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“Why do you and daddy have to work?”

“So that we can have this house, food, clothes, and take care of you.”

“What would happen if you didn’t work?”

“Well, we wouldn’t be able to pay for this house or buy food. Did you know there are some people who have no house? They sleep in their cars or sometimes on the street.”

“No way.”

“Yes, it’s very sad, right? So we should be thankful that mami and papa work and that we have all we have.”

This is a conversation my baby girl and I had months ago. It was one of those early-morning, still-in-bed conversations before a typical work day. Though, I tried to explain to her that we should be grateful since there are some who have much less, I don’t think the message truly sunk in. It’s tough for a 4 year old to understand this concept of being without; especially when we’re fortunate to be able to provide for her. Since then, I’ve been thinking of a way to help her understand.

I may be able to do just that this coming Sunday while attending and co-hosting the Orlando Hebrew National Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic. Hebrew National and TheMotherhood.com have teamed up with bloggers across the country to host family-friendly picnics that benefit local charities. In Orlando, it will be held this Sunday, June 27 and will benefit the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. If you’re not in Orlando, you can check out the official picnic page on The Motherhood for information about picnics in other cities.

Hebrew National and The Motherhood’s Orlando “Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic”

Details:

Hosted by:

• Jennifer, The Dirty Shirt
• Leigh, Theme Park Mom
• Britt, Miss Britt
• and me!

When: Sunday, June 27
Time: 11:30 am – 3:30 pm
Where: Lake Eola Park – 195 N. Rosalind Ave., Downtown Orlando

Bring your kids, family, and friends to enjoy free Hebrew National hot dogs, a community service project to benefit Central Florida homeless, music, giant puzzles, a mechanical bull and other activities for kids and families! We will be collecting donated items, as well as putting together goody bags for many dads currently living in the shelter, who were unable to receive a Father’s Day celebration.

The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida is in need of many items, such as:

• Canned fruit and vegetables
• Baby items: Diapers (sizes 4, 5 and 6), potty training pants (i.e., Pull-Ups®), baby wipes, and sippy cups, GOOD START® baby formula (per government nutritional guidelines)
• Personal hygiene supplies: Bar soap, hand soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, feminine hygiene products, shampoo, and conditioner
• New underwear, socks, bras, and shoes (men, women and children)
• Medical supplies
• Cleaning supplies
• Kitchen items: paper towels, napkins, paper plates, cups, dish soap, hand/dish towels
• General office supplies
• Hurricane supplies
• Gift cards for Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Walmart, Publix, Office Max, Office Depot, and Staples

For items specific to the goody bags for the dads, the following would be appreciated: shaving creams, razors, chocolate, cards, etc.

All are welcome and RSVP is not required, but you can RSVP on facebook if you’d like.

If you’re in the Orlando and near-by areas, please come out to Lake Eola and have fun with your friends and family while also helping out the local homeless community. I’d love to meet you!

Disclosure: As a co-host of the Hebrew National Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic and working with TheMotherhood.com, I was compensated for my time.

Yesterday we headed out to the Playground Music and Arts Festival at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. We heard about the event on PBS while watching Pocoyo one morning. Guess TV advertising still works sometimes, huh? It was sponsored by the Orange County Arts Education Center and Playground magazine.

After 20 minutes of searching for parking and my daughter so kindly telling my husband that he was “going the wrong way daddy!” because he turned in the opposite direction from the lake, we started walking around the lake to see all the different booths and displays. There were student art shows from various local schools. Local artists were also set up displaying their artwork and we even saw a local woman who makes Puerto Rican vejigante masks. My daughter said the masks had big teeth, but was also truly intrigued by them and you could see she was trying to make out what they were. I wish I had gotten the name of the lady or her link, because now I can’t find her information. If anyone knows who she is or saw her there, let me know.

Anyway, we finally made our way to the playground area, where there were bounce houses from Monkey Joe’s, a clown making balloon animals from Birthday World, and lots of other kid-friendly events. Baby girl got a balloon bracelet from the clown, which I’ve never seen done before. I was also very happy that my girl did not get scared by the clown and actually talked to her.

Guess where we spent most of our time?

Once we convinced her that there were other things to do and see, we headed over to the stage where the lady from Belly Button Yoga was leading a small yoga session for the kids. Of course, my never one to be shy daughter, headed on up and did her yoga.

That's the look of SERIOUS concentration going on.

There were also some performances from various local dance and art centers. And it was hot. Really really hot.

We ended up making our way fully around the lake and right back to the bounce houses for one last round of fun before heading home.

Any locals make it out to the festival yesterday?