San Jose Half-Marathon Recap and Thank You!

I can't believe that the race was just two weeks ago! The day started at 5 AM for me since I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep because I was so nervous. I went to Eunice and Wonki's house to carpool with them and a few other members of the team. If you ever run this race, seriously consider taking public transportation because we were stuck in the off-ramp traffic for half an hour. This is not good when the race is starting at 8 AM and you are still on the ramp at 7:45. Somehow we made it off the ramp and drove to a parking structure close to the start line. Because Sophie was with us, we were able to park in a handicapped spot, which made it possible for us to catch the other members of the Cure CMD team to take a photo before we all ran to the start line.

While we were stuck in traffic, we all compared notes to see what songs we had on our various Apple devices. I had loaded on H's iTouch all my favorite Korean gayo dance songs and the songs that my FB friends had recommended, including both Eye of the Tiger and the Theme from Rocky. When we ran to the start line I took out the iTouch and put the headphones into my ears. I tried to start my playlist. I looked and looked and then suddenly realized that I HAD THE WRONG ITOUCH! It was R's iTouch, not H's! (Don't think my kids are spoiled; we didn't buy either of these devices, one was a gift and another was won at a golf tournament raffle.) And of course the only songs on R's iTouch were their favorite Laurie Berkner CDs, Victor Vito and Whaddaya Think of That, and Dora's World Adventure. Somehow I just couldn't run while listening to these songs so I put the iTouch back in my Gu pouch.

It really was a good thing that the race was the Rock N Roll Half-Marathon because there were bands every few miles that helped break up the monotony of running. It was also a good thing that Stewart met me in mile 7 and gave me turbo boosts whenever I started feeling tired. Having someone push you from behind when you're running uphill helps immensely!!!! I finished the race in 2 hours and 16 minutes, only 11 minutes slower than I had run as a 22 year old. I thought of Sophie and how I couldn't let her down and ran the entire way. By the time we got to the finish line, I was so tired I had no kick left. When I was 20-something I always had something left at the end of a race and would speed up to finish strong. As a 30-something mom of two kids, I was glad just to finish!

After we crossed the finish line, Stewart helped me walk to the bag check. I didn't see any other Cure CMD team members so I started walking with Stewart to where he had parked the car--at the mile 7.5 mark. I knew if I sat down I would be demolished. This turned out to be the smartest thing I could have done. After my previous long races, the next day I wasn't able to walk and my legs took weeks to recover. Because of the long walk back to the car (it was only 4 miles from the finish line because of how the course was set up), I was tired and had a bad headache that day, but the next day I felt pretty good. I could walk without support!

I am proud to have run this race as a member of Cure CMD. When I received Sophie's thank you video, I knew I had to share it with everyone who had sponsored me and contributed to the effort. Thank you! Your donations will help find a cure for Sophie and all the other children with Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. Every dollar makes such a huge impact because this is a rare disease that does not get much attention or funding. Thank you for helping Sophie!

From Left to Write Book Club: The Kids Are All Right

Today’s post is part of the From Left to Write online book club. The idea of this book club is not to write a book review but to write a post in which the blogger connects that month’s book to an experience from his/her own life. October’s book is The Kids Are All Right, a memoir written by four siblings: Diana, Liz, Amanda and Dan Welch.

When I first saw the book title "The Kids Are All Right" I thought that it was somehow connected to the movie with the same name. It's not. It's a memoir in which the four Welch siblings, orphaned in their youth in the mid-1980s, recount by turns their memories and impressions of that painful time. What really struck me while I was reading this book was the amount of drug use that went on among the older siblings. It's really amazing that they are all alive, much less "all right." I think if I had read this book a few months ago, I would have judged these siblings very harshly because of it. 

Two months ago, I went to the GYN for my annual check-up. I talked to the doctor about how seriously ill I felt for two weeks out of every month right before and during the monthly gift from nature. I had spoken with a male GYN about six years ago about this and he did not take me seriously at all. He told me to take some B vitamins and exercise more. I ended up leaving that practice because of his callous attitude, but his dismissal of my symptoms prevented me from bringing it up until this last visit. Well, this time around, my female GYN did take me seriously. After listening to all my symptoms the doctor said I had premenstral dysphoric disorder (PMDD). She prescribed a drug that I should take during the two weeks every month. I was hesitant to do it, but I knew I had no choice, at least this month, because the two weeks coincided with the San Jose Half Marathon. I knew I couldn't run it if I felt half-dead. So I took the drug. And it was AMAZING. I couldn't believe I had suffered with the extreme pain and fatigue I felt every month for the past TWENTY years (other than the months I was pregnant and the two months after giving birth each time). In high school I would go to the nurse's office and sleep there for half the day because of the pain. At work, when I had my own office, I would lie down on the ground because of the dizziness and fatigue. Sometimes I would feel like I was unfit to drive. And Stewart can tell you how irritable I would get during those weeks. I can't believe there was something that could have helped me avoid all that agony, maybe not in high school but at least during my adult years.

During those two weeks this past month, as usual every morning I woke up and felt like digging my way into the ground so I could reach my final resting spot. Then I would take the pill and about 20 minutes later, I would feel energized and myself again. It was like magic. I couldn't believe how effective it was! I would not have been able to complete the race training or made it through the move to San Jose if I hadn't taken the drug. If a little tiny pill could make such a difference, I can only imagine the euphoria and high from something like cocaine or amphetamines. And if both my parents were dead and my siblings and I were all separated like the Welch siblings, I can understand how those drugs may have helped me survive. I'm not excusing their illegal drug use, but I can empathize as to why they needed to do it. I'm glad that the Welch siblings made it through the years alive and are now sober.   

I don't know if I will continue to take the drug now that there is no compelling reason like the race to do it. I don't want to become dependent on it and need to get an increased dosage over time. But I'm glad I did it because it gave me an insight I didn't have before, since I had never taken drugs or smoked anything in my life. I had been so reluctant to take the drug because I felt there was stigma attached to it and that I was somehow weak for doing it. But sometimes it takes more strength to admit you need help, chemical or otherwise. This is a very personal topic and I debated whether I should blog about it. When I thought about the past 20 years where I could have had relief if someone I knew had talked to me about it, I knew I had to share. If you are a silent sufferer of PMDD like I was, there are options out there. You don't have to be in pain! It is a recognized illness and treatable with medication. You can find more information and see if your symptoms correlate with the disorder here and here. Good luck!

I received a free copy of The Kids Are All Right as part of the book club. If you would like to read the story of how these siblings made it through incredible hardship and pain, you can buy the book here. More information is available on their website.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

Random Mommy and family moved last week to San Jose. And I made the drive by myself because Stewart had to drive the other car. This is my top ten list on what to do on the drive to prevent complete meltdown of toddlers in the backseat:

1) Buy or rent a minivan. We bought a minivan right before our move so we could transport a lot of the things we would need initially before the movers would be able to bring our stuff. It gave the boys a sense of continuity to have so many familiar things with them in corporate housing so I'm really glad we did it. It also helped with the drive because they loved being in it.

2) Stop at the McDonald's off I-5 when you pass Castaic. It has a Play Place so the boys were able to run around and burn off some energy.

3) Ration the entertainment. The first two hours we listened to Wiggles and Elmo CDs. Hours 2-5 they watched Blues Clues on the minivan's built-in DVD. Hours 5-7 they alternated took turns playing the small black phone (iTouch) and big black phone (iPad). Yes, it took seven hours!

4) Stop smartly at the Kettleman City fuel/food area. Don't make the mistake like we did in the past of stopping in the McDonald's because it's the first turn off. Go all the way to the Jack in the Box and you will be rewarded with CLEAN bathrooms and functional A/C.

5) Bring cash. The gas station in Kettleman City posted $3.19/gallon. Of course you can't see on the sign from the road that this is a cash price. I didn't even see the credit price until I swiped my credit card and I noticed the price was $3.34/gallon. A big difference but one most people would probably pay since it's just a one time deal during a road trip. I just didn't like the dishonesty of it so I stopped the transaction and went inside and paid cash. Luckily I didn't give the movers as big a tip as I had planned so I had enough to get us to San Jose!

6) Save a secret goody bag for hour 5. My good friend Carmen had given the boys new lunch boxes as good-bye presents. When they started melting down, I passed back the Cars and Spiderman lunch boxes filled with all the things little kids love, namely chocolate chip cookies and fruit snacks. Gracias Carmen!!!

7) Have someone call you every hour. Stewart didn't make the drive on the same day so he was able to call me every hour to keep me alert. Even with a huge iced coffee at the McDonald's stop, I was still fatigued from working all day before with the movers and then running 3 miles that morning to keep up my half-marathon training. Built-in minivan bluetooth--sweeeeet!

8) Pack comfort items. They had their new pillow pets and Aden and Anais swaddle blankets. I had received the blankets at a celebrity mom/blogger event the week before and these blankets were absolutely perfect. They were soft, yet not too hot since they are made of muslin.

9) Everyone wears diapers or at least a towel on their seat. R has just started potty-training but I didn't want any accidents so I had him wear pull-ups all the way up. I also covered H's seat JIC.

10) Freeze juice. If you put some frozen juice boxes or pouches in a hot/cold bag along with some from the fridge, then the frozen ones will melt so that they are still cold during the last phase of the trip.

And one bonus tip that I think is essential:

11) Drive during daylight. Especially if you're driving somewhere unfamiliar, being able to see where you are going is a huge plus!

Hopefully some of this will help you the next time you have to drive long distances with your kids without other adult assistance. Now that we've found our way to San Jose, the big unpack has started. My back is already in pain!

Cold Stone Creamery and Make-A-Wish Foundation-Sept 30 FREE Ice Cream and GIVEAWAY

CONGRATULATIONS TO #6 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! Please respond to my email within 72 hours. Thanks everyone for participating and look out for a new giveaway soon!
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While I've been training for the San Jose Half-Marathon and raising funds for Ullrich CMD research, I've been thinking a lot about kids who have life-threatening illnesses and how lucky I am that my boys are healthy. R was sick every day from month 1 to month 11 of his life with one infection after another. I remember being so frustrated and agonizing over what we could do to help him feel better. At one point the infection was so bad it spread throughout his upper respiratory tract and turned into pneumonia, for which he was hospitalized. Life finally got better for all of us when he had ear tubes surgery in month 11. When I think about what a big deal I made about it and compare it to what parents of really sick kids go through, I do feel a little ashamed of myself.

I found out about 11-year-old Kate at the Dinner’s On Us event sponsored by Bloganthropy.org and Child's Play Communications at the Blogher conference in New York last month. Kate has a life-threatening congenital spinal-cord condition. Her Make-A-Wish Foundation wish was to be the Cold Stone Tastemaster and she’s hoping ice cream lovers around the country will dig into the exclusive ice cream Creation that she developed. Cold Stone Creamery and the Make-A-Wish Foundation are inviting the country to help make Kate’s wish come true by participating in the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social.” I had a chance to sample her creation and was amazed that the young chef could come up with such a flavorful Creation. I was also inspired by her making a wish, unlike a trip to Disneyland or another amusement park, that means part of Kate's life will always be a part of our national zeitgeist.  


Throughout September, every Cold Stone store nationwide will sell paper wish stars for $1 each. The month-long fundraiser will culminate in the ninth-annual “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social” this Thursday, Sept. 30. During the social, Cold Stone locations will give away three-ounce portions of Kate’s Creation from 5-8 p.m., while encouraging guests to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Cold Stone Creamery has supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2002, generating more than $3.6 million in donations.

Kate, who hails from Tampa, Fla., was inspired to become this year’s Cold Stone Creamery wish kid after she attended last year’s social. An ice cream connoisseur, Kate discovered that a wish kid has the responsibility of creating an exclusive Creation for the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social.” When the Make-A-Wish Foundation asked Kate for her most heartfelt wish, she knew she was the perfect candidate for the position. In March, Kate traveled to the Cold Stone Creamery World Headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., to work with the Cold Stone Tastemaster to mix up this year’s Make-A-Wish Creation. Kate was named “Junior Tastemaster” and invented Kate’s Creation: caramel apple ice cream mixed with graham cracker pie crust, chocolate shavings and apple pie filling. Her exclusive Creation will be featured at Cold Stone locations throughout September. “My wish day at Cold Stone was the most delicious day of my life!” Kate exclaimed.

I hope Random Mommy ice cream lovers and supporters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation will be part of Kate’s wish and visit their local Cold Stone Creamery on Thursday, Sept. 30. You will get FREE ice cream this Thursday, and to help you continue to enjoy Cold Stone creations, Random Mommy is giving away one $10 Gift Card for future use!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Sunday, September 26, 2010 at 3:01 PM (Pacific) until Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite dessert, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.


Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)

1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Cold Stone Creamery for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples at the Bloganthropy event to facilitate my review.

Time for GLEE-Review

I always find that I give things that have some iota of a connection to me more of a chance than I would something that is completely foreign. I think most people do that. So when I found out that Glee was based on show co-creator Ian Brennan's experience in show choir at Prospect High (just over five miles away from my high school in Park Ridge, IL), I knew I had to check out the show. And another totally nonsensical reason why the show caught my attention is because "Gleester" is the nickname of one of my best friends. Of course that made me completely predisposed to like the show on a subconscious level.

And the verdict? I LOVE Glee. I am definitely a Gleek. What other show has four or five soundtracks from one season? I have the first two volumes, and hope to get the Madonna tribute and the Sectionals edition. From the beginning I thought that Lea Michele reminded me of Idina Menzel from Rent and Wicked, and at the end of the first season she guest-starred as Rachel’s biological birth mother! How cool is that!? Because my parents are immigrants I don’t know many of the classic rock and pop songs from decades ago. This show has definitely introduced me to a lot of old school songs. The renditions that the Glee cast were phenomenal, but I also love the original recordings to classic hits such as “Somebody to Love” and Heart’s “Alone.” I can’t wait until the second season starts next Tuesday (September 21), especially since Charice will be joining the cast. Don't be hating on her because of the botox!

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released Season 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray today and here are just a few of my favorite special features on the 7 disc DVD set:
Disc 1:
* *   Pilot - Director's Cut
Disc 4:
* *   Glee Music Video
* *   Full Length Audition Pieces
* *   Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session
* *   Dance Boot Camp
* *   Jane Lynch A to Glee
* *   Meet Jane Lynch
Disc 5:
* *   The Power of Madonna
Disc 7:
* *   Glee Sing-Along Karaoke
* *   Staying in Step With Glee
* *   Bite Their Style: Dress Like Your Favorite Gleek
* *   Behind the Scenes of the Madonna Episode
* *   Making of a Showstopper

If anyone wants to start a middle-aged mommy glee club with me, let me know! This show definitely makes me want to get up and sing. I hope the second season will be even better than the first!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a copy of the DVD for review purposes.

San Jose Half-Marathon October 3rd Run, Walk, Hobble, Crawl

UPDATE: I ran a 10K and didn't die! I even came in four minutes ahead of Stewart who had to stop and walk several times due to his bum knees (several combat tours will do that to you, my friend). The boys had a chance to catch up with Sophie the same weekend. Such silliness---it made me all the more determined to put on a good effort in this race for Sophie. Thanks to all my friends, family and readers for your support! I definitely could not do it without you!

Three things I've learned so far during training:

1. Do not have your husband drop you off 5.5 miles away from your house so you will be forced to run home if the route includes several stretches where there is no sidewalk or space on the road for you to run.
2. Do drink water before running a 10K because they might not have water stations till mile 3.5 and you might be near fainting by then.
3. Don't buy running shoes that are too small for you because they are on super clearance sale.

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On Sunday October 3rd I will be doing a half-marathon. Notice I don't say running, because there is no guarantee that I will be able to run the entire race. Of course that is my goal, but it has been 11 years since my last marathon and half-marathon. Any woman who has had kids can tell you that a 30-something mommy body is less cooperative than a 20-something single woman body. If you've been following my blog and my posts on the LA Moms Blog, you know that a 5K that I could run easily with minimal training back in the day, now knocks me out for over a week. Since the 5K in February, I didn't run much, but when I got an email from friends Eunice and Andrew asking me to join the Cure CMD Team for the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon on October 3rd to raise awareness and funds to support CMD research, I knew I had to do it.

Eunice and Andrew's daughter Sophie is battling a rare genetic disease called Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD). It is the most common type of CMD, a group of neuromuscular disorders that currently have no cure or treatment. Kids with CMD are born with serious muscle weakness, and their muscle tissue breaks down faster than it can repair or grow. Some children are never able to walk, others inevitably lose this ability by their teens, and all must eventually rely on respirators to breathe. The disease is often fatal by the time a child reaches his 20s. If I knew that H or R would die in his 20s, I would be a complete wreck everyday, thinking that some little thing might be the beginning of the end. Eunice and Wonki are definitely made of sterner stuff than I am because they have fought this fight with Sophie from the beginning with more grace and strength than I could have thought possible. I think that has translated into Sophie's personality, because she is sweet, funny, smart and generally in good spirits. Considering how difficult it is for her even to walk a single step, Sophie is truly an amazing little girl. Watch this video of Sophie walking:



I have joined the Cure CMD Team to raise funds to find a cure for Sophie and the other children with CMD. I started training at the end of July in time to run the BlogHer 5K and have been adding mileage slowly but surely every week. In a couple of weeks I'll be running a 10K in order to prepare my legs for race conditions. As a member of the team, I have committed to raising at least $500. So here's the pitch, if you are a regular Random Mommy reader, would you please consider donating $1 or more to help me reach my goal? I will give you a complete money-back guarantee. I may not run the entire way, but if I don't finish the race, I will return every cent of your money. I will track the progress of my training and my fundraising till race day. If you knew Sophie, you would agree that she deserves to have a full, rich long life. She was born just one month after H, and I joked after taking this photo that they would be prom dates as well as crib mates. Please help make that a possibility. If you need any more convincing, here is Sophie singing Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me:



Thanks everyone! You can donate under my name (scroll down) via Paypal on the Team Cure CMD site here.

Study Break GIVEAWAY-Marmaduke, Animal MASTERMIND and Rubik's Slide

CONGRATULATIONS TO #3, 4, 10, AND 5! PLEASE EMAIL ME IN THE NEXT 72 HOURS WITH YOUR PREFERENCE OF PRIZES. PRIZES WILL BE ALLOCATED IN THE ORDER OF YOUR RESPONSE TO MY EMAIL. Thank you to everyone who entered and stay tuned for more fun giveaways.
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In celebration of Back To School season, I thought what would be more appropriate than a Study Break Giveaway? After all, I could give away a ream of paper and some notebooks, but wouldn't you rather win a copy of the Marmaduke DVD or a cool new game you can share with your kids during a study break?

Last week, the boys and I went to the 3 Dog Bakery in Los Angeles to celebrate the Blu-ray and DVD release of Marmaduke on August 31. One of R's nicknames is R-Dog so he felt right at home with all the dogs that came to play at the party. He tried to feed all the dogs the special doggies treats and I think he may have overfed a few of them! But right when it was their turn to take a photo with Marmaduke himself, R became shy and only H got in the picture.

The boys loved the actual movie, even though they didn't know that it had all-star cast of voice talents, including Owen Wilson, George Lopez, Kiefer Sutherland, and Fergie. It's about what happens when Marmaduke (Wilson) moves to a new neighborhood (Kansas to the OC!) with his family. The super-sized teenage dog soon discovers he just doesn’t fit in—literally! Marmaduke can’t help being a one-dog wrecking crew, causing fur-flying chaos wherever he roams. But, with the help of his friend, Carlos the Cat (Lopez), Marmaduke finally gets his bearings and becomes a part of the community. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will give two Random Mommy readers their own DVD copy to share with their families.

If your kids love to play games as much as mine do, they would probably like Pressman Toy Corporation's new Animal MASTERMIND® Towers, a new children’s version of the classic game of Codemaker vs. Codebreaker, designed for kids ages 6 and up. Like classic MASTERMIND, the new Towers version is a game of logic, problem solving and fun that challenges players to figure out their opponent's code in as few turns as possible. To play, children stack their animal tiles in a special tower. Players take alternate turns trying to guess the order of the animals in the other player’s tower by asking questions such as, “Is your giraffe below your pig?” This new vertical children’s edition of MASTERMIND teaches important skills in three levels of gameplay, entertaining children as their matching and logical thinking skills progress. Animal MASTERMIND is the first in a series of MASTERMIND games in the new vertical format. Upcoming editions will feature licensed children’s entertainment properties such as Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants™, Disney Fairies™, Disney®, and kids’favorite Looney Tunes™ character. R was too young for it, but H (age 4) could play with a bit of coaching. I think they had the most fun stacking the animals. Later I had the chance to play with H while R was asleep and it went much better. We went from 4 to 6 animals stacked in a short period of time. H absolutely loved it and said he wanted to play it "ten hundred times!" One Random Mommy reader will get the chance to stack animals and play Animal MASTERMIND Towers with her/his kids.

For older kids (H couldn't figure it out but Stewart had a blast with it), Techno Source is coming out with a new electronic version of Rubik's Cube. Rubik’s Slide has over 10,000 brain-busting puzzles. The object of each puzzle is to rearrange the pattern of lights by shifting and twisting until they match the solution for that puzzle. With two ways to play and multiple challenging levels that train your brain, it's the game that's easy to learn and impossible to put down! One Random Mommy reader will get the chance to try and put it down!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 10:01 PM (Pacific) until Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite study break activity, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest (http://tinyurl.com/236vf2j) and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the FOUR winners. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail with their order of preference for the movies. Prizes will be allocated based on order of response to the e-mail. If the winners do not respond within 72 hours, the prizes will go to the next place winners as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Pressman Games, and Techno Source for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate my review.