My Media Story

Happy Thursday!

I am honored to be featured on the Another Mother Runner website for the "Follow this Mother" segment today. They emailed me last week and asked if I would be interested in being featured on their site...  Um, that's an understatement!

In my post-Sandy life there has been a significant amount of media around me.  I went from a little running blogger mom from Staten Island to the blogger from Staten Island who lost her home.  I have hosted Christy Turlington and Anne Curry at the foundation of my home.

I have appeared on the Dateline, Steve Harvey and Katie Couric (yesterday).  I was even met Mary Wittenberg and Vinny from the Jersey Shore (no connection there, huh?).  My husband was featured in the New York Times and the Huffington Post to name a few.

So, yesterday, as I was telling my sister about all the amazing gifts that Katie Couric gave the audience of "Sandy moms".  She asked me, "are you sure you would prefer to have your house back?" and the answer was and still is, an undeniable yes.

My house <3 - 2011

I would gladly give back all the experiences, good and bad over the past eight weeks just to be home.  That house was my favorite place to be. We stayed home most weekends, especially in the summer. We'd spend the morning and afternoons cleaning and running errands.  Hubby would mow the lawn or fix something while I did laundry and the kids played or swam in our amazing pool.

The boy and my goddaughter in my pool - Summer 2012

We swim, hubby mows. 

Almost every Friday some friends would be over and hubby would cook a huge dinner followed by drinks and great conversation. We hosted holidays with family.  We even had car wash days where friends and neighbors would come over and wash their cars together in my huge driveway.

Family BBQ - Summer 2012

Our Backyard Beer Fridge

Dinners at the Correa house

Dinner with friends and neighbors <3

Backyard Deck

In my daughter's room, we used the frame of the closet to mark the kid's height.  The boy had the right side and mini-me had the left.  I remember marking it quite recently and noticing how much the boy had grown.  My son's room was a Spiderman themed room that took weeks for hubby to perfect.  The colors were the perfect red and blue walls and even the light switch matched.

My boy's first night in his Spiderman room

My bedroom closet was custom built by hubby and his brother to rival any California Closet.  It had little box shelves that held NKOTB autographs, diaries from when I was a teenager, and rosary beads that once belonged to my grandfather who passed away about 25 years ago.  It was a mess and every weekend I promised myself to clean it, but it was all mine.

People have tried to comfort me by telling me that the house and its contents are material things and in time we will replace them.  We have rented an apartment and thanks to the generosity of others, we already have the necessities for life and some other gifts that we didn't even have before.  I am so grateful for all of that.  Unfortunately, the things that I miss most cannot be replaced. Like the feeling of being home.  Feeling safe because even if hubby was working, there were neighbors who in six years became family to me.  These are people that I could count on if I needed my son picked up, my dog fed or if I just needed a hug.  My home was officially within NYC but it was more like a small town within the 1/4 mile that was called Kissam Avenue.

I know that there are worse things than losing your home.  Much, much worse things. I realized that last Friday and may God bless the souls in Connecticut.  So, I am moving forward because I have to.  The media is there for the story, not for me.  I get that.  Soon the media will be gone, because my life will no longer be news worthy.  I look forward to those days.  I enjoy being a little running blogger mom.  I just hope I can someday rebuild the security and warmth of a home.

Thanks again to everyone that has sent an email, gift, tweet or even just a prayer.  I am lucky to have so much love in my life.  I am forever grateful and hope to some day give back to each of you.

xox
Jen

Starting Over

Yup, today was the day.  It was lunchtime and I headed down to the gym.  I actually had some anxiety about the whole thing.  I kept looking around as if people would call me out for not being there for...  The best part was that I had gym clothes in my locker.  I got to wear my own clothes that I bought.  You cannot imagine how good that feels, until you lose everything you own.  I only wish I had kept better gym clothes here instead of at home.  I stepped onto the dreadmill,  because I am so out of shape, I am still a bit sore from the obstacle race on Sunday.  The last thing I can handle now is an injury so I started with a fast walk and ran from there.  I ran 3.1 in 31 minutes and I was tired.  Yup, I am starting over.  I cannot dwell on the fact that 8 weeks ago I ran 20 miles.  It all starts now. 

Since my head is still in a bit of a fog, I thought it best to get some help starting over.  I am working with Jess of Fit Chick in the City on getting back to a good place.  She and I are setting weekly goals that are attainable so I don’t get overwhelmed and fail terribly (my words not hers).  This week’s goals should have been easy, but I am struggling with them.  Who would have thought that I would have difficulty eating a green veggie at dinner and running 3 times this week.  That said, I am definitely trying to succeed.  Mary Wittenberg won’t be BFFs with me if I can’t even run three miles.

Any tips for starting over?  Help!

Sticky Situations: Living with Picasso

Every day is a sticky situation when you have kids.  The odds double when you rent the four walls within which your kids live.  My daughter has always been what one would call creative.  Unfortunately her creativity does not end where the markers begin.  When we owned a home (pre-Sandy) a wall mural care of my three year old was not the biggest deal.  Add a hurricane, a rental, no extra paint and a sharpie and things change.  Mini-Me becomes Picasso and the wall, her canvas.  Let's just say that we have learned our lesson.  We are a bit more careful these days with the arts and crafts supplies.

Mini-Me pondering her next work of art.

Wet Ones is giving us the opportunity to share all of the Sticky Situations we have found ourselves in and tips on how to deal with them through their Facebook Contest! Simply log on and share your story and tips.  You will be entered to win an iPad Mini or Six Flags Tickets! Who doesn't need a day at the amusement park or that iPad Mini that you have been eyeing.  The contest ends on Friday, 12/28.  I just entered and it doesn't take long at all, here’s the link to enter: https://www.facebook.com/momcentral/app_248884015238315

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Wet Ones. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.  Plus it was a fun contest. 

Seeing the Light

Friday afternoon when I got back to my desk after lunch and learned about the tragedy in Connecticut, I cried for the rest of the day and rushed home to hug my kids.  My heart broke for all the mothers whose babies were stolen away from them in an instant.  At that moment, I realized how lucky I am. I may have lost my house, my car and my belongings. I even lost my sense of security and home, but I still have the most important thing, my family.  I'm finished feeling sorry for myself and expecting others to do the same.  I need to be grateful for what I do have.

I decided that Saturday was going to be a fun family day (in a post-Sandy kinda way). We started early at mini-me's daycare.  The school itself took a hard hit since it was directly across from the beach.  They were closed for three weeks, but along with resilient staff and generous friends, they opened without a hitch.  Even still, so many families, besides mine, were devastated.  A truck load of supplies were donated to the school.  Me, hubby and the kids spent the morning sorting through and organizing the donations.  Hopefully we can get them to the people in need.

Some daycare moms, staff and board members helping out.

From there we switched hats, from giving help to taking it.  We saw Santa not once, but twice at holiday parties thrown for people effected by Sandy victims.  They had gifts for all the kids and even Staten Island Yankee jackets and backpacks.  It was another day of gratitude for us.  Our whole community has really come together to help each other.

The kids with Scooter, SI Yankees' mascot.

Visiting with the "Big Guy" 

@Guyon Rescue Holiday party

This morning I headed out early since I had a race scheduled and it felt perfectly normal.  I first headed out to meet some runners.  The NY Runners in Support of Staten Island had first come to SI on marathon Sunday.  They had returned to help a few times and they were back this morning.  I was excited to meet the runners that came to my hometown to help.  For all my trips into Manhattan for races early in the morning, I know it can be a long trip and I wanted to say thank you.

Some NY runners in the SI Yankee Stadium getting ready to run/help Staten Island.

Then I got a special treat.  I met Mary!!!  I met Mary Wittenberg, the president of the New York Road Runners.  She is somewhat of a hero of mine.  She was gracious enough to take a picture with me and asked me what I needed.  I wanted to tell her that I needed to run 26.2 miles through five boroughs, but I think she's heard that enough recently.  I believe they made the right decision and I'll wait until next year.

With my new BFF Mary :)

When the NY runners clad in orange headed into my hood, I wanted to go with them but I had another commitment.  There was a 5k obstacle course that was originally scheduled for the Sunday after the marathon.  It was postponed and relocated. Six members of the Shaolin Killa Beez ran it.  Other team members came to cheer us on.  It was our own way of proving Sandy won't break us.  We are still here and we finished strong!  Thanks Bad Ass Academy for having this race!

Shaolin Killa Beez pre-race

Post-Race

Me and my partner Tara with Santa

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I made the most of today.  That is how I can honor the lives cut so short.  May they all rest in peace.

Xox
Jen


What did you do to make the most of today?

2 Days in Chicago and 10 Minutes on Steve Harvey

My life has included some strange things in the past seven weeks. Not the least of which was the few days we spent in Chicago in early November.  It happened so fast that I literally have more pictures than words.  It started with a comment on our fundraising page and continued on with several calls from a producer.  The next thing we know, we get a call at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday, while in Target asking if we can be at Newark airport by 1 p.m. Long story short, we arrived late and quickly learned that Chicago has comparable rush hour traffic to NYC.  We taped some background footage and then headed to the hotel.  

Flatbread pizza in Chicago.  Don't ask.

Thursday was a free day for us, and honestly, it was the reason I agreed to go at all.  I thought even one day out of the mess of Staten Island post-Sandy would be a welcomed change.  We navigated through 2 levels of Chicago streets.  (Can someone please explain the whole concept?)  It was early November but not too cold.  We walked to Navy Pier and headed into the Children's Museum.  This place was likely the coolest place that I have ever been.  There was so many fun and interactive areas.  We spent the whole afternoon there with a quick stop for lunch.  

Navy Pier

My boy being "attacked" by an angry bird

Dad and the boy built "a new house"

I think I need more square footage.

I see a Spartan Race in her future :)

Then we headed back to the hotel.  I had met Krista at the Healthy Living Summit in August.  When we first headed to the airport, I had tweeted Krista to see if she was in the area.  So, Thursday evening, Krista came by the hotel and met hubby and the kids.  It was great to see her and so helpful to get a fellow blogger perspective about my lack of writing post-Sandy,  (Yes, I know, still lacking.  But I am trying.)  We even had a drink together since the hotel bar was about two doors down for our room.

Krista & I
(neither of us love this picture, but it's the only one we took)

Lovin the 312 on draft

 Friday morning we packed up and walked to the NBC Tower.  They went to town right away on hair and make up for me.  It was the first time I had ever worn fake eye lashes.  They literally felt like they weighed 10 lbs. on each of my eyes, but they looked good.  Apparently, the makeup people were the Oprah Show's former beauty duo, so I was honored. 

No house, but we have a "green room"

my hipsters

My boy has no stage fright.  He was warming up the crowd with his dance moves.

I was so nervous before I went out on stage that I could barely speak.  Steve Harvey was very nice.  Then it was over.  We had some deep dish pizza at Giordanos and stopped by "The Bean" in Millennium Park.

Lost in Chi-Town

My first deep dish

Tourist shot

We flew home that night and the following morning I spent 7 hours on line for free gift cards from the Tzu Chi foundation with hundreds of my neighbors.  While on line, my false eye lashes came off.  Clearly I was back in Staten Island.  It seemed no more like reality, but definitely more real.

The Time for Cheer

Christmas is coming, and there is no stopping it.  Sandy or not, it's coming...  And maybe, just maybe, it's for the best.  We need something positive to look forward to and what's more positive than the holiday season?  My house and my belongings are gone, but my spirit is alive and  I just need to keep it bright and here are three steps to doing just that:

Step 1: Get an Elf on the Shelf.  I know that many parents are either for or against the elf and others have no idea what it is.  The Elf on the Shelf is an elf (doll) that comes to your house (after you buy it for $30) and watches the kids until Christmas.  The story goes that the elf goes to see Santa every night to report back on whose naughty and whose nice, but there's a trick! The trick is, that you have to move the elf everyday to a new spot.  Sometimes he's fishing in a bowl of goldfish and sometimes he's stealing chocolate from the kids.  There are a million ideas throughout Pinterest.  The kids will get such a kick out of it.  The only problem is that, with all the responsibilities of life, it's another thing to remember to do.  But, it's still worth the excitement and laughter every time the kids spot him somewhere different.

Step 2: Go visit the tree at Rockefeller Center. Thanks to the Siller Foundation, my family and friends were able to see the tree on Sunday.  Crowds and all, it's tough not to feel the Christmas spirit on 5th Avenue in New York City in December.

Family and friends with Stephen Siller's daughter, Olivia

Step 3: Decorate! Decorate! Decorate! We had so many ornaments and a beautiful Santa that topped our Christmas tree every year even before the kids were born.  Post-Sandy we have three ornaments; my daughter's first Christmas Lenox ornament, my son's photo ornament that hubby found where the house is and a Tinkerbell (minus the bell), that I found at the foundation of the house last Tuesday.  So, we had the old, but we desperately needed some new. So, we headed to the store and picked out all the fun and playful ornaments that we could find for the kids, I even picked out a new first Christmas ornament for me and hubby (it's actually our 13th Christmas together, but it's a brand new start so I thought it fitting). We will get our tree this weekend and start hanging our new stuff.  (Mental note: Need lights.)

That's as far as I have gotten.  I can only do one day at a time for now.  Next steps: TBD
Thanks for your patience.

xox
Jen

Sharing is Caring: What are your thoughts on the Elf on the Shelf?  Any creative ideas for him?  I still need almost 15 new ideas until Elfie (yes, that's what my kids named him) heads back to the North Pole for good.

Sunday Love

In between the days of anxiety, sadness and trying to move forward, there are moments, hours and sometimes afternoons filled with great experiences.  Sunday was one of those days for me.

We woke up bright and early to greet some of Santa’s helpers.  My good friend, Toni Senecal, host of Toni On New York had organized a toy drive with a pair of sisters from Staten Island.  The ladies are calling themselves “Sandy Claus” and they are bringing toys and cheer to children in Staten Island whose families were affected by Hurricane Sandy.  As the recipient of good will and love over the past few weeks, I felt I needed to pay it forward.  I collected some gifts from friends and together with Toni and a whole lot of elves (and great friends), we delivered a Chevy truck full of toys.  The full story will be on Toni On New York on Channel 55 in NY on 12/15 and I’ll post a link on my Facebook page when it's online.

We then headed over to Guyon Rescue with some toys to spread the love.  Guyon Rescue is a local grassroots effort in my neighborhood.  It's run by people from this neighborhood, including the owner of my favorite yoga studio.  They were there to help from nearly the beginning of the recovery effort.  They have provided us with food and a stroller for my daughter and so much more.  They are even having a tree lighting later this month for the neighborhood kids.

Afterwards my family and I met up with some other friends, who were also victims of Sandy’s wrath.  We had been graciously invited by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation to take some buses out to the city for some holiday cheer.  We started out at Clyde Frazier’s restaurant for some appetizers.  From there we went to meet Santa and had some holiday treats.  We even had plenty of time to stop by the tree at Rockefeller Center.  It was a great time.  I even had the pleasure of meeting an amazing young woman named Olivia Siller.  Her father, Stephen Siller was a firefighter who never made it home on 9/11.  She was five years old.  Now she is 18 and spends her free time working with the foundation set up in her father’s name.  In the past, I thought of Tunnel to Towers as the race in September where you run through the Battery Tunnel.  Now, they are part of my family.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to see how lucky you are.  No one can bring back my house or take this pain away, but I have my family and my friends, old and new.  So many people have touched my broken heart in the last five weeks.  I am devastated, but I am not alone.  I will get through this somehow, because I have the strength and love of so many behind me.

To all of you, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

If you are looking to make a holiday donation and don’t know where to turn, may I suggest:
Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Guyon Rescue
Sandy Claus