[ with a little help from our friends ]

>

sooooooo... today was the day of the mr RAY & friends concert! i kept waking up every hour because i was scared i was going to over sleep!

the concert was BRILLIANT!!! it was a room full of big hearted people enjoying music from really generous, talented musicians, coming together to do something good for haiti.

from the ticket sales & the auction we managed to raise $4000!!


the needs in haiti are vast & will continue to be for the foreseeable future. if you can help in anyway, resources, time etc please contact info@ForThisOne.org

you can follow their progress here: www.facebook.com/ForThisOne

[ an extract from an update posted there: ]

'The UN is distributing food and water, but entire families are required to stand in line all day in the sun in order to receive it. If they are in line, this means they cannot do anything else - like search for loved ones, remove rubble from streets or from their own homes, or look for jobs. They cannot be productive because they must be in line for food. Also, the UN is patrolling these lines with heavily armed guards. This doesn't feel very good to the honest civilians standing in the lines and it has caused more than one scuffle. (We're not knocking the UN - we know they mean well. We're just suggesting there's a better way).

JT and Adam spent their week in PAP developing relationships with the organizations stockpiling food at the airport, working with them, and procuring food from them which they then discretely (so as not to be robbed by gangs) brought back to the team at Sherry Faussey's school and orphanage. Here, the food reaches the team of missionaries who are intimately familiar with the neighborhood and the local pastors as well as the school's teachers. The local pastors and teachers also know the neighborhood. With their help, they are quietly dropping food into each tent in the neighborhood. So everyone eats. No one stands in line for it. And there are no guns involved. Humanely obtained, compassionately delivered food.

THIS is why For This One supports the work these missionaries are doing. They live in haiti. They know the people. They know the turf. They know how to get what's needed where it needs to be. And it is always done in a way that is dignified and peaceful and compassionate. And it works.

The work of the teams has been so effective that it drew the attention of other groups and the U.N. itself. Everyone wants to know how they have been able to get so much done '




THANK YOU:

to everyone that came to the concert! we hope you had a blast!!

to everyone that donated something, however small ~ it ALL helps!

For This One (jenn, darren & christine) ~ who tirelessly are doing everything humanly possible to raise money & collect supplies to help the people of haiti.

mr RAY for generously starring at the concert & having the talent to draw the crowd! without you doing this we wouldn't have had a concert! YOU ROCK MAN!

mr RAY's special guest friends: lisa bouchelle, paul geiger, carmen plummer-rubin, joe bellia dusty micale & miss amy ~ you are all wonderful!

carolyn taylor ~ coolest PR person ever!

kiddie academy princeton for the drop off of haiti supplies, you really are the best daycare center!

thomas sweets & contes ~ THANK YOU!

best buy ~ for the 26" TV!!

the following people for gift certificates: thomas sweets, contes, music box studio ~ janet campbell, music together ~ sarah orfe, director of the princeton lab school, cropping circle, getting2knowU ~ jane klein conklin

the awesome guy that donated $500 ~ THANK YOU!

sharon dunham, robert wood johnson, conference manager ~ for hosting & all your help with that!

all those that posted posters & forwarded emails about the event.

friends & family that came early to sell tickets

[ when stars align ]

sooooooo... i had real trouble breastfeeding (that's a whole other blog right there) & when oscar was 11 days old i made my first trip out with him to a breastfeeding class with enough supplies & equipment to have safely overcome almost any emergency & survived for 3 months. seriously it looked like i was going on vacation!

little did i know that this class was the foundation to so many adventures & meeting so many wonderful people.

a few of us have kept in touch & have been great support.

last august, one of these people announced she was going to help out in haiti. first of all, i had no idea what a devastated country haiti was, without electricity, clean water, food, medical treatment...  & secondly i couldn't believe my friend jenn whose 3 children were all under 4 at the time had the ambitious drive to organize this & go, i was in awe...

if i had been asked to go i probably would have thought of a million excuses as i'm sure jenn could have but she didn't & she went on her way raising money collecting formula & supplies. i felt kind of guilty but very proud of her & wanted to help as much as i could. i posted the list of things she needed on free cycle & went round collecting items from generous people.

jenn returned with lots of stories, photos & a big piece of haiti in her heart.

she started up a charity with darren & christine ~ For This One   www.ForThisOne.org  *(please see below for the story that inspired the name)

and now... the earthquake

needless to say jenn, darren & christine have been selflessly working around the clock raising money, organizing drop offs etc etc  please visit their website www.ForThisOne.org

there are some people you meet in life that make you a better person, jenn, for me, is one of these. her enthusiasm & passion for this cause as well as juggling a job & family have inspired me to do more to help.

trying to think of a way to raise money i contacted mr RAY to see if he would do a children's benefit concert. i knew deep down he'd do it if he could & he is! he also has 4 guests lined up too!

(if you've not heard of this rock legend look up this older blog [ oscar & flynn's party! ~ featuring mr RAY ]  )

www.mrRAY.com

so please come out & show your support for this cause ~ SPREAD THE WORD!

here's the flyer:
http://tekprosystems.com/forthisone/mrRAYhaiti.pdf
Saturday, Jan 30, 10:30 am (doors open at 10 am)
Mr. RAY performs a benefit to HELP HAITI!
Robert Wood Johnson Hamilton Center for Health and Wellness

also we are looking for some cool stuff to auction off! & please let us know if you know of any other ways of publicizing this, radio etc

info@forthisone.org

i'm just off to deliver a car load of donations from kiddie academy princeton ~ thank you guys sooooo much!!

*(inspiration to For This One name)

The Star Thrower

Once upon a time, there was a man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves. "It made a difference for that one!"

His response surprised the man. He was upset. He didn't know how to reply. So instead, he turned away and walked back to the cottage to begin his writings.

All day long as he wrote, the image of the young man haunted him. He tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the afternoon he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed out on the essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe and make a difference. He was embarrassed.

That night he went to bed troubled. When the morning came he awoke knowing that he had to do something. So he got up, put on his clothes, went to the beach and found the young man. And with him he spent the rest of the morning throwing starfish into the ocean. You see, what that young man's actions represent is something that is special in each and everyone of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like that young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

And that is your challenge. And that is my challenge. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.

[ joe hill ]

soooooo... we were introduced to an elderly couple, joe & tina, who live oppersite. everyone had the upmost respect for them.

joe walked with a crooked wooden stick & i often had chats with him when i was out gardening. he was always very cheerful & had good things to say. one day he pulled old photos of our house out of his pocket & gave them to us ~ he grew up there.

they have lots of cats & had to buy a ton of cat food every week, he’d leave his stick leaning up against his burgundy mini van while making trips, often leaving the trunk open for hours. both my husband & i offered to help him if we saw him ~ but he had a great sense of pride.

on day flashing lights flooded our sitting room, my boys were going nuts as they LOVE anything to do with the emergency services (especially firetrucks). it was an ambulance outside their home. joe was wheeled out & driven off. later i saw his daughter sitting on her porch so i went over to offer my help in anyway i could.

then i’d keep asking after him & it was always the same news.

last week it really snowed... my husband, mike, took a road trip with us to the supermarket ~ the boys were so excited driving in the snow! mike has a ‘shopping window’ ~ i could tell he’d had enough by the time we’d got to the check out. then i couldn’t get oscar’s zipper up & he was trying to show me a giraffe on an advert!

mike had started to walk out with flynn our other son ~ i saw joe’s daughter, paying for her grocerys, said hello & asked after her dad. she told me he’d died... i could contain my sadness & started sobbing as i gave her a big hug at the check outs. then i didn’t feel i could just walk away, so i stayed sobbing for a minute. mike is wondering where the heck i’d got to comes back into shoprite... to find his wife & neighbor crying... needless to say he handled it very well.

the exciting trip in the snow had ended for me... i was so sad... the last thing i said to joe hill was could i borrow his wheel barrow! & the image of the burgundy mini van, with the open trunk & crooked stick leaning up against it is burnt into my mind.

once he saw me getting out of the car with flynn, who was 2 weeks old, i’d been crying & he asked me what was wrong. i told him i’d just been let go from my job (i was literrally returning from that ‘meeting’) he said great time to be fired! gesturing to flynn & it was true! thank you joe!

...another candle blown out. i will really miss you mr hill.

[ twinkle ~ twinkle...* ]

sooooooo...my husband, mike, left early this morning on a business trip. my boys oscar 4 & flynn 2 woke up early & jumped into bed with me. we were all snuggley & relaxed. flynn was playing with my hair & humming twinkle twinkle little star...

this is a moment i want to immortalize, we were lying on our backs looking up at the ceiling listening to flynn.

i can't imagine them being grown up & having their own children, these little boys are my life, i'm loving this time, someone please stop the clocks!

[ james brown ~ where are you! ]

sooooooo... james brown, one of our cats, went missing. i wasn't that worried as it had happened before, for 24 hours, but as time went on i was starting to get more & more concerned. i couldn't completely concentrate on anything, something just didn't seem right, i just wanted to see that cat walk through the door.

i could tell my husband, mike, was getting anxious too & what made me start chewing my nails was his comment 'i have a really bad feeling about this...'

trying to stay positive i kept attempting to convince both of us that he was probably just shut in someones garage or something. it was 3 days... i couldn't sleep. where the hell had this cat gone ~ was he injured or worse road kill... i was driving myself nuts with my thoughts going round & round in circles... it's better not to know because then you can live in hope that he is still ok... but what if he's stuck... how long can cats survive without food or water?... i took the dog for a walk & kept calling out 'james brown' listening for his reply (nutty as this looked & sounds he answers his name).

then i started trying to remember the last time i saw him, the last words i said, last time i petted him, i didn't even get to say goodbye... then i suddenly thought about those who have loved ones missing & the absolute hell these poor people must be living. the torture of the unknown is something no one deserves.

i was outside banging bowls every few hours hoping to see james brown running home...

then sunday morning came, the morning i get to sleep in, i was lying in bed when the doorbell rang. i heard this guy say something about your cat... i dived out of bed trying to get into my sweats really fast, failing miserably but doing a really good hopping routine. mike heard i was up & said he'd be right back. i rushed downstairs & started interrogating the kids... who was at the door? oscar, my 4 year old, said he didn't see... flynn, who's 2, on the other hand said a man! so i said was it our neighbor on the corner with the beard, he said yes, but his yes wasn't convincing... so i continued with the questioning, was it our next door neighbor, he replied yes... so i asked was it batman? yes... great!! so i just had to wait until mike came back.

he was gone for what seemed like hours!! but finally i saw him coming up the street carrying james brown, what a wonderful feeling of relief! everything was good again!

apparently he was in this guys basement around the corner from us, who has cats & was being fed. mike was all excited, telling me they had an automatic litter tray & that this guy had demonstrated it. i said what he climbed inside with the reading material while you watched!!! hahaha

i feel very lucky that james brown made it home safely... but will never forget the desperation i felt whilst he was lost ~ & he's just a cat! i pray that everyone's james brown makes it home safely.

[ hi-5 ~ yo gabba gabba ]

sooooooo...the tv is on in the background & i hear foofa trying to teach plex to do hi-5s... now i'm no expert but i'm betting none of the yo gabba gabba characters, barring dj lance, has got 5 digits!!!

i'm amazed that america has got away with saying 'hi-5'. wikipedia says 'The gesture takes its name from the 'five' fingers and the raising of the hand 'high'.'

what about people who don't have 5 fingers???!! or are 'digit challenged?' shouldn't we be calling it a 'high slap?'

i'm surprised no one has been sued over this....

got to say though ~ I LOVE yo gabba gabba. my most favorite episode is the one with jack black!! even though dj lance gave him one of those skin tight orange outfits to wear... i'm sure they strategically placed his motor bike in the shots so no-ones eyeballs were scandalized!!

& also for those who watch yo gabba gabba ~ there is no way that that girl in the 'family' episode is dj lances sister!!

[ oscar & flynn's party! ~ featuring mr RAY ]

sooooooooooo... i haven't jumped on the 'venue' birthday parties bandwagon yet ~ although believe me when i'm scrubbing the house & cooking 9 million things i wish i wasn't having a party in my house! my husband, mike, reminds me every time there's a reason why people have these events in specially equipped places! & yes yes yes i know!!

ok ~ but for the moment i like it being in our house... to make things easier, this year, we had a party to celebrate oscar's 4th birthday, flynn's 2nd & halloween all in one!!! come on!! that's GENIUS!

i try & take the kids out & about as much as i can & i've got to say i LOVE LOVE LOVE the libraries around us ~ but that's a whole other blog right there! anyways the libraries were having all these summer activities & we were virtually living there!

i'd see the posters to events rock up never quite knowing what to expect, it was a lot of fun. one of the singers was called mr RAY, never heard of him but i'd hadn't heard of any of the acts or singers before & was just trying to expose my guys to as much as possible.

got to tell you though i was blown away!! i knew this guy was cool as soon as i saw him 'cos he was wearing a beatles tee shirt. (the GREATEST band EVER! & it's my blog so you can't argue!) then he started playing... FINALLY cool kids music!! music i actually want to play in my car! i don't mind having to put the same song on 49 times, instead of trying to shut my head out of the window! what i found funny though was i think the moms were singing harder & enjoying themselves as much or if not more than the kids! nothing wrong with that!

my son was going to kiddie academy, i was chatting with christine the director about my discovery & she'd already heard of him!! i couldn't believe it! not only that he was going to play at their 10th anniversary party (that thankfully i was invited to, or i would have been gatecrashing!!) the thought of me attempting to scale chain link with or without 2 kids on my back is definitely not a pretty sight!


i've been to a few shows that mr RAY has played at. i took my mom to the 'rejoice 2009' jewish concert & felt a bit guilty while eating ham sandwiches waiting for him to appear!!



i don't want to be one of those pushy mothers but I WISH my boys would volunteer to go up & sing when he does the open mike thang :) although i would probably be reduced to a blubbering mess of pride!! i remember holding back the tears while watching oscar, who was about 11 months at the time, being pushed past in a stroller dressed as superman in the daycare halloween parade!!

so anyway i emailed mr RAY to see if he would come & play at oscar & flynn's party & he agreed!!! when i got the reply email, i was jumping up & down, my poor husband arched one of his eyebrows & just shook his head. mr RAY played in our house i felt like having a wayne & garth moment 'we're not worthy'!!

it was the best party ever. everyone had so much fun & loved meeting this cool rock dude! (in our house!! did i mention that)!!!

we have found mr RAY very gracious & generous of spirit... he took the time to chat with everyone, wasn't clock watching & really down to earth. all very humbling really... my husband said he's really talented & you can tell he loves what he does ~ winning combo really.

ROCK ON mr RAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! (now stop mucking around & please bring out a beatles cover album & a christmas one & also a firetruck song!!) ;)

www.mrray.com

[ organizing for dummies... ]

sooooooo... i'm reading 'organizing for dummies' which personally the 'for dummies' titles are slightly offensive!! i know i'm crap at it that's why i bought the book, rub it in a bit more why don't you!!

feeling really inspired (maybe a bit too inspired) & as one of my news years resolutions is to de-clutter de-clutter de-clutter... i decide to organize my kitchen cupboards...

due to the fact i'm really really bad at anything 'tidy' this involves me pulling everything out of said cupboards making a huge mess & wishing i'm never started this job.

10 minutes later i would rather just admit i'm a dummy & do something more fun.

1 hour later ~ this is taking far longer than i thought or want... i wonder if there are cleaning fairies that would take pity on me... oh please.

i know this is mega mega wasteful but i'm examining all the packages hoping they are past their best by dates so i can toss them instead of having to put them away!

the tv is on & i can hear it's that episode of olivia when she does magic... i wonder if i can invite that pig round here & get her to make this mess disappear... it's times like this i wish i was samantha from bewitched & could twitch it right.

my boys keep going through the kitchen shouting 'beep beep', because they can't get through... this was cute the first dozen times... 'mommy you made a mess' isn't helping me either...

organizing is great when it's done, but what a depressing work out to get there...

i s'ppose i should get my butt back in there because i haven't finished yet... boo hoo hoo

[ pooping green... ]

sooooooo... for 2 days now flynn, my 2 year old, has been pooping green & i don't mean that with any type of environmental connection! it's an amazing color... a really rich deep green & i have no idea why. he hasn't eaten any vegetables that color & i haven't 'hidden' anything green in his food recently.

flynn & oscar are as amazed as i am!

i reckon the jolly green giant would be green with envy... although we wouldn't be able to tell!! or maybe he does green poos too!