A long overdue update

So as many of you knew, Roger survived the Chicago Marathon.  Official finish time was 5 hours and 55 minutes.  Roger would like to thank our chiropractor (and CJSTUF board member) Dr. Anna Madland of Atlee Chiropractic for her diligent care before the race and Rachel Pustilnik of Stroller Strides for her exceptional training.  It was a warm day with temperatures reaching above 80 degrees by the end of the race so all things considered, he did a fantastic job!  His recovery has been exceptional as well.  I don't think I've ever seen him in such great condition 24 hours after a long race.

Now on to Richmond....

The typical recommended recovery between one marathon and another is 6 weeks but Roger is going to run ANOTHER marathon in Richmond on November 13th.  That's just a month away.  His goal for the Double Marathon Challenge is to raise $10,000.  Our current fundraising update is that we have collected about $6400.  The University of Miami fans are still leading the charge in pledge donations; however, Roger has raised a new challenge.  If Virginia Tech fans manage to raise more money than UM fans before November 13th, Roger will still run the Richmond Marathon in Hokie gear.  If we reach our $10,000 goal, regardless of pledges, Roger will run in the PINK running skirt!  Yes, folks.  You heard it right here.  If you want to see Roger run in a skirt, we have about a month to gain $3600 more in donations.  You can send donations directly to PO Box 854, Ashland, VA 23005 or donate directly on our website via PayPal.

Speaking of PayPal, I am excited to report that we are now able to accept all forms of payment for orders of T-shirts and window clings.  Just go to our CJSTUF store and place your order directly.  What are you waiting for? Christmas and Hanukkah are right around the corner!

October is quickly waning but mark your calendars for some very important November events:

Local jewelry artist Sarah Blankenship of Crystal Paintbrush has created a limited edition set of jewelry exclusively for CJSTUF.  We will be auctioning these pieces on eBay from November 1-November 15th.  100% of the proceeds will go to CJSTUF.  There will be necklaces, earrings, pins, and bracelets.  There will be about 20 pieces in total.  All pieces will be one of a kind, hand crafted with semi-precious beads and stones, freshwater pearls, and swarovski crystal butterflies.  Here's a preview:

Word has it that Richmond Magazine will be running a feature on Sarah's jewelry and the charity auction so we are excited for the publicity!

  

Our other major November event is set for Saturday November 20th.  Come out to the parking lot at Henry Clay Elementary School from 9 AM-12 PM for Citations for CJ.  Here's your chance to get a "moving violation" for a great cause.  All you have to do is drive through the parking lot, select your "fine" (ranging from $5-25).  Ashland's Chief of Police will cite you accordingly and then our celebrity judges (Ashland's Mayor Faye Pritchard and the Sheehy Ford judge "Mark Down" (AKA Mark Joy) will collect your fines.  We will also have opportunities for you to get thrown in "jail", getting friends and family to bail you out.  All for a good cause!  Mark you calendars, tell your friends, and get ready to get Ex-Cited for CJ!

I think Roger will share his own post-marathon update so I will end it here.  Thanks for the continued support.  I can't believe 2010 is almost coming to a close.  This has been a great inaugural year for CJSTUF.

An Update

First of all:

For our good friends the Klauers: This Tuesday (tomorrow) is ReeseStrong Day at the Riverbound Cafe in Mechanicsville! A percentage of all proceeds for the day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) will go to the ReeseStrong fund! Come out and eat!

Also: Next Fundraiser at Glen Allen Golf (on US1) from 7 PM-10 PM on Wednesday 5/6. Mini-golf, batting cages, and driving range! Come out for the fun and a portion of the proceeds will go to Charlotte.

Today was a nice day "off" from Romp n' Roll for me. Roger and I did go back to the clinic today to meet with Dr. Khan. We reviewed the scans again and got to talk more about possibilities for the next step(s). We still don't have any solid directions, but we will meet with Dr. Tye (neurosurgery) and Dr. Chung (radiologic oncology) on Friday along with Dr. Khan to discuss options and possible side effects of these different paths.

Meanwhile, Charlotte has had a GREAT day, complete with a much needed POOP (yes, you needed to know that).

Then we had a wonderful surprise visitor! (Pictures to follow). Our good friend Carolyn Peart has an "in" with a certain character named Mary Poppins. Charlotte wrote a letter to Mary Poppins a few weeks ago and sent it up the chimney (watch the movie). In the letter, she asked Mary Poppins to visit her. Well, Mary came for a visit today complete with her magic bag and a full tea set with scones and "tea". We had a lovely time visiting with her. Mom, Granny, and Charlotte all enjoyed her company and it was so much fun. Charlotte was a delight. The best party was putting the jelly on the scone. Then she forgot about the scone entirely and just decided to eat the jelly straight from the bowl with her fingers! Emily Post may have had something to say about it but Mary Poppins thought it was just fine. We sang songs from Mary Poppins' movie ("Let's Go Fly a Kite") as well as some of Charlotte's other favorites (Frosty the Snowman). Charlotte also loved showing Mary Poppins her "new" room and talking about her pets.

After this lovely visit, we ran a few errands with Granny and now she is at home working on a sticker picture.

It seems strange to think about our new directions and timeline. It is very difficult for me to wrap my brain around it until I have some more answers. Until then, we will enjoy our rest at home with no doctor's appointments or therapy appointments till Friday (oh, goodness, what will we do with ourselves????).

I promise to upload the Mary Poppins pictures as soon as Roger brings the camera back!

An Update from Roger
A very good day for Charlotte.

We all slept in and got up around 8. Mommy did some cleaning, daddy, tried to catch up on emails and did a little laundry. Paster Ed from St. James The Less came over for a visit and CJ seem genuinely excited to see him. She actually ran up to him and threw her arms around him. He returned the favor by giving her a squeeky duck.

Rachel eventually went to Romp n' Roll for a Birthday Bash and camp training and I went to Qdoba for the big burrito eating contest but not before stopping off at RNR to get the amazingly beautiful message board made for us by Sarah and Wendy. Thanks ladies!

I got to Qdoba about 3:30 and helped with a few of the last minute finishing touches. There were'nt too many people there and I was kind of expecting a moderately small crowd since there was no one signed up for the burrito eating contest until pretty late in the game. Boy! Was I wrong!

Slowly but surely the place started filling up with friends, RNR customers, and people I didn't know. A group of guys came in asking about the burrito eating contest and I went over to chat. They heard about it via email. Another group of VCU students heard about it at the other Broad St Qdoba, and yet another group of VCU students said they had heard about it on a website that gives dates and locations of eating contests all over.

We ended up with 42 contestants and they had to move them all outside to give them directions becuse it was too loud and crowded inside!

The contest had to be conducted in waves and I was slated to go in the last round. I knew I was sunk after the first round when one guy ate 4 burritos. I did my best but had to steal water from the little girl across the table from me to get everything down smoothly. I only finished 2 burritos but they sure were good!

There was also a table with a spinnig wheel and prizes. $1 a spin. We collected almost $600 from donations and contest entry fees. That doesn't include the 20% of sales we got. I'll report a total amount when we get the final check.

Major thanks to everyone at Qdoba including Lisa and Ibo (sp?) for having us. It was a great event and I am once again amazed by the support you've shown us.

More news:

First of all, a brief Charlotte update...she ate a great dinner and then proceeded to have ANOTHER poop. Then after a little bit of TV watching, she ended up vomiting all over me and herself. We were looking at pictures (of Mary Poppins) on the computer and fortunately we missed the laptop (by inches). Thankfully, granny came over and helped clean up the mess.

She's now cleaned up and resting in bed. She seemed ok so maybe she just overdid it at dinner tonight.

ALSO, for those of you who live in the Richmond area: Many of you have asked how you can help us, especially with the business. HERE is your opportunity: Every year, Richmond Magazine names their Best/Worst of Richmond as voted by their readers. Two years ago, Romp n' Roll was voted best Kid's Gym (last year it wasn't a category) and for the last two years we got 2nd place for Best Place to Hold a Kid's Birthday Party and Best Website. We just learned (as we were sitting in the clinic today and spied a Richmond Magazine) that the contest is going on NOW and entries are due by May 8th!!!

Ballot entries cannot be filled out online. You must buy a Richmond Magazine or go by the Richmond Magazine office to get a ballot. They must be POSTMARKED by May 8th. You also must vote for at least 20 categories for your ballot to be valid. The categories in which Romp n' Roll would be eligible this year are: Best Kid's Gym, Best Parties and Best Kid's Art Classes

Richmond Magazines are sold at Ukrops, Barnes and Noble, and other fine local retailers. Thanks for your help with this! I know we have a fabulous network so this will help us get the word out!!!

Thanks in advance for your help with this.

Rachel