Week 2, are you still hanging in there?

I've heard that it takes 2-6 weeks for something new to become a habit.  This is crunch time people, these next weeks are the times that will decide if you are in this for real!  Are you dedicated?  Are you ready to make some serious changes?

My name is Samantha and my week 2 weight is X-5!

WOOHOO!

That's great, but unfortunately I was as low as X-7 until I fell to temptation of some good food this weekend and wasn't able to go on any runs (although I did walk several miles)

This is the boys at Charleston Falls, a park near us with trails through the woods.  We walked at least 2 miles, and a lot of it was up and down steps and rocks.  

Also this tends to be my heavier time of the month on any given month, lovely how all this female stuff works, isn't it?!

But, I am going to try my best to lose those 2lbs and more this week!

I did get 2 runs in this week, and I downloaded a cool new app on my phone that tracks my run as I go.  It counts off the miles for me while I'm running, then sends a run overview to my Facebook page for me!  It's been fun to play with it, but it drains my battery really fast.

This is me all flushed and sweaty at the end of a 2.6 mile run this week!  

This is going to be a difficult week, I'm going to have to get creative with exercise.  Today I started babysitting a friend's 2 year old who is very medically complex.  I was able to sneak away from a shower, and he napped through an interview and photo shoot I did for our local newspaper, but otherwise I wasn't able to go on a run or walk.  Tomorrow (Tuesday) Connor has a big appointment with his new Neurologist at Cincinnati Children's.  I have to take my friend's 2 year old with us, and we have to leave at 6am, so it'll be a busy morning!  Then in the evening there's a picnic for my oldest son's gifted school.  *IF* my friend picks up her son in the afternoon, then I can hopefully squeeze in a workout at my church before the picnic.  Then Wednesday my day should be more free until evening when we have speech therapy then Awana at church, there shouldn't be any problem with me getting a run in in the morning I hope.  Thursday is the same, I'm busy that night (babysitting again, different family this time!) but the morning should be free.  Friday the boys are off school and we're heading to Columbus for a 22q conference, so probably no running that day.  Saturday is the conference, so no run, but Sunday we're going to King's Island, a local amusement park, for a fundraising event so I should get in plenty of walking all day.

Whew!!!!  And I thought I was busy when I was a working mom!  Somehow I'm just as busy as a stay at home mom!

How are the rest of you doing?  Keep encouraging each other, you can do this!  Are you starting to feel better at all?  Noticing any changes?  I'm already seeing some clothes fitting just a bit easier now, which is a welcome change!!

Week 1 results!!!!

It's Monday, which means the end of week 1.  Time to report in!!

My name is Samantha, and my weight is X-2.2lbs  :)

Congratulations to Becky (X-2.4), Dan (X-5), and Fiona (X-2).

That means, just the four of us who have checked in as of now, have already lost 11.6lbs, or 5.26 kilograms towards our goal of 22 kilograms!  And it's only week one with only 4 people responding!!!

You guys blow me away :)

But more importantly, I hope that you are blowing yourselves away!   You should feel really proud for this initial accomplishment!  We all are facing a lot of personal challenges, but somehow each of you found a way to focus on YOURSELF this last week.  I'm really proud of you all :)

So, let's focus on this next week now!  Does anyone have any plans for exercising or eating better?  Is anybody trying any specific program, or are you just winging it?  I'd love to see some more of you sharing your daily activities *and* challenges with me!  Let me cheer you on, let me be your shoulder to cry on too.

Here's to week 2!!

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5k for 22q!

Happy to say I can report that I have achieved 5k for 22q!

A 5 kilometer race AND 1.3 kilogram weight loss!  1.3 kilograms down, 20.7 kilograms to our goal of 22k(ilograms) for 22q!  I've had several people ask me about the shirts I wear when I run, I'm getting the word out there, one run at a time.

I've been having some shin splint problems and Achilles pain, unfortunately this is pretty typical for me.  I've been doing a lot of icing and wearing a splint at night trying to help it.  I also took several days of rest this week, focusing instead on my diet since I couldn't run.

But not today!  Today I ran a race!  Just a 5k, nothing big or long, and I didn't try for any specific time. I ran with my oldest son, Ian (age 8) for part of the race, and both of us had a lot of fun!

How's everybody else doing?  Anybody take up some new exercise?  Anybody working on changing their diets any?  I've been drinking Shakeology every day to ensure I'm getting the right nutrients.  In addition I've been eating some rather tasty salads, made with lots of baby greens, sometimes topped with chicken sometimes with sauteed mushrooms and onions.  I've also been working on adding more water into my day, I realized I had let myself turn into a camel!  But now I'm drinking at least 40oz of plain water, which is still under what I need to be drinking, but it's definite progress.

Along with drinking, I'm sad to report that McDonald's ended their summer-long any size iced coffee for a dollar special.  But, I'm also happy to report that McDonald's ended their summer-long any size iced coffee for a dollar special!!  Huh?  That's right, I'm sad, but I'm happy.  I thoroughly enjoyed drinking them all summer, but my waist line is showing it!  Do any of you have a food or drink that you just love, even if you know if's horrible for you?

Monday is when the first reports are due from everyone!  I'll post then and you can all add your results to the comments.  But please tell me about your progress!

My name is Samantha, and my starting weight is X

I'm so happy!  I had no idea if anyone would think my 22k(ilograms) for 22q was a good idea or not, I had no idea if I'd get anyone to join me, but today it officially kicks off and I have 12!!  That means only about 4lbs each to meet our goal!!

Now, since today is the day it starts, our next "weigh in" isn't until *NEXT* Monday.  That means we still have all week to recruit more people!  Is it possible to double our numbers you think?

So here's what I'm envisioning.  This isn't just about us getting healthy (although that's the main objective!) this is about us getting healthy WHILE spreading word about 22q!  So post about this on your Facebook pages!  Tell friends what you're doing!  Maybe each week when you share your progress, include a fact about 22q.  If you are working out, wear *something* that says 22q on it (your zoo shirt, a Dempster Foundation shirt, even a plain white t-shirt that you took a black marker to and wrote something about 22q!)  It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to be expensive.  Post pictures of yourself wearing that shirt and working out.  Walk your dog with that shirt on, mow your grass with that shirt on, somehow make 22q part of this journey.

If you take pictures and you want to share them, post them on my son's Facebook page and I will share them!  If you haven't liked his page yet, head over there and like it, then start posting pictures of your workouts!

Has anybody done anything yet?  Has anybody made some changes they want to share?  Post in the comments!  Tell me what you ate today!  Or tell me what you *didn't* eat today!  Did you pass up a second piece of pie at that Labor Day picnic?  GOOD FOR YOU!!!

I did 2.89 miles with my dog, Ruby today.  It was *hot* and she wasn't feeling it today, she made me stop in the shade a few times and I ended up cutting the run short because of it.  I guess dogs have bad days too, right?  Look at poor Ruby in this picture!!

I was hoping to get in another 1 mile walk with the kids tonight, but things kind of fell apart after dinner, so I declared early to bed for everyone.  Is it a full moon or something?

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!