Grandma's Braggin'

Are they not ADORABLE?

Matthew

March of Dimes walk

On April 25, 2009 I am planning on going for a walk. I don't walk far or often but this cause is a very worthy one and yes it is worth going 3 miles even with my arthritic knees.

My grandchildren, Madilyn and Matthew were born 8 weeks premature. Thankfully they are both home and healthy (knock on something for me please, thanks). But many many other preemie babies are not so lucky. they stay in the NICU for months on end and require an extraordinary amount of help from many resources.

The March of Dimes is one of the major resources. The money they raise is used in many ways:

- support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects
- educate women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby
- provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care
- push for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children

I remember joining the March of Dimes walkathon as a kid. My mom and my siblings and I and about a gajillion others walking the streets of downtown Detroit with our pledge forms in hand. I also recall having a folder from school (St. Gabriel's in Southwest Detroit) with slots to collect dimes for the March of Dimes during the Lent season.

I am going join the walkathon (I don't think they call it that anymore tho) again, only this time I have joined team Maddie. Maddie is an adorable 1 year old whose momma I met through Twitter and Maddie has had a rough time of it for the past year. She is currently suffering from another bout of RSV and is attached to her "oxygen rocket" at home.

But I need your help. I have set a pretty conservative goal, knowing that tough times have not only hit my house but the houses of those around me as well. My fundraising goal is $100. Can you help me reach this goal? It's quite easy actually just click on the widget below and then follow the directions. $1, $2, $5, every little bit counts.

Madilyn and Matthew thank you, Maddie and her mom thank you, and I most of all thank you.

W.I.C

My daughter recieves W.I.C. it is a special supplemental nutrition prgram for Women Infants and Children. She will continue to receive this supplement as long as her youngest child is under 5 and she remains in the low income category. It is not food stamps per se but it can be equivocated to goverment cheese.

She recieves foodstuffs to fortify herself and the kids in the way of - formula for the babies, milk, cereal, peanut butter, beans and juice. Items are for specific quantities and sometimes specific brands.

Since I am the main grocery shopper in the house I am on her form as a signer and shopper. The formula is a whole nother post because the cost of formula is beyond outrageous and I don't know how any new parents can afford it without help. The milk is a big help as we go through approx a gallon or more a day if me Marisa and Caitlyn are all home. The peanut butter is a definate staple as Caitlyn's favorite food is a peanut butter sandwich preferably on wheat but the change of the wind or air pressure could change the bread preference at any given moment - even after the peanut butter is spread. The cereal is a bit much, Caitlyn will only eat so many cheerios (cereal is something that is limited to certain brands), but we can get some that Adam likes and that helps on my grocery bill. The juices are apple and pineapple, apple is great. All the kids drink that (when I say kids I mean mine and theirs). It's the pineapple that no one likes. It has to be a 100% pineapple juice with 120% vitamin C, and only 1 brand meets those critereon - Langer's. We have 2 of the 3 bottles from last month left over and a coupon for 3 more that will expire in a couple of weeks.

Herin lies my dilema - should we get the juice and give it to a friend of the family (if anyone wants it), should we just not get it or should we get it and give it to a food bank (all the local food banks are really hurting)? And no, she can't switch it for anything else.

Bellabands

Marisa (in case you didn't know) is expecting twins in February. Her belly has grown larger, quicker. Which I guess is to be expected. One day she looked the same and the next BAM there's a belly there. And she seems to be carrying pretty low.

With the sudden growth her shirts weren't quite covering all they should and her maternity pants were few with new ones being quite expensive. So I was looking into how I could help her out. I checked ebay for maternity pants, but sizing is iffy when you are pregnant and I am not willing to spend on something I can't return. then I noticed one of my Twitter friends @Supermomz had a website selling maternity stuff. One item in particular was the Bella Band. I mentioned this to Marisa and she says "Yeah, some place in North Hollywood sells them, but when I went there they said they were internet only". Me: "Uh, would that be Supermomz?" Marisa: "Yeah". So I explained the situation to her and immediately placed an order. I emailed Julie asking for special delivery sevice (as in Marisa would drive over there and pick them up) and was gratiously obliged.

The description above says it completely it is perfect for the not quite ready for maternity clothes, to the nothing will cover this damn belly, to the not quite ready for regular clothes again.

Marisa also finds it helps her feel more supported with her belly being fairly low riding and heavy with both babies (who are both at term weight and doing well). She did have a bit of a problem because she was wearing it upside down for the first couple of days. But once she figured it out all was well.