Spring? Please?

I know this winter has seemed interminable to many people, and I am one of them! Spring Break was last week and the kids and I had plenty of fun with the beautiful weather. It was perfect! Of course, this week is rainy and now today it feels cold. Not that it actually is cold, it's just nowhere near as nice as it has been. (The picture above was taken last year by one of my daughters. Love the heart in the flower. :) )

I have been sick off and on for about a month (just different viruses, respiratory crud, etc.) and now my marathon training feels like I'm starting over. I'm getting out there, though. I have to get those miles in.

My sister-in-law was laid off. She hasn't had much luck in finding another job so far, so at the end of the month, that means I'm out of a job taking care of baby J. She just rolled over for the first time yesterday! Growing so fast, just like they always do. Depending on what my sister-in-law ends up doing, I may look for a part time job. :p Ugh. Maybe I can just do some odd jobs.



Baby J, swinging at the park last week. See the two mopey girls sitting in the swings in the background, facing this way? Those are my two oldest, thrilled to be at the playground. They're just too cool, I guess. My other two were running around and climbing everything. After they were played out, we walked around and looked at the little zoo. I had promised them ice cream when we were done, but the ice cream guys at the park had disappeared by then. So, I promised cones from Dairy Queen on the drive home. Well, Krispy Kreme was on the way, too . . . We ended up with donuts and ice cream, a rare treat. One of the kids exclaimed, "Donuts and ice cream? This is the best day EVER!"


Here's your reminder to give the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society if you can. I'm almost halfway to my goal, and I could really use your help! Every little bit helps, just like stacking those miles up. The first step is the most important, just getting out there, giving what you can. http://pages.teamintraining.org/ks/rnr09/lteter

Let me know if you have any ideas to help raise more funds. :) I'll take all the help I can get.

Gimme 5!

As you probably know, I'm running a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It's my first one, and I could use some help! So I am asking you to Gimme 5!

1. Gimme 5 minutes of your time - go to my website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ks/rnr09/lteter, and read about what I'm doing.

2. Gimme 5 bucks - just donate online: five dollars for a great cause - and if you want to donate more, fantastic!

3. Gimme 5 friends - send this to five friends and help spread the word!

4. 5 is the number of years that some blood cancer patients have to stay in remission in order to be considered cured.

5. Every 5 minutes someone new is diagnosed with a blood cancer - money for research is desperately needed - so PLEASE donate now.

Thanks so much for your help! I couldn't do this without you!

Lara
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ks/rnr09/lteter

p.s. The picture above is my dad, my grandma (who died of Leukemia shortly after this picture was taken), my mom, my brother, and me (the baby.)

E's birthday cake. Isn't it cute? Her birthday was January 6, but when I was looking for pictures to put in this post, I couldn't resist. I made it using a funny cake pan. That's a luncheon plate it's sitting on, so that's a lot of cupcake! It takes 1 1/2 cake mixes. We made mini cupcakes with the other 1/2 a mix.



Here are a couple other things I made in January. Bella's Mittens and Rose's Wristwarmers. They were both fun and fast. I made them for a friend and I'm happy to report that she loves them! I'm going to make another pair of the Bella's Mittens for use at our house. I expect all of us girls will use them at times.

I'm still running and raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Last week was tough with a lot of sickness going around our house. It's hard to run when you get queasy, so I took it easy and got back out there yesterday, feeling good. Everyone is finally at school and work today for the first time in a week, so that's nice!

I'm thinking about having a giveaway here on my blog for people who donate and mention in the note section that they would like to be entered. What do you think? What would you like to win?