Kick Cancer In The Can Kickoff

Mom here.  Today was the first day that people were asked to drop off cans and/or bottles to support the kids' efforts in fundraising.  Friends and neighbors were kind enough to donate, and it was off to Wegmans we all went, again, like a Griswold Family Vaca, to return what we had received.

Putting in the first of their donated cans.  I was terrified they were going to cut their fingers off.

  Nathanael is fascinated by the conveyor belt that brings the bottles into the "land of the unknown."                

Savannah, all smiles as usual.

Whew!  That was hard work!

After about 45 minutes, all of the cans and bottles had been returned.  Earnings for our first day of the Kick Cancer In The Can and Seal Up The Can fundraiser totaled $36.70!  Not bad for one day!


Thank you, R., for your very generous donation of your bottles and cans.  The kids were laughing the entire time, thinking it was hilarious that you two brought so many bags over.  


This fundraiser is open until some time in mid-July, just prior to the walk 

Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge - Update 1

Mom here.  Nathanael issued his challenge on Monday of this week.  We decided that we would check the P.O. Box once a week, and chose Saturdays because it would be on our way home from karate.

The entire family went to the post office, almost as if it were a Griswold Family Vacation.  The kids knew right where the box is, and I couldn't unlock it quickly enough.  We were getting lots of stares for taking pictures in the post office, but we didn't care.  We were all surprised to find 3 envelopes in the box!  One was sent to both Nathanael and Savannah, one to just Nathanael, and one to just Savannah.  I knew who one of the envelopes was from, and R., I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You know what this is like, and the fact that you thought of my family has touched my heart.  Sender of the other two envelopes, you chose to stay anonymous, you sneaky devil, but you made the kids' day including a note to each of them.  They were so excited to receive your dollars, and *I* appreciate it with my whole heart.


In the end, on our first day of checking the box, a total of $14 was received as part of the challenge.


So the challenge has been officially accepted.  I think we're all looking forward to next Saturday!


For those of you who haven't read the challenge yet, take a look at Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge.  He's challenging all of our readers to send just $1 to the post office box listed below because, in his words, "One dollar is a small amount of money...but imagine how much it could help in our fight against cancer."  Are *you* up for a challenge?


Thank you again to those of you who have sent donations so far.  You have a special place in my heart.


If you'd like to accept Nathanael's challenge, please send your donation to:


Nathanael and Savannah Haskell
P.O. Box 506
Buffalo, NY 14226


We will be logging all donations onto the team website once a week.

Kids Will Be Kids

Mom here.  When Nathanael and Savannah aren't busy saving the world and trying to find a cure for cancer, they're your regular, run-of-the-mill kids.  Nathanael is 5 1/2....that "and a half" is VERY important.  He loves building with Legos, drawing and creating anything, riding his bike, pretending he's Derek Jeter, and has a passion for his Little Dragons karate class.  The martial art taught by his Sensei (whom he adores) is Kempo, and Nathanael is working his way up to a youth orange belt.  This class has done wonders for his coordination, his athletic ability, and, most important, his self-esteem.  

Savannah is 3, and will turn 4 in May.  She loves anything Disney princess-y (Ariel and Rapunzel are at the top of the list), and anything girly, which strikes me as funny because I'm not so much the girly type.  While she definitely has some tomboy in her, anything pink and sparkly catches her eye.  Savannah is learning ballet, at her request.  She takes a beginner ballet class which focuses on movement and coordination and introducing the students to the first 3 ballet positions.  I personally think she should join her brother in karate because she has it in her to take down anyone who gets in her way, but so far she has yet to oblige.  Savannah also loves to draw and create.  Left to their own devices, the kids would spend an entire day with our craft supplies, creating their own works of abstract art.

We are a homeschooling family.  This is something I never imagined myself doing, especially when I graduated from graduate school and was ready to change the world.  Nor was it something my husband and I discussed prior to having children.  But when it came time to start looking at preschools for Nathanael, and with budget cuts leading to deficits in the quality of education, we decided to homeschool.  Nathanael is in his kindergarten year, and Savannah is in her preschool year.

I know, you're probably thinking "Homeschoolers, eh?  Hmm...."  I'd certainly be happy to answer any questions you may have, dear readers, so feel free to fire them at me.  Both kids are incredibly intelligent, both kids can read and read well, they have friends, socialize very well with their peers and adults alike, and have a deep passion for learning. They love music and the arts.  They both have a very natural talent for math, and show great interest in science and geography.  I consider it a privilege to be able to stay home to educate my children, and while we do have our difficult days, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

So, today has been a typical day in our house.  The kids watched the movie musical Annie for the first time yesterday, and Nathanael thought he'd try to escape in a pile of laundry like Annie did to get out of the orphanage.  I promise I'm nothing like Miss Hannigan!

Savannah always wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (oh, how I wish I could bottle up some of that energy!), and was very eager to show off her best buddy, Too Cute Kitty.

I have been fighting a cold, and I took advantage of the fact that my husband took the day off of work and took a little nap in the late afternoon.  Nathanael woke me up to show me the sign he had written, unprompted, while I was asleep.

And finally, after her third outfit change of the day (yes, she picks her own clothes), Savannah felt like doing some gymnastics.  If I attempted this I'd inevitably wind up in the emergency room.  Look at that hair.  She is determined to grow it long like Rapunzel's.  She looks like a wild child!

And such is a typical day in our household.  Throw in some school, some sibling rivalry, some cat vomit, and someone gluing something to something they shouldn't, and it easily be any day of the week.

And just FYI, the Kick Cancer In The Can.....  fundraiser has officially begun.  We have about $5 worth of returns so far!

Future Pharmacists of America

Mom here.  The kind folks at our Wegmans Pharmacy indulged my children in a tour of the inner workings of a pharmacy.  The kids' aunt, my older sister, is a pharmacist and when Nathanael found this out he had no less than 100 questions about what a pharmacist does, how they help people, how someone becomes a pharmacist, etc.  So for the last 6 months, he has very adamantly insisted that he would like to study pharmacy when he grows up.  Most kids vacillate on a daily basis between this and that when it comes to what they'd like to be when they grow up, but not Nathanael.  Savannah's hooked now, too, and she and Nathanael have plans to open their own pharmacy some day.  Thank you, Wegmans, for indulging my kids' request and absolutely making their day.  


Mom, on the way home: Can you believe they gave you a tour, guys?  I thought they'd say no, but wow - you got to see what a real pharmacist like Aunt C. does every day!
Nathanael:  I KNOW!  And we got BOTTLES, too!

Savannah:  I already know what I'm keeping in mine.  Lite Brite pieces.  All of them.

Nathanael:  Um, not the blue ones, Savannah.  I'm going to keep medicine in mine.

Mom:  Real medicine?  You don't have any real medicine.
Nathanael:  No, medicine that I make in my lab.  That's part of why I want to be a pharmacist like Aunt C.  I want to be able to mix things up and give them to people to help them.

Savannah:  Me too!

Mom:  So why exactly do you want to be a pharmacist, guys?
Savannah:  To help people, and to give them stickers and bottles and cookies like we got today!

Nathanael:  I want to be able to give people medicine they need to feel better.  If I could be a pharmacist today, I would make so much medicine in my lab....orange flavored, so that it wouldn't taste gross...and send it in a tube like they have at the bank to Gran's house so she could take it and be better.

Mom:  That's pretty awesome, guys.  I think you'd both make great pharmacists, and I know you'd do your best to help people feel better.  I'm so proud of you.
Savannah:  Thank you.  *shy smile*

Nathanael:  Thanks, mama.  I'm proud of you, too.

Fundraiser #3

Fundraiser #1 - Lemonade and Brownie Stand - successful!

Fundraiser #2 - Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge - ongoing!

Fundraiser # 3 - Kick Cancer In The Can and Seal Up The Can Bottle and Can Drive - started tonight and ongoing.

Mom here.  So glad that my husband introduced the kids to the phrase "the can" as another way of describing one's behind.  It came in handy for when the kids picked the name for their latest fundraiser.  They dictated some information and I typed, adding a little addendum to the end of a flier that we copied and distributed together throughout our neighborhood.  

Thanks to the suggestion of a neighbor, the kids kicked off their bottle and can drive this evening.  We were originally going to invite people to donate their extra cans and bottles, dropping them off at our house this weekend, but we decided to extend the invitation through mid-July.  We're all anxious to see how many cans and bottles are donated!

Nathanael:  Please feel free to drop your bottles and cans off at our house! Wait, how are people going to know where to send their bottles and cans to?

Mom:  Our address is on the flier, bud.  It's just for our neighbors and local friends, remember?

Nathanael:  Ohhhhhh yeah!  I think "kick cancer in the can" is funny.  "The can."  Heeeeehehehehe!

Savannah:  "The can" means coolie!  *insert silly snicker*  I don't want to touch the bottles if they're yucky.

Mom:  Me either!  I'll probably wear gloves when it comes time to return bottles.  But we'll be pretty grateful for any that we get, won't we?

Nathanael:  Yeah we are!  I'll be so grateful that I'm going to throw a party and make a humongous sign telling the whole world how many bottles we got.  So if we get 100, I'll make a huge "100" sign!

Savannah: Natty, will you touch the bottles if they're yucky?

Nathanael:  Yes.  But how would they be yucky?

Mom:  Well, it would depend on where people keep them, but some of them could be old and have spiders in them.

Savannah:  Or poop.

**If anyone else in New York State would like to participate, please feel free to send your bottle deposit slips to:

Nathanael and Savannah Haskell

P.O. Box 506

Buffalo, NY 14226

As always, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping to fight cancer!

Welcome to our readers, from near and far!

Mom:  You know, guys, we have A LOT of different countries visiting your blog.  We've marked them all on our map, but we have two more to add today.

Nathanael:  Do you know how to speak all of the languages from those different countries?

Mom:  I know a few, but most of them, no.  Do you have a message for our readers all over the world?

Nathanael:  Did I already tell them thank you for reading our blog?

Mom:  I think so.  

Nathanael:  Then can I just say hello to them?

Savannah:  Can I tell them I like ponies?

Mom:  Natty, we can say hello or we can welcome them to our blog.  Which one?

Savannah:  I WANT to say that I like ponies!

Mom:  Sav, next time.  Let's do something to show that we appreciate the fact that all of these people have taken the time to visit our blog.

Savannah: *tsk*  Okayyyy.

Nathanael: I think I want to say "welcome."  That sounds more polite than "hi."

Mom:  Okay then.  I can find a website that will translate the American way of saying "welcome" to the different languages of the people who have visited.  Sound good?

Nathanael:  YES!!

Savannah:  What does "translate" mean?

Mom:  It means that I can find a way to say "welcome" in langauges that people from other countries can understand.

Savannah:  Oh.  Well, find the word for "pony," too.

So, ladies and gentlemen all around the world, from my family to yours, we say:

Welcome!

欢迎!

Welkom!

Bienvenue!

Willkommen!

Καλώς ήρθατε!

Benvenuto!

歓迎!

환영!

Boa vinda!

 

Добро

пожаловать!

¡Recepción!

Welkom!

ترحيب

ברוך הבא

स्वागत 

Selamat datang!

 

Fáilte roimh chách!

 

elkommen!

 

באַגריסן

Välkommen!

Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge

Nathanael is challenging all readers of the blog (who have not already donated) to give just $1 (or more) to our family's Relay For Life team. Nathanael is just 5 years old, with a heart of gold and a strong desire to raise funds in honor of his Gran who is battling stage 4 lung cancer.

To accept his challenge,  please send any donation, big or small, to:
Nathanael and Savannah Haskell
P.O. Box 506
Buffalo, NY 14226

All donations received will be immediately logged on our team's website with your name unless you prefer to remain anonymous.

You may also visit our Relay For Life team page at The Cave Crashers.

First goal reached!

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of family, friends, and strangers, our original goal of $1000 has been reached! At the kids' request, I increased our team goal to $2000. Can we do it? With hope, anything is possible...and we shall find out! The kids are beyond thrilled by the number of international visitors we have had to the blog. We have been keeping track of the visiting countries on our map of the world. We're working on a special message for all of our readers, so please stay tuned! Also, are you one to accept a challenge? Nathanael has come up with a mighty challenge for all of our readers. Please keep your eye out! Wishing you all a beautiful day, McKenzie

And...cut! That's a wrap!

Little sister's out of the picture on this third and final take. Maybe it's the emotion of the song, the emotion of my family's situation, but watching my little boy sing to/for his Gran had me in tears behind the camera.

Singing For Our Gran - Take 2

The kids decided to sing together. The song carries such a sweet message, but these two turkeys kept making each other laugh.

Between Takes

Singing For Our Gran - Take 1

Mom here. Nathanael has loved Phil Collins' song "You'll Be In My Heart" since he was a baby, and it has been a staple at bedtime, sung to him almost every night before drifting off to sleep. I asked the kids if they had a special song that they would like to put on the blog for Gran, and, without missing a beat, Nathanael asked if they could sing this song. Once Savannah obliged, we began the arduous process of recording. We have a few takes that I'd like to share. This first one is hilarious. Nathanael singing, and Savannah staring into the camera like Danny Torrence from "The Shining."

Surprise!

Mom here.  The blog went live yesterday morning at around 11:45 EDT.  At that time, our Relay team had already raised $265.  By the time my husband and I went to sleep last night, our earnings had jumped to an amazing $855!  This is thanks to some friends and family, but also to several donors who chose to remain anonymous.  Anonymous, if you're out there reading this blog, please accept my heartfelt gratitude. 

The picture you see here of Nathanael is from this morning.  I brought up our team website on my Nook Color Tablet, and when he saw how much more the purple status bar had been filled in, and then the amount of money raised after he went to bed, he was in complete and utter shock.  I had to capture the look on his face.

Nathanael:  I just want to say thank you to everyone who donated to make the purple line go up that far!  I'm so excited that we're almost at our goal and that the box is almost all the way filled in.  Mom said if we meet our goal, maybe we can make a new one.  I bet we can reach that, too! 

Our neighbor gave us the idea of having a bottle and can collection, and we could return any bottles and cans to Wegmans and we can donate all of that money to our team.  I love returning bottles and cans, but we don't do it very often because we stopped drinking bottled water so we don't have anything to return anymore. 

Savannah:  I don't like the hand sanitizer Mom always used to put on our hands after we returned the water bottles.  If I had a cut it would make the cut hurt even more.

Nathanael: But we don't do it anymore, Savannah.  So I think we're going to ask people if they have any bottles or cans they might want to give us.  I think we'll print out signs and stick them in our neighbors' mailboxes, and the signs will tell the people what we're doing and where they can bring the bottles.

Savannah:  I'm not going to the house with the loud dogs.  They're obnoxious. 

Our first fundraiser

Nathanael:
We had a lemonade and brownie stand yesterday. We started at 10 a.m. and ended at 4:30 p.m. We hung signs at the end of our street. We charged 25 cents for a cup of lemonade and 25 cents for each brownie. It took a while for our first customer to show up, but when she did she told us to keep the change!

Pretty soon more people came. Some neighbors, some strangers, and Daddy even came home on his lunch and ordered one cup of lemonade and one brownie. A few people even came and said they wanted to donate to the walk but didn't want a brownie or lemonade! Everyone who came either told us to keep the change or gave us a tip.

Mom here. Normally, at this time of year where we live, it's still snowing and we're all wearing our woolies. However, the last week has been in the high 70s and 80s. Yesterday was 81 degrees and full sun. Six and a half hours in the sun. Six and a half hours. The dedication these kids showed (they DID NOT want to quit) and the high spirits they maintained was so admirable, and I am incredibly proud of them. Their manners were impeccable, and it was obvious that they were truly grateful for every customer who came, for every cent they earned.

Nathanael: By the end of our sale we earned $40! Mom added it to our team's website and we got to see the purple line go up just a little bit.

Mom: Hey guys, do you think we'll reach our goal of $1000?

Nathanael: Yes! We will! I know it!
Savannah: Yes! Yes!

Our Team Logo and Relay For Life Information

Nathanael: This is logo for our team. Our team name is The Cave Crashers. Mom said she might want to tweak it but I don't want her to because I helped to design it. The only thing she can change is the ribbon because the ribbon for Gran's sickness is white, not black. The yellow in the back in supposed to look like a big CRASH!

Mom here. This is where I'll include a link to our team's Relay page where you can obtain more information about the event.

The Cave Crashers Relay For Life Team

Mom's Two Cents' Worth

This is Mom typing here. I'm trolling the kids' blog for just a moment to share with our readers how proud I am of them. Their Gran is my mom, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in August of last year. What a shock to all of us.

Obviously the kids don't know the gritty details about what my mom is going through, but they do know she doesn't feel well and that her medicine makes her feel tired a lot. When I mentioned to them that my sisters (their wonderful aunties) and I wanted to start a team for the Relay For Life in the town where we grew up and where my parents still live, they naturally had a lot of questions. When I mentioned the fundraising aspect, their eyes lit up and they immediately began coming up with ideas to to raise money "to help Gran feel better." I was rather taken aback with their enthusiasm. They have such good hearts.

So bear with us throughout this blog. The posts, unless otherwise indicated, will truly be in their own words. While they're intelligent children, they get the sillies as all children do, and can come out with some real whoppers.

Nathanael just drew a quick picture of a bush baby and stuck it on the computer screen. See what I mean?

I appreciate the fact that you've taken the time to read this blog.

With gratitude,
Mom...aka McKenzie

Meet Savannah

Hi! I'm Savannah. I'm 3 years old but I'm going to be 4 in May.

I like to play with my stuffed animals. I LOVE my ballet class, and I've even been to a real ballet before. I can do good ballet leaps and I'm also good at plies.

I love Disney princesses, and my favorite princess is Ariel. I like to pretend to be all of the princesses, and I have a few dresses just like the real princesses. My favorite princess dress is the Rapunzel dress.

Mom: Why do you want to help raise money for our team?

Savannah: Because I love Gran.

Mom: Is there anything else you want to tell the readers about yourself?

Savannah: I'm learning how to read. I just got a new bike with kittens on it and I like to ride it up and down the sidewalk. I like ponies and I would really like to have one in our backyard. My favorite books to read are Disney princess books, Pinkalicious books, and Berenstain Bear books. I always ask mom and dad to read The Berenstain Bears and the Slumber Party book because I think it's funny.

I like to watch movies on family movie night. My favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. Mom, can we watch a movie right now?

Mom: Maybe in a little while.

Savannah: Okay.

Mom: Is there anything else you want to tell the readers?

Savannah: I like to do math with Natty. I like to find pictures of bush babies to scare mama because she gets creeped out by their big eyes. I like bush babies. Mom likes bush babies.

Mom: No way. They scare me almost as much as clowns do. Are you done for now?

Savannah: Mom loves clowns. Now I'm done.

Meet Nathanael

Hi! I'm Nathanael. I'm 5 years old. We are going to do a walk for our Gran in July. Our team name is The Cave Crashers and I helped design the logo for our team.

Mom: Can you tell the readers a little bit about why you want to raise money?

Nathanael: Because I love Gran and I want to send the money somewhere so that people can stop getting the kind of sickness that Gran has.

Mom: Why don't you tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

Nathanael: I like starfish and snakes. I have a yellow belt in karate. The type of karate I take is called Kempo. I like to play with my stuffed guys. I LOVE to build with Legos. The thing I love the most is my family. I'm homeschooled and I love it. Right now I'm in kindergarten. My favorite thing to learn is math. I'm really good at reading already! I think I'm even ready for a level 3 reader! I just got a new bike that says "RATTLESNAKE" on it. It's green, which is one of my favorite colors. I also like the color blue. I love riding my new bike.

That's all I want to say for now.