She is Beautiful Pinkest 5K

Last Sunday I ran in my first race, the She.Is.Beautiful Pinkest 5K, in preparation for the Team GSF race in November.

 

 

 

The dress code was PINK!

 

I'm so glad I had my friend Meredith with me.  Neither of us are really runners nor have we ever ran a race.  We had no idea how to pin our numbers on correctly or how to tie the little computer chip thing that calculates your time to your shoes.  Thankfully the group of women (no boys allowed in this race!) were really nice and encouraging throughout the whole day and helped us navigate through all the details.

 

 Action shot!

 

Thank goodness we had Andra and Elena running with us as well.  They set the pace for us and kept us going.  You can view a professional picture they took of us running here.

 

My only goal for the race was to keep running.  I didn't want to walk at all during the 3.1 miles.  After having had knee surgery on both knees a few years ago, in order to keep myself from getting reinjured, I really have to concentrate on my stride and how I land on my feet.  If I hit the ground in the slightest way where my knee is not tracking properly, it irritates my knees and I have to slow down or walk. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I accomplished my goal of running the entire race and REALLY surprised when we all finished together at a time of 31:06 which is a 10 minute mile (I am like a turtle running so this was fast for me!).  After we crossed the finish line I knew that I would be fine for the relay in November and I actually think I would be fine running a 10K next time.  It also helped that we ran along one of the most beautiful parts of Santa Barbara, starting at East Beach and then down to the Four Seasons Biltmore overlooking Butterfly Beach.  And holy cow, there are some athletes in this town, we watched women race past us in the 10K who were at the finish line resting by the time we made it in.  Some of them ran less than a 6 minute mile - WOW!

Our Team GSF practice race picture

 

And this is the reason I am running in November, so that one day Gwendolyn can too!  To learn more about my upcoming race and to support the cause, click HERE.

 

 

Done With Diapers!

Big, BIG milestone in the Fallon household, Thatcher is done with diapers!

 

About a month ago, instead of buying another box of diapers, we went for pull-ups.  And then a few weeks after he got the hang of pull-ups, we switched to underwear and now we are not ever looking back.  He even stays dry and wears underwear during naps (at night we use pull-ups still). 

 

Proud of you Thatchie-Boy - next stop, preschool (soon)! Slow down with all this growing up stuff except for the diaper part, we are fine with that.  ;)

 

 

Flamenco

Last week Samantha started flamenco dance lessons at Linda Vega Dance Studio.

 

 

Thatcher is not dancing but he wants to.  He also doesn't like to be upstaged by his sister so he insists on a photo by himself too.

 

 

 

 

Samantha was a little shy her first class but by the second week she really started to shake-it a bit more.  Several of the dancers in her class have been doing it for over a year and they are really good.  Sofia is the student teacher in her class which makes it even more fun for Samantha. We still need to get Sam real flamenco shoes (she is wearing tap shoes) and some flamenco skirts, but I am holding off until we see if she sticks with this for at least a month or so.  We are two weeks in, so far so good!

Dance Party



 

Somebody stole the show this night during the dance party...

I'm Running for Gwendolyn!

Dear Friends and Family (and those I've never met who read this blog - hi!),

On November 10th, I am running in the Santa Barbara International Marathon Relay with a group of girls who all share the same passion as me in wanting to raise awareness and money to help put an end to Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

 

Our relay team: Leanne, Sarah, Me and Tia

 

 Most of you that are reading this know that our dear friends Bill and Victoria Strong’s daughter, Gwendolyn, was diagnosed with this brutal disease at 6 months old.

 

Gwendolyn

SMA is the #1 genetic killer of infants. Most babies do not survive past the age of two. Gwendolyn has been the exception and is still struggling with this debilitating disease. She is nearing her 5^th birthday and cannot walk, sit-up, speak or even swallow. She eats via a feeding tube and breathes with the assistance of a machine.

Gwendolyn and Samantha

 

What this disease does not hinder is her cognitive ability or her playful spirit. Gwendolyn is my daughter’s friend, her playmate. They play dress-up, watch movies, have tea parties and sing together.



Make-up and Dress-up with the Girls (and Jack!)

 

The fact that Gwendolyn has to do all of this while attached to machines is not fair. No child should have to go through this.

 



Bill, Victoria and Gwendolyn Strong

 

Throughout all of this, Bill and Victoria are the most positive, inspirational couple I have ever met. I am so proud of them and what they are doing in creating the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation to save their daughter and every other person out there that is battling SMA. 

 

 

My trainer and me.



 Running is not my strong point (thank you to my relay team members for letting me have the shortest leg of the race!), but if it gets us a step closer to ending SMA, I’m game!

Never Give Up.

 

I am running so that one day sweet Gwendolyn can too!

 

Gwendolyn surrounded by all of her friends who are rooting for her!

 

My goal is to raise $1,000.  You can help me by clicking HERE and donating online through the secure website.  No donation is too small, every dollar counts, ($5 or $10 would mean so much to me.)

 

Gwendolyn is running in the race too.  Bill will be pushing Gwendolyn alongside Victoria in the 1/2 marathon. 

Many thanks for your support and to learn more about the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, please visit thegsf.org.

 

 Sincerely,

 

Ronda

Thatcher Turns 2 1/2

Oh, where do I start.....

Thatcher is obsessed with wearing pajamas.  He always picks out some odd ball shoe choice too, usually it is rain boots.  In the picture above he chose two different shoes that were both way too big for him.  The Cars lunchbox is another obsession.  He still likes dinosaurs but has made room for the movie Cars although he has never once lasted longer than five minutes of watching that movie.  Spider Man is another sudden favorite too.

See what I mean about the shoes, those are Sam's pink flip flops..... Thatcher has won the battle over clothes, we are over it!

 

 

I finally had to pitch these boots that he has been wearing since he could walk because they had fallen apart so badly.

 

Some days he refuses to take his bike helmet off. 

I am not kidding, he will wear it ALL day! 

These are pajama pants that he somehow made a dress (and tail) out of.....

 

And we've lost count on how many times he has hit his head in this exact same spot.

 

 

He has absolutely no interest in going to preschool.  He is just fine with the pick-up/drop-off process we do with Samantha.  10 minutes of playing while there is all he wants to do.  When I ask him if he is ready to go to school he says, "No, I want to stay home with Mommy and eat pasta."  As if that is what we do all day?!  

 

 

 

He logs an awful lot of time in our gym Kid's Club which he totally loves so I guess for now the gym is his preschool.  The plan is to enroll him in preschool next January, we shall see what happens.....

He has mastered his tricycle, scooter and balance bike so now he is on to his big boy bike (Thanks Connor!)

  

We are still working on the potty training.  He is actually more consistent with going #2 in the potty than #1.  When he does go in his diaper he will say to us, "something is heavy in my pants."  That always makes for interesting looks when he says it in public....

 

This week we've turned a corner with the potty training because I am bribing (rewarding) him with gum. 

 

Listening to Thatch talk is really cute.  His sentences usually start off with, Hey guys or Actually or Because.  And he's always saying, Just a second or Be right back!  Yesterday he surprised me by yelling out, What the heck?!

He can also tell you all about dinosaurs.  He'll go on and on about the omnivores, the herbivores, the carnivores.  He can point out a Quetzalcoatlus and a Trachodon to name a few.

 

When he knows he is in trouble he starts to cry and tries to pull a fast one on us by acting as if he is hurt.  As soon as we tell him he is in a time-out he all of a sudden has a tummy ache or needs a band aid for his finger.  When you confront him on what he did wrong he shakes his head back and forth and says very seriously, "I don't.  I don't do that.  No, I don't.  I didn't.  No, not me. Not Thatchie." 

He has started to skip naps once in a while. In fact, as I type this it sounds like he is building a bomb in his room with all the commotion I hear.  He is talking to himself, playing with toys and about every 15 minutes or so he is yelling for water, or a snack, or if he can get up or if Daddy is home...... 

He is still really sweet but there are days where I tease him that someone ate the sweet part of Thatchie to which he replys, "he is in my tummy."  The days that sweet Thatchie is in his tummy are days when I want to pull my hair out.  Sometimes he wants to be held all day, or left alone all day, or he is opening and closing the cupboards and refrigerator over and over and OVER!   

 

He is a pretty good eater or I should say snacker.  Snack, snack, snack - all day long!  Lollipop knows to stand underneath Thatcher's chair at dinner time since for the most part he feeds her his entire meal...

 

 

 

Most mornings he ends up in our bed.  I sometimes stare at his little chest moving up and down as he breathes and I can't get enough of his little shoulders.

 

 

He is so peaceful (and quiet!) - I just take it all in because I know as soon as those eyes open it is GO time with all the energy this little guy has.

 

Thatchie, your daddy and I love, Love, LOVE you so much.  It is hard to even remember life without you.  You have such a sweet personality and you march to the beat of your own drum. 

 

And finally, here is our Sammie at 2 1/2.  More pictures here.

 

TK Update

So, week one started off great and didn't end so great, and now that we've made it through week two and three, I can officially say we have a happy, HAPPY student in TK.  Phew! 

 

There were still some tears at the start of week two but each day they got progressively less.  I also promised her that I would come visit her during the school day to check-in on her.  I did that for the first two days and honestly when I showed up she would give me the why are you here mom look.... Um, I am here because I said I would be and it was the only way you would let me leave!  That routine turned into me assuring Samantha that her teacher and the aide had my number and she could ask them to call me at any point that she was feeling sad or if she wanted to go home.  No calls.  And now when I drop her off we have no tears, only hugs, kisses and high fives!  

I have to say, Todd and I went back and forth wondering if we were doing the right thing.  I sought advice from friends, other parents, family, teachers and even spent some time on the phone with her Principal and most assured me that I needed to stick it out a bit longer and that this was totally normal.  I'm so glad we did!  I know we are still in the trial period so who knows what will happen but thankfully there are no more nerves on my end and no more tears on Samantha's end. 

Here are some school related pics from the past few weeks:

 



 

These qualify as "school related" since she technically should have been at school this day.  Instead, she played hooky and spent the afternoon swimming with her grandparents.

 

 

Thatch is fine with missing school too ;)

 

This is Sammie at Auntie Holley's house having a fashion show while Todd and I were at Back To School night. 

 

 

Thatcher's fashion sense just keeps getting better and better don't you think?

 

We also had Sam's parent/teacher conference and assessment.  The test was actually pretty challenging. I was really proud of Samantha.  Her teacher thinks she is on track to reading the beginning reader BOB books by the end of the year.  I have to give credit to the Leap Frog Letter Factory and Super Why for helping her with this (hooray for the cheapest babysitter out there, TV!)   How cool would it be for her to read herself to sleep at night?  Hee hee....

 

 

Actually those early reading books will be good for Todd and me too because we may or may not have already turned to Google to help Samantha finish her homework.... 

 

 

 

If you ask Samantha what her favorite part of school is she says, "recess."  The giant slide is a real draw!

 

 

The desk she got for Christmas last year is coming in handy now.

 

Daddy even refinished it to match the furniture in our house.

 

 

This past Friday parents got to join their children for lunch at school.  Samantha's eyes lit up when she spotted Thatcher and me. 

 

Samantha with her friend and classmate, Mara.

 

And now we have a mix of worksheets and artwork on our refrigerator. 

 

Keep up the good work Sammie!