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8 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2016 letter to the readers PUBLISHER Leigh Anne Van Doren Tabitha & Jamie Nelle's mom EDITOR-AT-LARGE Chris Jones Jordan, Quincy, Hayden & Olive's dad OPERATIONS Stephanie Maldonado; Julia, Tyler & Aiden's mom BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING Heidi DiEugenio, President, HD Solutions Duke & Dane's mom ADVERTISING & SALES Sheila Giscard; Jack's mom DESIGN & PRODUCTION Cheryl Carter, President, Carter Creations Alex, Kate & Jackie's mom WEBMASTER Karen Charney Joshua & Spencer's mom SOCIAL MEDIA Brenda Sapanghila: Archer & Maddox's mom CALENDAR Leigha Pecher Jake & Luke's mom COMMUNITY BLOGS Mary Becelia Katherine Laura & Robert Joseph's mom FACEBOOK COMMUNITY Pamela Quinones: Corinn, Michael, Isabella & Dalton parent fredericksburg & family Entrepreneur of the Year PROUD FOUNDING MEMBER ADVERTISING PHONE 540/374-1495 E-MAIL adsales@fredericksburgparent.net CALENDAR & SOCIAL MEDIA E-MAIL socialmedia@fredericksburgparent.net EDITORIAL PHONE 540/374-1495 E-MAIL editor@fredericksburgparent.net SNAIL MAIL P.O. Box 7884, Fred'bg, VA 22404 www.fredericksburgparent.net The publishers reserve the right to reject any advertisement, editorial or listing that does not meet the publication's standards. No part of this magazine may be reproduced with out permission. Listing and advertising rates are available upon request. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information con- tained herein, however, the publisher cannot guarantee such accuracy. Listings and advertisements are subject to typographical errors, ommissions and/or change without notice. For terms and conditions please visit our website at www.fredericksburgparent.net © Copyright 2016 Nurture, Inc. All rights reserved. WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE MALDONADO LIKE facebook.com/ FredericksburgParent SIGN UP www.FredParent.net TWEET facebook.com/ FredericksburgParent PIN www.pinterest.com/ fredparent FOLLOW @fredparentmagazine When I moved to the Fredericksburg area back in 2010, I was excited about my future of finally being a stay-at-home-mom. I had worked years to support my older two children after my first marriage ended in divorce. He left when they were very young and did not offer any support financially or otherwise. I was blessed to marry a wonderful man a few years later, who adopted them quickly after our marriage. So here I was in a new area, with a new husband and a new baby, and I had no idea what to do. I decided that I would use this time to join the local fam- ily gym and I spent a ton of time there. The excess weight quickly dropped off and I was in the best shape of my life. An unexpected fracture of some bones in my foot, though, sent me on an unplanned downward spiral medi- cally. The years that followed included a hip replacement, nerve damage, years of pain and, worst of all, weight gain. Thankfully, I finally feel that I am on the way back up and worked hard the last few months of 2015 to improve my eating habits (you may have seen my blog for the Doctor Yum Project!) and pass those habits on to my children. I found, though, that my issues with food ran far deeper than just eating bad things. So I am dedicated to not just figuring out how to eat healthier in 2016, but also how to BE a HEALTHIER ME! I am thrilled to tell you that I've joined the Lose it and Gain weight loss con- test/fundraiser to benefit the Fairy Godmother Projec t — a charity that sup- ports the families of children with pediatric cancer. My goal is to lose weight and raise funds. I would be honored and apprecia- tive if you could support me in this endeavor by pledging as little as $1 or more per pound lost. I will be competing against others in our community for most weight lost, percentage of weight lost and most funds raised. The contest runs through March 31 and you can track my progress on my blog on www.FredericksburgParent.net. If you are interested in sponsoring me, or joining in on the fun yourself, please email me at Stephanie@fredericksburgparent.net For more information on the Doctor Yum Project or Fairy Godmother Project, please check out their websites at www.doctoryum.org and www.fairygodmotherproject.org Lose it and Gain