Monthly cause

Tonight, like many Americans, I watched "Stand Up 2 Cancer". If you watched it, you might understand why I spent about 53 of the 60 minutes that it was on sitting on the couch sobbing. It was incredibly moving and I immediately called Topher while he was working and said "We have to do something to help". He responded with a list of all the causes we're passionate about and said "I wish we could do something to help all of them". That got me thinking. Why can't we? I wish I could end cancer, poverty, child abuse, animal abuse, domestic abuse, pollution, hunger, etc. There are SO MANY causes that I'm so passionate about, it begs the question: How do I choose just one? I think I may have found my answer. I suggested to Topher that we do a Cause-A-Month. Each month will be dedicated to one specific cause and we will work hard to support that cause. November can be all about collecting canned goods to donate to soup kitchens, volunteering on Thanksgiving at a soup kitchen, etc. December can be all about collecting coats and toys for shelters. March can be all about cleaning up the environment and focusing on ways to be more "green". These are just rough ideas but I think that this could work. I talk to so many people all the time about causes and people's responses are all very similar: "I wish I had the time, money, etc to make a difference." Or some people have just become indifferent because the situations can seem so desperate and hopeless.I mean really, there are ALOT of causes out there. I think my system might just work, though - for us anyway. I want to encourage everyone to maybe adopt a cause a month. And if you don't want to, just support whatever cause I've adopted. October will be all about breast cancer awareness, so to start, you could sponsor me in the walk I'm doing with the American Cancer Society. Despite my efforts, I haven't been successful in raising money. Earlier today I was even considering backing out of it but I'm determined to raise something. Even just a dollar will be one dollar more than I would've raised if I had quit. And even if I don't raise anything, I'm still going to be there in October, walking and supporting everyone in this fight. So, if you feel so inspired, go to my page and donate. http://main.acsevents.org/goto/KateRhoda

I hope everyone is as moved as I am to do something to make a difference. There are so many people out there that can use our help. It's time we did something instead of wasting any more tears on the couch. If we work together, we really can make a difference.

Binkies, bottles and banana milk

This is my first official blog. I feel so grown up-ish. There's so much to talk about but I'm not quite sure where to begin. I guess I'll just start with today. It's been a long day. I'm on day 2 of Topher working all day and all night. These days wear me out so quickly. I don't think it would be quite as bad if I had something to break up the monotony but when I'm stuck inside the house all day and night, it drains me so easily. Nothing to do, no one to really talk to. Everyday pretty much just blends into another. Wow, I didn't mean for this to be depressing. Things have been a little challenging lately though because Jonas is going through alot of transitions. Turning 1 certainly does bring on a whole new set of responsibilities for a young man. He's currently being weaned off of the binky AND the bottle. As if that weren't enough to deal with, he's also getting over a pretty nasty cold. I also think he definitely notices when Daddy isn't around. When Topher is here he gets into such a huge "Daddy" thing. That's all he wants is his Dad and that is perfectly ok with me because frankly, I welcome the break. Topher loves it too because he really misses Jonas alot when he's gone. And he's been gone alot lately. It's sad when 2 days go by and Jonas hasn't seen his Daddy at all. It's all for the best I guess and I have to keep telling myself that it's temporary. One day, when we're billionaires and Rosie, our robot maid, is serving me lemonade in a golden cup while I sit atop my pony, I'll look back on these days and appreciate our hard work. For now though, it's really effin hard and I could really use a break.

C'est la vie. So for right now, my task is to try to get Jonas to drink regular milk which he is adamantly refusing to do. I think I'm going to try to puree a banana and add it to some warm milk. I was hesitant to flavor milk because it would add sugar and it would be hard to eventually get him off of that. With banana, though, he's at least getting some fruit AND milk. I'm hoping that works. He's starting to take to the sippy cup though which is awesome. Operation No More Binky is going pretty well too. He only gets it at nap and bed time and even then it's only if he's really fussy. I've noticed the lack of the binky has really helped his eczema on his cheeks to clear up. His face looks great. I wonder if it was the binky or the formula though? His face cleared up right around the time that we stopped the formula so I'm not so sure.

Ok I need to wrap this up. Jonas is in bed and while you'd think that would mean I get to go to bed, you're wrong. When Jonas goes to bed, that means I have a ton of cleaning up to do, THEN I get to finally rest. Yay!