Virtual Holiday Run (TNT fundraiser) PRICE REDUCED!!

Here's a little motivation to get at least one run in between Christmas and New Years!  I'm doing a Virtual Holiday Run as a fundraiser for my Team in Training fundraising.  It's really simple – all you have to do is go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/laniyearicks , donate a minimum of $5, and in the "message" box put "Virtual Holiday Run"!  Then anytime between Christmas and New Years you go run, walk, bike, skateboard, rollerblade, pogo stick, swim, etc. a 5K (or more or less).  Feel free to come back here and post a reply with what you did and your time.  Heck, rock 3000 times in a rocking chair, stand in the shower for 30 minutes, or do nothing at all if that's what you want.  Your registration fee for the Holiday Run will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and it's tax deductible for you!

But wait!  There's more!  I will randomly select up to 3 winners on New Years Day, and the winner(s) will get a $25 gift card to GoSport ID!!  How's that for a deal? Pay $5 and you might get a $25 gift card.  The number of winners will be determined by how much participation there is.  If only 10 people or less sign up, I will give away 1 gift card.  If between 11 and 24 sign up, I will give away 2 gift cards.  More than 25 and I will give away all 3 gift cards.  So tell all your friends and join the fun!!

First week back to work

I went back to work this past Monday and Thomas started day care.  Tears were shed on my part Monday morning after I dropped Thomas off, but I survived.  It helps that I get to go nurse him at lunch and have some snuggle time for a little while.  I'm thankful that my unit is supportive of moms, especially those of the breastfeeding variety.  My first week back was short and that was nice.  Tuesday was Thomas' 2 month check up, so I only worked half a day and then I spent 3 hours at the hospital.  T's appointment went well – he is now 11 pounds, 3 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long.  He got 3 shots and an oral vaccine and did really well with them all.  He cried a little bit, but not too much.  After his appointment, I had something to take care of at the Tricare office and then an 45 minute or so wait at the pharmacy.  T's doc prescribed some infant Tylenol to help with the pain from the vaccines.  Tuesday evening was a meet and greet and informational meeting for the Thanksgiving Adopt-a-Soldier program and we met our two very nice Soldiers. 

Wednesday after work I finally did my Thanksgiving grocery shopping and bought my turkey and everything.  The turkey was thawed in time for me to put it in the oven a little before noon on Thursday.  Ryan picked up our Soldiers at 9 and we spent the day watching football (YAY for a Packers win!!) and eating.  I cooked my first-ever full Thanksgiving dinner and everything turned out really well.  My turkey was a success – used one of the oven bags and it was really moist and tender.  We also had mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, salad, cranberry sauce, fresh homemade bread, green bean casserole, and pickles.  And we had pumpkin pie for dessert later in the day.  Robert had a lot of fun playing Legos, various games, and drawing with the two Soldiers.  Ryan brought them back to post in time for their 9 p.m. curfew.

Today we all slept in and that was nice.  I went for a 3.3 mile run and then this evening we ventured out.  We only ate dinner at IHOP and then went to Best Buy and Target. We finally got a crib mattress and Ryan will be putting Thomas' crib together tomorrow.

Go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/laniyearicks to help move my dollar sign down the road!!

Let the voting begin!

I am in the running for a grant from Chocolate Milk Refuel. If I am selected to be a member of Team Refuel, I will be putting my grant toward my Team in Training fundraising and the money will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please go to http://www.refuelwithchocolatemilk.com/grants/vote/ and vote for me once every day through December 15!!  Tell all your friends and family so they can vote for me as well!

My Pampered Chef party was a great success and I would like to thank everyone that placed an order.  I will be getting over $200 toward my fundraising from that fundraiser.  Soon I'll find out how my Dine to Donate day went at Applebee's today, and this Saturday I'm doing a bike wash at my local Harley Davidson dealership.

I'll be heading back to Arizona tomorrow.  It's going to be a long day of traveling, but it will be nice to get back to my other two guys. They miss me and Thomas and are looking forward to our return.

Life as a Stay at Home Mom

I've really been enjoying my time being a stay at home mom with Thomas and I'm not really looking forward to going back to work.  I enjoy snuggling on the couch with my little man.  I enjoy going for walks with him in the snugli and runs with him in the stroller (just the regular one still, but it soon will be the jogger).  I enjoy being a soccer mom and going to Robert's soccer games and cheering for team Dynamite.  I enjoy not really having a schedule and just kind of doing whatever. But that must end soon.  I only have a week of leave left and then I'll be going back to work next Monday.  I know I'll be probably be fine once I'm back into the swing of things, but just thinking about it isn't fun. 

Right now I'm at my parents' house in Michigan with Thomas.  My grandmother passed away recently and I'm home for the funeral.  Of course, since I'm breastfeeding Thomas, he got to come home with me.  He did really well on his first airplane flights and we had a really good trip.  Going through security in Tucson was a lot easier than I had expected – I figured I'd have to take Thomas out of the snugli, but they allowed me to wear him through. Not only does Southwest airlines do early boarding for families with small children between the A and B sections, but on Veterans Day, they early boarded active duty military in the middle of the A section, so I was able to board even earlier.  I headed right to the back of the plane and my seat mates ended up being grandparents and the grandma was so sweet.  She's a nurse at the VA hospital in Tucson so we talked a lot about that and of course about babies and stuff.  And she had no problem whatsoever with me breastfeeding Thomas on the plane!  That was the flight from Tucson to Chicago-Midway. From Chicago to Detroit, I had the back row of seats to myself!!  That was really nice. My brother met us in Detroit and then we drove to Mom & Dad's in the U.P. It was a long day of traveling.  Yesterday I went for a 5.8 mile run and that was nice – I really enjoyed the cool, crisp, clean air of the U.P. 

My fundraising for Team in Training is going well.  I'm almost to halfway and still plenty of time for you to make a donation. Just click the link below my tickers. My Pampered Chef fundraising show will be closing tomorrow afternoon and I'm almost to $1500 in orders – 15% of my total sales will go toward my fundraising!  And I'm doing a Dine to Donate day at Applebee's in Sierra Vista tomorrow as well – 10% of the sales of people who mention Team in Training or Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will go toward my fundraising as well.

Go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/laniyearicks to help move my dollar sign down the road!!