22k for 22q, who's in?

It kicks off Monday!!  Spread the word, the more the merrier!  (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, see my previous post!)

I wasn't able to get much exercise in today because I had two sickies at home.  Gavin had a fever last night and Connor woke up with a cough.  Thankfully both of them were just fine at home today, no fever for either of them, and although Connor continues to cough and have little voice, he was acting fine most of the day.  So it's back to school for both of them tomorrow!

They're sick, can't you tell?  Crazy kids.  

There was a time that a small sickness like this would knock Connor down for *weeks*, it still amazes me to see him handle it fine!

So we only got in 1 mile today, but I did it fast!  I didn't time myself (I wish I had) but it was definitely a quick mile.  Ian and Connor rode their bikes, Gavin rode in the jogging stroller.  Ruby the dog ran with us (as usual) but I tried her with just a regular collar (vs the head halter she usually wears) and that was a mistake.  She hates the halter (it squeezes around her snout if she pulls) but she doesn't run well without it.  Since I'm pushing a jogger, I can't have her pulling at all.

I did pretty well with food today.  I had a Shakeology early this morning then I made Connor and Gavin some home made French toast for a late breakfast (whole wheat bread, 2 eggs, 1 cup of almond milk, and cinnamon)  I did put some syrup on it, and it wasn't even good syrup :(  I was really good at dinner, had a salad made with fresh baby spring greens with baked chicken and fresh Wisconsin cheese grated on top.  Then I experimented with some egg plant after dinner, a neighbor gave me some and I put some in a soup I made, the rest I tried with different spices tonight.  Turned out pretty good!

How is everyone doing?  Did anyone get in any exercise today?  Remember that *anything* counts!!  Did you mow the lawn?  Walk the dog?  Tell me about it!!

22k(ilograms) for 22q

I mentioned a challenge in my last post.  I was hoping to pique some curiousity, but I'm going to need some help!  In order to make this challenge work, I need to spread the word!  Share this link with others and get them involved!

Some of you may have heard of the International 22q Foundation's 22k for 22q event.  The idea is that you run, walk, bike, or swim 22 kilometers to spread awareness and fundraise for 22q.  It's a great idea!  Sign up for a couple local races, or form a team and sign up for just 1 local race then add your kilometers together.  Wear a 22q shirt and get some pledges from friends and family.

I thought I'd do a spin on that.  22 *kilograms* for 22q.  What do I mean?  I mean let's all band together and support each other while we work towards making ourselves healthier.  In doing so, we make ourselves better equipped to face the challenges of raising a 22q child.  22 kilograms is about 48.5lbs.  I would love for a couple dedicated followers to join me in pledging to lose a combined 22 kilograms in the month of September.  If I get 10 people to do it, we only need to lose about 4.8lbs each!  Totally doable!  If you all spread the word and we get more people joining us, I might just get to add a zero to that number and make it 220 kilograms for 22q!  Wouldn't that be awesome?!

Here's how it will work.  If you're "in", if you want to do this, then reply to this blog post with the following:  My name is <name> and my starting weight is X.  *Everyone put X as your starting weight!*  Then each week on Monday we will report in with:  My name is <name> and my weight is X minus ___"  So if you lost 2lbs you'd say "X minus 2".  That way we're not ever saying our actual weights ;)

I'll tally it up each Tuesday and post the results for the week!  We can all encourage each other in the comments (trust me, I can be quite the cheerleader!)  If you found some new recipe you like post it!  If you decided to start working out, tell us about it!  Hopefully we'll all feed off the positive energy!

I've gotten a bit of a head start by finding some routes around my neighborhood that I can run or walk.  This is from a webpage called Map My Run which has lots of neat features that I'm still learning.

Here are some pictures from some recent runs or walks I've done too!

So, who's in?  Who wants to do this with me?  When's the last time you did something *for yourself* that also helped your family?  It's time to think about yourself and your own health, if you commit to it you'll find quickly that it's positive for everyone!

Recharging the soul!

This is a long post, and it has a lot of pictures, you have been warned!!  But I promise it's worth the read.  Special needs parenting is a HARD thing to do.  Really hard.  It is *SO* important to learn to find balance in this journey, or you won't survive.  Sure, you will be ALIVE, but you won't be *living*.  Or your marriage won't last.  Or you'll quickly get depressed.  That's no way to LIVE.  I want to LIVE my life.  Here's how I'm doing that.

I haven't blogged for a month.  Not because I was lazy, quite the opposite actually.  But because this month was all about my husband.

Daddy's Home!!!!

After being gone for SIX months, daddy came home!  It was ah-mazing!  But only for 30 days.  So we made the best of those 30 days!  After a few days at home having fun around town, we headed to a hotel in Cincinnati for a 22q conference!  

If you haven't met the 22q bus yet, you're missing out!!!

After the conference we said goodbye to the boys (who were left in VERY good hands!) and Jim and I headed to JAMAICA!!!  You see, we got married 10.5 years ago, we were both young and we never got to honeymoon.  Then we started having babies.  In the 10 years we've been married, we've lived in 5 houses (which is impressive considering the last 6 years have been in the same house!), 2 states, and 2 countries.  The boys are now 8, 6, and almost 4.  It's been craziness.  We *needed* this.  With him being gone for the past 6 months, the timing was perfect.  

Jamaica was...awe-some.  It was the perfect mix of fun and relaxation.  

And don't forget the food!  Breakfast and lunch every day at the resort weren't anything that amazing, but WOW the dinners were fantastic!  I literally stuffed myself every single night!  

 This is tuna that friends of ours caught on a deep sea fishing tour!  They brought it back to the resort and asked the chef to cook it for us.  It was the best tuna I've ever had!!

We stayed at Sandals Montego Bay, and one of the things that I really liked about the resort is that they have a dress code.  By day it's beach casual.  But at night everything becomes very classy and elegant.  So I had fun dressing up!  (sorry for all of the "selfies" lol!)  

Don't worry, I have plenty of couples pictures too :)  

 Can you tell we had a GREAT time???  I mean really, just look at us!!!

This trip was exactly what we needed.  To be alone together, to recharge our exhausted souls, to remember what it was like when we were dating (not that we ever dated in Jamaica!)  

And when we got back, we kept it up!  Just this time with the kids.  First, Connor had a HUGE 22q awareness event!  He was nominated as a Home Run For Life Hero by Dayton Children's Hospital in conjunction with Blue Cross Blue Shield, so he was honored during a Dayton Dragons baseball game! It was a big deal.  He was interviewed for a radio spot, there was a newspaper article about him, his story was in the program the day of the game, we were given a fancy suite, and he was introduced on the field between innings where a video was played about him and he got to run the bases while everyone cheered him on.  I was truly blown away by the generosity of everybody, and I took full advantage of the opportunities to spread 22q awareness every step of the way!  Here's some of the info that was written about him!

Home Run For Life

In that link is a short video with his story and pictures of him, plus his sweet little voice at the end!  I could listen to that all day :)  There will be more pictures and more video from that day, but they aren't available yet.  Suffice it to say that the entire event was just out of this world!  A friend who was at the game texted me later and said "I guarantee you hundreds of people googled 22q from their phones right there at the baseball field tonight"  I sure hope she's right!  

After the excitement of that, we all packed up and headed to Michigan where our family is.  After all, they hadn't seen Jim in 6 months either!  The trip was wonderful!  We relaxed on the beach of Lake Michigan, rode bikes around Mackinac Island, rode horses at my mom's house, and rode a dune buggy on the sand dunes!  

After coming home it was time for school to start!  We're so proud of our three BIG boys!  Gavin is in preschool, Connor is in first grade, and Ian is in third grade!  Here's to a wonderful school year for everyone!

Whew!  And I'm not done yet!  There's still MORE!  Just this last weekend we had an opportunity to attend a fundraising event for A Kid Again.  A Kid Again is an organization that does "adventures" for kids with life threatening illnesses.  Every adventure is for the whole family, and every one is just amazing!  A wonderful man named Tim Riger was doing an ultra run and raised over $5000 for A Kid Again!  We went out to watch him finish his run (some people were out there the whole time!) and there was a news reporter there.  I was asked if I wanted to say a few words, so I did!  Here's what you get from me with 30 seconds notice on a hot day in the woods, no makeup, no script!  HAHA!  In the editing they ended up not mentioning that Connor has 22q, but that's okay, the point was that Mr Rieger did something amazing for some wonderful kids.  Check out the video and article!

A Kid Again ultra run

Here's a picture of the boys that day (my three boys plus a friend who came with us!)  

Like I said, it's been quite a month!  Unfortunately the month has to end, and daddy has to leave again, but we'll make it, just like we did the last six months.  

Which brings me back to why I started this blog.  How do I keep my sanity while raising three boys, one with 22q, alone for the next six months?  

I run.  

Obviously there wasn't much running that happened this last month.  And that's fine with me.  I may have gained a few pounds, and that's absolutely fine with me too.  None of that is important.  What was important was that I enjoyed my husband and my children.  But now it's back to taking care of *myself*.  

Today I ran 2 miles then later I walked 2 miles with the family.  It wasn't far, and I can already feel it in my shins.  But I needed it.  I also started a diet overhaul today, something else that I desperately needed to do.  Now it's time to set some goals.  Right now my next race is a fundraiser run for A Special Wish Foundation, who granted Connor his Wish in 2011.  All of the boys are running it with me!  Well, okay, Ian is running it with me, Connor and Gavin will be in the jogging stroller and I'll be pushing them!  More information to come on that, I plan to do some good fundraising for BOTH A Special Wish AND The Dempster Family Foundation!  Here's some info about the race:

Special Wish Run

Now a 5K race isn't far.  I could run that easily today.  And I won't be running that one very fast since the boys will be with me.  So I have my eyes open for another race sometime this Fall.  One that I can really *run*.  If anyone reading this is from the Dayton area, if you know of a good race, please tell me!  I'm back on track people, give me a few weeks and I'll be ready to go!  

Be sure to check back on this blog later this week, I've got a challenge in mind for you followers.  I really hope I can inspire some of you to work on recharging your souls, maybe we can support each other!