Coast 2 Coast Mom

Volunteerism On The Rise: Yay! We're a Part of a Movement

This post is inspired by the Yahoo! Motherboard's topic of the month: volunteerism. Evidence points to an increase in volunteerism this past year, and while I can only guess as to why that is, I can say definitively that our family is a part of that upswing. Check out the site to read more posts by other Motherboard bloggers. Our frequent moves have made me hyper-sensitive about raising our son with a connection to his family and community. It's important to me that he knows where he comes from, and feels a part of the world around him. So we... Read more →

Help Share Our Strength with the Bread Art Project

I took our budding little artist along with me into the city recently to learn more about the Bread Art Project, a program created by the non-profit Grain Foods Foundation and launching in 2010 with Food Network host Melissa d'Arabian and Share Our Strength, working toward the goal of ending childhood hunger in America by 2015. (Food Network fans may remember Melissa as the winner of season five of The Next Food Network Star and now host of her own series, "Ten Dollar Dinners.") We listened to Melissa speak about why feeding hungry kids is so important to her and... Read more →

Raising a Baseball Super Fan, or a Sports Diplomat?

It's a dreary day today, but yesterday was near perfect for the Run for the Wild: Save the Tigers 5K at The Bronx Zoo. Li'l Boo insisted on wearing his Detroit Tigers shirt for the Tiger run. (Thanks to his aunts for sending it to him.) He covered it up in the chilly morning with his zip-up Yankees hoodie, which was a great choice as we learned upon arrival for the race that the Yankees World Series trophy would be on display for photos at the end of the race. I'm not sure what the baseball equivalent is for political... Read more →

Check Out Headphonies for Haiti: A Donation with Each Purchase

Now that holiday gift-giving is behind us, many of us are looking for ways to customize their techno gifts (such as iPhones, Droids, gaming devices and the like) with personalized cases, coverings or other accessories. One speaker accessory that I saw and liked the looks of at CES was the Mobi headphonie. I haven't tried them out myself yet (soon), so this isn't a review or endorsement, but I just learned about the headphonies for Haiti fundraising campaign and this DOES endear them to me. If I'm going to purchase something, I like that the company is supporting a cause... Read more →

Join Me In Taking The Pearl Pledge - It Doesn't Cost a Dime, and May Save A Life

Womens healthcare is a hot button for me, as I find that many women manage the health of their family members, their careers, the household, and seem to let their own healthcare slip through the cracks. It doesn't happen on purpose. It's as easy as leaving the dentist and telling them to just send you a postcard because there's no way you can commit to an appointment six months from then as you race out the door to pick up a child from an event or get back into the office. Then the postcard arrives, and it gets buried in... Read more →

Night at the Museum 2 DVD Launch Event at Madame Tussauds

It was a fun coincidence that we saw Night at the Musem 2: Battle of the Smithsonian a month after we last visited Washington D.C. with Li'l Boo. He was excited to see the sequel - even as a three-year old - and sat rapt in the theater commenting along the way in his sweet little boy voice "that's Abraham Lincoln - we saw him!" and other sites he recognized throughout the movie. Beyond the sites, one of his favorite characters from the Night at the Museum movies is the capuchin monkey. In fact, he throws out "capuchin monkey" whenever... Read more →

Easy Ways to Help Stand Up For Heroes With Remind.org

Wednesday night c2cdad and I attended Remind.org's annual Stand Up For Heroes event at the Town Hall in NYC. Stand Up For Heroes is a part of the New York Comedy Festival and is a night of comedy, fundraising and special musical performances. This was our second time to attend Stand Up For Heroes, and I can say that I left both events grateful, inspired and motivated to do more for the cause. The Bob Woodruff Foundation has done a tremendous job understanding, anticipating and responding to the stresses and difficulties involved in a wounded soldier's road to recovery and... Read more →

Wear Jeans or Test Your Vocabulary Skills To Support Save The Children's Survive To 5 Program And Today's World Pneumonia Summit

Today I'm doing something out of the ordinary, I am attending an intellectual summit for World Pneumonia Day in NYC. The goal of the summit is to raise awareness of inexpensive solutions that already exist to prevent newborn and early childhood deaths, and to encourage citizens worldwide to request increased government funding to reduce deaths in children up to five years old. You read that right. The tools to prevent and treat pneumonia already exist, and they are inexpensive - yet each year two million children under five years old die from pneumonia. According to the World Pneumonia Day coalition,... Read more →

When Companies Do One Nice Thing, I Pass It On

I recently read Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer as part of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog Network monthly book club. It's a book filled with easy examples of ways to do one nice thing a week for others - to make their day, to create a domino-effect of spreading joy, and to feed your own soul by doing good for others. I subscribe to the Do One Nice Thing premise and have experienced first-hand how being charitable can boomerang back to you. In my opinion, the one good deed doesn't just stop at the deed, but the kindness... Read more →

July 4th Treats: Red, White & You

We had one of our first few sunny days this summer in North Jersey (finally!), and we were been busy enjoying the sunshine - gardening, hitting some balls in the driveway, washing the car and spraying each other with the hose - having quintessential summer family fun. When we came inside for drinks, we were talking about our plans for the Fourth of July and I remembered the Necco Sweethearts Red, White & You patriotic candies that I was saving for this week. Through TwitterMoms, I received some samples of the Red, White & You conversation hearts to try and... Read more →