This. Is. Cool. KaBOOM! mapping 100,000 play spaces in 100 days

Imagine you are on vacation at your inlaws and just really need to find a great playground for your 2 and 4 year olds...nothing too big, shade preferred.

You go to KaBOOM! 's playspace finder and BOOM! There's the perfect park not 5 miles from where you are.

But KaBOOM! needs your help.

KaBOOM! wants to map 100,000 playspaces in just 100 days. I'm helping the Mom Central team add play spaces because for every space we add, $1 will be donated to Jumpstart, a non-profit that brings at-risk preschool children and caring adults together to improve literacy.

What is considered a playspace for KaBOOM?

a playground
field
skate park
roller hockey rink
lake
dog park
community center
basketball court
ice rink

or any place where kids can engage in unstructured play for free or a nominal fee.

A playspace listing on KaBOOM! consists of an address or cross street and a description, one photo and one rating.

Join KaBoom! (registration takes 1 min.) then join the Mom Central team. Be sure to log your playspaces. Look up the ones you frequent on the internet and when you are there take a quick picture with your phone - you can upload it to twitpic! Then be sure to add a rating and any other information you think parents might want to know.

Boom! You just earned a dollar for Jumpstart.

But hurry - as of today there are just 68 days to go!

I thank you, Mom Central thanks you, and all the kids and parents looking for places to play thank you.
Janine

Support the Arts: City Dance Ensemble at the BSO (Saturday 4/25)

Times are tough. And when the going gets tough, the tough go see shows.

But instead of losing your cares in another animated movie, why not try real, live artists?City Dance Ensemble in "Jungle Books"

Photo Credit: Paul Gordon Emerson

Next Saturday, April 25th at the Meyerhoff in Baltimore, the City Dance Ensemble will be performing Jungle Books. Live music, live performers, great costumes, and great prices...tickets are just a little more than a movie ticket at $12-$20.

Plus, you'll be supporting the arts and they need it during times like these. They need it more than the movie studios at the very least!

Giving my support,
Janine

Mom It Forward and Make a Difference

Congratulations to Jyl and Carissa from Mom It Forward on the launch of their new site, the way cool chip in widget, and the upcoming LIVE #gno parties/fundraisers that are going to happen all over the US and Australia on April 18th!

What is Mom It Forward?

Mom It Forwrd is the newest trend in mom groups and makes giving back fun, sociable, accessible, and stylish. The Mom It Forward mission is “to change the world one mom at a time” by strengthening women, helping them become the best moms they can be, and providing support.

Who is Mom It Forward going to help?

The answer to this is always changing. At the Blissdom conference in February MOM IF members helped serve food at a homeless shelter. Recently Mom IF Utah members held a family service project to benefit kids who are abused or neglected. The LIVE #GNO event is raising money for The Pope Foundation which helps women and families support themselves through a concept called microfinance. The Pope Foundation took the microfinance one step further and created 2 more businesses to help their movement. (Read all about this in the Mom IF Fundraiser FAQs)

How you can help Mom It Forward?

1. Chip in via the widget above.

2. Grab the widget and place it on your own blog, website, Facebook page, My Space page, etc.

3. Attend or even help organize one of the local LIVE events taking place April 18th.

4. Donate $20 or buy some of the the Pope Foundation's Basa Body line of products and you'll automatically be entered to win one of three gift cards: $250 Disney gift card, $150 Amazon gift card, $100 Target gift card.

I'll be helping with the DC event so let me know if you'll be there too!

Counting my blessings,
Janine

Around the world in one night

Last night was International Night at the Twofer's school and I was completely wowed. Families chose to represent a different country from around the world and set up tables with photos, books, artifacts, and even food from that country.

Photo via Flickr 365

Many families chose countries they had ties to, and even included short dance routines like Irish Step Dancing. Some families just chose a country and used it as a way to explore another culture with their kids. One family chose to represent the country where they adopted their children.

Each table was unique and you could see the families that chose to participate had the most fun as they stamped each child's paper passport.

And I learned a lesson - sometimes it is better to give of your time, than to receive.

Jambo! Next year, I think we'll do the Kenya table.

Janine

Make-A-Wish makes all the difference

This little girl had half of her brain removed...

One of the best things about being a blogger has been meeting people who make me stop and think. One of those people is Dwan, aka MommaDJane who I had the pleasure of meeting online and then IRL (in real life) at the Blissdom 09 conference in Nashville.

Dwan is one of those people that no matter what life throws at her (and she's had some serious curve balls) she keeps plugging along with a smile and always with a hand ready to help others.

Now Dwan needs some help as she and her family raise money for the Make-A-Wish 5k Walk THIS Saturday (3/28) !!!

MommaDJane and her daughter Gabby knows first hand what an blessing the Make-A-Wish foundation is for families with children who are facing life-threatening illness and operations. As Dwan explained on her own blog,

"Gab had a stroke during utero and therefore was born with Cerebral Palsy. At nine months old she started having seizures. With the help of steroid shots, seizure medication and lots of therapy we had been able to keep her healthy and active until she was about 4. Her seizures at this point became monthly, weekly and then daily. Since she had brain damage caused by the stroke her epilepsy was only going to get worse. The Neurosurgeon informed me we had to do surgery to remove the abnormal brain tissue in order to stop the seizures, the convulsions were lasting 20 minutes each time and she could no longer even go to school. The surgeon believed if we did not remove the left side of the brain (which was the damaged part) then eventually her right side (good side) would suffer stress and start having seizures as well." read more

Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, two weeks before her surgery, Gabby and her family were wisked away to a place where dreams really do come true.
Go here to see Gabby's own Make-A-Wish trip!

If you would like to help this amazing family raise money so that other children can enjoy their wish (no amount is too small) you can Go here to donate.