It's TIME!!!

Well here we are only hours away from me getting up and getting on an airplane bound for San Diego. I think I have everything I need, well I hope I do because NOTHING else is fitting into this bag. :) I just hope I am not over the airport weight limit, because I am about 7 lbs over the Komen limit...oh well! If I can lift it the crew can lift it!

The time has finally come. 24 weeks of training and now we are here...I am very excited and can't wait to get there and see what this journey is all about. I know I am going to have a wonderful experience and I can't wait to see all the walkers, survivors, and support group. I know I couldn't have done this without my support. My aunt Cindy is the best! She has been with me every step of the way and here this last spring she was with me when I said I wanted to do this walk. We have trained for 24 weeks, raised over $2300 (each of us) and gone through many pairs of shoes. Now we are ready and guess what the weekend calls for...RAIN! UGH!!! I am not excited about this part of it but it will make it memorable that is for sure.

The girls are not excited about me going and could really careless about me bringing something home for them but you and I both know that if I don't they will be very upset. I did leave a stack of messages (1 for each day) to them and Tim. I know they will be just fine and I can't wait to hear all about the fun they have while I am gone. Rumor has it Tim is going to pitch a tent in the living room and they are going to have a campout. Can't wait to see pic's of this.

Okay well bags are packed, feet are conditioned with LOTS of calluses and my body is ready to go. I will post pic's and stories as I get back.

Thank you everyone for your support!
Love always,
Katie

Training & Halloween

Well today, thanks to my AMAZING husband, my aunt and I walked 16 miles. I couldn't go the full 18 because I didn't have time to get home and let Tim get to work. He hung out with all my kiddo's (3 of them) while Cindy and I walked. We started at 5 walked 6 miles then took about an hour break to get the kids ready for school and then we started back up at 8 and walked 10 more. It was FREEZING out! The temp was about 26* and when you combine the cold temp with a wet head...it isn't good! :) Tomorrow we are getting up and walking 8 more miles...only 1 training weekend left before San Diego. I can't wait! So far my feet are holding up and doing great!

HALLOWEEN

I have been bad lately and forgot to post pictures from Halloween. Haleigh and Hannah had a blast and our weather was PERFECT! They went around the neighborhood and got way too much candy. The weekend before Halloween our neighbors have a Halloween Pumpkin Carving party and so this is what the girls did to their pumpkins

Haleigh dressed up as Batgirl and Hannah was a witch...a bad witch! She was very excited about trick or treating and didn't take just 1 piece of candy. She grabbed a whole hand full! :)

Training

Okay so it has been a while since I have wrote anything about my training. Let's just say I have been VERY busy walking and working out. Much to my disappointment I have lost 0, nothing nada. UGH!

After taking 3 weeks of in Sept after my surgery, my first big walk was 17 & 13. I was so tired and sore after that weekend it wasn't even funny. I had so many blisters I could hardly walk for 2 days. My shoes were worn out for the second time and so it was time to order ANOTHER pair of shoes. UGH...this event is starting to get expensive. So after popping my blisters several times I was put on an antibiotic because the one toe was starting to get an infection around it. Dr. Deming gave me an antibiotic and off I was moving. After about 3 days of soaking in Epson salt and trying out my new shoes I walked 6 miles and a 1/2 marathon. NO BLISTERS!!! I was so excited.

So all of that was about 3 weeks ago and now I have accomplished so much more than that. The weekend of Oct. 23rd was our BIGGEST training weekend. We needed to walk 18 miles on Saturday and 15 on Sunday. Since my cousin had soccer games we had to split it up a little bit. So Friday night we walked 6 miles, Saturday I walked 12 and then Sunday we did 15. I was beat! But I know I can do it! That following Tuesday I lost my first toe nail! I am taking a Nutrition class and our workout that night was water aerobics...the water made everything lose.

So here I am 2 weeks away from leaving for San Diego and I can't tell you how excited I am about this trip. I have finally met my $2300 goal and now I only have to concentrate on getting things packed and ready to go. This past Tuesday night I met a lady that has done Tampa 3 times and she told me it is the most emotional, exciting and rewarding thing she has ever done. Once you do one you either LOVE it and want to do another one or you are happy you have done it. Personally I have a feeling I am going to LOVE it and want to do several more. I don't know yet if I can do one next year...I promised Tim he could run a marathon. So we will see what he decides. I will keep you all posted and I will post more later.

Thanks for all your support and following our journey!
Love always,
Katie

Hannah

No blog would be complete without an entry about Hannah. I would like to first say that I am so happy that I have her in my life. She definitely makes life interesting. She is so full of energy, spunk, stubbornness (is that even a word?) okay I think you know what I mean. So here are the full events of last week for Hannah....
Monday...stuck an eraser up her nose and Tim had to come home from work to take her to the doctor to have it removed. I have to admit I wasn't as afraid because she is, after all, taking after her mother. When I was little I stuck gum up mine and had to have it removed...one of my prouder moments.
Tuesday...she decided it would be a LOT of fun to paint herself toe to knees with Desitin (diaper rash cream) For those of you that don't know it is not the easiest thing to get off. UGH!
Wednesday morning she got sick in my bed...not something she could help but after Monday and Tuesday what else would you expect. :)

Thankfully the rest of the week for her calmed down. She is such a light of energy and so very stubborn. She does things in her own time and you can't push her to do more. I am so thankful for all the time I get to spend with her right now. So far this week we have only colored on the kitchen floor with crayon (magic eraser worked wonders on that)

Well off to bed so I can deal with Hannah and all her mischievous little ways.

Much love,
Katie

Man how time flies!

Okay so I am a horrible blogger...so much has happened this month I can't even think straight. Haleigh turned 6! Hannah has been trouble and I am pooped out with all the training I have been doing for this Susan G Komen 60 miles in 3 days. I have had several doc appointment follow ups and we have been to the Pumpkin Patch. Oh many where to start...

I guess I will start with Haleigh's Birthday. Haleigh turned 6 on the 7th and we had 15 little girls here at our house for a birthday party. She invited all the girls from her Kindergarten class and then had 3 of the neighbor girls spend the night. They had a BLAST! Haleigh said it was her best birthday. I am so happy she is was happy.

The next thing we did as a family is take the girls to the pumpkin patch. This October has been fabulous for weather. We decided this year to take the girls to a different pumpkin patch and they LOVED it! It was a blast, they got to feed the animals, take a hay ride, go through a corn maze, and walk through the pumpkin patch. Lots of fun and tons of great pictures. Here are just a few...

Well the girls are starting to get on each others nerves so I had better wrap this entry up...I promise I will post more soon!

Love always!

Katie

Haleigh's 6th Birthday

WOW! It has been a while since I posted anything. Thought I had better type quick so you all know what is going on in the crazy Mangan household. Yesterday, Haleigh, turned 6! It was a BIG day in the Mangan house. She was so excited about her birthday, but even more excited about tonight. She is having all the girls from her Kindergarten class over and a handful of other girls to help her celebrate. She is so excited to have them all over. We are VERY big into iCarly and so Tim has promised to make a webshow tonight with her and her friends. This could be interesting.

Hannah has been a little turd lately! I don't know how single parents do it...Hannah is now deciding that she doesn't need a nap. Little does she know she still does and so does her momma! She is a fiesty little girl. I love her to pieces but some days it is all I can handle.

I am still doing good...went in yesterday to see the plastic surgeon because I have been having some discomfort in my left implant. He thinks I may have pulled a muscle in it. I am to take it easy and relax. Easier said than done. I have a birthday party tonight, 17 miles to walk tomorrow followed by 13 miles on Sunday. I am just tired thinking about all of it. I know everyone is thinking...you need to slow down...well I can slow down when I am dead. Right now there is work to be done and things to take care of. Next week I will find out how my ECHO went. Back in August my ejection fraction was 40% it is so low because of the chemo drugs and the Herceptin. I have been told several times that my heart will start to rebound on its own. So I am very anxious to see the results. I have been so blessed by everything so far so I am just praying that my blessings continue.

Well I have cookies to frost and laundry to fold...unfortunately it isn't going to do itself. If only I had a magic wand!

New Niece!

Wow! a lot has happened since I lost logged in. The last 2 weeks have been pretty big in the Mangan house. Last week, my brother Derek and his wife Jody had their first baby. Aubrey Ann Schueder joined the family at around 7 am Tuesday, Aug. 17th...weighing in at a little over 7 lbs and 20 1/2in long. I wish I had a picture to post but I don't...she is beautiful and has a TON of hair.

Haleigh also spent the whole week last week with Nana & Papa! It was so weird not having someone here to help entertain Hannah. It was also weird having only 1 child to deal with. Now that she is back things are getting back to a new normal.

Wednesday, the 25th of Aug. Haleigh started her first day of Kindergarten. She was and has been so EXCITED for this day to finally come. We have been counting down the days since about...oh...MARCH! It is kind of crazy how fast it all went. Hannah has missed Haleigh and doesn't quite know what to do without big sis around.

I myself am doing good....this is my 2nd week in over 15 months that I haven't had any doctors appointments. I am LOVING it! I finally started walking again this week. Last week I had to take some time off and couldn't do my long walks due to a strain in my ankle. It really stinks...because it is hard getting started again. For those of you that don't know...I am walking the Susan G. Komen 60 miles in 3 days. My aunt Cindy and I are heading out to San Diego Thur. Nov. 18th and we walk an average of 20 miles per day the 19, 20,&21st of Nov. We have been training for this since mid June and it is a lot of fun...time consuming but fun. I am learning more about myself than I ever knew before. In order to do this walk not only to you have to condition your body to handle that much activity you also have to raise $2300 to walk it. I am almost to the $1000 mark. I have had a couple of fundraising parties and that has helped me a ton. If you want or like Tastefully Simple go to their website, type in Vicki Sonka for the consultant and you can then search for Katie's fundraising party. You can order and have the food shipped directly to you. You have until the 31st to order and a percentage of the order is coming to me to help me meet my fundraising goal. Or you can go to www.the3day.org and click on donate. Type Katie Mangan in and you can donate to me through there...you also get a receipt for tax purposes. This weekend Cindy and I are walking 11 & 5 miles. This will be my longest walk yet! Wish me luck!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Love always, Katie

Training

So many of you know that I am training for the Susan G. Komen 60 miles in 3 days. WOW!!! Is all I have to say to the training. NEVER in my life have I done anything like this. I am up for the challenge and am very happy at what I am doing. Friday last week my aunt Cindy & I walked 10 miles. I did it!! I was so proud of myself for walking that far and doing that. Unfortunately, I was feeling it on Saturday. My left ankle has been bothering me and so I went to the doctor today to have it adjusted and my achillies heel is sore and slightly swollen. So I have been icing it today and resting it as much as I can. I am going to try to walk 3 miles tomorrow at a slow rate so I don't hurt it anymore. It would be such a bummer if something happened to me now and I could finish training.



The girls are doing good. Haleigh is at her Nana & Papa's for a week. Sunday, my sister, Mary, & her husband were here and they took Haleigh up to Cherokee to spend time there by herself. She is having such a blast and what a great way to end summer vacation. Next Wed. my big girl goes to Kindergarten. UGH! I can't believe she is almost 6 yrs old. WHERE has the time GONE?

Welcome to Our Blog!

Well, I am not really sure what I want to write today. I have been pondering for a few months now on whether or not I should create a blog site. As you can see I have decided I would do it. I have had so many people tell me that they loved following my Caringbridge site so I thought since I am FINALLY done with all my treatment I would just do one on our life and my 60 mile journey.

Here is a little update on our family:

Haleigh is 5 and will be starting Kindergarten in 2 weeks. She is SO excited and can't wait to get to school. We have been counting down the days for about 2-3 months now. I can't believe how fast she is growing up...in the past 2 weeks she has lost 2 teeth! She can't wait to go buy stuff with her toothfairy money. This last week has been pretty hard on her because she doesn't like thunderstorms and we have had one every single night this week. It is starting to wear on me. Next week she is going to Nana & Papa's for a week. Hannah will miss her but Haleigh will have a blast by herself.

Hannah is 2 and a little spit fire! I don't even know where to start with her. She thinks she is going to preschool this fall and can't wait for it to start. Little does she know, she isn't going to preschool this fall. We have now been potty trained for the last 6 weeks. She does very good when she isn't busy or trying to be naughty. Last night she was standing in my magazine basket and peed all over the magazines...I asked why she did that and her response "because I wanted too" UGH!!! Got to love her though!

Tim is doing great. He is very busy at work right now. He is still at Wells Fargo and working in Short Sales...what ever that means. :) I don't try to understand his job very often it is too complicated for me. This last couple of months he has been very busy working on Katie's Crusaders & making sure there is someone here to help me out with all my doc. appointments. Katie's Crusaders is coming along quite nicely. This year the race is going to be Sept. 18th here in Waukee. If you want more information on it you can go to our website www.katiescrusaders.org

I am doing great! I FINALLY finished all my treatment last Friday. It was a bittersweet ending. Exactly 15 months to the day I was diagnosed I finished treatment. I can't tell you how excited I am about being done. Now to just concentrate on my 60 mile walk and taking care of these girls & Tim. This week is still a little crazy with doc appointments but they are follow-ups and then I will be done until Sept. 10th. I will be having my final implant surgery and power port removed! I will be SO happy for that day! I am also quite busy working on Katie's Crusaders and am very excited about how that is going. This year we are helping 3 families out and I couldn't be more proud of what we are doing.

Okay kids are waking up so my time here is done. Hope you enjoy the new site and feel free to drop us a message anytime. You are the reason I am writing about our journey.

Love always-Katie & family.