more decorated veteran of the two – but both were there today: climbing, laughing, alive and wonderful.

And while watching the mothers around us, many had taped signs to their strollers for children who were not there but tucked carefully away in varying NICUs, fighting. Of course, I thought back to my own child’s limited time in the NICU. The hissing and lights, the various beeping counting off seconds, minutes and hours, the days that melted into one another. I remember the mothers in my NICU rocking their babies with cupped hands. Their baby’s chests raising up for air, their mothers whispering encouragement, their futures entirely unknown. Their hours entirely unknown. I remember. My heart knows. And this was a world I only shared for 11 days. Nothing, comparatively.

So there we were. My family: healthy and ready to go. For me, today was as much about celebrating life as it was remembering life lost. Time to breathe air and walk forward for all of those children who never could or – with help from the March of Dimes and fantastic NICU staffs – finally did.

Before the walk began, we took a quick group picture. Here we are. Bloggers and friends alike. All there in Maddie’s honor. In a mere 17 months, Maddie has reached thousands of people and has made an enormous impact on the March of Dimes. I wonder if I could ever do half of what she’s done in my entire lifetime.

And so we got underway. The sun warmed up the day, the palm trees swayed, the traffic was stopped for us and we mosied along, chatting, connecting and enjoying.

Before we knew it, the walk was over. We arrived back at the University of Tampa to James Brown’s “I Feel Good”, free meals from the Olive Garden, Popsicles from Blue Bonnet, a bounce house and people everywhere. A positive, good moment. There is life even after death. Parents march on. Hope continues. The sun shines down on all of it. What a privilege to participate in this moment.

And with that, we got into the car and went to find breakfast. After all, it was still only the beginning of our day.

A Big Unintentionally Forgotten P.S.:

I was a little caught up in the emotion of that day while writing this post that I forgot to actually mention and link up to the fabulous bloggers I walked with. (I know… doh!) I was thrilled to share this day with:

• Mommy Melee

• Dashoff

• Diary of a Crazed Mommy

• The Caffeinatrix

• Laurin and Kelley Talk

• Hope 4 Peyton

It was also wonderful to meet the many friends of Maddie and blogger husbands too!

I suppose my friend and I should have known the beach was going to be crowded yesterday. Spring Break. In Florida. I mean, c’mon. A crowded beach is a given. We arrived with our kids – four of them – and pushed through the crowds with our chairs and bags and stuff that seemed not to be all that much back home. After corralling and coaxing kids to keep up, we finally found a spot and settled in. Wall to wall bodies or not, the beach is always a welcome day of activity for our kids.

So we set up our chairs, slathered SPF on our kids, nervously trained our eagle eyes on all four children and sat back, watching, biting into our homemade sandwiches. Ok. Ah. Spring break.

Would the couple RIGHT in front of me blocking one of my children please move, for crying out loud? Wow, its crowded. Well. Ok. I see him. Pass the cheetoes.

And it was about then when I heard that certain tone in a mother’s voice somewhere behind me. I know that sound: panic. I caught sight of a mom near us, wide-eyed, pacing in circles. And then she moved down to the water.

“Where is she?!?!? ELLLA!!!!! Where is SHE??? ELLLLLLAAAAA!!!! OH MY GOD WHAT IF SHES OUT THERE SOMEWHERE?!?!?!!!” And she pointed out to the water.

By this point other mothers, friends, people were surrounding her, touching her elbow, reaching out, eyes searching too, questioning, holding their breaths, just as panicked.

“What was she wearing?”

“How old is she?”

“What color hair?”

My friend and I leapt up. She called the boys in from the water and kept them at our seats. I started moving down the beach.

“A four year old girl is missing. Blond hair. Purple shorts. Floral top. Four year old girl. Blond hair. Purple shorts. Floral top. Four year old girl. Blond hair. Purple shorts. Floral top.”

More parents leapt up. More people yelling her description. Children were gathered close. All eyes were searching.

And Ella’s mother behind me. I could hear her panic. Her voice. She was screaming her name. My heart pulled tight.

“Four year old girl. Blond hair. Purple shorts. Floral top.”

Ella’s mom tore past me, she was crying now, searching searching searching down the beach.

“WHERE IS SHE?????? ELLLLLLAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!”

I couldn’t help but stop and turn around. I looked out into the water. Lots of people. Did I see blond hair, purple shorts and a floral top? What was that!?!? No. Birds.

I moved back to our spot on the beach. My friend and I looked at each other.

“I’m shaking.”

“So am I.”

The kids were confused.

“Why can’t we go swimming?”

“Stay RIGHT HERE.”

It could have been one of ours. Ella’s mother could have been either of us. Just like that. In one impossibly fast moment. A child could be gone.

So we stood there. We couldn’t SIT. A little girl was missing. I’m not sure how long we stood there. It reminded me of Zebras I used to watch in Africa. During danger, they gather their young and surround them, pointing their rumps to them, facing out, stopped, searching, ready for anything. And that’s what we did. She looked one way and I another, with all four children sitting at our ankles.

“…..they found her!”

Someone yelled in the distance that they found her.

“Really?”

“That’s what I heard. Someone just yelled it down the beach.”

“Did they find her?”

“That’s what I just heard.”

And then, in the distance, I saw Ella’s mother. In her arms, wrapped around her body, was a little girl with blond hair, purple shorts and a floral shirt. Ella’s face was buried in her mother’s neck. Her mother had her hand on the back of her little girl’s head – pressing Ella to her – and was walking slowly back down the beach. Sobbing. Smiling. Nodding to people she passed.

“Yes. I got her. Thank you. Yes, I am very relieved.” Shuddering, crying, laughing.

When she got to us, I fought back tears. Along with all the mothers around us, we stepped forward to reach out again.

“Ella, are you ok?”

She lifted her face from her mother’s neck, her big wet blue eyes stared back. She nodded. She held tightly on to her mother.

Oh thank God. She was ok. Oh thank God.

My friend and I started breathing again. We laughed nervously. Regrouped a bit. We herded the kids back down to the water, gave them back their shovels and sat gratefully back into our seats. Eyes locked on all four heads.

“I’m shaking.”

“So am I. Holy crap.”

“Where are those Cheetoes.”

Children go missing on beaches all the time. I am not sure what it was about this moment that struck a chord so deeply. Well, maybe I do. I couldn’t help but think of Maddie for some reason. Not another little girl. Gone. Just like that. I couldn’t help but put myself in that mother’s position, like I have with Heather. But like the events after Maddie’s passing, I was amazed to watch mothers in action. Those moms dropped everything to get the word out Ella was gone. They searched, they comforted, they worried. Yesterday and since Maddie has passed, my heart has been so touched to watch the incredible act of mothers taking care of other mothers. It is a powerful and stunning example of beauty, kindness, empathy and love.

So once again, I know to bring my boys closer and appreciate their craziness and all that comes with it. All is well in our life. We are fine. No zebra circling today. And since all is well with our lives, we can look out for and reach out to other mothers who need our support right now.

Heather Spohr’s family must raise $7,000 for her daughter Maddie’s funeral. Donations may be sent to a paypal account in her name at: formaddie@hotmomreviews.com . Services will be held for Maddie on Tuesday, April 14th at 2:30pm at Old North Church, Forest Lawn, in Hollywood Hills. All are welcome to attend. Please wear purple in her honor. Also, a website with links and information about Maddie have been set up here.

By now you should know that I won’t do a review on Morningside Mom unless there is something about that product that truly impresses me. Well, I have another one for you. Toms Shoes approached me and asked that I review a pair of shoes for them. But these aren’t just a pair of shoes. In case you don’t know about Toms Shoes, I am going to tell you what makes this specific shoe company so very special.

The Toms Shoes company was started by Blake Mycoskie after he visited Argentina and noticed how many children did not have any shoes. His dream for this company was to create a shoe that he could sell and give away. Let me explain further. He wanted his company to make it possible to donate one pair of shoes to a child in need with every one purchased. That’s right. And he did. After one year, he and his family and friends were ready to donate over 10,000 shoes to children in Argentina. Next stop was South Africa where he and his crew dropped off 50,000 shoes. And in 2008 it was planned that they donate over 200,000 shoes worldwide.

Ok, now watch this.

Pretty amazing, right?

Ok, so lets get down to the shoes themselves. What did I think?

Well, in terms of style, I was a liiiittle nervous. I’ll admit, I was worried they’d be kind of like grandma shoes. I am just being honest here. I wasn’t sure they’d really be my style. So I looked through all the various patterns available online and went for a fun “Element” shoe style. At least I knew these shoes wouldn’t look anything like what Grandma would wear.

But here’s the thing. When I got them, they actually looked a lot cooler than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised. And my favorite part about the shoes? When I slipped them on, I didn’t want to take them off. Because, my friend, they’re like butta. So dang comfy. Granted, they don’t have a ton of support – these are flat shoes made of canvas. But they are well made and I really, truly never want to take them off. (Maybe I should get Grandma a pair, I think she wouldn’t take them off either.)

Now down to the fun part.

It’s giveaway time!

I have the DVD of their award winning documentary about their first shoe drop in Argentina and a coupon code worth $50 in Tom’s Shoes to give away to a Morningside Mom reader.

How do you enter? Leave a comment below about a time you’ve given back to your community or something you would like to do for your community. Real answers please, don’t just respond with some general Ms. America “I want to save the world” comment. Think about it for the sake of making change happen – like Toms Shoes has.

I will pick a winner at random on Monday March 16th.

Thanks and good luck!

**UPDATE: WE HAVE A WINNER!!**

Ilinap from Dirt and Noise was picked at random and has won the Toms Shoes giveaway! Congrats Ilinap!