I took dance for P.E. in high school. Much better than having to play volleyball or run. We stretched every morning to music. That was a really nice part of my day. The teacher played things like Bread and Prince and yes, even Merle Haggard. Those lyrics came to me this morning, sadly.
Whew. Finances are kicking my tail. I'd like to see us as poor, put-upon, hard-working Brenda and S who give so much and have such hardships come their way. But I'm more inclined (always) to see us as stupid, irresponsible Brenda and S who cannot get their act together financially. In truth, I don't think either one are correct views of the situation. And probably its a combination of the two plus some other view I don't even have.
All I know is that I'm glad God loves us. When I quit my job 9 1/2 years ago to come home (part time at first) there wasn't any possible, feasible way it was going to work on paper. And yet here we are. The Lord ALWAYS amazes me with the way things work out. He has an open stage to amaze me this month because from where I stand, things aren't good.
As if a year and a half of medical bills (still paying for Bee and that other little trip I took to the hospital) weren't enough, we've had a doozy of a spending spree on the medical front lately. Nothing like Carrie. She's the queen of the copay this fall. Still, we've spent nearly $400 on medical and medical related stuff since the week before Thanksgiving. Ouch.
On a happier note, we have our homeschool group's Christmas party today. The girls are each going to play a song on the piano. Little Bit has worked SO HARD to learn hers. It was so difficult for her and I'm so proud of her effort. I had to enlarge the sheet music and copy it onto 2 different colors of paper so the lines are alternating colors. I pasted all that inside a file folder so she can see the song better. Seeing double is a bummer. The girls are also going to do a little comedy act together. They've had so much fun practicing for it. And of course we have a book exchange. Our used book store here in town is going out of business and we got 3 books for the names we drew, plus a book Sweetheart wanted, for $7. I was very happy about that!
We are finished with piano and choir until the new year. That's a relief. I like being "off" for a while. Today we are knocking off of school because we have the Christmas party all afternoon and I need to drive to the big city to pick up a form for Sweetheart's physical therapy. Having some trouble with all that which I'll update you on later. So we're going to spend our remaining few hours cleaning the house. Whenever finances are bad, I ALWAYS have a desire to clean the house.
Is it because I feel out of control and want order? Does it make me feel more responsible? Do I think "Well, the least we can do is have a clean house?" I don't know, but it always happens. Psychoanalyze that.
And now I will count my blessings. Some of them.
1. Salvation from my Lord.
2. My husband and daughters.
3. A roof over our heads.
4. Cars to drive.
5. Food in the kitchen.
6. Heat.
7. Clothes to wear.
8. God's love.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Monday, December 2, 2013
The House o' Therapy
S and I thought it might be fun to drop a bunch of dough on doctor's visits in 2 days' time last week. Whee!!! We know how to party.
So, Bee had an ear infection--$25 copay
Sweetheart needed her back looked at as we were concerned about the curve of it--$25 copay.
Sweetheart was sent to have x-rays of back--can't actually remember but I think we spent money there too.
Little Bit went to an opthamologist because we found out she has double vision--$50 copay.
Sweetheart went to an orthopedic surgeon to look at back--$50 copay.
So the bottom line is this:
Bee got some antiobiotics. It's only her 2nd ear infection of her life so I wasn't upset about that. Problem solved. $10.00
Little Bit has convergence insufficiency. That means her eyes are not playing nice and working as a team. So when she does any "near work" her eyes take turns wandering outside of where they should be. You can't really see it happening, but it is. This explains the headaches, the crying, the frustration, the rubbing eyes, and all the trauma we've had in school this year.
I went back and looked at her last year's work and I could not believe the difference in font size between the two math books, the two phonics books, etc. Her reading books obviously are smaller as she's reading chapter books now. No wonder this problem has come up this year. (Alhtough she's always struggled in school. I can't imagine double vision + tics were helping.)
She says she's always seen double as long as she can remember. We found all this out during a conversation with my dad. We had Little Bit screened for Irlen Syndrome, we took her to the optometrist and her gave her reading glasses----nothing was helping. Then my dad told the story of when he used to get headaches and got some reading glasses as a young man in the Air Force. He descirbed how he sees double--Little Bit pipes up from the backseat, "That's how I see too!"
Um...what??? Good to know! So we dropped $64.00 on a computer program we can use here at home. She's to do the program, which will be her vision therapy, for 7 minutes a day, 5 days a week. It will take her a few months to complete the program and hopefully, this will fix her eyes. Oh I certainly hope so!! I could really go for school being easier. I was losing my mind before Thanksgiving break.
We are also using a homemade slant board for school for now. There is a really nice one for $30 online, but that can wait until after Christmas.
As for Sweetheart, she has a diagnosis of scoliosis and kyphosis. If you haven't heard of it, kyphosis is when the spine curves too much from the side view, causing a "humpback" look. We've been concerned about her back for about a year. We tried doing some different stretches, because I noticed her hamstrings are incredibly tight. She literally can not sit up straight on the floor with her legs out in front. She also could not do the stretches. We've nagged her about her posture for a really long time, and her walking posture has improved. But then we'll see a photograph of her sitting or bending over and it looks just awful. A friend of hers was diagnosed with kyphosis recently and when I found that out, I hit the internet. Oh....NOW I knew what exactly our concern was. It can be caused from poor posture, or a progressive disease called Scheurmann's disease. She has the latter. Some of the vertebrae in her back are wedge-shaped. So, she was relieved to find out it wasn't her fault. The good news is no surgery or brace neeeded. She's to do physical therapy for 6 months and come back for an x-ray. Physical therapy 2x a week for 4 weeks (or until she learns the exercises). I was going to take her to all eight sessions because I figure she'll do better with a professional watching her than she will at home, but at $25 a pop, we'll see...
We are also considering a gym membership for her so she can just generally strengthen her muscles, which will be needed to combat this disease. She doesn't have any gym clothes to wear to physical therapy or a gym.
Are you sensing a theme of concern by me? I KNOW I shouldn't be worried about money when my children's health is at stake. And really, the most important thing to me is that they are OK. I was relieved to have both diagnoses and a plan of action for both girls. BIG load off my mind. I've had enough time now to consider the cost of everything though. Ouch.
So, I'm hoping Bee doesn't feel left out, being the only child with no therapy going on at the moment. We're good, Bee. No, really.
So, Bee had an ear infection--$25 copay
Sweetheart needed her back looked at as we were concerned about the curve of it--$25 copay.
Sweetheart was sent to have x-rays of back--can't actually remember but I think we spent money there too.
Little Bit went to an opthamologist because we found out she has double vision--$50 copay.
Sweetheart went to an orthopedic surgeon to look at back--$50 copay.
So the bottom line is this:
Bee got some antiobiotics. It's only her 2nd ear infection of her life so I wasn't upset about that. Problem solved. $10.00
Little Bit has convergence insufficiency. That means her eyes are not playing nice and working as a team. So when she does any "near work" her eyes take turns wandering outside of where they should be. You can't really see it happening, but it is. This explains the headaches, the crying, the frustration, the rubbing eyes, and all the trauma we've had in school this year.
I went back and looked at her last year's work and I could not believe the difference in font size between the two math books, the two phonics books, etc. Her reading books obviously are smaller as she's reading chapter books now. No wonder this problem has come up this year. (Alhtough she's always struggled in school. I can't imagine double vision + tics were helping.)
She says she's always seen double as long as she can remember. We found all this out during a conversation with my dad. We had Little Bit screened for Irlen Syndrome, we took her to the optometrist and her gave her reading glasses----nothing was helping. Then my dad told the story of when he used to get headaches and got some reading glasses as a young man in the Air Force. He descirbed how he sees double--Little Bit pipes up from the backseat, "That's how I see too!"
Um...what??? Good to know! So we dropped $64.00 on a computer program we can use here at home. She's to do the program, which will be her vision therapy, for 7 minutes a day, 5 days a week. It will take her a few months to complete the program and hopefully, this will fix her eyes. Oh I certainly hope so!! I could really go for school being easier. I was losing my mind before Thanksgiving break.
We are also using a homemade slant board for school for now. There is a really nice one for $30 online, but that can wait until after Christmas.
As for Sweetheart, she has a diagnosis of scoliosis and kyphosis. If you haven't heard of it, kyphosis is when the spine curves too much from the side view, causing a "humpback" look. We've been concerned about her back for about a year. We tried doing some different stretches, because I noticed her hamstrings are incredibly tight. She literally can not sit up straight on the floor with her legs out in front. She also could not do the stretches. We've nagged her about her posture for a really long time, and her walking posture has improved. But then we'll see a photograph of her sitting or bending over and it looks just awful. A friend of hers was diagnosed with kyphosis recently and when I found that out, I hit the internet. Oh....NOW I knew what exactly our concern was. It can be caused from poor posture, or a progressive disease called Scheurmann's disease. She has the latter. Some of the vertebrae in her back are wedge-shaped. So, she was relieved to find out it wasn't her fault. The good news is no surgery or brace neeeded. She's to do physical therapy for 6 months and come back for an x-ray. Physical therapy 2x a week for 4 weeks (or until she learns the exercises). I was going to take her to all eight sessions because I figure she'll do better with a professional watching her than she will at home, but at $25 a pop, we'll see...
We are also considering a gym membership for her so she can just generally strengthen her muscles, which will be needed to combat this disease. She doesn't have any gym clothes to wear to physical therapy or a gym.
Are you sensing a theme of concern by me? I KNOW I shouldn't be worried about money when my children's health is at stake. And really, the most important thing to me is that they are OK. I was relieved to have both diagnoses and a plan of action for both girls. BIG load off my mind. I've had enough time now to consider the cost of everything though. Ouch.
So, I'm hoping Bee doesn't feel left out, being the only child with no therapy going on at the moment. We're good, Bee. No, really.
Monday, May 6, 2013
In Which Life Gets Easier
I feel like we're digging out of the last 2 years lately. The house is getting back in order. We're throwing stuff away right and left. We're keeping on top of chores somewhat.
Compare this to the year of all the sleeping (otherwise known as when I was pregnant) and then the year of the newborn...
Now? Bee is sleeping through the night 95% of the time, which makes a HUGE difference in how I feel physically every day. She's a walking, going maniac, which means she's happier and more content and I can get more done every day. We're wrapping up the school year--which makes everyone happy!
HUGE EXHALE......
This week our good friends the Holidays are coming for a visit. We haven't seen them since January and its time! Mr. Holiday will be working out of town, so Mrs. Holiday and the 4 little Holiday girls will be coming. Can't wait!! We're taking a few days off of school to spend time with them so that means a short week at school.
It also means a lot of cleaning went on over here this weekend. Having house guests is GOOD for your home! It makes you take care of areas you otherwise happily ignore.
We were able to get the girls new bikes this weekend. Sweetheart's was stolen earlier this year right out of our backyard and Little Bit had outgrown hers. We added a bike for me too, with a seat for Baby Bee so now we can add "bike riding" to our routine instead of just walking all the time. I still want to walk sometimes--it's good for you, but boy peddling a bike with a 20 pound baby on it is good for you too!
I just can't believe Baby Bee is about to be 1 and I also can't believe what a difference a year makes. Yes, we've seen an amazing difference in her of course. But what a difference in our whole life! I'm so thankful to God for the blessings of this family and for the health to enjoy and take care of them.
Oh and by the way, it's Teacher Appreciation Week this week.
For a homeschool mom, this plays out much like Mother's Day, don't you think?
So if you have a minute, go ahead and send me some appreciation for all my great teaching. Ha!
Compare this to the year of all the sleeping (otherwise known as when I was pregnant) and then the year of the newborn...
Now? Bee is sleeping through the night 95% of the time, which makes a HUGE difference in how I feel physically every day. She's a walking, going maniac, which means she's happier and more content and I can get more done every day. We're wrapping up the school year--which makes everyone happy!
HUGE EXHALE......
This week our good friends the Holidays are coming for a visit. We haven't seen them since January and its time! Mr. Holiday will be working out of town, so Mrs. Holiday and the 4 little Holiday girls will be coming. Can't wait!! We're taking a few days off of school to spend time with them so that means a short week at school.
It also means a lot of cleaning went on over here this weekend. Having house guests is GOOD for your home! It makes you take care of areas you otherwise happily ignore.
We were able to get the girls new bikes this weekend. Sweetheart's was stolen earlier this year right out of our backyard and Little Bit had outgrown hers. We added a bike for me too, with a seat for Baby Bee so now we can add "bike riding" to our routine instead of just walking all the time. I still want to walk sometimes--it's good for you, but boy peddling a bike with a 20 pound baby on it is good for you too!
 |
| Baby Bee last May... |
I just can't believe Baby Bee is about to be 1 and I also can't believe what a difference a year makes. Yes, we've seen an amazing difference in her of course. But what a difference in our whole life! I'm so thankful to God for the blessings of this family and for the health to enjoy and take care of them.
 |
| Baby Bee now...with a little friend at field day. She LOVED his hair. |
Oh and by the way, it's Teacher Appreciation Week this week.
For a homeschool mom, this plays out much like Mother's Day, don't you think?
So if you have a minute, go ahead and send me some appreciation for all my great teaching. Ha!
Monday, February 4, 2013
True Confessions
I am a horrible person. And very selfish.
You know, ever since my ambulance ride nearly a year ago, I have worried more about my health. It was a tiny taste of my own mortality. Something could go wrong. I am not immune to illness and poor health.
Every time I hear a cancer diagnosis (which is a lot) I think, "Oh please not me." We've had two people in the hospital lately--my cousin is still hanging on and a young man at our church just passed away last night. I am sad for them. I pray for them. I am concerned.
But my thoughts go back to me far too often. What if that were our family? What if that happened to me? To us? It's not right to worry. So I'm confessing here that it scares me.
Oh, I'm not afraid to die. I am afraid of leaving my children without their mom. Who would homeschool them? They can't just be dumped into public school! They aren't "on level" in everything! What would happen? What about Little Bit's tics? Who would take care of Baby Bee? It breaks my heart to think of leaving them before they are grown.
So I pray. I pray for mercy that I do not deserve. I pray for good health. I worry about what I'm eating. I worry--what if something is growing in my body right now and I don't know about it? What if we don't catch something until it's really bad?
And I am thankful. I am thankful for every single day I have with them. I am happy to fix their hair and wash their clothes. I am glad to do really normal, unpleasant, everyday mom things. I am thankful that I can do them. That I am here.
But I have to stop worrying. Yes, I need to eat healthy. Yes, we live in a toxic waste dump. I wish we could move. Yes, I need to exercise. Yes, I need to teach my children diligently while I have them here with me.
I am weary. I am tired of diagnoses. I am tired of death. I am tired of this broken creation and of people snubbing their nose at the living God.
And yet, He waits. He does not want anyone to perish. How great is His love for us!
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
You know, ever since my ambulance ride nearly a year ago, I have worried more about my health. It was a tiny taste of my own mortality. Something could go wrong. I am not immune to illness and poor health.
Every time I hear a cancer diagnosis (which is a lot) I think, "Oh please not me." We've had two people in the hospital lately--my cousin is still hanging on and a young man at our church just passed away last night. I am sad for them. I pray for them. I am concerned.
But my thoughts go back to me far too often. What if that were our family? What if that happened to me? To us? It's not right to worry. So I'm confessing here that it scares me.
Oh, I'm not afraid to die. I am afraid of leaving my children without their mom. Who would homeschool them? They can't just be dumped into public school! They aren't "on level" in everything! What would happen? What about Little Bit's tics? Who would take care of Baby Bee? It breaks my heart to think of leaving them before they are grown.
So I pray. I pray for mercy that I do not deserve. I pray for good health. I worry about what I'm eating. I worry--what if something is growing in my body right now and I don't know about it? What if we don't catch something until it's really bad?
And I am thankful. I am thankful for every single day I have with them. I am happy to fix their hair and wash their clothes. I am glad to do really normal, unpleasant, everyday mom things. I am thankful that I can do them. That I am here.
But I have to stop worrying. Yes, I need to eat healthy. Yes, we live in a toxic waste dump. I wish we could move. Yes, I need to exercise. Yes, I need to teach my children diligently while I have them here with me.
I am weary. I am tired of diagnoses. I am tired of death. I am tired of this broken creation and of people snubbing their nose at the living God.
And yet, He waits. He does not want anyone to perish. How great is His love for us!
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
In Which Brenda Has Insomnia and is NOT Pregnant
Man, the last few nights have been just like when I was pregnant. I go right to sleep and then about 3 or 4am...BAM. Wide awake.
Wide awake and solving all the problems of the world. And worrying.
You name it, I covered it last night. I worried about money, a person who is living in sin that I need to write a letter to about that (wrote the letter in my head--check), Little Bit's sore gums, health, my terminally ill cousin, lack of progress in school...etc.
It's a really tiring way to wake up.
This morning I went with S to a follow up appointment at his new doctor's office. She's very nice and young but she prescribed two things that I will be researching. Not at all sure I want him on those drugs. So that's my next project.
Sweetheart asked over the weekend if the Bible said anything about modesty. That question surprised me as I've always talked about modesty with them. Guess its been years since we actually read any Bible verses about it. And now that she's as old as she is, I decided to show her how to study something she is curious about. After our first study time she said it was fun and she really enjoyed it. THAT is an answer to prayer!
Last Monday, right in the middle of history, Little Bit's tics reared their ugly head. Not just any tics, but the dreaded screaming tic.
Me: So Abraham moved from Ur to Canaan...
LB: Ur. Ur. Urururururur. SCREAM
Me: (thinking) please be kidding
All we can think is that she got overly tired from our fun weekend with the Holiday family. Whatever it was set her off from Monday until Wednesday afternoon. It was a very tiring 3 days. She was exhausted, school didn't get completely done, there were tears. One happy note is that the screaming didn't seem to bother Baby Bee at all. Sometimes she just looked at Little Bit and screamed back. That made us all laugh. And Bee managed to sleep through them too.
We upped her supplement she takes and I think we may have overdone it and given her too much and made her stomach upset. ANYWAY....all that to say...that's why I haven't been blogging.
Tourette Syndrome is more time consuming than regular life.
We broke out our copy of Front of the Class and watched it together. That prompted me to read the book again. What struck me this time I read it was Brad Cohen's description of learning with Tourette's present. It really made me think about why Little Bit is where she is in school.
And in more horrible news: Bee is crawling. Oh I'm kidding. It's wonderful news. She looks so cute scooting across the floor. Boy did big sisters start scrambling around picking stuff up when on Sunday she suddenly took off! Now she not only crawls, but pulls up at the coffee table and gets into everything. Nothing is safe anymore. Gee I wonder why I'm not more productive?
Oh wait. I AM productive.
Just in my head at 4am.
Wide awake and solving all the problems of the world. And worrying.
You name it, I covered it last night. I worried about money, a person who is living in sin that I need to write a letter to about that (wrote the letter in my head--check), Little Bit's sore gums, health, my terminally ill cousin, lack of progress in school...etc.
It's a really tiring way to wake up.
This morning I went with S to a follow up appointment at his new doctor's office. She's very nice and young but she prescribed two things that I will be researching. Not at all sure I want him on those drugs. So that's my next project.
 |
| S holding Baby Bee last fall on our camping trip. |
Sweetheart asked over the weekend if the Bible said anything about modesty. That question surprised me as I've always talked about modesty with them. Guess its been years since we actually read any Bible verses about it. And now that she's as old as she is, I decided to show her how to study something she is curious about. After our first study time she said it was fun and she really enjoyed it. THAT is an answer to prayer!
 |
| Sweetheart playing in the "snow" at Daddy's work Christmas party. |
Last Monday, right in the middle of history, Little Bit's tics reared their ugly head. Not just any tics, but the dreaded screaming tic.
Me: So Abraham moved from Ur to Canaan...
LB: Ur. Ur. Urururururur. SCREAM
Me: (thinking) please be kidding
All we can think is that she got overly tired from our fun weekend with the Holiday family. Whatever it was set her off from Monday until Wednesday afternoon. It was a very tiring 3 days. She was exhausted, school didn't get completely done, there were tears. One happy note is that the screaming didn't seem to bother Baby Bee at all. Sometimes she just looked at Little Bit and screamed back. That made us all laugh. And Bee managed to sleep through them too.
We upped her supplement she takes and I think we may have overdone it and given her too much and made her stomach upset. ANYWAY....all that to say...that's why I haven't been blogging.
Tourette Syndrome is more time consuming than regular life.
 |
| Little Bit at our church's children's Christmas party. Can you tell I need to upload some more recent pictures??? |
We broke out our copy of Front of the Class and watched it together. That prompted me to read the book again. What struck me this time I read it was Brad Cohen's description of learning with Tourette's present. It really made me think about why Little Bit is where she is in school.
 |
| Baby Bee in the owl hat Auntie Carrie got her. |
And in more horrible news: Bee is crawling. Oh I'm kidding. It's wonderful news. She looks so cute scooting across the floor. Boy did big sisters start scrambling around picking stuff up when on Sunday she suddenly took off! Now she not only crawls, but pulls up at the coffee table and gets into everything. Nothing is safe anymore. Gee I wonder why I'm not more productive?
Oh wait. I AM productive.
Just in my head at 4am.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
The Hobby I Didn't Ask For
Wanna know what I do in my spare time?
I talk to insurance companies, doctor's offices, and pharmacies on the phone. It's a load of fun.
You remember, I'm sure, that I was in the hospital twice last year? (Once to have Baby Bee, and 2 weeks later again.) Well. We owe a LOT of people money. Doctors, anesthesiologists, labs, etc. And of course many of them have, how shall we say, issues with the billing process.
So I call.
And now S has been put on insulin. That's a good thing! But since he works full time, it's up to me to make appointments, call in re-fills, ask questions, schedule things, etc.
So I call.
No, Important Lab Company, we do not, in fact, owe you $400 for blood work for my husband. We have insurance. Oh, it was denied? Interesting.
Hello? Insurance Company? Why were we denied? Oh, you never received a claim? Interesting.
Then we proceed to have a conference call between me, Important Lab Company, and Insurance Company. They have the wrong billing code. They didn't know that this one big insurance company bought the other insurance company. OK-we'll try again.
Repeat process the next month. Call also to get them to stop collections.
Oh its fun.
You should get a hobby like mine!
I talk to insurance companies, doctor's offices, and pharmacies on the phone. It's a load of fun.
You remember, I'm sure, that I was in the hospital twice last year? (Once to have Baby Bee, and 2 weeks later again.) Well. We owe a LOT of people money. Doctors, anesthesiologists, labs, etc. And of course many of them have, how shall we say, issues with the billing process.
So I call.
And now S has been put on insulin. That's a good thing! But since he works full time, it's up to me to make appointments, call in re-fills, ask questions, schedule things, etc.
So I call.
No, Important Lab Company, we do not, in fact, owe you $400 for blood work for my husband. We have insurance. Oh, it was denied? Interesting.
Hello? Insurance Company? Why were we denied? Oh, you never received a claim? Interesting.
Then we proceed to have a conference call between me, Important Lab Company, and Insurance Company. They have the wrong billing code. They didn't know that this one big insurance company bought the other insurance company. OK-we'll try again.
Repeat process the next month. Call also to get them to stop collections.
Oh its fun.
You should get a hobby like mine!
Friday, December 28, 2012
The House of Fever and Hack
We're a barrel of fun around here. I started running fever Christmas Eve and continued on until the day after Christmas, where I spent 3 1/2 hours sitting in a clinic waiting room to be asked by the doctor, "Could you have been exposed to anyone with the flu lately?"
Um, you mean besides the last 3 1/2 hours?
It wasn't flu, by the way.
I feel better, but not 100%. It's rough running 101 or 102 and still having to feed baby. Baby Bee was VERY good Christmas afternoon and entertained herself for a really long time for Daddy while Mommy laid in bed. And she stayed with my parents while I was at that clinic the next day. She did not die from lack of nursing but I was one anxious Mama and she was really glad to see me when I got home.
Now Sweetheart has a cough and so do I. I have big plans for us to all just stay home as much as possible!
But we had a good Christmas and I was thankful to feel good enough to be up and there. I'll share pics later. Don't have that kind of time right now.
Right now I'm on Project Baby Proof. I was so proud I got the pantry rearranged yesterday and today had plans to go around the living room floor checking for safety hazards.
And then Baby Bee pulled herself up to her knees on the coffee table last night. I wish you could have seen how delighted she was with herself. Started pounding on the keyboard of the laptop!
So needless to say, Project Baby Proof needs to speed up its efforts a few notches!
Hope you all had a blessed holiday with your families!
P.S. Wanted to share this picture. We snuck down to the beach before Christmas and bought some shells to surprise S with a beach tree in his home office. Took this pic of Little Bit outside one of the stores. It cracks us up.
Um, you mean besides the last 3 1/2 hours?
It wasn't flu, by the way.
I feel better, but not 100%. It's rough running 101 or 102 and still having to feed baby. Baby Bee was VERY good Christmas afternoon and entertained herself for a really long time for Daddy while Mommy laid in bed. And she stayed with my parents while I was at that clinic the next day. She did not die from lack of nursing but I was one anxious Mama and she was really glad to see me when I got home.
Now Sweetheart has a cough and so do I. I have big plans for us to all just stay home as much as possible!
But we had a good Christmas and I was thankful to feel good enough to be up and there. I'll share pics later. Don't have that kind of time right now.
Right now I'm on Project Baby Proof. I was so proud I got the pantry rearranged yesterday and today had plans to go around the living room floor checking for safety hazards.
And then Baby Bee pulled herself up to her knees on the coffee table last night. I wish you could have seen how delighted she was with herself. Started pounding on the keyboard of the laptop!
So needless to say, Project Baby Proof needs to speed up its efforts a few notches!
Hope you all had a blessed holiday with your families!
P.S. Wanted to share this picture. We snuck down to the beach before Christmas and bought some shells to surprise S with a beach tree in his home office. Took this pic of Little Bit outside one of the stores. It cracks us up.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
So I Have a Secret
I've been making smoothies for breakfast for 2 weeks now. The girls and I have been drinking one every morning. I'm doing this for our health. So what's the big secret?
Well, they think they are drinking fruit smoothies, but they are really drinking green smoothies. Yeah, yeah..."knowledge is power". How about "what you don't know won't hurt you"? Or "ignorance is bliss"?
The first 2 mornings after I bought my Ninja...(**Warning: My sister and a good friend have both sliced themselves on the blades to this bad boy. Not my Ninja--theirs. These things are SHARP. Use caution.)
Anyway...the first 2 smoothies I made were straight up fruit smoothies. And I made them pretty sweet. After that, the novelty of the new blender wore off and the girls wandered off and I started stuffing spinach in there too. I started with one good fistful and now I'm using 1/2 a small bag every morning.
I LOVE that Sweetheart is getting all those greens in her diet. She wouldn't eat that much spinach in a YEAR left to her own devices. I love that breakfast is easy. I'm excited they still like them. Little Bit asks for them every morning. Sweetheart sometimes needs encouragement to finish hers, but she does. She's even said she likes them!
One day soon they'll discover my little secret. And that's OK. Because at that point I can just say, "You've been drinking green smoothies for X amount of weeks and you liked them." Anyway I thought I'd share what I've been doing.
I basically used this video to get started. The big difference is, I use blueberries to turn our smoothie a wonderful shade of pink. My smoothies aren't that green even before the blueberries. I'm working up the amount of greens I add though little by little.
Our basic daily recipe is some no sugar added mixed frozen fruit, water, spinach, and frozen blueberries. Oh...and flax seed and sometimes I throw Little Bit's magnesium supplement in there too. Oh and a little Truvia. I understand you are supposed to change things up a bit and use different greens, etc. But this is really working for us and is way more health food getting inside of us than usual. So for now I'm sticking with it.
I can't say that I've noticed huge benefits yet. Some people report symptoms of other diseases gone, great hair and skin, etc. My nails are really strong just like when I was pregnant. I guess that's something. But we're going to keep going and see what happens.
Oh one more thing! I'm kind of starting Sweetheart on this diet. Yes, my 90 pound almost 13 year old on a diet. :) It's not for weight loss. That girl loves nothing but carbs and sweets and avoids any vegetable she can. She's on the fast track to diabetes with her Dad's family history, so I decided something needed to change. The smoothies are my own idea--they aren't part of this diet. The first step in the diet is to eat protein every morning with breakfast. So I make her a piece of peanut butter toast, or a slice of sausage to go with her smoothie. I'm also going to try throwing oatmeal in the blender. Whatever I can do to improve her diet.
That's my little secret. And my little plan to get our family healthier. There is so much to improve on it can be overwhelming, but at least I've started, right?
Well, they think they are drinking fruit smoothies, but they are really drinking green smoothies. Yeah, yeah..."knowledge is power". How about "what you don't know won't hurt you"? Or "ignorance is bliss"?
The first 2 mornings after I bought my Ninja...(**Warning: My sister and a good friend have both sliced themselves on the blades to this bad boy. Not my Ninja--theirs. These things are SHARP. Use caution.)
Anyway...the first 2 smoothies I made were straight up fruit smoothies. And I made them pretty sweet. After that, the novelty of the new blender wore off and the girls wandered off and I started stuffing spinach in there too. I started with one good fistful and now I'm using 1/2 a small bag every morning.
I LOVE that Sweetheart is getting all those greens in her diet. She wouldn't eat that much spinach in a YEAR left to her own devices. I love that breakfast is easy. I'm excited they still like them. Little Bit asks for them every morning. Sweetheart sometimes needs encouragement to finish hers, but she does. She's even said she likes them!
One day soon they'll discover my little secret. And that's OK. Because at that point I can just say, "You've been drinking green smoothies for X amount of weeks and you liked them." Anyway I thought I'd share what I've been doing.
I basically used this video to get started. The big difference is, I use blueberries to turn our smoothie a wonderful shade of pink. My smoothies aren't that green even before the blueberries. I'm working up the amount of greens I add though little by little.
Our basic daily recipe is some no sugar added mixed frozen fruit, water, spinach, and frozen blueberries. Oh...and flax seed and sometimes I throw Little Bit's magnesium supplement in there too. Oh and a little Truvia. I understand you are supposed to change things up a bit and use different greens, etc. But this is really working for us and is way more health food getting inside of us than usual. So for now I'm sticking with it.
I can't say that I've noticed huge benefits yet. Some people report symptoms of other diseases gone, great hair and skin, etc. My nails are really strong just like when I was pregnant. I guess that's something. But we're going to keep going and see what happens.
Oh one more thing! I'm kind of starting Sweetheart on this diet. Yes, my 90 pound almost 13 year old on a diet. :) It's not for weight loss. That girl loves nothing but carbs and sweets and avoids any vegetable she can. She's on the fast track to diabetes with her Dad's family history, so I decided something needed to change. The smoothies are my own idea--they aren't part of this diet. The first step in the diet is to eat protein every morning with breakfast. So I make her a piece of peanut butter toast, or a slice of sausage to go with her smoothie. I'm also going to try throwing oatmeal in the blender. Whatever I can do to improve her diet.
That's my little secret. And my little plan to get our family healthier. There is so much to improve on it can be overwhelming, but at least I've started, right?
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Conspiracy Theory
I'm really starting to think...
...that all this acid reflux stuff is a scam.
Oh, I believe acid reflux is real. It's just that it seems to be quite tied up with the pharmaceutical industry. Ahem.
And I might have been surprised to see on the list of "natural herbs that treat acid reflux" TWO THINGS that I have been told to avoid by the medical industry.
Hmm. Interesting. That's all I'm saying.
I already believe that diabetes is a big 'ol scam. They could cure everyone tomorrow but that isn't going to happen because it's all tied up in money.
Do you know how badly I wish naturopaths were covered by insurance so we could afford to go?
Tomorrow I visit our new doctor. I already saw her for Baby Bee's newborn appointment where I announced we would be following Dr. Sears' alternate immunization schedule and she said,
"Good!"
And then went on to say that she thought that was a good schedule but she might even be more conservative in a few areas. I nearly fainted. I found a family doctor who is on board with that? Wow!
So I can't wait to see how she can help us with the acid reflux and the diabetes. (S sees her later this week.) We're hoping it's more about diet and real solutions than medicine. If I read her website correctly, I believe it will be.
I've sure been praying about our health. We want to be healthy enough to raise our girls all the way up. And to work in God's Kingdom. I don't want good health to become an idol, but I think we need to do what we can to stay healthy.
Don't get me wrong, we're thankful for the doctors who patched me up in the hospital. It's just that I got put on the set course of treatment without anyone asking me a single question about my history, symptoms, lifestyle, etc. I'm anxious to see a doctor who treats our whole family and looks at the whole picture of our health.
Sorry if I sound a bit cynical...it's just that I've been researching.
Dangerous, I know.
...that all this acid reflux stuff is a scam.
Oh, I believe acid reflux is real. It's just that it seems to be quite tied up with the pharmaceutical industry. Ahem.
And I might have been surprised to see on the list of "natural herbs that treat acid reflux" TWO THINGS that I have been told to avoid by the medical industry.
Hmm. Interesting. That's all I'm saying.
I already believe that diabetes is a big 'ol scam. They could cure everyone tomorrow but that isn't going to happen because it's all tied up in money.
Do you know how badly I wish naturopaths were covered by insurance so we could afford to go?
Tomorrow I visit our new doctor. I already saw her for Baby Bee's newborn appointment where I announced we would be following Dr. Sears' alternate immunization schedule and she said,
"Good!"
And then went on to say that she thought that was a good schedule but she might even be more conservative in a few areas. I nearly fainted. I found a family doctor who is on board with that? Wow!
So I can't wait to see how she can help us with the acid reflux and the diabetes. (S sees her later this week.) We're hoping it's more about diet and real solutions than medicine. If I read her website correctly, I believe it will be.
I've sure been praying about our health. We want to be healthy enough to raise our girls all the way up. And to work in God's Kingdom. I don't want good health to become an idol, but I think we need to do what we can to stay healthy.
Don't get me wrong, we're thankful for the doctors who patched me up in the hospital. It's just that I got put on the set course of treatment without anyone asking me a single question about my history, symptoms, lifestyle, etc. I'm anxious to see a doctor who treats our whole family and looks at the whole picture of our health.
Sorry if I sound a bit cynical...it's just that I've been researching.
Dangerous, I know.
Monday, June 18, 2012
One Month
And boy what a month it has been!
Our Health
My baby girl is one month old today. Today I go to the doctor's office for a follow-up from my hospital stay. Uh...the second hospital stay. The doctor who fixed my bleeding ulcer. Then next week, I go for my follow-up appointment for my first hospital stay. The doctor who delivered Baby Bee.
Got all that?
Oh, throw in a doctor's appointment with my primary care doctor too. Just for fun.
Being 41 is awesome so far!
I have still been having little dizzy spells and a feeling of weakness every now and then. It was really concerning me until a friend pointed out that was probably from the anemia. You know, losing that much blood can make you anemic. Even if they pump four units of blood into you at the hospital.
So I've been researching iron-rich foods and downing a lot of them. It really helps. I'll be talking to my doctor about diet. And then S is going to see the same doctor soon because his blood sugar is in no way under control. So he'll be talking about diet too. Praying we can get him squared away because now that I'm doing better, I'm increasingly concerned for his health. I know we can get ourselves under control--we just need some guidance.
But enough about our health....what else is going on around here?
Our Family
Well, it's been completely, totally, and 100% awesome having S home so much. (You know, now that he's just working one job.) The house stays in order better, we've all seen more of him, our family does things together. It's really cool. Of course, cutting out that second income means eating at home a LOT more. Which really goes along with our diet (see above) anyway. So I guess that's a good thing.
Our Homeschool
I originally told the girls they could have a month off after baby was born and then we would start "summer school." What that means is, Sweetheart has to finish up the last few weeks of Sonlight. She has to do math lessons at least 3 times a week--more if she annoys me. And Little Bit has to read to me every day and work on math. BOY does Little Bit need to work on math. The child can memorize whole movies--why can she not grasp the addition and subtraction facts? Seriously, her memory is freaky good. She misplaced her DS one time a few months ago and came and told me, "Mom, the last time I was playing my DS was at (a restaurant) when we ate there on a Saturday. Remember? We had just been to (a store) and then we stopped to eat?"
Uh. No, actually, I didn't remember that because IT WAS OVER A MONTH AGO! Very good memory, that one. You can pull an outfit out of her closet and she can tell you where she was the last time she wore it. If we lose anything in the house--she's the one we call. She remembers where she saw every little thing.
Which tells me she is very visual. So I have been making lots of math manipulatives to help out with the math. Also, I've been pinning lots of activities on Pinterest. Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to go on the math activities today, but Sweetheart will be getting started on her stuff so that's good.
Getting Back to Normal
I guess we are as back to normal as things are going to get. I feel pretty good as long as I eat my Cream of Wheat every day and rest some every afternoon. Baby Bee is getting on a really good schedule. She's a very easy baby. The Lord's mercy! With all the upheaval we've had lately, He knew we needed an easy baby!
Anyway, hopefully things will be getting back to normal around this blog too. I've missed "talking" with you all! Of course, my arms are busy and full more lately and it's harder to find time to blog...but I'm hoping to be more regular and also have more interesting things to talk about than my iron levels.
You're welcome.
Oh no! It's coming true!!
 |
| She is not one month old in this picture, but I still like it. |
My baby girl is one month old today. Today I go to the doctor's office for a follow-up from my hospital stay. Uh...the second hospital stay. The doctor who fixed my bleeding ulcer. Then next week, I go for my follow-up appointment for my first hospital stay. The doctor who delivered Baby Bee.
Got all that?
Oh, throw in a doctor's appointment with my primary care doctor too. Just for fun.
Being 41 is awesome so far!
I have still been having little dizzy spells and a feeling of weakness every now and then. It was really concerning me until a friend pointed out that was probably from the anemia. You know, losing that much blood can make you anemic. Even if they pump four units of blood into you at the hospital.
So I've been researching iron-rich foods and downing a lot of them. It really helps. I'll be talking to my doctor about diet. And then S is going to see the same doctor soon because his blood sugar is in no way under control. So he'll be talking about diet too. Praying we can get him squared away because now that I'm doing better, I'm increasingly concerned for his health. I know we can get ourselves under control--we just need some guidance.
But enough about our health....what else is going on around here?
Our Family
Well, it's been completely, totally, and 100% awesome having S home so much. (You know, now that he's just working one job.) The house stays in order better, we've all seen more of him, our family does things together. It's really cool. Of course, cutting out that second income means eating at home a LOT more. Which really goes along with our diet (see above) anyway. So I guess that's a good thing.
Our Homeschool
I originally told the girls they could have a month off after baby was born and then we would start "summer school." What that means is, Sweetheart has to finish up the last few weeks of Sonlight. She has to do math lessons at least 3 times a week--more if she annoys me. And Little Bit has to read to me every day and work on math. BOY does Little Bit need to work on math. The child can memorize whole movies--why can she not grasp the addition and subtraction facts? Seriously, her memory is freaky good. She misplaced her DS one time a few months ago and came and told me, "Mom, the last time I was playing my DS was at (a restaurant) when we ate there on a Saturday. Remember? We had just been to (a store) and then we stopped to eat?"
Uh. No, actually, I didn't remember that because IT WAS OVER A MONTH AGO! Very good memory, that one. You can pull an outfit out of her closet and she can tell you where she was the last time she wore it. If we lose anything in the house--she's the one we call. She remembers where she saw every little thing.
Which tells me she is very visual. So I have been making lots of math manipulatives to help out with the math. Also, I've been pinning lots of activities on Pinterest. Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to go on the math activities today, but Sweetheart will be getting started on her stuff so that's good.
Getting Back to Normal
I guess we are as back to normal as things are going to get. I feel pretty good as long as I eat my Cream of Wheat every day and rest some every afternoon. Baby Bee is getting on a really good schedule. She's a very easy baby. The Lord's mercy! With all the upheaval we've had lately, He knew we needed an easy baby!
Anyway, hopefully things will be getting back to normal around this blog too. I've missed "talking" with you all! Of course, my arms are busy and full more lately and it's harder to find time to blog...but I'm hoping to be more regular and also have more interesting things to talk about than my iron levels.
You're welcome.
Oh no! It's coming true!!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
In Which I Don't Even Know Where to Start
Wow guys. Last week was a doozy. I haven't even finished processing all that has happened to us. All I know is God is good. And last week was not my favorite.
So last Sunday night was when I got up to go to the bathroom and passed out. Somehow, before I went out, I managed to call out to S that I needed him. And miraculously....he heard me. Really--that's amazing in itself. Throwing up the blood kind of woke me up.
I got my first ever ambulance ride. S managed to call a friend to come get the big girls and get Baby Bee and himself to the ER right behind the ambulance. My sister joined us and then later my mom took her place. My parents were out of town and I think S called them about 4:30am. They got up and came right home. Anyway, we were in the ER for over 12 hours. Baby Bee was there the whole time with us and thankfully we had a private room with a door that shut. We were concerned about her catching something in the germy ER, but with the private room we felt better. We made good use of the hand sanitizer on the wall. It took S, my sister/mom, and myself to navigate all the tubes and wires and IVs, but I managed to nurse her 2 or 3 times in the ER. Blessing.
They came to get me Monday afternoon for a scope to see what was going on. It was then we learned that Baby Bee would not be able to stay with us in the room. Also, with the meds I would be on, I would not be able to nurse. My wonderful family jumped into action and bought an electric pump for me. Sister did the running to the store for whatever we needed. S had grabbed the "emergency" formula I had stashed in the kitchen cabinet before he left for the ER. I was going to throw it away or donate it all, but then my mom told a story about how she had to to the hospital when one of my sisters was little and my dad had to feed the baby in the car. So I paused...and stored it all. Along with the one sample bottle that came in the bag of free stuff. Providence.
The scope revealed a bleeding ulcer and a hole in a mid-sized vessel behind the ulcer. My hemoglobin level was a 6. For a woman who just gave birth, it should have been a 9 or 10. At 8, they usually do transfusions. I was there. It's a good thing my level was so low, because I think they would have all just chalked it up to having just given birth. My really low levels got them to looking for other causes. I got 4 units of blood before my level got up to a 10 three days later. I sure felt better with blood in my body! And I am very grateful for those blood donors. Providence.
My parents took all 3 girls home with them. I cannot adequately tell you how upset I was to be away from my baby. To not be able to care for her. To not be able to feed her. It was comforting and upsetting all at the same time to know she was taking the bottle just fine. My parents are 76. They've raised 3 kiddos, but certainly aren't used to getting up with a newborn. S and I worried a lot that first night. It's hard to hand over your 2 week old infant to anyone--even awesome grandparents. But she slept her usual schedule and did great. Providence and blessing.
Tuesday brought another procedure: this time to cauterize and plug up the holes in me. I wasn't nearly as scared that second time. Oh that first time was horrible. They came to get me with no warning and neither of us really even understood what procedure was about to take place. Then they park you in a bay staring at the wall all by yourself for 10-20 minutes. I prayed a lot. I cried a lot. I laughed to myself when I saw the towel on the end of my bed. It was there because Bee had peed all over the bed when S was changing her diaper a few hours earlier. I was going into my procedure with pee on the end of my bed. All I wanted was to get home to my baby--to my family. I wanted to be OK.
I'm not a crier. I try not to cry and be an irrational female in front of S. I know when I'm being stupid emotional about something (hormones anyone?) and I don't put that on display. But last week I was a blubbering mess. And my sweet husband listened and comforted and reminded me that God was in charge. The big girls would come visit and I hardly even felt like talking with them. I was pretty sick, I guess. S went and got Baby Bee on Tuesday night and I managed to find a way to hold her even with the IVs that hurt when I bent my arms. I felt so much more hopeful that night.
Wednesday morning brought the news we were hoping for: I could go home! I was out of the hospital by noon, but still couldn't nurse until the next day. I am so grateful to not be pumping anymore. I worried the whole time I was in the hospital that Bee would forget how to nurse and was getting used to that bottle. I mean, we had only been at it for 2 weeks. But Thursday morning proved all my worries a waste of time. She had not forgotten.
S was told by his boss to take the rest of the week off and to not worry about work at all. So he has been with us every day, taking care of things. It has been so nice and so needed to have him here this week. I feel pretty much back to normal now. I haven't driven anywhere yet and I was really nervous getting up to go to the bathroom in the night the first night home. In fact, I haven't really wanted to be by myself at all. I guess you could say the whole thing really shook us up. I guess that's understandable.
But what I know is this: I did not pass out when I was carrying Bee across a room. I did not pass out when I was alone. I did not pass out when I was driving. We now know I had been bleeding for the whole 2 weeks since Bee's birth. Last Friday as I was climbing onto the bed to take a nap while Bee was sleeping, I nearly blacked out. I thought, "Wow--I'm so tired I'm dizzy!" But I did not pass out that day. The Lord was truly watching out for me. His timing is perfect. Remember that S just quit his second job? The one that kept him busy every evening and on weekends? Yep. He was with me this week instead of worrying how he would get that job done. Again--perfect timing.
I have thought and thought about what all has happened this week. Some of it I've pieced together from S or my sister telling me what happened, because I don't remember all of it. It was a rotten week as far as fun weeks go, but we got to see many blessings and the providence of the Lord in our lives. My faith has increased and I am more grateful for small, everyday things.
And that's the story of last week. We are left with blessings, restored health, an intact family, and hospital bills for two different hospital stays in 3 week's time (Bee's birth and my ulcer). The bills will be amazing, I'm sure. But you know what? I have seen the Lord's providence and I know He is already way ahead of us.
And He is good.
So last Sunday night was when I got up to go to the bathroom and passed out. Somehow, before I went out, I managed to call out to S that I needed him. And miraculously....he heard me. Really--that's amazing in itself. Throwing up the blood kind of woke me up.
I got my first ever ambulance ride. S managed to call a friend to come get the big girls and get Baby Bee and himself to the ER right behind the ambulance. My sister joined us and then later my mom took her place. My parents were out of town and I think S called them about 4:30am. They got up and came right home. Anyway, we were in the ER for over 12 hours. Baby Bee was there the whole time with us and thankfully we had a private room with a door that shut. We were concerned about her catching something in the germy ER, but with the private room we felt better. We made good use of the hand sanitizer on the wall. It took S, my sister/mom, and myself to navigate all the tubes and wires and IVs, but I managed to nurse her 2 or 3 times in the ER. Blessing.
They came to get me Monday afternoon for a scope to see what was going on. It was then we learned that Baby Bee would not be able to stay with us in the room. Also, with the meds I would be on, I would not be able to nurse. My wonderful family jumped into action and bought an electric pump for me. Sister did the running to the store for whatever we needed. S had grabbed the "emergency" formula I had stashed in the kitchen cabinet before he left for the ER. I was going to throw it away or donate it all, but then my mom told a story about how she had to to the hospital when one of my sisters was little and my dad had to feed the baby in the car. So I paused...and stored it all. Along with the one sample bottle that came in the bag of free stuff. Providence.
The scope revealed a bleeding ulcer and a hole in a mid-sized vessel behind the ulcer. My hemoglobin level was a 6. For a woman who just gave birth, it should have been a 9 or 10. At 8, they usually do transfusions. I was there. It's a good thing my level was so low, because I think they would have all just chalked it up to having just given birth. My really low levels got them to looking for other causes. I got 4 units of blood before my level got up to a 10 three days later. I sure felt better with blood in my body! And I am very grateful for those blood donors. Providence.
My parents took all 3 girls home with them. I cannot adequately tell you how upset I was to be away from my baby. To not be able to care for her. To not be able to feed her. It was comforting and upsetting all at the same time to know she was taking the bottle just fine. My parents are 76. They've raised 3 kiddos, but certainly aren't used to getting up with a newborn. S and I worried a lot that first night. It's hard to hand over your 2 week old infant to anyone--even awesome grandparents. But she slept her usual schedule and did great. Providence and blessing.
Tuesday brought another procedure: this time to cauterize and plug up the holes in me. I wasn't nearly as scared that second time. Oh that first time was horrible. They came to get me with no warning and neither of us really even understood what procedure was about to take place. Then they park you in a bay staring at the wall all by yourself for 10-20 minutes. I prayed a lot. I cried a lot. I laughed to myself when I saw the towel on the end of my bed. It was there because Bee had peed all over the bed when S was changing her diaper a few hours earlier. I was going into my procedure with pee on the end of my bed. All I wanted was to get home to my baby--to my family. I wanted to be OK.
Wednesday morning brought the news we were hoping for: I could go home! I was out of the hospital by noon, but still couldn't nurse until the next day. I am so grateful to not be pumping anymore. I worried the whole time I was in the hospital that Bee would forget how to nurse and was getting used to that bottle. I mean, we had only been at it for 2 weeks. But Thursday morning proved all my worries a waste of time. She had not forgotten.
 |
| I don't know what I would do without this man. |
S was told by his boss to take the rest of the week off and to not worry about work at all. So he has been with us every day, taking care of things. It has been so nice and so needed to have him here this week. I feel pretty much back to normal now. I haven't driven anywhere yet and I was really nervous getting up to go to the bathroom in the night the first night home. In fact, I haven't really wanted to be by myself at all. I guess you could say the whole thing really shook us up. I guess that's understandable.
 |
| Little Bit was playing in the hospital bed beside me. She set this up and showed me. That's Sweetheart, Little Bit, me, Baby Bee...and Daddy taking care of me. |
But what I know is this: I did not pass out when I was carrying Bee across a room. I did not pass out when I was alone. I did not pass out when I was driving. We now know I had been bleeding for the whole 2 weeks since Bee's birth. Last Friday as I was climbing onto the bed to take a nap while Bee was sleeping, I nearly blacked out. I thought, "Wow--I'm so tired I'm dizzy!" But I did not pass out that day. The Lord was truly watching out for me. His timing is perfect. Remember that S just quit his second job? The one that kept him busy every evening and on weekends? Yep. He was with me this week instead of worrying how he would get that job done. Again--perfect timing.
I have thought and thought about what all has happened this week. Some of it I've pieced together from S or my sister telling me what happened, because I don't remember all of it. It was a rotten week as far as fun weeks go, but we got to see many blessings and the providence of the Lord in our lives. My faith has increased and I am more grateful for small, everyday things.
And that's the story of last week. We are left with blessings, restored health, an intact family, and hospital bills for two different hospital stays in 3 week's time (Bee's birth and my ulcer). The bills will be amazing, I'm sure. But you know what? I have seen the Lord's providence and I know He is already way ahead of us.
And He is good.
Monday, May 21, 2012
In Other Train Wrecks...My Birth Story
I had several reasons why I thought this birth would be good. Little Bit's birth was really good, and the 2 seemingly had many things in common.
1. I was dilated to 2 with both of them going in.
2. I was induced with Pitocin both times.
3. I went in early in the morning and each were born within 10 minutes of noon.
4. I knew Baby Bee was sunny side up and was expecting back labor--again. I'm 3 for 3.
I had such a good experience being induced last time. Although it certainly was NOT my first choice to be induced, I still felt positive about the experience as things had gone so well last time.
Well.
In spite of having several major things in common, this birth went NOTHING like the last one!!! We started the morning off blowing out two veins trying to get an IV started. That hurt VERY much. Ouch. The nurse was very nice and swore she hadn't had that happen in 10 years. Lucky me. After the second blow out she went and got the head nurse who successfully started my IV in the other hand.
So there. As they said in Apollo 13...we just hit our snag for the mission. Right?
They started the Pitocin and were SO fussy about those dang monitors strapped around my stomach. It's no big news that Baby Bee moved in the womb more than any baby in history (breech, not breech, over here, over there) so they kept having to chase her around. I bet they adjusted those stupid monitor belts 35 times in the next few hours. They kept saying, "Because of the medicine you are on (Pitocin) we HAVE to keep the baby well monitored." Well, it turns out they were upping the Pitocin dose every 15 minutes! I mean, looking back at when I realized that...I should have known something was amiss. That is way too much pushing of the Pitocin. I do not remember that happening with Little Bit. They just got my contractions going and let labor progress last time. I seem to remember them upping it at least once during Little Bit's labor, but every 15 minutes? So, this time my labor progressed because it was forced to. Big difference.
The doctor also came in and broke my water very early in the game. I had hesitations about him doing it so early because I knew it would really speed things up but I thought...well, I DO want to get this show on the road. Didn't really put the whole "breaking the water" and "Pitocin every 15 minutes" together in my mind. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.
I started having to actually pay attention to the contractions. Then I started needing to breathe through them. Then I was really uncomfortable and then I was in pain. So I wanted the nurse to check me. Shoot--still a 2. Can't have the epidural yet. Back labor started. I got on my hands and knees to help. They wouldn't let me out of bed for anything. THAT was what I did not want. At one point I told S, "THIS is why I wanted to go into labor at home" indicating all the tubes and wires and monitors all over my person. I know I keep saying it, but with Little Bit, I was up and down, on the birthing ball, in a chair..all sorts of things. I was allowed to labor with her.
Different hospital. Different day. Right?
I wasn't doing very well staying "on top of the pain." I've been in labor twice now. Both times I carefully considered before getting my epidural. Can I still handle this? Yes, I can. I'll wait. This time, there wasn't even time to consider anything. Before I could think, I was in over my head. I was NOT dealing with the contractions well at all and they were nothing like any contraction I've ever felt. These artificially forced contractions were above and beyond the pain of normal labor. The next time they checked me I was a 5. Out loud I thanked God. S said the nurse RAN out of the door to get the anesthesiologist. Here is where things really sped up. I don't think a single person came in or out of that room the rest of my labor that they weren't running. Everything was a blur. And I have no time frame to give you. All I know is my Pitocin started at around 7am and Baby Bee was born at 11:50am.
So my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes at least. The anesthesiologist made a remark about "this is not like trying to hit a moving target, this is like trying to hit a running target!" She kept asking me to sit still. I kept thinking, "Lady--when my contraction is over, you've got 2 minutes--get on it!!!" It seemed to take forever to get the epidural in. I think I had at least 10 contractions while she was working on it. The worst part is, they had asked S to leave the room for this part. He did not want to and asked me several times if that was what I wanted before he left. Honestly, I heard him but I was not able to communicate at all at this point because of the pain. I could not answer or advocate or anything. So my poor little 5' 3" tall nurse got the brunt of my contractions. Pretty sure I bruised her arm. I was in desperate pain, people. Desperate.
When the epidural got into place, I was already an 8. A few minutes later I felt the need to push. Oh, S came back in the room to find me drenched in sweat, shaking uncontrollably, and with an oxygen mask strapped on my face. Quite loudly, he asked what had happened? It really was like he had walked on to the scene of some horrible accident. I was really glad he was back.
Of course they told me not to push while they rushed around calling the doctor. I pushed a few minutes and she was here. And it was like everything just slowed down to a crawl all at once. And there was peace.
She was born not crying. I asked if she was breathing as they laid her on me. Yes, I was assured. She was fine. She just looked around so calmly. They put her on the table to clean her up and check her out. Just looking around. Interested in her surroundings. All the horrible pain and panic and rushing around was over. Just. Like. That.
S told me the next day that our little mover and shaker was not without consequence: the cord had been wrapped around her neck four times. Oh dear me.
So at the end of the day I have this to say: My labor was not what I wanted or expected. BUT, I am thankful to God for the blessing at the end of it all. And I have felt great since. So mostly, I am just thankful. It's amazing what you can forget.
And how much none of it matters when they get here.
1. I was dilated to 2 with both of them going in.
2. I was induced with Pitocin both times.
3. I went in early in the morning and each were born within 10 minutes of noon.
4. I knew Baby Bee was sunny side up and was expecting back labor--again. I'm 3 for 3.
I had such a good experience being induced last time. Although it certainly was NOT my first choice to be induced, I still felt positive about the experience as things had gone so well last time.
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| Me at 5am. Ignorance is bliss. |
In spite of having several major things in common, this birth went NOTHING like the last one!!! We started the morning off blowing out two veins trying to get an IV started. That hurt VERY much. Ouch. The nurse was very nice and swore she hadn't had that happen in 10 years. Lucky me. After the second blow out she went and got the head nurse who successfully started my IV in the other hand.
So there. As they said in Apollo 13...we just hit our snag for the mission. Right?
They started the Pitocin and were SO fussy about those dang monitors strapped around my stomach. It's no big news that Baby Bee moved in the womb more than any baby in history (breech, not breech, over here, over there) so they kept having to chase her around. I bet they adjusted those stupid monitor belts 35 times in the next few hours. They kept saying, "Because of the medicine you are on (Pitocin) we HAVE to keep the baby well monitored." Well, it turns out they were upping the Pitocin dose every 15 minutes! I mean, looking back at when I realized that...I should have known something was amiss. That is way too much pushing of the Pitocin. I do not remember that happening with Little Bit. They just got my contractions going and let labor progress last time. I seem to remember them upping it at least once during Little Bit's labor, but every 15 minutes? So, this time my labor progressed because it was forced to. Big difference.
The doctor also came in and broke my water very early in the game. I had hesitations about him doing it so early because I knew it would really speed things up but I thought...well, I DO want to get this show on the road. Didn't really put the whole "breaking the water" and "Pitocin every 15 minutes" together in my mind. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess.
I started having to actually pay attention to the contractions. Then I started needing to breathe through them. Then I was really uncomfortable and then I was in pain. So I wanted the nurse to check me. Shoot--still a 2. Can't have the epidural yet. Back labor started. I got on my hands and knees to help. They wouldn't let me out of bed for anything. THAT was what I did not want. At one point I told S, "THIS is why I wanted to go into labor at home" indicating all the tubes and wires and monitors all over my person. I know I keep saying it, but with Little Bit, I was up and down, on the birthing ball, in a chair..all sorts of things. I was allowed to labor with her.
Different hospital. Different day. Right?
I wasn't doing very well staying "on top of the pain." I've been in labor twice now. Both times I carefully considered before getting my epidural. Can I still handle this? Yes, I can. I'll wait. This time, there wasn't even time to consider anything. Before I could think, I was in over my head. I was NOT dealing with the contractions well at all and they were nothing like any contraction I've ever felt. These artificially forced contractions were above and beyond the pain of normal labor. The next time they checked me I was a 5. Out loud I thanked God. S said the nurse RAN out of the door to get the anesthesiologist. Here is where things really sped up. I don't think a single person came in or out of that room the rest of my labor that they weren't running. Everything was a blur. And I have no time frame to give you. All I know is my Pitocin started at around 7am and Baby Bee was born at 11:50am.
So my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes at least. The anesthesiologist made a remark about "this is not like trying to hit a moving target, this is like trying to hit a running target!" She kept asking me to sit still. I kept thinking, "Lady--when my contraction is over, you've got 2 minutes--get on it!!!" It seemed to take forever to get the epidural in. I think I had at least 10 contractions while she was working on it. The worst part is, they had asked S to leave the room for this part. He did not want to and asked me several times if that was what I wanted before he left. Honestly, I heard him but I was not able to communicate at all at this point because of the pain. I could not answer or advocate or anything. So my poor little 5' 3" tall nurse got the brunt of my contractions. Pretty sure I bruised her arm. I was in desperate pain, people. Desperate.
When the epidural got into place, I was already an 8. A few minutes later I felt the need to push. Oh, S came back in the room to find me drenched in sweat, shaking uncontrollably, and with an oxygen mask strapped on my face. Quite loudly, he asked what had happened? It really was like he had walked on to the scene of some horrible accident. I was really glad he was back.
Of course they told me not to push while they rushed around calling the doctor. I pushed a few minutes and she was here. And it was like everything just slowed down to a crawl all at once. And there was peace.
She was born not crying. I asked if she was breathing as they laid her on me. Yes, I was assured. She was fine. She just looked around so calmly. They put her on the table to clean her up and check her out. Just looking around. Interested in her surroundings. All the horrible pain and panic and rushing around was over. Just. Like. That.
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| S with Baby Bee. |
S told me the next day that our little mover and shaker was not without consequence: the cord had been wrapped around her neck four times. Oh dear me.
So at the end of the day I have this to say: My labor was not what I wanted or expected. BUT, I am thankful to God for the blessing at the end of it all. And I have felt great since. So mostly, I am just thankful. It's amazing what you can forget.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
What Would I Do and Shots
The ultrasound on Monday showed that baby is head down now, as she should be. Good baby! There were no other signs that labor would be anytime soon, so I have resigned myself to at least 2 more weeks of pregnancy. I mean, I'm not due until the 13th. Hoping this one would decide to come early is silly. My children like the inside. They are comfortable and never want to leave.
So I figured we could get 2 more weeks of school in. That's what I was planning all along anyway. But mercy I don't want to! I said something about it on Facebook today and got lots of encouragement to take the next 2 weeks off. Hmm. I really thought about it, trust me.
But what would I do?
I cannot imagine how I would keep myself busy for 2 weeks. The nursery is ready. I'm keeping up with dishes and laundry. I've paid the bills. There's daily pick up and weekly errands, of course. I could freeze some meals if I was really motivated.
I thought that keeping the girls on a semi-normal schedule would really help Little Bit. Her tics have increased a bit lately. Routine is her friend. And school doesn't really take all that long. When I whine about it, it's really the same as whining about doing the dishes, or cooking, or picking something up that I dropped, or drying off after a shower. EVERYTHING is hard right now and I'm tired. The End. It really isn't about school so much.
I feel like a turtle as I wander around looking at things that I could do or need to be done. I don't actually act on those things, mind you. I just notice them.
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And totally off-topic, I took Sweetheart today to get a 12 year old immunization. They had told me there were three she needed. I researched them (in my new book) and decided to get one today. Then, while we were there, they mentioned another shot she needed that I had never heard of. It was Hepatitis A.
OK. Thank you. I took the information sheet. Would you like to know who this shot is recommended for? Of course you do.
*children 1 year of age
*persons older than 1 year who will be traveling or working in Central or South America, Mexico Asia, Africa, and eastern Europe.
*men who have sex with men
*persons who use street drugs
*persons with chronic liver disease
*persons who are treated with clotting factor concentrates
*persons who work with primates
and the ONLY one that could possibly qualify my daughter for needing this shot
*children through 18 years of age who live in states or communities where routine vaccination has been implemented because of high disease incidence. (Although I don't know that that is true of where we live)
Are you kidding me??? So, my current plan for being allowed to use Dr. Sears' alternate vaccination schedule with this new baby is to switch from seeing a pediatrician back to a "family practitioner." My reasoning there is the pediatrician's office is sort of a specialty and they are really all in your business. They stay right on top of things. Our particular pediatrician's office has been described by friends as "vaccine Nazis." ha!
I'm just thinking a family practice deals with such a larger range of things that they wouldn't have time to worry if my 4 month old is completely "up to date" on her shots. And I liked it when we all saw the same doctor back when we used a family practice years ago. So, that is my plan for now. We'll see how it goes.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Today I am Praying
*for my husband's health. For an end to the diabetes. For us to deal with it better in the meantime. For his energy levels. For him to feel better.
*for his job situation. He has been blessed with a great job, but he also works another job after hours. Just ONE job sure would be nice--more time with family, more time to study God's Word, etc. What can we do to make that happen? What can we wait for God to do?
*lastly, for me. Six more weeks. I'm not going to lie, I'm dragging. Everyday things are exhausting. Still, I'm thankful for good health (mine and baby's). Getting a little nervous about the end though.
*what are you praying about today?
*for his job situation. He has been blessed with a great job, but he also works another job after hours. Just ONE job sure would be nice--more time with family, more time to study God's Word, etc. What can we do to make that happen? What can we wait for God to do?
*lastly, for me. Six more weeks. I'm not going to lie, I'm dragging. Everyday things are exhausting. Still, I'm thankful for good health (mine and baby's). Getting a little nervous about the end though.
*what are you praying about today?
Friday, March 30, 2012
I'm a Hater
Woke up this morning thinking about the very heavy responsibility I have to take care of my family's health. S has not felt really good this week and his blood sugar has been really high. (which is why he hasn't felt good!) Then this morning I got to thinking about the girls too. Everyone has something that needs to be dealt with!
These are just the things that came to mind this morning as I lay in bed. S and his diabetes (which I HATE), Little Bit's TS (although under control right now), and her scalp problems are back, and Sweetheart with her complete love of all things sugar and starch and her avoidance of any form of vegetable. (thankfully, her asthma is gone!) Sigh.
As a homemaker, I feel such a HUGE responsibility in all this. I KNOW 90% of these problems could be helped or cleared up completely by proper diet. But OH "proper diet" is SO hard!!
I really just want to go to the store and mindlessly buy Hamburger Helper and Cheetos like I used to in the early 90s, OK? Grocery shopping was easy then.
Menu planning, label reading, grocery shopping, (affording the healthy stuff), cooking....it is all so much work and I feel very overwhelmed when I think about it all. And then there's me being pregnant and the new baby will be here soon and I need to make wise choices then because of...well, new baby and breastfeeding.
This isn't going away, is all I'm saying. So I suppose I need to really, really get with it.
The thing is, no one in our family has IMMEDIATE MEDICAL RESPONSES to bad choices. If someone were to say, have an allergic reaction or go into a seizure because of a food choice, then obviously we would be very careful and diligent. But that isn't it. In our case, a person can choose to eat a really bad-for-you meal and you really won't notice any difference in their life right away. BUT I KNOW it's having a bad affect on their long-term health. I know the future path if these problems are allowed to continue.
I won't get into any of my specific plans right now. They are still swirling around in my head. I need to do more research. I need to pray, too. All I do know is I need a plan of action and I need to start taking this responsibility very seriously.
Because I absolutely HATE all these health problems. But I LOVE my family.
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| click to read their diagnoses! |
These are just the things that came to mind this morning as I lay in bed. S and his diabetes (which I HATE), Little Bit's TS (although under control right now), and her scalp problems are back, and Sweetheart with her complete love of all things sugar and starch and her avoidance of any form of vegetable. (thankfully, her asthma is gone!) Sigh.
As a homemaker, I feel such a HUGE responsibility in all this. I KNOW 90% of these problems could be helped or cleared up completely by proper diet. But OH "proper diet" is SO hard!!
I really just want to go to the store and mindlessly buy Hamburger Helper and Cheetos like I used to in the early 90s, OK? Grocery shopping was easy then.
Menu planning, label reading, grocery shopping, (affording the healthy stuff), cooking....it is all so much work and I feel very overwhelmed when I think about it all. And then there's me being pregnant and the new baby will be here soon and I need to make wise choices then because of...well, new baby and breastfeeding.
This isn't going away, is all I'm saying. So I suppose I need to really, really get with it.
The thing is, no one in our family has IMMEDIATE MEDICAL RESPONSES to bad choices. If someone were to say, have an allergic reaction or go into a seizure because of a food choice, then obviously we would be very careful and diligent. But that isn't it. In our case, a person can choose to eat a really bad-for-you meal and you really won't notice any difference in their life right away. BUT I KNOW it's having a bad affect on their long-term health. I know the future path if these problems are allowed to continue.
I won't get into any of my specific plans right now. They are still swirling around in my head. I need to do more research. I need to pray, too. All I do know is I need a plan of action and I need to start taking this responsibility very seriously.
Because I absolutely HATE all these health problems. But I LOVE my family.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Self-Proclaimed Rest
I decided I'm stressed. Two things made me come to this conclusion:
1. The continued PIHI--causing crying over stupid things.
2. Chest pains this morning upon breathing deep. (It's much better now.) (Probably also a bit dehydrated from the glucose test yesterday in which I fasted for 12 hours.)
Planning and preparing for this anniversary celebration has been a lot of work and I guess I underestimated just how much stress that has been. I'm excited about it, but it has been work.
Plus also too...this has just been a busy month. School, when done correctly, takes up a lot of time and everyday life stuff too. And in the back of my mind is all the things I need/want to do to get ready for baby.
And then there's always the pregnancy thing which, while a HUGE blessing, makes dealing with everyday things even harder. Right?
Today is our homeschool Valentine's party and we had a lot of things to do to get ready for that. So I proclaimed today a "no school" day. Just sitting here on the couch trying to get things done and ready for the party today. After the party, I'll worry about what we can eat for supper. Other than that--I don't care what gets done today.
I'M RESTING!!!
But here are some pictures I wanted to share!
Here's to a stress-free rest of the day!
Dear Daughters,
Please do not fall and break anything at the skating rink. Mama is resting today, not taking children to the hospital. Thank you for your understanding.
Love,
Mama
1. The continued PIHI--causing crying over stupid things.
2. Chest pains this morning upon breathing deep. (It's much better now.) (Probably also a bit dehydrated from the glucose test yesterday in which I fasted for 12 hours.)
Planning and preparing for this anniversary celebration has been a lot of work and I guess I underestimated just how much stress that has been. I'm excited about it, but it has been work.
Plus also too...this has just been a busy month. School, when done correctly, takes up a lot of time and everyday life stuff too. And in the back of my mind is all the things I need/want to do to get ready for baby.
And then there's always the pregnancy thing which, while a HUGE blessing, makes dealing with everyday things even harder. Right?
Today is our homeschool Valentine's party and we had a lot of things to do to get ready for that. So I proclaimed today a "no school" day. Just sitting here on the couch trying to get things done and ready for the party today. After the party, I'll worry about what we can eat for supper. Other than that--I don't care what gets done today.
I'M RESTING!!!
But here are some pictures I wanted to share!
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| One of the photo boards that will be on display at the reception. There are 4 total and thankfully, I finished them yesterday! |
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| SO CLOSE to finishing these quilts for the girls!! |
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| Our Valentine's Day is today. We had pink heart pancakes for breakfast. :) |
Dear Daughters,
Please do not fall and break anything at the skating rink. Mama is resting today, not taking children to the hospital. Thank you for your understanding.
Love,
Mama
Thursday, December 29, 2011
You Can't Believe Everything You Read
So I posted on Facebook yesterday that I was about to take down my Christmas decorations, but I took a nap instead. My mom walked down to visit--thinking I was, of course, taking down Christmas decorations. Oops. I really INTENDED to take them down, but I got tired. What can I say?
Little Bit cooked dinner by herself last night (except I opened the cans with the can opener and put it in the oven). She was very proud and then I nearly threw up getting it out of the oven. S walked in the room just as I bolted for the bathroom. It was kind of out of the blue as food hasn't been bothering me for several weeks. So, I had Cheerios last night while the family ate Little Bit's masterpiece. These girls are going to be such a tremendous help--and already have been.
Today we left our decorations still up and went to the farmer's market. It's 20 or 30 minutes away and I know I have to do big things like that in the mornings when I have energy. We also ran several other errands. Here is our haul:
Mmm. Yummy, fresh food. Not organic, but probably tons better than what you find at the grocery store. Little local places can't afford to be certified organic. I'm not 100% sure where all this came from, but it all looks fresh and delicious and worth the drive. Sweetheart said, when we were checking out, "This looks mostly like vegetables..." I told her that was what was good for Daddy and us. She isn't a fan of the vegetables.
And I'm sorry to say that at least 3 of the vegetables in that picture will end up being fried--so don't be too impressed with my good healthy choices.
I sat down last night and started to plan for school and couldn't find one solitary idea for activities to go along with Little Bit's upcoming books. Planning fail. Guess I'll try again today. I really need to get the rest of the year planned so I don't have to take more breaks to get that done.
Monday S is off so...no school.
Tuesday morning is a doctor's appointment so....very little school.
Wednesday is my birthday so...i don't WANT school.
Thursday seems kind of late to kick things off, huh?
I'm seriously thinking about waiting another week but I'm already yearning for some routine. I think we'll just do some subjects and ease back in. How is your planning going? When do you start back?
And will you come take down my decorations for me?
Little Bit cooked dinner by herself last night (except I opened the cans with the can opener and put it in the oven). She was very proud and then I nearly threw up getting it out of the oven. S walked in the room just as I bolted for the bathroom. It was kind of out of the blue as food hasn't been bothering me for several weeks. So, I had Cheerios last night while the family ate Little Bit's masterpiece. These girls are going to be such a tremendous help--and already have been.
Today we left our decorations still up and went to the farmer's market. It's 20 or 30 minutes away and I know I have to do big things like that in the mornings when I have energy. We also ran several other errands. Here is our haul:
And I'm sorry to say that at least 3 of the vegetables in that picture will end up being fried--so don't be too impressed with my good healthy choices.
I sat down last night and started to plan for school and couldn't find one solitary idea for activities to go along with Little Bit's upcoming books. Planning fail. Guess I'll try again today. I really need to get the rest of the year planned so I don't have to take more breaks to get that done.
Monday S is off so...no school.
Tuesday morning is a doctor's appointment so....very little school.
Wednesday is my birthday so...i don't WANT school.
Thursday seems kind of late to kick things off, huh?
I'm seriously thinking about waiting another week but I'm already yearning for some routine. I think we'll just do some subjects and ease back in. How is your planning going? When do you start back?
And will you come take down my decorations for me?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Our Pinterest Christmas and Progress
I actually did several of the things I pinned this year! I also used my Pinterest board at Little Bit's birthday party so that means my time on Pinterest has not been a waste of time!
We had these for breakfast Christmas eve morning (via Pinterest):
And I made these gifts from ideas found on Pinterest or pinned by me from other places:
The frames just contain scrapbook paper and made nice erasable boards for my sisters. The red and white ornaments were hand-stitched and we used them as gift tags on every one's gifts.
These canvases were covered in buttons in my sister-in-laws' last initials and hung from ribbon. The inexplicable piece of bacon ornament was to fulfill the "ugly ornament" we get for my oldest sister each year. This one was kinda cute, but very weird!!
Decided to make one for my parents too. And the cans with flowers in them are cans covered in craft sticks and painted. They were already wrapped at this point. The flowers are those flower pens you can make. Those were from the girls to their aunts and grandma.
So that was my Pinterest Christmas.
Yesterday I worked on the "office" area of our house. If you recall, it's a tiny area where westack things pay bills. Here's what it's supposed to look like. And oh look! The whole room used to be clean! Right now, I'm boxing up all the 2011 paperwork (and OK--2010 too. Apparently I didn't do it last year.) I will feel very relieved when I get all this done today. I've already filled 2 bags with trash from the sewing room and laundry room and office area. TWO BAGS!
I also plan to take down Christmas decorations today. We'll see how that goes.
And look! We got a water cooler!
All the cool people hang out by the water cooler around here.
All part of our plan to be healthier. We don't really drink anything but water, S drinks coffee some, and Little Bit likes juice. Sweetheart is all water, all the time. It came with a hot water spout, which I know from my sister's house is the perfect temperature for instant oatmeal or hot chocolate. But, really, we don't eat/drink that stuff all that often. So I was really doubting if the hot water spout had any merit and then I discovered this morning it was the perfect temperature for making Little Bit's magical drink! So, right there? Totally worth it.
Tomorrow I will be starting to think about school. But for today, I'll just focus on the house. That still sounds better to me.
We had these for breakfast Christmas eve morning (via Pinterest):
And I made these gifts from ideas found on Pinterest or pinned by me from other places:
So that was my Pinterest Christmas.
Yesterday I worked on the "office" area of our house. If you recall, it's a tiny area where we
I also plan to take down Christmas decorations today. We'll see how that goes.
And look! We got a water cooler!
All part of our plan to be healthier. We don't really drink anything but water, S drinks coffee some, and Little Bit likes juice. Sweetheart is all water, all the time. It came with a hot water spout, which I know from my sister's house is the perfect temperature for instant oatmeal or hot chocolate. But, really, we don't eat/drink that stuff all that often. So I was really doubting if the hot water spout had any merit and then I discovered this morning it was the perfect temperature for making Little Bit's magical drink! So, right there? Totally worth it.
Tomorrow I will be starting to think about school. But for today, I'll just focus on the house. That still sounds better to me.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
On This Rainy Morning
Every single day this week I have said it, "Today is the day we will FINISH the errands!"
So I guess you know I have 4 places to go today. Humph. (AFTER the rain stops.)
Dry cleaner so husband has clothes to wear to church Christmas morning.
Target for what nots that have nothing to do with Christmas--just daily life.
Hobby Lobby because I want to make one more thing for my parents. They deserve it.
And Walgreen's to pick up pills.
Speaking of pills--husband's diabetes is out of control. His doctor upped his pills yesterday and we'll see if that helps but it isn't a satisfying solution. We want him OFF the pills! But more than anything, we want that blood sugar under control. He hardly ate anything yesterday and this morning his blood sugar was over 200. That is ridiculous. Medicated even! So the research has begun to figure out how to improve and heal. The changes have already started too. Changes will happen in the girls' diets after Christmas as well. They share his genes, after all. Why tempt fate?
But all the presents (with the exception of that Hobby Lobby run) are bought and made. Wrapping will commence today. And the mama will feel better.
We have been very busy this week and I know a lot of people like to avoid the busy during Christmas. It hasn't all been Christmas-related however. We have a friend in the hospital so we've been by to visit him a few evenings this week. We kept their baby so his wife could be at the hospital with him one morning. The girls loved having a little one to look after. She has 3 big sisters so she's used to be included in everything. My girls were painting these for gifts, so I gave her a toilet paper tube to paint.
Merry Christmas everyone!! Hope you enjoy your family and the love of our Savior this weekend!
Oh, and one more thing:
So I guess you know I have 4 places to go today. Humph. (AFTER the rain stops.)
Dry cleaner so husband has clothes to wear to church Christmas morning.
Target for what nots that have nothing to do with Christmas--just daily life.
Hobby Lobby because I want to make one more thing for my parents. They deserve it.
And Walgreen's to pick up pills.
Speaking of pills--husband's diabetes is out of control. His doctor upped his pills yesterday and we'll see if that helps but it isn't a satisfying solution. We want him OFF the pills! But more than anything, we want that blood sugar under control. He hardly ate anything yesterday and this morning his blood sugar was over 200. That is ridiculous. Medicated even! So the research has begun to figure out how to improve and heal. The changes have already started too. Changes will happen in the girls' diets after Christmas as well. They share his genes, after all. Why tempt fate?
But all the presents (with the exception of that Hobby Lobby run) are bought and made. Wrapping will commence today. And the mama will feel better.
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| Gingerbread houses at our homeschool Christmas party... |
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| She got a little bit of icing on her hands. |
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| We always exchange books. |
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| New book to read!! |
We have been very busy this week and I know a lot of people like to avoid the busy during Christmas. It hasn't all been Christmas-related however. We have a friend in the hospital so we've been by to visit him a few evenings this week. We kept their baby so his wife could be at the hospital with him one morning. The girls loved having a little one to look after. She has 3 big sisters so she's used to be included in everything. My girls were painting these for gifts, so I gave her a toilet paper tube to paint.
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| Didn't get a picture of Sweetheart, but she worked hard too. :) |
Oh, and one more thing:
Friday, September 23, 2011
Date Night and Giveaway Winner
Well, I said I was going to pick the winner of the True Christian Motherhood book last night, but what I really did was go out with my husband. Sorry! (But we had fun!)
Remember I'm going out of town today so spending some time with my husband was very nice. The girls spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa so a good time was had by all. Now the girls said they "already missed me last night" and now I'm "leaving today." Poor babies. They are used to having me 24/7. But Daddy has some fun planned for them while I'm gone so I'm sure they'll have a good time.
I'm spending the morning packing and figuring out what I'm going to take for snacks. You know I've been tired and shaky hungry lately. Last night I got a smoothie--strawberry/kiwi infused with protein--and it really helped! But alas there are probably not many smoothie shops in the heart of Texas where we are headed, so I'm going to need to figure out some good snacks to take in case I get shaky while I'm gone. That, and how to fit my Mom's 3 giant pillows she sleeps with into the van are my only concerns right now. Also, if I'm going to have room in the bed to sleep.
Now, on to the winner!
#8--That would be....Deborah! Congratulations Deborah! (Your profile says "not available" right now. Could be my computer....will you shoot me an e-mail? Thanks!)
Thank you to everyone who participated. I encourage you to look out for other giveaways around the web right now if you still want to win a copy. There are several going on.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Remember I'm going out of town today so spending some time with my husband was very nice. The girls spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa so a good time was had by all. Now the girls said they "already missed me last night" and now I'm "leaving today." Poor babies. They are used to having me 24/7. But Daddy has some fun planned for them while I'm gone so I'm sure they'll have a good time.
I'm spending the morning packing and figuring out what I'm going to take for snacks. You know I've been tired and shaky hungry lately. Last night I got a smoothie--strawberry/kiwi infused with protein--and it really helped! But alas there are probably not many smoothie shops in the heart of Texas where we are headed, so I'm going to need to figure out some good snacks to take in case I get shaky while I'm gone. That, and how to fit my Mom's 3 giant pillows she sleeps with into the van are my only concerns right now. Also, if I'm going to have room in the bed to sleep.
Now, on to the winner!
Thank you to everyone who participated. I encourage you to look out for other giveaways around the web right now if you still want to win a copy. There are several going on.
Have a great weekend everyone!
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