Jackpot!

This is what Nathanael exclaimed as we opened the door to P.O. Box 506 this morning.  We found it overflowing with responses to his Knock Out Cancer Challenge, and many were addressed to Savannah as well.  All of the envelopes, with the exception of two, were left with no return addresses.  Thank you, dear readers, if you are among those who sent the anonymous dollars.  They are wholeheartedly appreciated by not only the children, but by me and by our Relay For Life team as a whole.  Your kindness humbles me.  


The kids wanted to thank you all in their own way.  I apologize for my loud voice; I didn't realize I was holding the camera with the mic right near my mouth until we played it back.  

Up Close and Personal

Not with Robert Redford, unfortunately.  
I wanted the kids to have a little running dialogue on here, so while we were waiting for karate class to start, we sat in the car and played interviewer and interviewee.  Interviewees, to be precise.


Mom:  Who would like to talk about their favorite part of the blog?
Nathanael, making sure he was the first to answer: Me!
Savannah:  That's not fair!  Natty answered first!
Mom, who has a little bit had it with the week: It's fair because Natty answered first, Sav.  You can have a turn after him.
Savannah:  It's still not fair.
Mom, really REALLY wanting to go into a lecture about how life isn't fair but realizing it would be lost on a 3 year old: Natty will answer first, and then you can answer.  Enough said.
Okay, Natty.  You're up.  What's your favorite part about our blog?
Nathanael:  That's easy.  My Knock Out Cancer Challenge.
Mom:  Why?
Nathanael:  Because I've gotten some responses to it, and because I can see it anytime I want to on the blog.  And our blog makes us kind of famous. (at least he's honest)
Mom: Well that sounds like a good answer to me.  How about you, Savannah?  What's your favorite part about having a blog?
Savannah:  Making videos.
Mom:  Do you have a favorite video?
Savannah: The princess one.
Mom, realizing this is going to be like pulling teeth now:  Why do you like the princess one so much?
Savannah:  Because I did it myself (forget the fact that I had to feed her the lines for some of it) and it's MY challenge and not Natty's.
Mom:  It's fun to have something of your own, isn't it?
Savannah: Yes.  Like a horse I could ride all by myself.

I wasn't about to get into the horse discussion again.


Mom:  So guys, we've raised a lot of money so far.  Between what we have gotten donated directly to our team, and the fundraisers you two are coming up with, we've raised the most of all the teams who are walking in Geneva, and we still have 3 months to go until the walk!  How important do you think that money is?
Nathanael:  Well, the different fundraisers are fun, and counting the money we make from them is fun, but I know the real reason we're doing it.
Mom:  Why, buddy?
Nathanael:  Well, we're trying to help people who have the sickness like Gran (he doesn't like saying the word cancer very much), and I hope that some of the money goes to the hospital where Gran gets her medicine so that we're helping her get better.
Savannah: I hope ALL the money goes to Gran.
Mom:  Well, the money that we're raising will go to an organization that gives support to people with cancer and their families.  They also help people understand ways they can prevent different kinds of cancer by being healthy, and they do research to find ways to treat different cancers.  
Nathanael:  That's cool.  So we're helping them do all that?
Mom:  Yes sir.  That's where the money you're helping to raise will go to.


Mom: Okay, I have one more question for each of you.  Savannah first this time.
Savannah:  Good.
Mom:  Savvy, what does the word hope mean to you?
Savannah:  I hope Gran feels better.  I love her and I want her to  be able to visit us again and play with us!
Mom:  I think that's a great answer, kiddo.  How about you, Natty?  What does the word hope mean to you?
Nathanael:  It means wishing.  I wish Gran would feel better.  And I remember that we learned how daffodils represent hope, and we have lots of daffodils growing in our garden, so it's like our whole house is surrounded by hope.
Mom: It certainly is.  Okay, it's just about time to go into karate.  Is there anything you'd like to say to our readers?
Savannah:  Hi Gran!  Love, Savannah.   I love you!
Nathanael:  I don't know what to say.  Can I say "could you please donate?"
Mom:  Sure, if you want to.
Nathanael: Could you please think about donating?  We love our Gran!  I love you, Gran!  Knuckles!

Mom:  Know what?  I'm very proud of the both of you.
Nathanael:  For what?
Mom:  Because you're good kids with big hearts, and you're doing a good thing.
Nathanael:  Thanks, mama.  I'm proud of you, too.
Savannah:  Me too.
Mom:  Thanks, kiddos.  I love you.

They'll never really understand why I'm proud, but I have a feeling they'll never forget the good that they're doing.  I think this will stick with them for always.

Just For You

Through all of the fundraising, through all of the ideas on how to bring in the green for the American Cancer Society and our Relay For Life team, never once have we lost sight of why we're really doing any of this.  


Gran.  My mom.  


This was my idea, as I was feeling very sentimental this afternoon and I asked Nathanael if he would be willing to do something for the blog that would mean something to me and to Gran, but not related to raising money.  He happily obliged, and Savannah was more than happy to sit by, be cute, and listen.


When I was around Nathanael's age, my mom used to read me the Mercer Mayer Little Critter books.  I remember many of them, but our together favorite was Just For You.  The copy was so tattered and loved because it was read so often.  


On my first Christmas as a new mom, back in 2006, my mom gave me a special present for me to share with Nathanael.  It was a bound collection of Mercer Mayer books, the first being Just For You.  Hormonal and postpartum, I remember being moved to tears a) that she remembered, and b) that I would be able to share this story with my own child as she and I had shared, enjoyed, and loved it.  We have, and Savannah, too.


I wish I could do a million and one special things for my mom right now.  This comes to mind, and it's so trivial, but if she sees this, she'll understand.  


Mom, I wanted to do something special, just for you....








...and I did.

On twisters, The Exorcist, and pennies

Recognize the bike?  It's a replica of the bike Almira Gulch rode in The Wizard of Oz.  It's been that kind of day around here.  Sweet children seem to have fallen off the wagon....er, bike, and turned into Almira Gulch and her male counterpart.  And who turns into that big ol' green gal who throws a fireball at a scarecrow, all because she sent them to bed early?  


Mom here.  


Whew Nelly, there must be a full moon, or something in the water, or maybe their cuteness was just a clever ruse, but I swear I was ready for pea soup to come spewing out of their mouths and at least one 360 degree spin of the head to happen.  My husband said they're just tired from being up early and that they're just being kids.  Psssh.  What does he know?


Some friends of my husband have been dropping off pennies for the kids to collect for the fundraiser.


Like the clever segue there?


...erm..  As I was saying, my husband knows some very thoughtful people who thought a "penny drive" might be a fun way of raising funds for the Relay.  Genius.  My kids love money.  Not in the the-more-we-have-the-more-we-can-buy way, but they love finding money in stores and stashing it in their piggy banks.  They each have their own bank account.  I wouldn't call them mini-Scrooges, but they are very frugal, and it seems to come naturally.  This is a good thing.  


"Penny drive" has blossomed into "coin drive," as we have begun to receive more than just pennies.  We took the kids to our bank today, which has its own coin counter, and they had a blast dumping in handful after handful.  At the end, they had $35.17.  Nathanael said we can call them "hope pennies," and thus, another fundraiser was born.  


Change For Hope, Hope For Change will start tomorrow.  We're going to go around to some of our local businesses, restaurants and stores where we're "regulars," and ask if we can keep a canister near the registers to collect any spare pennies any patrons may feel compelled to give, with a slip of paper on each canister explaining our story and where the money will be going.  


Mom, ducking in case the pea soup comes flying: So where do you think we should go tomorrow to ask if we can leave containers for pennies?


Savannah: Um, the mall.


Mom, already knowing the answer:  Why the mall?


Savannah: So we can stay for a few whiles (her trademark phrase) and so I can buy something. 


Mom: Well, maybe we can go to the mall another time for a few whiles and see what we see.  Let's see if we can think of something closer to home.


Nathanael: Starbucks!  They sure know us there!


Mom, having just been thrown under the bus by her kid:  Uh...yep.  They sure do.  We can see if they'll do something like that.  Anywhere else?


Nathanael: Salsaritas!  We go there almost every day!


We don't.


Mom: We do not!  But they know us there, that would be a good place.


Savannah:  THE. MALLLLLL.


Mom, ignoring Savannah:  That's a good start.  Maybe we can ask Laportas, too.  


Savannah: Mom.


Mom: Savannah.


Savannah:  MOM!


I swear, this is when I thought her head was going to spin.


Mom, in a sickeningly sweet voice: Yes, Savvy?


Savannah:  We can ask the bank for all the money back that we just dumped in the machine.


Mom, feeling bad for likening her innocent 3 year old to Reagan: Can't do that, kiddo.  We traded those coins for dollars, and now the dollars are going to be donated to our team.


Savannah: Ohhhhh.


I'd just like to say that, when we found out Savannah was a girl, we briefly considered the name Raegan.  


Nathanael:  Listen.  If this is going to work, we're going to need at least a thousand buckets and a thousand places to bring them.  I don't want to wait in the car.


Annnnnd.....cue creepy crab walk down the stairs?


I'm curious to see how this one turns out.  I frequently see plastic containers on market counters around the area, and while they're never chock-full, it does seem that people pay attention and plop in a few coins.  While a few pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters won't cure cancer, together they're combined and put toward research and resources that will, hopefully some day, help to put an end to all cancers.  

Stepping Up

Our little karate kid was feeling frustrated that he hasn't received a lot of response to his challenge, and he asked if he could make another Knock Out Cancer video.




How can *anyone* resist such a challenge?  


If you or anyone you know would like to accept Nathanael's challenge and make a donation, big or small, directly to him or to our team, please make checks out to The American Cancer Society and mail to:


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


We all thank you for the donations received so far.  Your money is going to a great cause, and I like to think that, some day, no one will ever have to know this awful disease.

100 days

Look at the excitement on their faces.  For all of their awesome work with homeschooling the past few weeks, for all of their patience with mama as she goes through the motions of dealing with an ill parent, and for the dedication and pure love driving them to make this Relay nothing short of a success, we took a field trip today to the National Museum of Play in Rochester.

They had such a blast.  We spent SEVEN hours there, playing, being kids (yes, even me), and no one                  wanted to leave.

They got to play on a sunny dirt road, deep in Bear Country with some of our family's favorite characters....

 

Mama was reminded of a difficult lesson, and wished that the Bear Family could make it all go away.

 We visited the Dancing Wings Butterfly Conservatory, and this species was attracted to all three of us.  One landed on my neck, one landed on Savannah's leg, and one landed on the back of Nathanael's head.  I wonder if there is any significance?

We officially have 100 days left until the Relay.  We have our fundraiser in Rochester scheduled for May 11th with The Skycoasters.  We also have a local fundraiser coming up hosted by a family favorite restaurant, Cheeburger Cheeburger.  The date just needs to be confirmed, and more details will follow.  Of course the Kick Cancer In The Can and Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge are ongoing.  We're selling luminaria bags for decoration around the track for $5 apiece; bags are to be decorated, and at dark will be lit in honor of, in support of, in memory of, or in celebration of anyone whose life has been affected by cancer.  100 days.  A lot can happen in 100 days.  We have set a lofty fundraising goal for ourselves, but those little cheerleaders at the top of the page seem to think it can be done, so I'm following suit with their positivity and allowing their light to shine the way to achieving that goal.  

Rockin' For Relay

This photo is one of my favorite photos of my children.  It was taken in 2008 not long after Savannah was born; Nathanael was 18 months old.  Their feet have grown since then and still have a lot of growing to do, however they're already taking huge steps to change the world around them.

When we started this little blog, the intent was simply to document Nathanael and Savannah’s efforts at changing their little corner of the world.  A funny thing happened on the way.  They began to inspire others to want to change the world as well.

Enter our friend Shannon, whose own mother is a lung cancer survivor. 

Shannon is active in the Relay for Life and other American Cancer Society events in Western New York.  With the desire to help my children raise money in honor of their Gran, Shannon reached out to legendary Rochester rockers The Skycoasters, and set in motion a fund raising event. 

On May 11, 2012, at Nola’s BBQ in Rochester, NY, The Skycoasters will play at a benefit for the American Cancer Society.   There is a $5.00 cover charge for the band, and there will be silent auctions and ticket raffles, with a 50/50 raffle capping off the night.  The Skycoasters will be taking the stage at around 9:30 PM, with the big raffle drawing at around 11:30.  All proceeds will go the American Cancer Society on behalf of the Cave Crashers team.  

The event will obviously be a little late for Nathanael and Savannah to attend in person, and they are a little young to be hanging out in a bar, but this event would never have happened without their inspiration.  Many thanks to Shannon, for taking the initiative and making this happen.  I will be there, and aside from the auctions/raffles, donations will also be accepted.

I am, once again, humbled by the generosity of others. 

Don't stop believin'.

The Catcher

No, not ...In The Rye....


Not Jorge Posada....


Not the guy who snags the stray dogs.


Watch your step, cancer.  Fear your every move.  For behold....


It's the CANCER CATCHER!

Nathanael: I am dressed up as a cancer catcher.  Yep.  A cancer. Catcher.  The helmet I have on is to keep me safe on my motorcycle.

Mom, baffled as to where in the world he came up with this idea:  Okay.  Why does The Cancer Catcher drive a motorcycle?

Nathanael:  So I can go to places to catch cancer.  *If he knew enough to say "Duh, mama," I have a feeling that would've been tacked on to the end.

Mom:  So tell me about your cape.

Nathanael:  It's not a cape.  It's the thing that flies in the wind on the motorcycle.

Mom, unable to resist:  Oh.  So...like a cape?

Nathanael, annoyed:  No.  It just flaps on the motorcycle.

Mom, deciding against trying to push his buttons any further:  So what else can you tell me about your....uniform?

Nathanael:  Costume.  It's not a uniform.

Mom:  My apologies.

Nathanael:  Well, the mouth cover is to keep me safe if I fall off the motorcycle while I'm catching a cancer germ to destroy.

Mom:  Where do you put it?

Nathanael:  The motorcycle?

Mom, wondering where the sudden fascination with motorcycles has come from:  No.  Where do you put the nasty cancer germs once you catch them?

Nathanael:  Ahh, yes.  Of course.  Well, I put them in my special jar, and then I lock the jar.
He begins to run down the hallway.....

Mom:  Anything else?

Nathanael: That's it!

So.  A cancer catcher.  Be afraid, cancer.  Be very afraid.  And if not for the picture above, then for the picture below.

The Cancer Catcher earned his orange belt in karate this morning.  He's rough and tough.  You heard that "Kiai! he gave you in his Knock Out Cancer Challenge.  I think that challenge just got kicked up a notch!

What would a princess do?

Savannah, seeing her brother's success with his Knock Out Cancer Challenge, asked if there was something she could do that was just hers.  

Savannah:  I want to do something.  Not karate.

Mom:  Ballet?

Savannah: No.  My leotard is too tight.

Mom: A song?

Savannah:  No, I already did that, remember?

Mom, having clearly forgotten:  I absolutely remember.  What do you think you'd like to do?

Savannah:  Something about horses.

Mom:  We don't have a horse, Sav.  And I don't know how we could incorporate horses into our message.  Or where we'd even find a horse.

Savannah:  Um, the yellow pages.

Mom, feeling The Headache coming on and rubbing her temples:  Any other thoughts, kiddo?

Savannah:  Yes!  Rapunzel!!

Mom:  Okay!  What would Rapunzel like to do?

Savannah:  Ride a horse.

Mom, having flashes forward of what the teen years are going to be like:  Something without horses.

Savannah:  I don't know then.

Mom:  Do you want to talk to our readers?

Savannah:  Yes!  I could read them a book!

Mom:  You're just learning how to read, kiddo.  We're not quite there yet.  But I have an idea.  Remember the Disney princess books you have where they all try to solve different problems?  And how they all say the same thing as they think about what to do to solve the problem?


Savannah:  Oh!  Yes!  Just like when Ariel had to tell Triton that the pitsytooter was hers, and not Alana's!

Mom:  Would you like me to help you say some things to our readers, and then maybe you could end with that one line from the book?


Savannah:  YES!

And so, ladies and gentlemen, may I present Savannah, aka Princess Rapunzel, in our Cyrano de Bergerac style of....an interview with Rapunzel.  No horses were harmed in this interview.

‎  

Who can resist a beautiful princess?  If you would like to donate to our team, please visit the team page for The Cave Crashers.  From there, you can see Savannah's name toward the bottom listed as a team member, and if you'd like to donate directly to Savannah's page you can click on her name to donate.  If she raises $100 on her page, she gets a pretty awesome Relay For Life t-shirt.  You can also visit Savannah's page directly, but the default Relay picture of a random mom and daughter pops up when you click on the link and I don't know how to fix it; I just don't want anyone to be confused if/when you visit the page and don't see Savannah.  Our American Cancer Society rep is working on it.  


As always, dear readers, I thank you...WE thank you...for your continued support.  

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs

Mom here.  We spent a long Easter weekend out of town with my parents, sisters, and their families.  It was a very tough, very emotional weekend.  The kids had a blast playing with their cousins from the other side of the country (also fellow Cave Crashers), but it was very bittersweet.

The kids' new favorite song from the last few weeks has been Journey's Don't Stop Believin', particularly the end, because they don't want anyone to stop believing in hope, to stop believing in the fight, to stop believing that Gran will get better.

It's spring break time around here for the schools, and, as homeschoolers, we tend to follow the public school schedule as far as days off are concerned.  Today, though, I wanted to get some reading, writing, and spelling in.

Mom:  Okay, kiddos.  Time for some work.  

Nathanael:  I'm drawing something.  Please please please can we wait until I'm done?

Savannah:  I'm ready.  Let's do it.

Mom:  Let's go, Natty.  Let's get it out of the way and then you can have your play time.

Savannah:  Yeah, let's go....Natty Bananers.  (She knows what buttons to push.  She's only 3.)

Nathanael: Do NOT call me that, Savvy-anna!  (So does he.)

Mom, losing patience:  I'm going to count to three....

Savannah: I can count higher than that.

Nathanael: I'm done anyway.  See what I drew?  It's a cancer crusher to help get rid of Gran's germs!

Mom, feeling like dirt now:  Wow, bud.  What a great drawing.  And what a great idea.  A cancer crusher.  

Nathanael:  Wouldn't it be great if we could just push a button, next to everyone with this sickness, and it just blasted the germs right out of their bodies!  When I'm 49 I'm going to invent one.

Savannah: Just like Mama!

Mom, seriously rubbing temples now: Savannah, I'm 35.  Not 49.

Savannah: April Fool!

Mom:  Ha ha.  Right.  Okay.  Let's get some work done.

Finally.  They humored me and completed their work, and when we were done I asked them if they wanted to stay at the table to draw and keep me company while I started dinner.   They both said yes, drew for a few minutes, started whispering, and then told me not to look. After maybe 20 minutes they wanted to show off their work.  Whenever the tell me not to look and then they want to show me something I get a little nervous.  This is what they were working on:     

Big bro instructed Little Sis on how to find the song on my iPod 

to make sure he spelled "believin'" the right way.

She loves her Gran, whom she used to call "Lady."  She wanted her picture taken wearing the purple flower brooch Gran gave her over Easter weekend.

This little one never ceases to amaze me.

Never ever.  

The two of them worked together on this one, but Savannah didn't want to be in the picture.  She wanted it written and asked Nathanael to write it.  She actually wanted "Cancer stinks like the cat's litter box" written, but Nathanael apparently vetoed that idea.

I know I'm biased, but I have pretty great kids.  Mom, if you're reading this, thank you for teaching me everything you did that helped me produce two amazing kids.  I love you.

Easter

The Easter Bunny made an appearance a few days before Easter to hide some eggs in our yard.  Nathanael decided to put his magic hat on to help him find more eggs.

Savannah let out a squeal every time she spotted an egg.  If I could bottle up their joy from that morning and sell it I'd be a millionaire.

Every year, the Easter Bunny hides two golden eggs, one for each, and places a special surprise in each.  This year EB left $5 in quarters - the kids' favorite coin, naturally - and immediately upon opening his, Nathanael said he wanted to put them in our loose change donation jar.  Savannah  followed up with an enthusiastic "Me too!"  We have a quart-sized Mason jar that we're keeping our loose change in until about a week before the walk.  At that time we'll donate it to our team.  The fact that my kids were so selfless as to want to donate their money from the bunny to their fundraising efforts melted my heart faster than a Cadbury Egg left in the sun.

...the aftermath

Mom here.  The kids are still on Cloud 9 from their spot on television.  They're asking to see their video every five minutes.  My cell phone has been ringing and dinging and bleeping with calls, texts, and e-mails with people telling me how well they did, how they needed Kleenex after watching them, and so on and so forth.  They're asking about the next time they'll be on television, and have both picked out their outfits.  I don't yet have the heart to tell them that this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  


My heart continues to swell with pride.  People are giving me props for teaching the kids a lesson in doing good things for others at such a young age, but the truth is, while my husband and I are certainly encouraging of their ideas, they really are coming up with everything on their own.  It's almost as if we weren't needed to teach them a lesson in "doing good."  We were fortunate enough to be blessed with two children with hearts the size of....well, here is what the kids have to say about it.


Mom:  I'm so proud of you both.  I still can't believe you were on television!  Natty, you did such a great job in the interview letting people know why you're doing what you're doing, and Savannah, when you said that you wanted to tell Gran you love her, I was so proud that I wanted to cry.  You both have huge hearts.**

Nathanael:  Is that normal?

Mom:  What, to have a huge heart?

Savannah:  I'm not going to the doctor.

Mom:  No no no.  "Having a huge heart" means that you have lots and lots of room in your heart for love and for caring and for doing kind things.

Nathanael: Ohhhh.

Mom:  I'd say you have hearts the size of....

Nathanael, before I could finish: Canada!

Savannah: No, Natty, not Canada.  As big as the statue of Prince Eric in Ariel's grotto!

Mom:  You got it, kiddos.


**While it's true that my husband and I were lucky to have naturally good and good-hearted kids, they are kids, and boy - do they come out with some whoppers.  I'm beginning to draft a post that will surely amuse you, dear readers.  Some days they're from Hogwarts, some days they're from Slytherin.*
* My husband came up with that one.  Forgive me.  

Makeover time!

Mom here.  To get ready for our big television debut, I headed over to our local Sephora to get some assistance on picking out and applying good television makeup colors.  Being a stay-at-home mom, I usually throw on some mascara...only if I leave the house...and I'm good to go.  I knew that wouldn't cut it on television, and I knew I needed some help.  Okay, a LOT of help.  

The first thing we did when we arrived was pick out some nail polish for both kids.  That was my bribe for actually getting them to come with me.  And yes, I said both kids.  Don't judge.  I paint Nathanael's toenails, otherwise he looks longingly at Savannah while I paint her fingernails and toenails.  Savannah chose a lovely 

pink color, while Nathanael chose a fabulous vomit-green color.  Mission accomplished.

Thankfully, a nice young woman approached us and asked if we needed help.  "Ohhhh yes," I replied, and explained that we were going to be on television and I needed some help.  Okay, a LOT of help.  She asked a few questions, grabbed some colors, and went to work.  I drew the attention of an older woman who was also shopping, and for some reason I can't remember, she started singing "Oh Danny Boy."  The young woman and I referenced The Muppets' version of Oh Danny Boy and we began laughing.  Ohhhh Danny.  Oh boy.

Meanwhile, Thing 1 and Thing 2 were having a blast hanging out near my makeover chair, ooohing and ahhhing over all the sparkly colors.  After restraining themselves for, oh, a minute, they began to experiment.  And experiment they did.  Eyeshadows, blushes, mascara lines drawn on necks....you name it.

After my transformation..."Mommy, you look like someone who has already been on television!"...I just chose to take all the products the lovely woman used, hoped I'd be able to reproduce her fabulous work the next morning,....and then I saw my children.

They were so proud of themselves.

Thank you, Tricia at Sephora.  For helping me learn how not to look like a tired mom, and for the message you sent after you saw the news.  

Nathanael and Savannah, Changing The World

Dear Readers, here is our segment from our local ABC news affiliate, WKBW-7.

Making Good Things Happen

Two Weeks Later and We're On The News!

Mom here.  The kids and I were invited by our local ABC affiliate, WKBW-TV, to sit down for a short interview about the blog's origination and why the kids have chosen to let the world know what they're doing.


We were up bright and early and took the exciting drive to the studio.  The kids' jaws dropped as we pulled into the parking lot.

They were wonderful.  Savannah was a little camera shy, I was beyond nervous, but Nathanael was a natural.  This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows him.

We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Patrick Taney and the WKBW News 7 team.  Nathanael told me on the way home, "Mama, Patrick Taney helped to make our dream come true of letting the whole world know what we're doing."

Two weeks after going live, our blog has had approximately 2500 hits, followers from 13 countries, and retweets/mentions from approximately 100 celebrities on Twitter, ranging from movie stars like Minnie Driver to television stars like Tim Daly to athletes and sports news icons such as Aaron Boone, Bob Lorenz, Jack Curry, and Chuck Knoblauch.  Not bad for a little kids' blog.

We met and exceeded our initial goal of $1000.  When we reached $1000, we attained the "Rising Stars" level for fundraising for the Relay For Life.  It was time to start working toward the next level.  We have met and exceeded our revised goal of $2000.   When I learned about the different levels of fundraising, I decided to shoot for the moon and make our ultimate goal $15,000.  If a team raises $15,000 in donations, it reaches the "Sapphire Level" of fundraising.  The "blue" level, if you will.  My mom's favorite color is blue.  There was no question about it. Attaining that goal, that sapphire level of fundraising, will make this event even more special to me than it already is.  The Cave Crashers will do their best to fill in that purple box and raise $15,000!

Thank you, dear readers, for your support and for keeping this blog going.  Thank you to those of you who have accepted Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer challenge.  You have all touched my heart.

Yankees Fans and Mermaids

Two new hairdos for a special event coming up.  Stay tuned!

Mom:  Natty, I have some exciting Yankees news about the blog.

Nathanael:  What?

Mom: Well, some of the writers and researchers from the YES Network have checked it out.  A writer for ESPN has, too.

Nathanael: What's ESPN?

Mom:  It's a tv channel for a bunch of different sports.  It's the channel that Salsarita's usually has playing when we go there.

Nathanael:  WOW!  I wonder if any of the real Yankees have looked at it?

Mom:  Well, a former Yankee named Chuck Knoblauch has looked at it.  All of these guys have found out about the blog through my Twitter account.

Savannah:  What's a Twittter?

Mom:  It's something on the internet where you can write what you're doing or about things you want people to know.  Daddy and I spend a lot of time on Twitter after you two go to bed, letting people know about your blog and why you're trying to raise money.

Savannah: Well, why can't you just call them on the phone?

Mom:  Because I don't know their phone numbers.

Savannah:  So look them up.

Mom:  *speechless*

Nathanael:  I hope Derek Jeter reads it!

Mom:  We'll see who we can get there, bud.  We have lots of readers and we're trying to get people to spread the word so we'll have more.  We want everyone to know what awesome kids you are.

Savannah:  Well, I want Ariel to read it.

Mom:  Sav, Ariel isn't real.  You know that.  She's just a cartoon character on a movie.  She can't really read.

Savannah:  Yes, mama, actually she can.

Mom:  Nope.  Sorry, kiddo.

Savannah:  Okay, well then how did she read Ursula's agreement before she signed it?

Mom:  *speechless*

Savannah's Solo

Mom here.  Been a rough few days around the house.  Unruly kids with germs, mom's got an ear infection, and some stress over Gran, aka my mom.  There are some days when it seems like one thing after another after another is thrown our way.  There are days when I'm ready to throw in the towel, thinking that I can't handle *this* part of life.

But then a sweet voice comes up behind me, asking if she can sing a song for the blog "so the readers can know Ariel's song," and the stress temporarily melts away.  One look into those baby blue eyes, and all seems right with the world.  Until, of course....well, just watch.





I love you, Sav.  *hack*