Put Your Hand Up For Miracles

I had the privilege of meeting Melinda Cruz some years back, at the Earnst and Young Entrepreneurial Awards, for which she was nominated - and deservedly won - the award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year. 

Soon after she asked me to be an Ambassador for her foundation, Miracle Babies - a request that I was honoured to receive and happily agreed to.

Since its inception in 2005, Miracle Babies Foundation has become Australia’s leading organisation supporting premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals that care for them. 

Every year in Australia around 45,000 newborn babies require the help of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Special Care Nursery (SCN). 25,000 of these babies are born premature and up to 1000 babies lose their fight for life.

With more than 15% of all babies born premature or sick, chances are you are one, you’ve had one or you know one.

The heartbreaking experience affects the entire family unit and the effects remain long after going home… the comforting news is that, working with health professionals, Miracle Babies is there throughout the entire journey from a threatened pregnancy, the time in hospital and the transition to home.

Here's how you can help...

Firstly, you can support my Everyday Hero fundraising page to help me achieve my goal of raising $1000 for the Miracle Babies Foundation.

Other ways you can help are: Create your own ‘Hands Up for Miracles’ supporter page and encourage your family, friends and co-workers to also put their hand up Join our regular givers who put their hand up every week You can also collect donations offline. Collect $5 from your network and send the money to us! Collect donations from: Friends Family Co-workers Kids school or daycare Social groups Sporting Organsations If you choose this option, we will provide you with your own fundraising kit which includes a donation collection form and payment details. Contact Renee at head office on 1300 773 664 or email renee.sattin@miraclebabies.org.au to get your Offline Fundraising Kit emailed to you. Instagram:@miraclebabiesfoundation Facebook: MiracleBabiesFoundation Twitter: @miraclebabies #HandsUpForMiracles Examples of how to share your donation: Instagram With a photo of your Hand Up: I donated to @miraclebabiesfoundation #HandsUpForMiracles. Your $5 donation can help miracle families across Australia. Donate Now! www.miraclebabies.org.au #5dollars #donate #miraclemonth Twitter With a photo of your Hand Up: I donated to @miraclebabies #HandsUpForMiracles. Your $5 donation can help miracle families across Australia. Donate Now! www.miraclebabies.org.au #5dollars #donate #miraclemonth

Cure For Life's Christmas campaign

What’s the silliest Christmas present you’ve ever been given?

 A kitchen appliance you’ll never use? 

 Scented soaps? 

 Ties you’ll never wear?

It’s that time of year when we’re all trying to come up with good ideas for Christmas presents. 

It’s not always easy though and many of us end up spending money on silly presents. 

In fact, Australians spent $475 million on unwanted gifts last year.

Brain cancer research is seriously underfunded. Yet brain cancer kills more children than any other cancer. 

This year, the Cure For Life Foundation is asking people to give something meaningful and donate to support brain cancer research. 

Imagine what even a fraction of that $475 million could achieve. 

There are three ways you can give something meaningful this Christmas:

 Donate online 

 Give a donation as a Christmas gift to someone 

 Donate what you’ll get back in refunds when you return your unwanted gifts in January!

Watch the Cure For Life Foundation's video www.givesomethingmeaningful.com.au

What's the silliest Christmas presents you’ve received? 

Take Your Top Off For Breast Cancer

 World First Event – BRA NATION!

In a world first event, women - and men - will gather in their masses at The Amphitheatre, Martin Place, Sydney, wearing nothing (on top) but their bra.

The event, run by National Breast Cancer Foundation ambassador and television presenter, Brooke Lowther and actor Conrad Coleby, will be held on October 27 to raise much needed funds for breast cancer research.

Besides drawing hundreds of bra-clad supporters, the inaugural BRA NATION will feature musical performances, celebrity appearances, a lingerie fashion show and the Fashions of the Reveal competition where patrons can design there own bra to wear on the day.

The first of what aims to be an annual event to be held in each capital city, will be televised nationally to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer, a deadly and disfiguring disease that remains a worldwide killer of women, and accounts for 27.4% of all new cancers in Australian women.

To get behind this great cause and have a fabulous day out, grab your favourite bra - or start designing your own - and head to Martin Place at TIME on Sunday, October 27.

For more information visit Bra Nation

About Brooke

Brooke Lowther was born in NSW, although she spent most of her childhood

residing in Queensland. A proud mother of two, currently Brooke is the

television spokesperson for telecommunications giant TELSTRA and a

regular advertorial PRESENTER for fitness and lifestyle brands across

Australia.

In 2002, Brooke’s versatile career in television began as the face behind

numerous advertising campaigns: Telstra, Natural Instinct, Pepsi Max, Devine

Homes, Wallace Bishop, Johnny Walker, Target, Kmart, JetStar, Suncorp

Bank, Palmolive and many more.

In 2012, Brooke was selected out of thousands of applicants from over

fourteen countries to be one of Samsung’s Global Bloggers for the 2012

LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES as an Australia correspondent on FOXTEL.

This year, Brooke is taking on her new challenge as an ambassador for the

National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and is excited to launch her

new range of lingerie with U.K designer Melanie Harris, known for her work

with Eva Lilly, entitled ‘Qetesh Couture’.

This lingerie is not only designed for the everyday woman but one collection 'Isis' is specifically designed to give a fashionable choice to the 34% percent of Australian and New Zealand women who have had to endure mastectomies in the treatment of their breast cancer.

About the National Breast Cancer Foundation

The NBCF is Australia's pre-eminent community-funded organization

dedicated to winning the war against breast cancer through research.

With a goal of reducing breast cancer deaths to zero by 2030, since 1994, the NBCF has provided $97 million dollars worth of funding to Australian-based cancer research groups.

NBCF funded research has ranged the gamut from studies aimed to increase

fundamental knowledge of the disease, to those focused on providing quality

of life improvements for patients and survivors.

It is the mission of the NBCF

to provide funding for research on any and all features of breast cancer and its consequences for those it has afflicted.  The NBCF website can be reached at: www.nbcf.org.au

Is ranking family members really necessary?

Last week I spotted an article titled "Do you put your hubby or your child first?"

Thankfully, it wasn't the article I expected. 

The author had noticed the same thing I noticed some time back - that a new trend had emerged. A trend which ranks the order of your love. 

The article reads:

"If you claim you put your children first, you’re Martyr Mummy, running yourself to a ragged standstill  accommodating your children’s whims, then swatting away your husband’s tiresome sexual advances in favour of a bottle of wine (or two – right, girls?) and a resentful flick through your collection of Ryan Gosling memes.

"The racier reply, popular with celebs, is to beam sunnily that you put your relationship before the children. Which is meant to signal to the world that you’re still the frisky little lovebirds you always were prior to little Liam or Madeleine’s arrival."

Celebrities such as Keith Urban and Giuliana Rancic as well as several writers and journalists have been forthcoming in proclaiming the latter. 

Though research suggests that - when asked - most people identify with the former. That is to say they put their children first, but does that mean they love them more? Or just differently? 

Or more to the point, why are they being asked in the first place? 

Do we really need to start ranking our loved ones? 

The question offends me almost as much as the ever-popular, "do you have a favourite child?"

Most of us have a lot of love to give. And some of us are blessed enough to have many loved ones to whom we can offer that love. 

Proclaiming who you love the most - and even having a personal ranking system - is, to me, an absurd concept. 

But what about you? Do you have a favourite child or purposefully order the love for your children and partner? Or do you find such questions as off-putting as I do? 

Hands Up For Miracle Babies

When I was asked to be an ambassador for the Miracle Babies Foundation a few years ago I was both honoured and proud. 

Miracle Babies Foundation is Australia’s leading organisation supporting premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals that care for them.

Miracle Month of May is the organisation's national awareness campaign that highlights the struggles faced by over 45,000 Australian babies and their families each year.

Prematurity is the number one single cause of death in children.

Those who survive can face lifelong issues, challenges and disabilities including cerebral palsy, health issues, behavioural disorders, failure to thrive and difficulties at school and long term stress for the family.

Miracle Babies cares for these families from pregnancy till the children are 6 years of age and then beyond.

It is the only provider of care and support specific to these families and the only organisation working with neonatal health professionals on education, training and research which has international recognition.

Miracle May includes the following initiatives. Your support can make such a huge impact. 

Hands Up for Miracles - Become a regular giver for just $5 a week

Donations accepted - www.miraclebabies.org.au or by phoning 1300 622 243

Miracle Babies Merchandise - For sale at Best & Less stores Nationally

1-16 May              Champions of Kangaroo Care Photo Comp 

3 May                   WA Charity Golf Day, Perth

12 May                 Mother’s Day gift for all families in an Australian Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

14 May                 Volunteer Meeting, Melbourne and Perth

14-18 May            National Volunteers Week

16 May                 Volunteer Meeting, Adelaide

15 May                 International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day

16 May                 Winner of Champions of Kangaroo Care Photo Competition Announced

18 May                 Annual Ball, Sydney

19 May                 Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, Sydney

 24 May                Pregnancy, Babies and Children Expo, Sydney

 26 May                HBF Run for a Reason, Perth

Visual Inspiration

Having recently commenced studying again I decided my work life needed a little reorganising. 

As a work-from-home freelance writer and full-time mum, life is chaotic enough, without adding a whole bunch of disorganised text books and study notes to the mix. 

So after a spot of online shopping at Kikki-K to stock up on stationary, I've finally created myself a little workspace - more like a study nook - which fits snuggly in a corner of my home, with easy access and a continuous view of my two boys (though most of my work is done once they're safely tucked in bed!).

I've adorned it with things that are special to me, including photos, my kids' drawings, a poem from my mum, a card from my husband etc. 

While madly clicking away during my stationary shopping spree, I spontaneously bought a so-called "visual diary". 

My husband is a huge advocate of visual inspiration, so I thought - "why not?" - I'll create my own little book of inspiration. 

I imaged myself cutting out pictures of beautiful home decor, fit and healthy families, yummy recipes and my favourite quotes. 


So far, though, the book remains empty, though placed front and centre of my desk waiting patiently to be filled. 

It's not for lack of interest, more a time issue  - as in I don't have any after spending time with/feeding/cleaning the kids, managing the house, writing, studying, practising piano/guitar, life in general... 

I want to though. 

So, I'm wondering - is it worth the time? Do you have a visual diary or any other type of visual inspiration and if so, do you value it? 

Sneaky Pumpkin Muffins

One of my biggest parenting challenges has been getting my eldest to eat his vegetables.  In fact healthy snacks in general hasn't been all that easy. 

I admit to being fairly naive when he was first beginning solids and snacks and relied far too heavily on the "babies and toddlers" isle in the supermarket. 

And with my own penchant for packaged goods, I considered the little fruit bars and rice cakes to be healthy snack options for him. 

Fast forward a couple of years and while he loves his fruit, he's also developed his own little taste for packaged fruit bars and other not-so-healthy snacks. 

I took a different approach the second time around and my youngest has much healthier taste buds. 

But with my recent decision to reduce packaged foods and increase my fresh food intake (which I wrote about here), I've began thinking outside the square when it comes to cooking - both for myself and my children. 

So, for anyone else with fussy little eaters, I've decided to share my most successful recipes here. They'll have been tested on the toughest critic! 

This one has been a huge hit. It's a snack - or treat - and has the tick of approval from Beau's kindergarten, whose healthy eating policy is fairly strict. 

Let me know what you think and please do share your own healthy recipes - I need all the help I can get!

Choc-chip Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups wholemeal (or regular) flour 

1/4 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 pumpkin

1 egg (beaten)

1/4 cup olive (grape seed, canola) oil

Method:

Chop up pumpkin and steam until soft. Mash in a bowl and put aside to cool. 

Combine flour and sugar;

Add milk, egg and oil and stir until combined;

Fold in mashed pumpkin;

Add chocolate chips;

Grease or spray small muffin tin or line with cupcake papers and spoon in mixture;

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on your oven!)