Valentine's Day Craft & "What does CHD mean?"

Since this is Anna Brooke's first year being in school, I wanted to do something really fun for her first Valentine's Day. I remember getting really excited about exchanging Valentines with my classmates in elementary school, and I hoped that AB would be just as excited to share something fun she helped me make with her friends. My awesome friend, Megan (who, by the way, is the most creative mom on the planet) had this idea and made heart magnets for her daughter's class last year. I thought it was so cute and had to steal her idea. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, you know. She always comes up with the greatest ideas!

Here's the Princess the night before her Valentine's Day party. She's wearing what she calls her "Lady and Champ" nightgown. I've thought about correcting her and saying, "Actually, that's the Lady and the Tramp." But I can just hear her asking, "What's a tramp, mama?" Yeah, I think I'll avoid that conversation altogether.

We cut out letters from magazines to spell out the names of the children in her class. We glued them on a painted wooden heart and mod-podged the letters on so they would stick. Then we put sticky magnets on the back. Super-cute but easy!

After she returned home from school with a bag full of goodies and lovely Valentine cards, AB released some sugar-fueled energy by jumping on the bed. Fun!

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On to another topic, which I wanted to discuss immediately after it happened, but I decided against it. I took AB to school last Tuesday (February 9) and was given a packet of information about raising funds and awareness for Pediatric Cancer. I came home and read a letter included in the packet, learning about a little boy who was diagnosed with leukemia at age two and how he is now in remission. I pulled out a little flattened cardboard box which was supposed to be used to collect coins to donate for cancer research. All of this got me thinking.  I found it disturbing that during CHD Awareness week, I was not given any information about raising awareness for CHDs. Instead, I was given information about pediatric cancer.

Please don't misunderstand me. I think it is absolutely wonderful that parents of children with cancer are active in educating others and raising funds for cancer research. It made me sad that people seemed  completely unaware of CHD Awareness week during CHD Awareness week. It really bothered me that during last week, I didn't do more to raise awareness for something that has deeply effected me and my family. Why didn't I go to the director of AB's school and say, "Look, this Congenital Heart Defect awareness week. Would you mind passing out this packet of information to your students?" How hard would that have been? Why don't we "heart parents" do what this "cancer mom" did for her son? It is so crazy to me that CHDs are so prevalent and affect far more children than cancer does, yet there is far less funding and research for heart defects.

I made it a point all last week to wear my CHD Awareness Week stickers and to get the word out about CHDs. I found it weird that at my OB visit last week, three nurses asked me what my sticker meant. "What's CHD?" they asked.

Three. Nurses. In the OBs office. Really?!

I vowed right then and there to do more for CHD awareness. Next year, I'd really like to get together with some other local heart parents and figure out ways to raise awareness in the community. I'm still brainstorming ideas, but if you have any on how your community celebrates CHD Awareness week, I'd love to hear them!