Before You Hit the Road, Jack

I came across some of our Walt Disney World Videos last night.  Ahhhh, the memories.  Several of you asked for Trip Planning, Packing, and Executing ideas after we came home,and at the time I was overwhelmed with this endless load. So now that we’ve conquered potty training (insert angels singing) I might get around to sharing a little of how we survived a 32 hour road trip with quadruplets.

A special thanks to Purolator Cabin Air Filters who allowed me to team up with them for this post. They are hosting a sweepstakes at Parents where you as readers can enter to win a trip for 4 to Walt Disney World in the Purolator BreathEasy Sweepstakes!

Go enter so you can have your own picture like this, (minus the quad stroller, of course):

So Before You “Hit the Road, Jack”, Here Are A Few Safety Tips We’ve Learned:

* Check Your Carseats – Make sure they are appropriate for your child’s age/height/weight.  Rear facing until your child has reached the stated limits. Your local fire department is a great place to check with to make sure you are “good to go”.  (Shout out to Barb Carrier who has been our AAA car seat guru from the beginning.)

* Get a Tune-Up for Your Vehicle – Have you local mechanic make sure your vehicle is running well or you might end up like us on our first road trip.

* Sleep the Night Before – A good nights sleep will get you further down the road the next day, and your be easier to get along with on the trip too!

* Keep Your Little Travelers Occupied – This helps cut down on driver distractions. Things that worked for us: dollar toys, CDs, DVDs (A portable DVD player is worth every penny!), talking about the scenery, counting down each state, and lots of snacks!

* Know Your Driving Limits – Take a break every few hours and always stop before you hit your driving wall, even though it may be tempting to keep driving to meet your destination

* Check in with Family Members Along The Way – Let them know your progress and where you’re staying along the route, along with numbers where they can reach you. (Trust me, your mom will sleep better hearing that you are safe. Right, mom?)

And don’t forget to make memories along the way that you’ll laugh at later.

Fighting Hunger Right Where You Live

It’s been such a privilege to have a part in the “Child Hunger Ends Here” campaign with ConAgra and Feeding America.  It’s encouraging to know that even my small role in this combined rally can change the hunger statics right where I live. That’s the thing I love about this effort – even a small contribution can make an impact! Did you know that $1 provides 7 Meals to your local community when you donate online? 

Yep, you read that correctly.  SEVEN.

Think about how even a $1 per neighbor/church member/classmate/PTA member donation could significantly impact your community.  Now think even bigger.. For instance if each person in my own town of around 20,000 made a $1 donation we could provide 140,000 meals! 

There’s no better time than the present.  With summer quickly approaching more kids in your very own community will struggle with hunger. The 19.5 million children receiving the free or reduced-price lunches significantly will drop to only 2.2 million receiving meals through the Summer Food Service Program. Remember, every dollar raised and donated online stays in your community to help those children in need.

(Keep reading how YOU can make an IMPACT today just by simply leaving a COMMENT.)

There have been many inspiring bloggers demonstrating examples of how you can get involved.  Hopefully their initiatives, ideas, creativity, and energy will inspire you to make a difference in your own community as well:

~ Judy from Dirt Road Musings held a “Taste of Italy” Pasta Dinner in her home town of Omaha, Nebraska,and a portion of the proceeds were donated to Feeding America.

~ Courtney from Detroit Mommies teamed up with a local restaurant that donated 5% of the invite’s tab from the food and drinks to the cause.

~ Laura from My DFW Mommy opened her own home and collected canned goods and donations from her neighbors.

~ Andrea from Savvy Sassy Moms hosted a neighborhood ice cream social in Los Angeles, California.

See? It doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated to make a difference. You can find more ideas, resources and sign up for a FREE toolkit at the Child Hunger Ends Here site.

Now that you’re creative juices are bubbling and overflowing with ideas I want to hear them! 

And here’s the impact you can make with a simple comment:

For every comment, a donation of $1 will be made on behalf of our blog to Child Hunger Ends Here, up to $100. That means that 100 comments on this post could provide 700 MEALS for my local community! 

I’m not too proud to beg…

Will you leave me a comment telling me your ideas for how you could make an impact in your own community?

It’s that simple.

Pretty Please.

With Sugar On Top?

AND a Cherry?

 

Thank You, Mom

Mother’s Day is a day we all spend time thanking our moms the way we should be thanking her EVERYDAY.  She fills so many roles, sacrifices much, and shares our highs and lows along side us throughout life.  Really, the longer I’m a mother the more I appreciate my own mother.

I’m truly blessed to have my mom in the same state.  I’m able to see her often (although it never seems often enough) and share lots of life events and holidays with her.  I’m not sure how I would cope having her more than an hour’s drive away. 

I know that many of you don’t have this same luxury of having your moms within reach. I feel for you.  And so does P&G, which is why I’m joining the Thank You, Mom campaign to help reunite daughters and moms. So how does a reunion (with a travel voucher) sound?

Watch the video to learn more.

Go ahead. You don’t want to miss this.

I’ll wait for you… 

**Don’t you LOVE what Arianne says about her mom? (2:20ish of the video)**

So how can you be reunited with your mom or spend a special day with one that’s close by?

Here’s how you can win:

• Head on over to ThankYouMom.com and submit your short story (100 words or less) explaining why you would like to be reunited with your mom or mom-like figure.
• Encourage your friends and family to vote for you.

15 Winners are being chosen each month from now until November. (That’s over 100 teary reunions!)

Winners will receive a travel voucher to help cover the travel expenses plus a digital video camera to capture the moments shared.

Somebody pass the tissues!

 

(Oh and let me know if you submitted your entry so I can vote for ya!)

How Will You Fight Childhood Hunger?

As one of the bloggers teaming up with ConAgra Foods to help end child hunger, we’ve been encouraging people across the nation to rally together to make an impact in our communities.  You can follow @conagrafoods on Twitter or ConAgra’s Facebook Page for the latest updates. So far, the efforts have been encouraging, but there’s still lots that we can do right where we live.

Think hunger isn’t an issue in your community?  Think again.  Hunger lives in every state, town, school, and most likely your very own neighborhood.

But here’s the good news, making a difference doesn’t require a grand production or a large sum of money.  It’s things you probably are already involved doing in your community: setting up a lemonade stand with the neighborhood kids, throwing a garage sale with the things you’re no longer using, or pitching in as a neighborhood/school/church to collect foods. You can register your rally at Child Hunger Ends Here and they will send you a rally kit that includes a banner, posters, coupons to share, and a rally guide.  Then, donate a portion of your earnings online, and your efforts will go back to your very own community. 

My sweet friend, Danielle from Extraordinary Mommy is one of the 14 bloggers in 14 different cities hosting neighborhood rallies for Child Hunger Ends Here. She’s hosting “Lemonade Stand Saturdays” to impact her local community in Missouri.  Another blogging friend, Andrea from Mommy Snacks, is offering a coupon workshop to help raise money. Others have participated in House Party events to raise awareness.

Several celebrities are also getting behind this campaign with a neighborhood rally held on Wisteria Lane. There’s also a Celebrity Auction being held to benefit Feeding America. 

So how will YOU get involved personally? 

I’m working out a few details of my own (coming soon), but I’d love to hear your own! 

~ How will you respond to the “1 in Every 4 Kids in America Struggle with Hunger” statistic?

~ Were you aware that childhood hunger was such a serious issue in America?

~ Have you or someone you’re close to experienced hunger as a child?

~ Have you heard of the “Clothes Off Our Back” organization? It’s another great way you can get involved.

*This post is a sponsored opportunity via ConAgra Foods. My enthusiasm and heart behind this initiative are my own.

Child Hunger Ends Here

My definition of “hunger” is so skewed. Seriously.  For me “hunger” is what I experience about 2 hours after a full meal.  I have no real concept of food depravity.

Unfortunately, the same is not true for nearly 17 million children in the UNITED STATES that are not getting enough food to live active, healthy lives. That’s correct – not third world countries, the U-S-A. One in four kids who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, right in our own back yards.

Perhaps its your son’s playmate down the street, maybe it’s the sandy blonde little toddler in your church nursery, or the little girl waiting in the chair next to you at the doctor’s office.  Odds are you are in regular contact with the hungry.

I’m embarrassed to admit that often my first instinct when faced with an issue so vast is to turn my head. After all, how could I make a difference in a devastated population? It’s honestly difficult for me to wrap my mind around that children in our own communities are suffering.

That’s why this spring, ConAgra Foods is encouraging people across the country to rally together to help end child hunger. I will be teaming up with ConAgra Foods and several other bloggers in the next few weeks to demonstrate some ways we can make an impact in our own communities.(Your probably familiar with ConAgra Food’s top brands like Healthy Choice, Chef Boyardee, Manwhich, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, Peter Pan Peanut Butter, and Banquet.) I love when corporations reach out to their consumers and get them involved in their efforts!

In partnership with Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization,
ConAgra Foods is launching its Child Hunger Ends Here Neighborhood Rally
campaign. Activities such as bake sales, rummage sales, food drives, school carnivals,
neighborhood picnics or other existing community events can become a Child Hunger Ends Here Neighborhood Rally, simply by donating a portion or all of the proceeds from
the event to Feeding America, which has a network of more than 200 food banks
across the nation. Money raised and food collected locally and donated online will stay in that local community. (Love that!)

So what can you do right now to help fight child hunger in your home town?

~ Check out Child Hunger Ends Here and find the tools and resources to participate in a Neighborhood Rally. 

~ Spread the word. Share this post with your friends on Twitter and Facebook.

~ Tweet the following message: “Help the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Each RT Donates $1 towards #fightchildhunger in @quatromama ‘s name! http://bit.ly/aW2vdd”

~ Consider a small donation of towards this cause. (100 pennies could make a world of difference if we all work together.)

~ Share with us how YOU are confronting this issue?  How are you going to make a difference where you live?

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Let’s quit turning our heads to this reality in America and together start making a difference in the lives of those struggling with hunger!

 

*This post is a sponsored opportunity via ConAgra Foods. My enthusiasm and heart behind this initiative are my own.