We are so jazzed to learn that Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah will host a FREE screening of the documentary film “The Business of Being Born”, 6 to 8 PM Wed. April 4, 2012.

The award-winning film will be followed by a discussion with local health professionals. (Fingers-crossed that among the childbirth issues discussed will be the lack of local OBs who will do VBACs)

The screening will be at University Hall, Room 156, Armstrong Campus, 11935 Abercorn St., Savannah.

“The Business of Being Born”  is about the implications of the medicalization of childbirth and the ways in which many women are turning away from invasive medical models of delivery. It examines modern models of child delivery in America and what some women are doing to take back their rights to birth.

This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Center for Public Health Media and Research , the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health & the Armstrong Master of Public Health program. Contact Leigh Rich at leigh.rich@armstrong.edu  for more information.

Our favorite annual kids’ event – the Savannah Children’s Book Festival – will be Nov. 10, 2012 in Forsyth Park. A fun way for kids to get excited about the festival is to have them partake in the festival poster contest. This would also be a great art project for school art classes.

Deadline to design a poster for the 2012 Savannah Children’s Book Festival is Wed. April 25, 2012. For contest details see the image above this post! More details here.

April is Autism Awareness Month.
April 2 is Light it up Blue for Autism! If you purchase a blue light bulb from Home Depot, they will donate $1 for Autism Awareness.
Click here to donate to the local Autism Speaks Team Bray & J, or join their team or get more info.
There has been a 600 percent increase of children diagnosed with autism. The increase is partly explained by improved diagnosis, but other factors have also contributed. The Light It Up Blue movement by Autism Speaks encourages businesses and individuals to get involved by “lighting up” blue on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, to help bring attention to the disorder. Will you light it up blue, too?

Concerned about dye in your child’s foods?

Then consider dying your Easter Eggs naturally this year with foods. That’s right, move over PAAS Easter Egg dye. Cabbage, blackberries, beets and more can be used to dye egg shells.

The helpful (and healthful) Website The Whole Tulip offers instructions on how you can color your eggs additive-free using real food. Check it out here. Happy Dye-Free Egg Hunting.

FOR INFO ON LOCAL EASTER EGG HUNTS & EASTER EVENTS, CLICK HERE.

We’re so excited to tell you about the new, oh-so-cute handmade toy stitched with love and attention right here in Savannah.

Meet Little Lady Belles, unique, handmade soft form dolls designed as a treasured toy, family heirloom & long-lasting keepsake for display. Each belle has a unique personality and story to tell. Some represent the grand styles and fashions of the past, while others the sweet city and country girls of today.

The belles are handmade with high-quality vintage fabrics and buttons. Their bodies are all new, 100 percent cotton; their hair is wool felt, polyester fleece, or cotton chenille fabric. Clothing is made from pre-washed repurposed materials. The belles have embroidered facial details.

Due to the use of buttons and small pieces, the dolls are best suited for ages 3 and older The belles measure from 26 to 31 inches tall, with an arm span of 22 inches. Each belle comes with one accessory and a small portrait.

Customized handmade dolls also can be commissioned for birthdays and other special events. Prices for the belles featured on  the Little Lady Belles Facebook page here range from $50 to $75. (Customized orders are priced based on design and materials.)

The belles design and fabrication were developed by Abigail Kokai and Carrie Christian, graduates of the Savannah College of Art and Design.

View members of the Little Lady Belles family on Facebook here. For more information, custom orders, or to purchase a doll you “like” on the Little Lady Belles Facebook page, please e-mail Joyce McDonald at: JoyceAMcDonald@yahoo.com.

Five winners this week: Chevy Truck Month (March) is almost over. For the big finale final week, the Southern Charm Chevy Girls’ giveaway this week is the biggest & best yet: FIVE $200 Oglethorpe Mall gift cards! 

To celebrate Chevy Truck month this March, your local Chevy dealers are offering terrific truck deals at local dealerships & hosting giveaways such as this one on Southern Charm Chevy Girls.

To enter to win, visit Southern Charm Chevy Girls on Facebook here, like the page & click on the Chevy Truck Month! tab to enter to win one of FIVE $200 gift cards to Oglethorpe Mall.

Winners will be announced Mon. April 2 2012. Good luck.

Skirt! Savannah will spotlight SouthernMamas.com in the upcoming April issue! We so thrilled! You are invited to attend the April Skirt! release party to celebrate! All are welcome!

Be sure to “like” Skirt Savannah on Facebook here.

Below is a guest post by Nicole Hubbard, owner of Hubbard’s Maid Service, a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

 . .that is the question! Several days ago I was speaking with a client, who will go unnamed, who was returning full time to the professional work force. She was trying to budget in-maid service for her home because, with her new work schedule, house work was going to be very difficult for her to get to. As I was explaining different price options to her, and she was listening intently, I stopped in mid sentence.

Now, I don’t ever like to turn business away, but to me, good business is always thinking about what is best for the client as opposed to oneself. I could tell in her voice the uncertainty she was feeling about going back into the work force full time and the regret she was feeling about having to do so. It is unfortunate that for so many of us, we need dual incomes to support our families. There is an intangible value to a parent pursuing a career in the home, as opposed to the professional world, that is often not recognized or appreciated. Pursuing a career in the home often requires the same hard work, self- sacrifice, and dedication that professional occupations such as the Military and Highway Patrol require.

Anyway, I stopped in mid-sentence during my conversation with the client because she was going to increase her maid service budget with me because she was going back to work. However, was going back to work really in her best interest?

To read the entire guest post, click here.

Hubbard’s Maid Service, 912.961.9131, www.hubbardsmaidservice.com Hubbard’s Maid Service is a SouthernMamas.com advertiser.

You’re invited to the Spring Book Fair which begins Wed. March 28 and runs through Wed. April 4. The Book Fair is open 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. Family Night is Thurs. March 29 when the fair will be open until 7:30 PM.

The public is invited to come enjoy a wide selection of books for your student while helping to support the Charles Ellis Montessori Academy library. For every dollar spent, the library receives .25 cents to put toward the purchase of library books, Accelerated Reader quizzes and other items for the school. You also help purchase free books for students who make their reading goals.

Red Shoes Run / Pop Tab Pandemonium 2012/Blood Alliance Blood Drive
benefiting
Ronald McDonald House Charities
What: A 5K Run/Walk & Pop Tab Collection Event
During the event, please stop by The Blood Alliance & donate blood! The blood drive will be 9 AM-Noon. The Blood Alliance will make a donation ot the Ronald McDonald House Charities for every unit of blood collected at the RMHC blood drive!

Red Shoes Run & Pop Tab Pandemonium is a family friendly fundraiser that will feature free activities including fun with Ronald McDonald, a 1/4 mile kiddie run, live music, games, prizes and refreshments!
There is a wonderful bridge that participants will traverse twice for which this 5K is nicknamed the “mini-bridge run!” It’s perfect training for those aiming for the big one at the end of the year!

Strollers are welcome.

To Register: Red Shoes Run: Download registration form here
or register online: www.active.com
key words red shoes run

Pop Tab Art Contest
RMHC is now accepting entries for the Pop Tab Art Contest.
All entries must be turned in to the House by March 31st.
For more information, contact Alex Wysocki – contact info below.
Download application here.

To Fundraise: http://www.firstgiving.com/rmhccoastal

5K Fees: $25 January 1 – February 29
$30 March 1 – April 13
$35 Race Day

Event Schedule at Ronald McDonald House:
Race Day: Saturday, April 14, 2012

•7:00am 5K Walk Up Registration & Pre-Registration Packet Pick Up
• 7:00am -Noon Pop Tab Weigh In
•8:45am Free Kiddie Run (1/4 mile dash)
•9:00am 5K begins
•
•After Party Goes until Noon
Contact Information: Alex Wysocki
alex@rmhccoastalempire.org  912.350.7641

Have you been to Lake Mayer playground lately?

If not, you’ll be as surprised as we were to find the once dismal equipment gone & replaced with three new climbing structures complete with climbing walls, tunnels; plus new swing sets, new baby swing sets, new mulch, new swivel seat, new twirling toy & oh-so-modern sleek see-saw! We love it. When we visited on a sunny weekday afternoon, the spot was teeming with moms and kids. Such a switch from how the playground used to be. No longer do you need to try to talk your kids out of a playground visit while you’re doing Lake Mayer laps. It is finally a fun, clean spot for playing! Thank you, Savannah, for the much needed facelift to the Lake Mayer playground!

Lake Mayer Community Park, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroads Savannah, GA 31406

FREE Spanish Storytime for Kids to Learn Spanish @ Bilingual Speech Therapy & Language Center
Wednesday, May 23, 11:00-11:45.
Your children will have lots of fun learning Spanish through story and song! Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday through May at Bilingual Speech Therapy & Language Center
For more information, call Lorena Luna-Bradfield M.S. CCC/SLP at 912.335.8486 or visit www.bilingualspeechtherapy.net  . For Ages 3 and up. RSVP requested. Free.

The free Spanish storytime is canceled for this wk. No storytime on Wed May 9. The next story time will be as scheduled May 23 (details via the link below), which will be the last story time for this spring season. But there will more in the fall!

FREE Spanish Storytime for Kids to Learn Spanish @ Bilingual Speech Therapy & Language Center
Wednesday, May 9, 11:00-11:45.
Your children will have lots of fun learning Spanish through story and song! Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday through May at Bilingual Speech Therapy & Language Center
For more information, call Lorena Luna-Bradfield M.S. CCC/SLP at 912.335.8486 or visit www.bilingualspeechtherapy.net  . For Ages 3 and up. RSVP requested. Free.

FREE Spanish Storytime for Kids to Learn Spanish @ Bilingual Speech Therapy & Language Center
Wednesday, April 25, 11:00-11:45.
Your children will have lots of fun learning Spanish through story and song! Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday through May at Bilingual Speech Therapy & Language Center
For more information, call Lorena Luna-Bradfield M.S. CCC/SLP at 912.335.8486 or visit www.bilingualspeechtherapy.net . For Ages 3 and up. RSVP requested. Free.

The Richmond Hill Farmer’s Market
3-7 PM Tuesdays at JF Gregory Park under the pavillion.
Bring the family to J. F. Gregory Park for the Richomnd Hill Farmer’s Market. Each week, the market will offer the best in local produce and crafts.
912.572.5888
Email: mcleodah@aol.com
http://www.RHGA-Market.com

For details on more Savannah & Lowcountry Farmers Markets, click here

No more excuses for not buying locally-grown fruits and veggies. Check out these Savannah and Lowcountry Farmers’ Markets that are open and ready for business or opening in April.

The Richmond Hill Farmer’s Market
Opens April 3 2012, 3-7 PM Tuesdays at JF Gregory Park under the pavillion.
Bring the family to J. F. Gregory Park for the Richomnd Hill Farmer’s Market. Each week, the market will offer the best in local produce and crafts.
520 Cedar St., Richmond Hill, GA 31324
912.572.5888
Email: mcleodah@aol.com
http://www.RHGA-Market.com

Forsyth Farmers Market held Saturdays in Savannah
9 AM-1 PM Saturdays
South End of Forsyth Park (Between the basketball and tennis courts)
Email: forsythfarmersmarket@gmail.com
More info here.

Farmers Market of Bluffton held Thursdays 2012
2-7 PM Thursday
Carson Cottages in Old Town Bluffton, 40 Calhoun St. intersection of Calhoun Street & Lawrence Street, Bluffton, 29910-7014
More info here.

Hilton Head Island Farmer’s Market opens April 6 2012
8:30 AM-1 PM Fridays through Dec. 7 2012
Historic Honey Horn
70 Honey Horn Plantation Road, Hilton Head Is., 29926
Fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, flowers, preserves, pasta, bread and more. Free parking. More info at (843) 422-4168
More info here.

The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina presents Yostie’s Puppetry Toy Theatre. Create your own books, stages, puppets and story props in this hands-on paper-folding puppetry class using colored paper, file folders and fun trims. This is a great activity for school, home and church taught by acclaimed puppeteer Yostie Ashley. (843) 686-3945, x 233 or www.artshhi.com .

Hilton Head Presbyterian Church invites your children to hop on over to our annual Easter Egg Hunt! 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Hunt down hidden eggs, hop in the bouncy house, help yourself to hotdogs,and heaps more fun! www.hiltonheadpca.com  .

For more local Easter Egg Hunts & Easter Activities, click here.

The Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn will host an “Indigo Tie-Dye” program at 10:30 a.m., ages 7-12. This unique program for children will focus on indigo! Space is limited and reservations are required. Cost is $10. (843) 689-6767 x 223 or coastaldiscovery.org.