CiCi's Pizza CF Fundraiser Results

The CiCi's Pizza fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis the other night went GREAT!! It was a slow night, but it was still fun hanging out with my 4 other Kohl's associates:) Afterwards, I realized that I totally forgot to take some pictures;( Next time I try to remember so I can post them on here;)



We raised about $100 in the raffle for a free 1 hour massage at Tips, Toes, & Beyond, not bad for a slow night. Not sure how much in the 10% from the receipts yet, maybe $60??? Best of all....thanks to my awesome co-workers....we will be getting a $500 grant from Kohl's!!!! Isn't Kohl's the BEST!!!! So that makes the total around $660!! Woot Woot!!



I'm so proud to work for a company that gives millions away to tons of great causes!! Cystic Fibrosis was in the top 10 or top 5 last year for getting the most grants from Kohl's, I believe!! That's AWESOME!!! My store recently switched districts and I was so proud to see that some of the stores in this district are already signed up to do some events for Cystic Fibrosis!!! I'm going to try to get a few Kohl's stores to come to our walk, although we are kinda far for most of them though. If I can get 3 other Kohl's stores to bring 5 associates each to our walk, then Kohl's will give us a grant of $2,000!!!! Woo Hoo!!

So again, thank you to my AIA girls for helping out at CiCi's the other night....You girls ROCK!!

Barb N

Kayla

Rebecca G

Melissa M

My next CF fundraiser is on Monday, April 4th between 5-8p at the Wooster CiCi's Pizza!! Save the date and spread the word!! I hope to see you there:)

M

PS. Lil' Chris has been doing GREAT!!! I will post about his results from the CF clinic visit the other day as soon as I get the throat culture result back. I got all the other results back, but am waiting for this last one....the dreaded one:( Please pray that there is no BAD bacteria in his lungs!!!

CF Fundraiser Tonight at CiCi's Pizza 5-8p!!!

Last years "A Cure 4 Lil' Chris" team...Thank You Everyone who attended and showed your support for Lil' Chris!!!

Join us tonight at Wooster's CiCi's Pizza between 5-8pm for "A Cure 4 Lil' Chris" and ALL who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis!!

A percentage of your receipt will go towards a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis and there will be a raffle for a FREE 1 hour massage at Tips, Toes, & Beyond!!

Save the following dates for my upcoming Wooster CiCi's Fundraisers for Cystic Fibrosis:

April 4th 5-8p

April 21st 5-8p

May 5th 5-8p

May 26th 5-8p

As always, you will see 5 Kohl's associates volunteering their time to help find "A Cure 4 Lil' Chris" and help us get a grant of $500 each event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation:)

Special thank you to tonight's Kohl's volunteers:

Me:)

Barb

Kayla

Melissa M

Rebecca G

Thank You So Much Girls!! It means the world to not only us, but ALL CFers!!!

If you can't make our fundraiser tonight but would like to donate, click here to make an online donation for

"A CURE 4 Lil' Chris!"

See you tonight at 5pm:)

M

CF Clinic Visit 3/16/11

Lil' Chris had his 3 month check up today. He did a GREAT job!! I can't believe how big he is getting!! He laid down on the table to get his throat culture and I just had to take a pic b/c he looked sooooo big!!! I remember when he was just a little baby laying on that table. It's crazy to think we've been there probably about 20 times already and he's only 3!! We go back again for his annual visit on May 18th at 9am. That's going to be a loooong day!! That's when we see all the dr's and nurses and social worker and physical therapist and food therapist and everyone.

Overall, he had a GREAT visit! The dr said his lungs sound really good and she was surprised that he is very healthy! Our regular dr wasn't there, so we had a young dr we never met before. I told her about how he got a rash on his body for like 3 days after eating fettuccine alfredo with broccoli, so she ordered a blood test to see if he is allergic to broccoli and suggested we see an allergist. I told her that I was going to try it one more time to see if that was it, but she said not to b/c he could have a worse reaction like his lips swelling or wheezing. She also suggested Albuterol to have just in case he ever wheezes or gets short of breath and b/c he has been coughing in bed the last 2 nights and his nose has been stuffy at night too. She suggests we do 2 puffs before Vest time in the morning and 2 at night too. Chris and I don't think that he needs it and that it's probably just allergies b/c our allergies have started too. So we are just going to keep the Albuterol on hand just in case he ever gets short of breath or starts wheezing. It's never happened before, so I'm hoping and praying we never have to use it. I'm sad in a way that he has it, but glad that we have something on hand for just in case purposes.

His weight was 37 lbs and 3 oz (71st percentile) and 3 months ago it was 36 lbs and 2 oz. His height was 40 inches and 3/4 (76th percentile) and last time it was 40 inches. His BMI was 50 and last time it was 55, but they usually don't worry unless it goes below 50. So his numbers were all pretty good, Praise the Lord!!

After our visit, we waited 1 hour to get his blood work done, then we had to wait again to get his chest x-rays for his annual visit in May. They like these to be done before the annual visit so that they can go over the results with us on the actual annual visit. He did a great job getting the needle or "shot" as he calls it;) No tears, just a little whimper. He did a GREAT JOB getting his chest x-rays!! No tears at all and he laid really still and did exactly as the lady told him!! He got one laying on his back and another on his left side. I went in with him this time, so I got some pics;-) LOL! The last time I went in with him was when I was pregnant with Ayla and didn't know it. Poor Ayla;(

After that, we went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and some fun:) Then we came home and had some fun on the scooters and motorcycle:) They had a blast!! It was the first time Ayla got to ride her new scooter that she got for Christmas! She did a Great job pushing on the gas pedal, but....steering....that will need some work;-) LOL

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thank you so much everyone for your continued prayers!! They are definitely working!!
M

Don't forget...CF Fundraiser this Monday at Wooster's CiCi's Pizza between 5-8pm!! There will be a raffle for a FREE 1 hour massage!!

2011 Great Strides Commercial!!!!

Here it is!!! Our 2011 Great Strides commercial that will be playing in all of Wooster and Massillon Ohio!!! YEA for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness!!! Huge Thank You to all who are apart of this commercial and who walked with us last year:) Hope to see you again this year on May 14th at 9am at the Hewitt Cowles Pavilion by Ida Sue School!!! There will be bagels from Panera Bread, pizza from Domino's, chips from Frito Lays, and water from Culligan's. There will also be a craft table for kids thanks to Pat Catan's, and a Fire Truck to play on thanks to Wooster Fire Department:) YEA!!! It's going to be SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!

BIG THANK YOU TO CLEAR PICTURE FOR PLAYING OUR CF COMMERCIALS FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS!! IT'S HUGE AWARENESS FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS AND I CAN'T THANK THEM ENOUGH!! THEY ARE THE BEST CABLE COMPANY EVER!!!
Let me know what you think:)
M

CF Update / Ayla's Potty Training

Lil' Chris has a CF clinic visit coming up on 3/16 and his cough has gotten much better! Some days he coughs a little and others he doesn't cough at all...weird, but I'm just glad that it is sounding better than before. Thank you all for your prayers and keep 'em comin;-)

Week 1

Week 2

Ayla has been doing GREAT potty training!! She got 7 stickers yesterday!! WooHoo!! She's been only having about 1 accident a day! Not bad for a 25 month old and only being trained for a week and a half!! I'm so proud of her!! She even likes going on the BIG potty already:) One problem though....she's too smart!! She learned pretty quick that in order to get Mommy's full attention, all she has to say is "Poopy on the potty, Mommy!" So of course I put my fundraising stuff away and jump up to go put her on the potty.....and.....then....she....directs me to the couch instead. She just wants to sit with Mommy and play:) She's too funny! She gets me every time, b/c the one time I don't....well...YOU know;-) LOL

Been making good progress with fundraiser stuff:) I just need another day without the kids so I can make some phone calls for the walk. Got some good raffle prizes and Chris and I are almost done making the CF commercial!! Once the commercial is done, I will put it on my Great Strides page and then be emailing everyone on my email list for donations, soooo....get your checkbooks ready everyone;-)

I have a request, my nephew Nathan could really use your prayers. He has Leukemia and his counts are low which is dangerous and he isn't able to take his full chemo. Please keep him in your prayers.

Thanks for all your prayers!!

M

PS. Don't forget to join us on Monday, March 21st at CiCi's Pizza in Wooster between 5-8pm for my first fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis for 2011!!!

Learn about VX770 & VX809 / Walk Update

If you want to learn more about the new drugs VX770 and VX809, then click on Lungs Behaving Badly to go to another CF moms blog who did a GREAT JOB explaining it! Gemma has a daughter named Sophie who is a couple months older than Lil' Chris and has Cystic Fibrosis and Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula and Oesophageal Atresia. She is just adorable!! Gemma always leaves me great encouraging comments on this blog, so I just adore her too:)

I hope you check it out....these drugs are the future of CF and they are the reason I do all my fundraising...plus....Gemma has a GREAT blog:)


On a Great Strides Walk update... I got a couple of call backs today and we now have Frito Lays chips and 10 bags of ice from Speedway all donated!! YEA!!!

Here's what the kids like to play with...(remind me again why I bother buying toys???;-) LOL





Have a GREAT day!!

M

Productive Day!! :)

Ahhhhh if feels so good to be back in the fundraising mode again!! That is....only when the kids aren't around driving me nuts and I can actually get some stuff done!! ;-) LOL! Chris took the kids out for a drive and some lunch while I made calls.

Chris and I both had off today, so we tried to get as much done as we could for the walk today. Oma came over to help too...thanks Oma!

Here's what got accomplished today:

1. Made all my calls about getting food and entertainment for the walk. Now it's just the waiting game of waiting to hear back from them before I call them again;) lol



2. Found out how we can get electricity for the pavilion this year



3. Got letterhead ready to get Pat Catan's to do a craft at the walk



4. Clear Picture gave us the okay to do another commercial for our walk this year AND they are going to not only play it in Wooster, but they are going to play it in the Massillon area too! YEA!!! I also got a couple of pics from Heather, who has 2 kids with CF, that I am going to put in the commercial!! Now Chris and I just have to find some quite time so we can record it...that's not always easy with 2 screaming kids;-) lol



5. The Daily Record is going to print something up in the newspaper over the next couple of days about the walk and then will do a full article with a pic closer to the walk date



6. Dropped off some flyers at the pediatricians(they always keep them at the check-out window for me:)



7. Worked on making new flyers for the tables at my fundraisers, just need to print them now. Chris fancied them up with a picture this year:) YEA!!



8. Got form for fruit donation, just need to drop it off at Buehler's soon



9. Got some raffle prizes from Red Lobster, Applebee's, BW3's, and Tractor Supply & Company.



10. Best of all......I FINALLY GOT A GREAT PIC OF LIL' CHRIS DOING HIS VEST!!! Now I can put that on ALL my fundraising stuff:) YEA!!!! Boy was that rough!! It really takes both me and my husband to accomplish this! I snap away while my husband stands near me and tries to make him laugh or smile. Thanks Honey for helping me out so much today!! I couldn't have done a lot of this stuff without your help!!!

I was also able to get this great pic for the new header pic for the blog;) I love it b/c he always does this whenever one of his hoses pops out... he uses it like a hairdryer:) LOL
So, I feel MUCH better knowing that I got a lot accomplished today for the walk!! I can take a deep breath of relief;-)

Some more good news....Chris and I can't remember Lil' Chris coughing at all today!! That's a GREAT sign!! Maybe his cough IS going away all on it's own!!! Only 15 more days til his next CF clinic visit at Children's Hospital!!

Please keep Lil' Chris in your prayers...they are definitely working!!!

Thanks,
M
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SIS-IN-LAW STEPHANIE!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Venting / 1st Fundraiser of 2011 Coming Up

YEA!!! I got my first sponsor!! Thank You Aunt Mar!!!! You won the 1st sponsor of 2011 award;-)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I've updated my Great Strides video with a couple of new pics, but kept the rest the same. If I had the time and energy, I would redo the whole thing, but my plate is kinda full at the moment. I made a list of all that I have to do to get ready for the walk, my fundraisers, and to get raffle prizes ...and....well...it's a lot!

Organizing a walk takes a lot of effort and time. Something I don't have either of right now. I don't have the time that I used to anymore, b/c Chris and I are hardly ever home together anymore. When it's just me and the kids, I can't seem to get anything done b/c they just want to play with Mommy instead of Mommy "working." I hate that I have to tell them, "Mommy has to get some work done right now, I'll play with you when I'm done." I feel like that's all I say to them at this time of year, b/c if I'm not busy "working" on the walk or fundraising, then I'm busy "working" on the laundry or dishes or vacuuming or cleaning and organizing their drawers and closets for the change in sizes and season!! I do all this AFTER working a full time job!! Oh yeah, and my back still hurts;(

Not only do I have a list of fundraising stuff, but I have a list of other things that need done around the house too that I just can't seem to get to or have the energy for... like take everything out of the fridge and clean it, steam the hardwood floors, make some sense of our messy basement, clean out my own drawers and closet, clean out the junk drawers, etc....

I think I get like this every year right before my first fundraiser, b/c there is so much work. I have to make new flyers, new poster, new signs, get raffle prizes, etc. Once I get that first one done, then the next ones are a breeze. It's just all so overwhelming right now!! I think that's why I don't have the energy! This time of year, I wish my husband was a stay at home dad so that he could help by doing all the day to day chores, so that I could concentrate on fundraising since he doesn't seem to want to do that kind of stuff, but not too many guys do;) LOL

I know I'm just stressed out now, but once I get more things for the walk and my first fundraiser done and more donations, I'll feel a lot better:) Luckily I'm the type of person that can walk into work and forget about all my stress at home. I "leave it at the door" as they say;-) Many coworkers didn't even know my son had a fatal disease until I did our first A-team(AIA) event for Cystic Fibrosis when he was about 1 year old! I'm not one to talk much about my personal life at work, I'm one to work and see what I can make better:)

Thanks again to Aunt Mar for starting us off this year, and thank you to Panera Bread for donating 100 bagels for the walk this year!!! This makes me start to feel better:) YEA!!

Join us for our first fundraiser of the year on Monday, March 21st at CiCi's Pizza in Wooster between 5pm and 8pm to help find a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!! There will be a raffle for a 1 hour massage at Tips, Toes, and Beyond, and a percentage of your receipt will go towards a CURE!!

Thanks for letting me vent, I needed that;) LOL
M
PS. Lil' Chris' cough seems to be getting better, so thank you to everyone for all your prayers:) We started potty training Ayla this past Saturday night, and she hadn't gotten any stickers on her chart(actually gone peepee on the potty) until Monday night. Hopefully she trains faster than Lil' Chris:-)