An amazing and rewarding day!

Today was simply amazing and I found it incredibly rewarding!  For a while now I've been working on an idea to take Bianca to Wellington hospital and deliver some craft activities to the kids on the ward.

I remember from the many many days we were in hospital with Bianca how incredibly boring it can be being stuck inside a hospital room and waiting for the hours to pass.  And as a parent of a sick child at times just staying positive and focused took a lot of effort leaving you rather exhausted so that you're not always able to come up with things to keep your child entertained.  And there were a number of days where our whole day would simply be brightened with a quick visit from somebody, perhaps somebody bringing something for Bianca to do, or a clown making a balloon animal and once we had a visit from the police dog unit, the SPCA and even the Armed Offender Squad!  Those are some cool memories we have from those days!

Since Bianca became ill I have always felt the need to give something back.  To make a difference.  To help make somebody smile.  And I wanted to involve my kids so that they will learn how very rewarding it can be to do something for another without expecting anything in return.  That seeing a face light up, a happy smile could be the most rewarding thing!

And so this morning we set off really early.  First we picked up Paul (Bianca's teacher) and of course Bianca and I thought it would be good to dress up a bit so Bianca and I were fairies and Paul (who assured us that pink probably wouldn't suit him very well) was a pirate.  Bianca also wore her beads of courage!

When we arrived at the hospital we met up with Kate, the play specialist.

Bianca presented Kate with a very very special bead.  Recently on the Beads of Courage Facebook group they asked us to nominate our wingman and we nominated Kate.  She was right there by our side through our most difficult days.  She made the journey far easier to handle and without her, I think we would have really struggled.  So she was definitely our wingman!  Kate, in my opinion, is the very best play specialist in New Zealand.

After our bead presentation we set off to the common area.  We displayed all the craft activity kits I put together and Paul entertained the kids with his singing and guitar playing.  The kids (and adults) really enjoyed it.

Bianca also walked around handing out balloons and stickers!  Being a Balloon and Sticker Fairy is a very important job!

My craft activity kits seemed popular. Bianca has this really cool activity book and so I chose a few activities that looked cool and put all the items inside a bag so that all each child would have to do was put the item together and if need be decorate it.  I also made a few more generic kits and had a few things for older kids.  It is rather hard to judge who might be on the ward at that time.  We left a whole bunch of craft items with Kate so that she will be able to share this with other kids at another time.

Today Paul also gifted a few copies of his picture book / CD (You're not eating me) which really made the kids happy.  And even more so when he signed it for them.

Bianca has a copy of this book / CD and she really enjoys it.  Paul still has a few copies for sale, so if you are looking for an affordable Christmas present, make sure you contact Paul at jo.paulf@paradise.net.nz.

I thought today was a great success.  And very rewarding!


Edited to add:

Make sure you also visit: http://glossaryking.blogspot.com/2011/10/pirates-and-fairies.html for more photos!

A very exciting project!

This afternoon after I got Caitlyn from daycare I had to quickly pop into The Warehouse.  And guess what - apart from all the Rugby World Cup merhandise, they have started putting out Christmas lollies and advent calendars.  I think as soon as the Rugby World Cup is finished we'll start seeing Christmas trees and decorations and all sorts of other things.  And we are only in the middle of September...

I must admit I am really excited for Christmas.  I have a Christmas project in mind where I will take Bianca and Caitlyn and a new friend called Sarah and we'll go and deliver some gifts to some of the kids who will be stuck in hospital.  We'll probably have to dress up in some sort of dress-up, just for fun.  So now Sarah and I are on a mission to see if anybody would like to donate some gifts.  Sarah also has a few other great ideas. 

So far I've had a few offers from people who are keen and so I guess my project will now be turned into a community effort rather than an individual effort :-).  So if you are interested to donate something - please email me at Leawhite2109@gmail.com.  Feel free to opt for the present to be an anonymous donation or you might want to include your name on a card.  Please keep in mind that the ages will range from tiny little babies right through to teenagers.  And there are parents and siblings also.  I would prefer gifts to be suitable for kids who are stuck in hospital - so books, craft activities, play dough, games, a soft toy - that sort of thing.

So let me know if you might be interested.  What are your Christmas plans?

An up and down day

Today has been a rather down day for me.  I don't really know why to be honest.  Maybe that I went to bed really late last night and was listening to a bunch of songs on Youtube and I really shouldn't do that late at night.  Or maybe it is that my birthday is around the corner.  Of course it is exciting to have a birthday and I'm getting the most exciting present from Terence, but I guess it is also a bit of a realisation that yet another year has passed, another year older and I don't think I really achieved much this past year.  Okay fair enough I have managed to learn to play 3 songs on the recorder, but other than that no real achievements.  Which I guess I'm finding a little bit disappointing.  Oh well.  I think I really just need to go to bed early tonight. 

One thing that was really exciting though was when Bianca and I joined Winara House (a local retirement village) for their morning tea.  Yesterday we baked a whole bunch of biscuits - some Romany Creams, shortbread, Betty Crocker chocolate chip and chocolate hedgehogs.  The ladies were absolutely thrilled to meet Bianca and I must be honest it feels so rewarding when you do something nice for somebody and you can just see the way their faces light up and you just know that in your own little way you made somebody's day, possibly made a difference.  Today was part of Bianca's home learning challenges and this was her 'Giving' task.  She had such a great time last year, that she wanted to do this again.  We'll definitely visit them again really soon I think.  I'm not going to post any photos because I didn't ask if they would be happy to have their photos on the blog, so you'll just have to take my word for it :-)

And that's it from me tonight.  I will take my thoughts and head off for an early night tonight I think.