Funding for Wiisearch

What does it take to keep a 3-year-old quiet in the gallery of the NC General Assembly for 45 minutes?

Approximately:
2 granola bars,
1/2 c. Cracklin' Oat Bran,
2/3 c. Cheez-Its,

1/2 c. raisins,
1/2 c. blueberries,
1 juice box,
1 cup of milk,
and 3 Dum Dums.

And why WOULD you want to keep a 3-year-old quiet in the gallery of the NC General Assembly for 45 minutes? Have I turned into one of those mommies that brings their kid downtown for some culture?

No. It's so we could get this photo-op, with Eve still eating.

From the left: Ernie Breedlove and Suzy Kochik (St. Baldrick's volunteers), Sen. Josh Stein, Eve, Eve's enabler, Dr. Jessica Heath and Dr. Dan Wechsler (Eve's oncologists).

Because St. Baldrick's is so crazy-cool, and the good citizens of North Carolina rock it so crazy-hard, Governor Perdue proclaimed the first Saturday in March to be St. Baldrick's Day. It's true. I gots documentation. It says we're totally bitchin'.

After the proclamation, Senator Stein honored the St. Baldrick's volunteers...then the doctors...and then...just as Eve had finished the last Dum Dum and was about to turn herself up to full volume...they honored Eve Griffith. (They have no idea how close they came to honoring Downstairs Eve.) And no one could hear her at full volume because they were all clapping. And they were all clapping because she was climbing on top of my head and we looked like this:


(And my apologies to whomever had to vacuum up after Eve. I think she was worried her friend, Hansel, couldn't find her. He's got no problems finding her in the van, which is ripe with orange cracker crumbs. The floor of the Griffith Town & Country is where orange cracker crumbs come to die.)
Friday was the day I went to buy bribes for Daniel to keep him on stage at St. Baldrick's. Eve helped me pick out lollipops ("So the sugar bugs can eat all of Daniel's teeth and then I'll get all the rest of his candy!") and Super Mario Bros. DVDs ("I will shave my head, too, if you buy me movies!"). We told Daniel of the booty that awaited him after a successful shave and he sounded excited. Candy? Mario? All in one day? Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
The only issue we had was with Daniel thinking his hair would never grow back and he would be bald forever. No, no, honey. It will grow back, I promise! "Will I still get my candy and Mario movies if it grows back?" Yes, of course. Do you know why you're shaving your head? "To waise money for childhood cancer weesearch!"
Yay! My 4-year-old invokes the "research" word without prodding!
He even got a mention in the News & Observer about going bald for Eve. Although he remains confused as to why getting a haircut helps kids with cancer. But, Dan, it's a very expensive haircut! Your haircut will cost about $1700! (Daniel ended up in 17th place out of 570 fundraisers at Napper Tandy's. Thank you to everyone who supported him even though we were just begging you for money the week before for CureSearch. I promise we'll take a few weeks off from fundraising.)
On the big day, we were called to the stage to share our story because Eve was the honored child of the event. I'm not even sure what we said, but I hope I said what I needed to say in English and not that crazy Pig Latin I do when I get nervous.
Daniel was supposed to be the first one shaved, but somewhere, that piece of info got lost. So we stood on the stage for what felt like an hour while Daniel watched all the Duke doctors get shaved, and he began to lose his cool. Like an ice cube in the sun.
A big ol' puddle of OHCRAPI'MNOTSHAVINGMYHEADINFRONTOFALLTHOSEPEOPLE!
Meanwhile, Eve got to shave Dr. Heath's head.
Thanks to Jo's PhotoMojo for the following pictures!
Eve loves "my girl doctor, Dr. Heef. Now Dr. Heef has a head!"
(The only thing I worry about now is waking up to Eve with scissors held above my head. Eve definitely had the crazy eyes when she was busy haircutting.)
Daniel couldn't hold it together to be shaved. The Griffith family, coming from a long line of hustlers, did the classic bait-and-switch and had Matt pinch hit for the boy. Because none of you would have paid close to $1700 to see a grown man shave his head, right?


Natalie was more than happy to help shave Matt. She had a little bit of the crazy eye going on, too. Daniel said, "Dad's going to be cold."

Just for the record, Daniel did end up shaving his head. He just couldn't do it in front of all of you watching.

After the excitement of being publicly shorn wore off, we ordered some lunch. There were a ton of people around, but I could have sworn I heard Matt order a chicken sandwich. I got fish and chips and got excited when mine came out first. Matt took the plate and started eating it.

Me: Is that what you ordered?
Matt: Yes. This is what I always order.
Me: Oh, ok. I ordered that, too.
Matt: Well, I ordered first so this one must be mine.

---five minutes later---
Scene: outside, our table. Waitress enters, stage left, carrying a chicken sandwich. She places the plate on our table.

Matt: Oops! This must have been your lunch. Here you go.

I saved a lot of calories by letting my husband eat all but four of my french fries and half of my fish. I let it slide because he was losing a lot of heat from his head.

If you'd like to see some more pictures, check out the News & Observer photo gallery. There are some really moving pictures, particularly the ones with Dr. Heath. The story that ran in the N&O can be found here; there are a few Griffith kid quotes in the article. This particular St. Baldrick's event is currently in first place in the country! Because the Griffiths only roll with winners. [Insert Charlie Sheen joke here.]