FUNDRAISER - Get Well Gabby

A little girl in my community is fighting a horrific brain tumor. She is a sweet, innocent 5 year old and her family has been so incredibly open with their battle. You can read their heart-wrenching blog HERE and follow them on facebook HERE and twitter HERE. I BELIEVE in you Gabby!

I wanted to do something to help them with their mounting medical expenses so I made a boatload of hair clippies in every little girls favorite colors- hot pink and zebra stripes. They are available for purchase only here. 100% of the proceeds will be donated directly to the Vogel family. There is a flat $2 shipping charge per order to cover my postage expense, but that will allow the item sale price to be donated in full. The clips are being sold here so I can maximize the donation by not having to pay additional fees typically charged through my Website or Etsy shop. If you have any questions, please e-mail me kc (at) diaperbagwrangler (dot) com

The Large Clips are 4" in diameter and are great for wearing as a hair clip or "brooch". The Small Clips come in a set of 2 and are 3" in diameter. Perfect for pig tails or for sisters to share. The reverse of the flower has a single prong alligator clip with a felt disc to act as a grip and gives stability to the hair clip.

Clip Choices

Large Pink $5.00 Large Zebra Stripe $5.00 Set/2 Small Pink (2 of the same) $8.00 Set/2 Small Zebra Stripe (2 of the same) $8.00 Set/2 Small Zebra and Pink (one of each) $8.00

Paying It Forward - Bags for Beads Of Courage

A few months ago friends of ours welcomed a baby boy - Kellen - to their family.  At 28 week's in utero, Doctors learned that Kellen had a rare heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. This basically means that the left side of his heart is severely underdeveloped and cannot function outside of the womb. No one knows what causes it but sadly it is the rarest congenital heart defect in newborns. (Out of the 40,000 babies born each year with a CHD, only 16 have HLHS). 

It cannot be "fixed" but through surgical intervention his heart will be able to function somewhat normally by redesigning the right side to also take over the job of the left side. This requires a 3 stage open heart surgery for him to survive, and the first was done at just two days old. The next surgery is scheduled at 5 months old, and the third between ages 2 and 4. There is a possibility that he will also need a heart transplant in the future.

Kellen is incredibly fortunate to have access to the amazing doctors at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). It's one of those places that you are glad is there, but you never want a reason to go there. And if you have to go there, you never want it to be your "home away from home". And if it turns into your "home away from home" the only thing you wish for when you walk through their doors is to have your child walk out with you. 

Kellen has a very long road ahead of him, but he will have something very cool to keep track of the journey. He has a Beads of Courage lanyard. Every test, procedure, appointment- he gets a bead. And those beads add up- at only 5 months old he has over 100 beads! The beads are used to tell the story of his treatment. It gives children something tangible, it helps them cope and it is evidence of their strength. Kellen will be earning some more beads in the upcoming weeks as he goes back to CHOP for his second open heart surgery.

Kellen's mama asked me to help out some of the Cardiac patients at CHOP. Turns out- many kids don't have bags to store their bead lanyards! Some of these kids have so many beads that they can wrap their necklace around several times.  She had a GENIUS idea. The Diaper Bag Wrangler Link Loop Diaper Bags would make a perfect Bead Bag! Mama got ahold of some official "Beads of Courage" labels and I sewed them onto 20 of my Link Loop Bags.

I am so happy to be able to donate these bags to the kids at Children's Hospital.  If you are interested in donating to the Beads of Courage program, they have information on their website HERE.

Aprons for my Personal Livestrong Challenge Fundraiser

In celebration of my 3 year survival of breast cancer, I am running in the Philadelphia, PA and Austin, TX Livestrong Challenges. I am creating a collection to raise funds for my team. All net proceeds from sales of these items will be donated to Team F#@K Cancer.

You can read my original blog post *HERE*
and here is the url: http://diaperbagwrangler.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-personal-livestrong-challenge.html

Information for Team F#@K Cancer - East
http://philly2011.livestrong.org/fcancereast

The first items completed are SNAP TO IT! APRONS!!!!

the towel snaps to the waistband!

Items are available for purchase through the Etsy Shop: www.diaperbagwrangler.etsy.com and the website: www.diaperbagwrangler.com

Pay it Forward- for our Mail Carriers

My friend Caitlin (from Caitlin Domanico Photography and Baby in the Kitchen) had a great idea today. Treat Your Mail Carrier to Hot Chocolate. She thought about this on a whim and made a Facebook Event to see how many people would do it and where they are from. I LOVED the idea and quickly grabbed a few bucks, and wrote a little note on an envelope. I put on my sweatshirt, down coat, boots, gloves and hat. As I walked in the Winter Wonderland developing in my front yard to our mailbox, I thought about our USPS Mail Carriers who spend their days in rain, snow and heat delivering our letters, magazines and packages. I had a smile on my face as I put my envelope in our mailbox, knowing that this tiny gesture would put a smile on my Mail Carriers face, knowing that we appreciate his dedication, especially on days like today when the snow is unrelenting and piling up quickly.

So tomorrow, or whenever you have a chance. Pay it forward and join in!