Spreading Some Major Sunshine: Children's Hospital Style

It's hard to believe that a year has gone by since Lucky Girl's hospital stay last September.  While she has completely recovered from a case of viral meningitis, we still remember how traumatic the experience was, and how grateful we were for a superb staff that took great care of our little Lucky.

We were also extremely grateful for the activities that the support staff provided to keep our little 3 year old girl occupied while stuck in a hospital bed with an IV pole.  Once she was feeling better, she played Bingo with the other kids on her floor through the television and telephone.  She drew pictures for everyone.  She made a princess wood craft.  She eventually got to visit the arts and crafts room for group activities.  She ended up having a lot of fun at the hospital:).

The day we returned home, I counted my blessings and pondered how I could 'pay' our good experience forward.  I'm a deal shopper to the core, so it didn't take long for me to come up with a plan to purchase a nice selection of toys and crafts (on clearance, of course) and donate them the following September.  I tried to focus on toys that could be enjoyed from a hospital bed, and probably ended up spending about $50 overall.  The main stores that I shopped at were Target, Walmart and Fleet Farm.

This week we dropped off these goodies to the Children's Hospital:

Lucky and Charm were so excited to drop off the toys, although Charm was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to hand them out Santa style to kids in the hospital:).  Lucky and Charm definitely received a lesson on the importance of giving, and I think this donation will become an annual tradition in our household.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!