Our First Break and other Fun Events

We certainly have had an interesting week here!  It all started on Tuesday.  The internet and our phones were down most of Tuesday because a construction crew hit a fiber optics cable line about an hour from our house.  It knocked out the entire region's internet/phones, which made work a little challenging.  We had to do most of the day's transactions off line at my in-law's ACE where I work, and our Dollar Plus store had to accept cash only.

A little after 1:00pm I got a phone call from the school that RL was in the nurse's office with a chipped tooth.  She had fallen off one of the toys at recess.  The school nurse told me it wasn't that bad of a chip but it was best to have it checked out because it was one of her permanent teeth.  After talking to RL and determined she would be ok to until the end of the day, got off the phone with her, and made a dentist appointment for 4:00pm that afternoon.

Not an hour later I got a call from the school again.  I picked it up thinking RL had gotten worse for some reason, only to find out that my 8yr old son, BC, had fallen off the spider toy at recess and possibly broken his arm.  Since we haven't experienced any broken bones here yet, I asked the secretary's opinion (the nurse had already gone home) about what I should do.  She said he could probably wait until the end of the day also, which at this point was only about 40 minutes or so.  I opted for that, instead of pulling all the kids out early and taking them all with me to the clinic.

I called my DH and asked him if there was any way he could make it home in the next half hour and updated him on the situation.  He told me he was already on his way home and he'd go with me to the school so that one of us could take BC to the clinic and the other could take RL and the rest of the gang to the dentist.

It was a long afternoon, but one tooth cap and one arm splint later we were all back at home for dinner.  Turns out RL chipped enough of her front tooth that they had to cap it to avoid further possible damage.  As for BC, they sent him home in a splint with a broken humerus bone (just above his elbow) because they needed to wait for the swelling to go down before putting it in a cast. 

The rest of the week was a piece of cake compared to Tuesday, but on Wednesday the internet was down again due to the same exact construction crew.  I think someone needs to be fired.  Then this morning I noticed that my rear right tire was low so I took it in to be looked at and get air.  Good thing I did because it had a pretty big leak and it was almost flat by the time I got there.

BC got his cast on this morning and he will have it for 4-6 weeks.  He chose Orange for two reasons.  First, Halloween is on Monday.  Second, his school colors are Orange and Black.  At least we won't lose him in a crowd!  Mom got first dibs on signing it.  I gave him a Sharpe mini to carry around with him and I'm sure it will fill up fast.

So that's my week.  I am glad it's the weekend.  I'm looking forward to an uneventful one.  Tonight I plan to take dinner to our neighbors that had their baby two weeks ago.  Other than that, I'm just going to hang out with the fam.

Have a great weekend all!

~Melissa

Company Girl Coffee 2.19.10

It's Friday morning, and the fog has lifted here. Yes, I'm talking about the weather! But I am also talking about the really thick fog that I feel like our family has been walking around in this past week. (I wrote about it yesterday) Now that I'm on an antibiotic for bronchitis and my DH is on one for his sinus infections, we are finally starting to feel better. Thank goodness for that!

Despite this bout of illness, we have had some pretty great moments happening here too. Last Friday we took our older three to see Avatar in 3D. They thought that was pretty cool. My 6 year old finally lost his front tooth that's been hanging on by a thread forever. My 7 year old is very excited about his solo part in the 2nd grade "round up" in March. And of course, my two youngest that are still at home, always find a way to make me smile.

Yes, life continues on, even in the fog. Sometimes you just have to slow down, turn on your headlights, keep your eye on what's right in front of you, and enjoy the ride as best you can while you wait for the fog to lift. :)

I plan to get plenty of rest this weekend and take it easy until my family is back to full health. That will give me plenty of opportunities to stop in and say hello to other Company Girls. Thanks for stopping by for coffee today! Have a great weekend!

~Melissa~

10 at 10 for 2010

I'm not really one to make New Year's Resolutions, so we'll call this one a fun mommy son activity instead. :)

After looking at my schedule and trying to fit in exercise, I decided to take 10 minutes to do some form of Yoga, cardio, or strength training on my Wii Fit Plus three days a week. My youngest son is a big fan of boxing on Wii, so I told him that three days a week we would exercise together. It's a fun way to get some of his energy out while the weather is poor, and in a strange way, it holds me accountable to keep moving.

I'll start with 10 minutes and increase the amount of time I spend from there. Why 10:00am? Because I watch a 1 year old and that's when he goes down for nap. There you have it. 10 minutes at 10:00am to become more fit in 2010.

What do you do to fit exercise into your schedule?

Company Girl Coffee 10.9.09

Good morning! Coffee's on, or if you would like, I also keep a variety of hot teas around this time of year. Our weather turned VERY cold overnight here! I should be used to it by now. We pretty much have Indian Summers and early Winters.

We've had quite a week here emotionally. It started off normal with a pretty boring Monday, but then things picked up on Tuesday. I finally took my daughter to be tested for Growth Hormone Deficiency. It's one of many tests that she's been going through to test for Hypoglycemia. It all started back in July. You can read that story here.

The test was only supposed to take 4 hours. We went to check in and that was the first delay. The check in was all the way across the hospital from the fusion center. Then, the pharmacy had a problem sending up her meds for the procedure. I am still not sure what the mix up was there. So a test that was supposed to start at 9:30am was now starting at 11:30am. Of course, there was a problem putting the IV in. I have yet to see anyone get an IV in my daughter on the first try.

For the next three hours, they drew blood every 15 minutes while I read to my daughter, and waited. I watched her go from perfectly healthy, to pale, tired, and very upset. I know all the signs. At one point in the test they almost had to stop because her blood sugar dropped below the designated "stop test" level. A second test showed it was still ok. My daughter was anything but ok. Don't get me wrong. We were at a children's hospital, so she was being cared for well. But I knew that when the test was done, we were going to be there for at least the afternoon, possibly admitted overnight.

My concerns were confirmed when the test was finished and she was given a cracker and some Gatorade. She began to throw up and the attending nurse called her doctor. He told her to change her IV to a sugar water solution to bring her blood sugar levels back up and he'd be in to see her at 4:15pm. Eventually, I got her to keep some ice chips down. By the time the doctor stopped in she was looking a little better, but still didn't want to try food. He said that if she wouldn't eat and drink on her own by 8:00pm, they would have to admit her. Thankfully, I finally got her to eat some of the mashed potatoes that were with my dinner and then she had a dinner plate of her own around 7:00pm.

We made it home by 8:30pm with instructions to feed her a snack before bed and wake her up for another snack at 1:00am. I kept her home on Wednesday just to restore her energy level before sending her back to school. We should have our test results back at the beginning of next week. Hopefully we'll know once and for all what the problem is and what we can do to help her.

Over all, I am a very lucky mom. I have five pretty healthy kids. We have our little problems here and there but nothing serious. I am thankful for that. I am also aware that there are parents and children out there that are not as fortunate as we are. So my friends, if you are one of those parents, or if you know someone close to you that is experiencing some tough times with a child of their own, please share with me. I will add them to my prayers. I am not one of those people that says "I'll be praying for you" and then forgets. I consider it a privilege to pray to our awesome Lord on your behalf.

Thanks for sharing coffee with me today....and for sharing your lives with me.

From my heart to yours,
~Melissa~

Our Week in Review

We celebrated the last of our July Birthdays last week. Summer brings a parade of Birthdays starting on June 10th and ending July 21st. 4 birthdays, just in our immediate family. If you count the Aunt, Uncle, Great Grandmother, and friends of the family, well, you get the picture! It's a whole lot of birthday cake!!! That's enough sweets to last me until Thanksgiving! (Which, incidentally, is around the time that we begin the rest of our birthday celebrations!)

In other news, BC lost his first tooth on Thursday! He was so excited. Wednesday he came to me and exclaimed "My tooth is loose, my tooth is loose!" He wanted it to fall out right then. I told him to be patient and let it come out when it was ready. He went back to swimming, and a few minutes later he came to me and said "Mommy, I don't think I should swim anymore because of my loose tooth." I smiled big and told him it was ok to swim with a loose tooth, but he had already made up his mind. I think he was afraid it would fall out in the water never to be found again!

The next day I could hear him shouting clear on the other side of the house "My tooth fell out!!!!" We immediately put the tooth in a baggy for safekeeping until that night. He wanted to keep it under his pillow but since the boys were "camping out" in their bedroom on the floor that night I told him that it would probably be safer on the book shelf next to him. He was very happy the next morning to find 4 shiny quarters in its place! :)

While BC was busy losing his first tooth, RL decided to come down with a stomach virus. She woke up sick Thursday morning and continued to throw up well into the afternoon. She seemed to be feeling better for a while, but that evening she started up again. Since she has a past history of getting dehydrated when sick, I decided to see how the night went, but call the doctor in the morning.

I woke up at 5:30am Friday to RL still sick. At 8:00am I called the Dr. and made the appointment. The soonest they could see her was 11:00am. It was not good news. The Dr. sent us to the ER with hopes that they could put her on an IV there and rehydrate her. After 4 tries to get an IV in (OUCH...my little girl was so brave) they took a "break" and brought in the best nurse they had to do the job. They finally got a drip going and we waited for the blood test results to come back.

More bad news settled in when the ER Dr. said that he didn't think that a few hours on an IV was going to do it. He wanted to admit her to the hospital over night. This would be my third stay with her in the hospital due to dehydration. I waited until we were settled in her room and called her dad to tell him the news.

I was impressed and rather relieved at how quickly the Children's Hospital Dr. came to see us in her room. After going over RL's history, she talked with me about a theory that hasn't come up in past visits. (Both of the other times were at a different hospital.) She said that since RL's blood sugar has been low with each incident that we should look into seeing an Endocrinologist. She even called the specialist for me and they agreed that RL needs to be seen.

I stayed the night with RL at the hospital and by morning she was rehydrated and eating again. Yesterday around 1:00pm we arrived home. Tired, but happy to be here. Tomorrow I will call and make an appointment with the specialist. I hope to find some answers as to why she gets dehydrated so quickly. For now though, I am just glad to see my baby girl smiling again.

Well, that's the news for now! I am taking a recovery day today. Recover our health, recover the house! That way I'll be ready to face the new week set before me. :)

Fitness Matters

When you're not in good physical shape, it affects you mentally too. For me, the most important benefit of exercise is that I am a better mother. -Virginia Madsen

Today over at Home Sanctuary Rachel Anne is encouraging us to exercise! Just 5 minutes of movement to get your blood pumping and make you feel better about yourself! Check out her encouraging post and then go take 5 minutes to get energized!

Some of the things I do when I can't actually turn on my Wii Fit, which is my exercise tool of preference:

• Stretch in the kitchen while waiting for meat to brown, water to boil, or toast to cook.
• Do a little strength training by striking a plank pose while swishing my mouthwash at night.
• Practice side leg kicks just while talking on the phone.

Well, you get the idea. It's all about creativity. Anything to keep me fit while I keep up with my children! :)

Company Girl Coffee 2.6

Welcome! Sorry for you coffee lovers this morning...I'm serving tea. I'm having a procedure done on my ankle this morning and one of the instructions was to have only clear liquids after midnight. I am having a "Nevus" removed today. I had a mole removed back in August and it came back with some rather shady results so they wanted to go back in and take out another 5mm border. My dermatologist called it a "mole gone bad." It's not skin cancer, but they wanted to be sure to get it all out before it gets to that stage. All that to say, I learned an important lesson. I will be watching my moles for change, and be mindful of new moles. And I will be having an over all skin check up once a year now, just like my annual physical. I'll let you know how the procedure goes.

Let's see...on to feeling like a woman! I am on board with that! My husband bought me a special manicure kit for Christmas. I'm not a big nail polish fan, but boy does this buffer make my nails shine! No application necessary! Then I finish it up with some very luxurious hand lotion made with ingredients from the dead sea. That's exactly what I intend to do when I get home from the hospital today. : ) Flirty is fun too, though I'll have to wait and see how I feel for the outrageous!

Well, I need to get on with my morning. Thanks for stopping by this week. I'll be seeing you! Have a blessed weekend!

-Melissa

UPDATE: The procedure went off without a hitch and now I will be the proud owner of an inch long scar. I have two layers of dissolvable stitches. I talked with the doctor about his vacation the entire time he was working on my ankle and watched most of it. Thanks for your prayers!

Taking Care of Mom

Recently I've been chatting with a friend about the onset of another cold/flu season. For some great ideas about how to keep healthy this time of year, you can visit my friend Andrea over at My Life With You.

In this post I want to address a topic that is worth thinking about. Taking care of the caregiver. For those of you who are wondering what I am talking about, the caregiver that I am referring to is any woman out there with the loving title of "Mom."

As Moms, we all too often tend to work sacrificially and selflessly to take care of our family, without considering our own needs. I'm not talking about selfishness here. I'm just talking about learning how important it is to set boundaries and take care of your own basic needs.

A while back I got into a conversation with a friend of mine, who also happens to be blessed with the joy of being a mom. She recently started a detailed program that involves exercise, eating right, and taking care of her body. She expressed how she felt a little bit guilty because it took up so much of her time to go to the gym on a regular basis, plus work, plus managing her household, etc. After talking for a while, she finally came to the conclusion that what she was doing was important SO THAT she could take care of her family.

Since that conversation, I have done a lot of thinking about how important it is to take care of myself, so I can take care of my family. I'm still processing, but here's what I've come up with so far.

1. Fill up on Jesus each day. Gas prices may be soaring these days, but filling your love tank is free. God is the ultimate filling station. All you have to do is go to Him and ask Him to fill you with His love.
2. Take care of your body. It's the only one you have in this lifetime. That means doing a number of things. a) Get plenty of rest. Only you can gage how many hours of sleep you need. Figure it out, and then get that amount of sleep every night. b) Exercise. Even 10-15 minutes of exercise a day or every other day will help. c) Eat right. That means planning out balanced, healthy meals. This will spill over and help your family also. d) Take your vitamins. Everyone needs a certain amount of vitamins in addition to eating right. e) Drink your water. 8-10 glasses of water a day is what most grown bodies need to function properly. f) Be sure to have an annual pap smear, breast exam, and physical.
3. Not only is it important to take care of our bodies on the inside, but it's also important to take care of them on the outside. There is no need to look like a beauty queen, but it is important to take care of hygiene. Cleanliness, neat hair, and at least small amount of makeup should be a priority when taking care of one's self. Also consider clothing that is comfortable, but presentable. A lot of moms that stay at home (myself included) don't consider the benefit of taking time to fix themselves up a bit each day. You'll feel much better about yourself when you do.

This may seem like a lot. It is, really. The list could go on and on. Most days I don't do all of the above. I might remember to eat my vegetables and drink my water, but forget to change out of my sweats and into jeans. On sick days I might just barely survive by taking my vitamins and getting as much sleep as possible. The important thing is that I am trying to take care of myself. I realize that when I do that, I will have more energy, a better attitude, and be more productive throughout the day.

What do you do to take care of you? I'd love to hear from you.

Sick Days

It's that time of year again. Cold and flu season. With five little ones in the home, it usually hits us pretty hard. Especially now that I have three in school. They bring home all sorts of wonderful bugs!

This past week it happened to be a cold bug. It started with a sore throat. Then it moved into the sinuses and finally, settled into my chest. Every single one of us has it, but this is the worst cold I have had in a long time. I am glad that I am finally on the up side of it. It has really sapped any and all energy out of me.

Some time in the middle of my misery, a friend asked "how do you take care of your family when you feel that crummy?" Well, I stick to the basics. Food, sleep, and clothing. If everyone is fed, I consider that a victory. If they have clean clothes to wear, we're doing good. Then I put everyone in bed, including myself, and start all over the next day. Anything that is not an absolute necessity, can wait.

I also recruit help. Fortunately, I have a very helpful husband. The kids can all pitch in in one way or another too. This weekend I was extra lucky to have my mom and sister around to help out. (Hopefully they don't get what we had!) I've learned not to feel guilty about asking for help when I am sick. It's good to give yourself permission to rest and recover. The important thing is to focus on getting healthy again.

Then, when I am feeling better, I take preventative measures. I keep a stock of disinfecting wipes, hand lotion, and spray around the house and in the car. I sanitize as much as possible, encourage hand washing, and make sure everyone is taking their vitamins along with drinking a lot of water. I'm teaching my kids to cough into their sleeves, and be alert about how easily germs spread. We'll get through this cold and flu season just like we have before...one bug at a time. But it's good to know that we're doing all that we can to stay healthy.

Ab-sent Minded Exercise

Today I stumbled on to this fun blog called Three Kid Circus.
http://threekidcircus.com/threekidcircus/
She's holding a contest to win a Wii console plus the new Wii Fit Balance Board and Game.
http://threekidcircus.com/threekidcircus/archives/2008/05/in_only_six_min.html All you have to do to enter, is to tell a fitness purchase glory story. I have been admiring the new game so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I was actually never really one for exercise, until I had five children in under seven years. In order to keep up with those kids, I kind of have to be in shape, or at least live a pretty healthy lifestyle. Honestly, it wasn't ever very hard for me to lose the baby weight. I had to make the extra effort for those last few pounds every time, but all it took was a little hard work and they eventually came off.

My problem area would be my abs...who doesn't want rock hard abs like they show on all those exercise infomercials?? But I HATE sit ups! And whenever I do crunches I wonder if I'm doing them right. So one night when I was watching late night tv after having one of my kids I saw a program promoting the "Ab-doer". It looked simple enough. Sit down, use the bar thingy (that's not the technical term, I'm sure) and move back and forth, round and round in a variety of exercises to melt off those love handles! I just had to have it. Three instruction tapes included!

Well, I will tell you that I actually thought it was working...for a while. Then I realized that my abs were just as soft and squishy as before and it became an extra chair in my laundry room. It's actually moved with us three times now I think. Just can't seem to say good bye. As for my exercise routine now? It consists of Pilates and Yoga. Not to mention keeping up with 5 kids ages 6 and under! That's why the Wii program caught my attention. I think it is something I could stick with. And who knows? Maybe have a little fun too!

Exercise and a healthy lifestyle are very important to me as a mom. I hope to pass that message along to my children. I may never have rock hard abs, but at least I have the energy to keep up with my kids. That's what matters to me. : )