Squarespace Blog / "cancer"

Help Me Help Her! Cancer Fighting Mama...

Around here, we're kinda getting sick of Cancer... (no pun intended) I mean, Im really just over it... A very good friend of mine has been kicking breast cancers butt, yet the hits just keep coming. After chemo, radiation & a double mastectomy - we thought we were in the clear... then it came back... back to chemo and radiation and now blood transfusions, too. She is EXHAUSTED. This woman is literally my hero... no matter how stressed, tired, sick, and in pain she is - you would never know it. She takes care of her three kids with her super hero cape flapping in the wind behind her. Super low blood counts and begging to go back to work... *Or like the photo - walking in the Mother Day Breast Cancer Walk* But, lately - she has been talking about relaxing on a mini trip... and ya know what? When a mom that doesn't ask for help asks for help - you drop what you're doing and you find a way to help... So that's why I am here... I want to raise as much as I can so our friend Kat and I can give her a break. Maybe a night or two in a local fancy hotel with a massage and pedicure... maybe a short week on the beach in between treatments if you guys are feeling really helpful! If there is anyone in the world that deserves it - its this mama, I promise you. If everyone would donate just a couple dollars we could give her such an amazing trip that she has more than earned. Doctors orders are to rest and relax - and this seems like the perfect way to be sure she does that. Anything left over will be given to her and her family to use towards her medical bills. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and thanks in advance for your selflessness and generosity. 


  
Read more →

Movember - Join team RockerByeDaddy!! Check out this stache update!

Wow... its been 9 days since my husband has shaved his sweet stache... by sweet I mean hardly there... he looks like a 14 year old boy who forgot to wash his face... sorry baby... but lets be real, this is gunna take awhile... now with that being said, it is coming in quite nicely... if you are a 14 year old boy that is... though, if you actually ARE a 14 year old boy, look out for my husband...
because he looks like a child molester. PSSSH. haha. I can proudly say the jokes having been laid on pretty thick around here... and Im taking some good jabs at him any chance I get... I figure its kind of like a reward for me... since i have to look at him *and kiss him* with that thing on his face... its so pokey! Zaq says: "It's official... I'm coining the term "zrustache"... Sure there's the "cowboy" the "handlebar" but this is so sad others struggling as I need a name to their own...." Anyways - there is a purpose to this whole mustache thing if you remember... its actually NOT just to poke fun at Zaq... its to raise money for testicular/colon/prostate/man cancers... It seems like its always about the boobs (lets face it, those are way more fun than balls) and then men kinda get shafted. haha. get it? Sorry.... So the whole month of november you can find both Zaq... and the RockerByeBaby logo sporting mustaches... in hopes to raise some funds and make a difference... So far - members of Team RockerByeDaddy have raised $75!! And we are dang proud of it... So PLEASE! Stop by the Team RockerByeDaddy page and click: Donate to Team... and send anything you can. Even if its just $1... every single bit counts and makes a difference. If every person on the RockerByeBaby fan page donated just $1 - we will have raised over $4,500 ... and THAT my friends, is something to really be proud of...


Read more →

Movember - Join team RockerByeDaddy!!

MOVEMBER!! Join team RockerByeDaddy to help us raise money for mens cancer... my husband is on day 5 of growing a disgusting mustache... and we would love your support!
The best part about this - is he literally is like a 12 year old when it comes to growing facial hair... so never EVER has a mustache even been considered... let alone attempted... so he really could use some support... He is sacrificing his pretty little baby butt smooth face to raise money for testicular/prostate/colon, etc. Cancer... focused towards mens health.  Even if you just donate $1 its appreciated. Follow this link - http://us.movember.com/mospace/1612546/ and under the photo, choose DONATE TO MY TEAM... and spare anything you can. If we get over $150 raised Ill give everyone a 10% off coupon... if we get over $500 raised - Ill do a 20% off coupon. Ready set GO! TELL YOUR FRIENDS! Oh, and after you donate... PLEASE join the team!! We would love to have you a part of RockerByeDaddy and for you to help us raise money and spread the word. <3

Read more →

Rock-Away-Cancer Giveaway

I write this post with a heavy heart, but a lot of promise... and a twinkle in my eye. It's rare I come to you asking for anything, but this time is a little bit different. A couple months ago I was hit with some heavy news... one of my greatest friends, at just 23 years old was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer. I know this is always terrible news, but at 23 its just unacceptable, and pretty damn unfair if you ask me.  No one deserves to be going through what she is right now. She got to spend her birthday weekend getting her first dose of Chemo. A few weeks later she was noticing some strange memory loss... forgetting names of friends... family, etc. so she went to get it checked out. While at the doctor, they found a brain tumor.  Seriously?? Ugh. Just writing this I am getting angry all over again. So they doubled the chemo/radiation cocktail... and she's on loads of meds. The good news is - the Ovarian cancer has almost been blasted away - so she will hopefully just need the hysterectomy to finish it off. The bad news is - the brain tumor isn't changing and is going to require surgery. Between being so sick, missing work, medical bills & prescriptions she is out of money just like any one of us would be. I would like to think if I were ever in this situation someone would be willing to help me keep up this fight, so it was NO DOUBT that I was ready to pull all of my resources to help her... Rather than just asking you amazing friends, family, & customers to donate - I came up with a plan... we will do a Rock-Away-Cancer giveaway...

For every $1 you donate you get 1 entry into the contest.
For every $5 you donate you get 10 entries into the contest.
For every $10 you donate you get 25 entries into the contest.

Example: $3 = 3 entries  -  $7 = 12 entries   -   $15 = 35 entries

After a week - we will combine all the entries into one big giant hat and pull a name...

The winner will receive a custom basket of awesomeness catered your lil' ones gender. Winner will choose girl/boy/unisex and I will put together a basket of awesom-ness... Blankets, bibs, burp rags, booger bashers... whatever I can come up with valuing well over $150... OR the winner can choose a custom toddler bedding set OR two adult blankets....

I appreciate you guys taking the time to read this... anything... every single dollar will help and I wanted to do something special that would benefit you as well. Win or lose, the prize is high... she gets to keep fighting this battle.

Donate here - the money goes to a special paypal account just for her so that we can keep track. I will run this for a week so until Saturday, April 16th... If it goes as well as I am hoping - maybe we will do another one next month too :)










Read more →

Try not to cry... Layla Grace...

In the past few days on Facebook I have seen the posts of Layla Grace just flying through the streams... If you dont know about Ms. Layla... here is a quick wrap up... but you should most definitely check out her website for the most info...

Layla Grace:
DSC_1247
DSC_3319

"Layla has a massive cancerous tumor (Stage 4 Neuroblastoma) in her abdomen. It extends from above her left kidney, around her side, over her belly and wraps around her aorta. In addition, the cancer is in her bone marrow.
Our sweet Layla went from normal happy and healthy to lethargic, in pain, and skin and bones in a matter of a week and a half."


Im all about donating any time I can... so I rushed to the site, found that magical paypal button... and sent some money to help. If you can do the same, PLEASE do... even $1 makes a difference. Anything sent goes towards her mountains of medical bills. Now, this is a sad story in itself... but what really got me was a blog her mom wrote... it hit home SO hard... here is a snapshot... click here to read the rest from her website. Oh, and try not to cry...

"Sleep, Valentines Day and Regrets
February16
Towards the end of a pregnancy, a mother will wake up to go to the bathroom every few hours. I think this is the body’s way of preparing you for a newborn and the sleepless nights that come along with it. Layla now spends most of her days sleeping. 30-45 minutes after she wakes up, she is ready to lay down and sleep again. Is this God’s way of preparing me for all the quiet time that is coming soon? The house is quiet. I am able to go through the motions of laundry, dishes, cooking and picking up without interruptions. But I WANT interruptions. I WANT Layla to be under my feet asking for cookies. I WANT to hear her playing with her toys. I WANT to take 45 minutes to unload the dishwasher because she keeps trying to help. For every time I uttered the words “I just can’t get anything done with these kids under my feet all day” I am eternally regretful. The days that I looked forward to naptime so I could get a grocery list made, or finally fold all the piles of laundry…I regret those days too. If I could do it all again, I’d enjoy EVERY SINGLE WAKING MOMENT I had with her. I would never wish for her to sit still or take a nap or go to bed early. I would never look forward to the days when she could sit through an entire episode of Dora silently. I would treasure every second with her."

This post really got to me... with all the stress of the store... stress of packing... stress of moving... cooking, cleaning, paying bills, and the million other things that have taken a toll on the last month... zaq and i have been a little on edge. Yes, I count the minutes to nap time when i can get some work done uninterrupted... and bed time comes and its such a relief, an hour to lay with my husband, wind down, and talk about our day... and I can't even tell you how horrible that makes me feel. Of course I love my kids... and of course i would die if anything ever happened to them. And all the "free time", lack of stress & money in the world couldn't be traded for either one of them... but yes, sometimes its a hand full.  And like she said... "I am eternally regretful" for all the days I have wished for a little peace & quiet...  
Read more →