Simply Mel(Formerly Mama Monoblogs)

It's A Weighty Issue

Remember those head weights I told you Mike and I have to wear for our Chiropractor? Here I am "weighing in" on the issue.. hee hee.

I rock these head weights!

 

Yes I am wearing what looks like a tool belt with heavy, not-sure-what- metal- that is rectangles in it's pockets on my head. Each weight's weight is different and Mike and I wear them in different pockets on our head depending on which side of our necks need strengthening. The curve at the base of my neck is totally reversed and wearing these weights is going to help in getting the curve back to where it should be. The weights are numbered so we know which pockets to put them in and also have our names on the one ones we share so I don't wear a "Mike only" weight. Let me tell ya, those things definitely tire my neck out after awhile. We're supposed to wear them twenty minutes a day. Sadly, I have not been as faithful wearing them and I know that my next neck x-ray is going to show little to no improvement. That will cause a "weighty problem" with my Chiropractors! Haha. I guess I'd better start wearing those darn things more faithfully.

 

Why I Think We Didn't Get (Very) Sick This Winter

I am very happy to report we had a pretty sick-free winter! I think in November we had a day where Mike and Katelyn had a stomach bug but that lasted a day. None of us had fever once, the flu or even a cold! Wait, I take that back. Mike did get sick while I was gone to Texas but I believe that was from his very poor eating habits, lack of sleep and high stress level. And the fact that he missed us and I wasn't there to take care of him.(Now everybody say "aaaawwwww"). But, in general this was the first winter where we didn't get hit with everything that was going around! Madelyn had a couple of episodes of the sniffles and a runny nose but that cleared right up after a couple of days and didn't turn into anything worse. I didn't have to turn to any kind of cold and cough medicine(which I'm trying to stay away from and don't give my kids) and the girls didn't have one sick visit. I praise God for that! Here is what we used and did in our fight against sickness this past winter

Emergen-C!! What a wonderful thing. I drank it, Mike drank it(when he remembered) and I put half a packet in each girl's juice cup several times a week. I really think this helped our immune system.

 

Liquid Essentials Liquid Vitamins. Mike, Katelyn and I took this. We found out about this liquid vitamin from our chiropractor. It's packed with all sorts of vitamins, minerals and good for you stuff.I wasn't sure what dosage to give Madelyn she took Gummyvites Multi Vitamins orjust a regular Children's Multivitamin. Katelyn preferred the actual gummy vitamins herself so eventually she took those instead of the LE.

 

 

I took both Echinacea and Garlic pills regularly which are both immunity boosters.

To keep the girls' nasal passages clear and cold-free I used Little Noses Saline Spray and Hyland's Sniffles And Sneezeswhen I saw that they were getting a runny nose. Hyland's products are homeopathic. I swear those things really worked!!

 

To keep my nasal passages cold(and allergy!!) free I love Zicam's products! I used Zicam's Cold Remedy Swabs and their Allergy Relief Swabs.

      

And I also used my nasal irrigation recipe to cleanse my sinuses.I have found that this method really keeps my sinuses clear of allergens and colds.And boy did we wash hands and used Burt's Bee's Hand Sanitizing Spray.

 

While I think all of these things really helped us out this past winter, I'm not a doctor and I can't speak for everyone else. These are some methods I would recommend you try and see if they work for you. If you have any questions about these products and how they work please speak to your doctor.

Now that I posted this all I can do is knock on wood and pray we don't get the Swine Flu! Haha!

Hmmmm.....

Natural Cold and Flu Prevention

Since I'm almost done editing my Christmas pictures(but not done yet) I thought I would share with you some natural preventative measure I've recently learned for colds and the flu. As you all know, I'm trying to go the more "natural" route with pretty much everything so I've been researching natural and homeopathic remedies. Some of this stuff is common sense and some of it sounds pretty icky but I thought I'd throw it out there. Feel free to comment back with anything that has worked for you.

 

1. Sinus Irrigation Method(And Other Cures For Stuffy Noses)

I actually learned about this when I had my sinus surgery several years ago. I have used it ever since and I can tell you from personal experience it works wonders. It is similar to the Netti pot but I like it better. I also find it more economical.You will need one of those nasal bulb syringes that you use on babies' noses, a gallon of distilled water, baking soda and sea salt or kosher salt. I make a whole gallon of this stuff at one time.  Using the bulb syringe,you will want to gently and slowly squirt half a cup of this solution into each nostril while standing over the sink. Don't insert the bulb in too far and don't squirt too hard. You want to gently rinse out your sinuses and moisturize them. This solutions rinses out any allergens, mucus and other yucky stuff that gets stuck up there. If you are not experiencing any cold and flu symptoms it works great to keep them at bay. Do it once a day. If you do have cold or allergy symptoms to the irrigations once in the morning and one before bed. I'm telling you, this stuff will keep your sinuses clear if you use faithfully.

In the gallon of distilled water mix in 8 teaspoons of sea or kosher salt and 8 teaspoons of baking soda. Shake well. I use a small one cup cup with with a handle. I fill it with the solution and microwave it for 20 seconds. You want the solution to be room temperature to lukewarm. I also shake the gallon container every time before I use it. Just in case anything has settled to the bottom.

If you try this I would love to hear your thoughts!

As usual a humidifier works great. I also like to add Vick's Vaporub to their chests although I'm not too sure if this is classified as "natural" or not. I'm guessing any kind of essential oils with eucalyptus, peppermint or lavender scents would probably work just as well to clear the nasal passage ways.

And also very importantly, drink lots of fluids!!  

2. Immunity Boosters

I've recently read about the wonders of garlic. I personally take garlic pills  by Nature's Bounty that digest fine and don't leave a garlic-y taste in my mouth or cause any digestive discomfort. Garlic is supposed to be great for immunity and preventing sickness. I've read that taking it straight from the source is actually the most potent form of getting the immunity boost. You take a clove or two of fresh garlic and crush it. Put it in a spoon and cover it with honey. Then, swallow it. Apparently you should do this several times a day to get the benefits. That doesn't sound appetizing at all to me so I stick with the garlic pills.

I also take Echinacea and Goldenseal which promotes a healthy immunity system. I've been carrying around a natural sanitizing hand spray by Burt's Bees that I also make sure to spray on our hands when we're out. There's nothing better for keeping sickness at bay than frequent hand washing. And although I love my children and love to share things with them I try not to share spoons, straws or cups with them during this time of year. We are just perpetuating any kind of sickness by doing this.

I've recently heard that Emergen-C is a wonderful, natural and tasty way to boost you immunity. I'm going to be buying some of that for our family. It's loaded with Vitamin C and other good for you things. It's great to prevent colds and also helps you get over them faster

3. Sore Throats

I've  discovered that honey is the best natural remedy for sore throats. I have given a tablespoon of it to Katelyn before bed time and several times a day and it seems to work great for her. I myself have also started taking it at the first tickle in my throat and it's worked. It doesn't seem like it would but it does!

You can also mix some lemon juice and honey since lemon juice works as a natural detoxifier.

4. Ear Aches/Infections

I'll admit to only have read about these remedies and never having tried them myself or on my children. I have had terrible ear problems in the past and am phobic about putting any kind of liquid in my ear.

Olive oil, tea tree oil and garlic oil are all supposed to be wonderful remedies for curing ear infections. I've read that if you warm a little olive oil and then rub it just below the back, outside part of the ear it relieves pain. I've also read that if you put  a few drops of tea tree oil, olive oil and garlic oil in the ears it cures the infection. Supposedly you can put a whole clove just inside the ear like a hearing aid and let it sit there for awhile and it draws out the infection.

I was always super quick to run to my pediatrician over any sign of ear infection and ask for antibiotics and pain medication instructions. I read in the book " How To Raise A Healthy Child In Spite Of Your Doctor"  by Dr. Robert Medelsohn that ear infections are natural, although painful, occurrences, and will go away on there own with out any kind of treatment. They will not do any permanent damage and if we interfere with our bodies natural infection fighting ability by giving our children antibiotics it could actually take longer for the ear infections to go away. Now since I'm an ear infection-phobe I'm  not quite sure what to do with this information yet. Again, my natural reaction to seeing my child in pain is to ply them with pain meds and antibiotics because I want to ease their discomfort. One of the good things about sinus irrigations above is that you can use a few drops in your child's nose to keep their sinuses flushed out. This in turn keeps mucus etc from building up and causing ear infections. I may give these remedies a shot the next time I think one of my girls has an infection. But I have to be honest, if it doesn't seem to get better I may be plying them with Tylenol and begging for antibiotics!!

5. Fevers

According to Dr. Mendelsohn there is no need to be worried or see a doctor unless your or your child's fever reaches 106 degrees or higher and is accompanied by other symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea etc.  Hydration and humidifiers are key to recovery. He suggests letting it run it's course and getting lots of rest and, again, fluids. Interfering by medicating just makes things worse and is only masking the real problem. Again, I must admit I have a hard time with this. Fevers are bad aren't they? We're supposed to get them down with Tylenol right away, right?

I hope you found some of this information helpful or at the very least, interesting.

Thoughts? Do you have any homeopathic remedies that work for you?

Madelyn's 15 Month Stats and Why I Refused the Flu Shot

Thank God we are almost back to normal here. Everyone is on the mend. Mike is off to work and Katelyn seems to be feeling better although she is not eating much.(which was her usual MO anyway!)We now resume our regular blog scheduling :o) As promised I wanted to fill you in on Madelyn's 15 month check up  as well as why we've decided we don't want the flu shot for our family.

Madelyn weighed 25 lbs and 4 oz at her appointment and has grown in length a bit in just the past three months. She went from 30 3/4 inches to 32 1/4 inches long. Katelyn at 15 months weighed 23 lbs 4 oz and was 32 1/4 inches long. So, they were very similar.

 I was a little taken aback  by how the nursing staff just assumed I wanted the flu shot along with Madelyn's other shots. They didn't ask me if I wanted it, they just said "Oh, she needs three shots today-her MMR, Chicken pox and the flu shot".  I've also been reading up on delayed vaccinations because of the harm the childhood vaccines can have on our children. But that's for another day :o) (Anyone ever hear of that or tried it yourself?)

 Now, on to why I refused the flu shot.

As you all know  we are trying to move onto a more natural lifestyle with less drugs and added chemicals in it than we were previously leading. I have read and heard that the flu shot is great and necessary for everyone. Pregnant women should get it. It should be mandatory for preschoolers and school aged children to have it before entering school. etc etc. This is what many of the flu shot advocates don't tell you (this info comes from Dr.Mercola's website. Emphasis their's):

-That when we inject the flu shot into our system we are taking into our bodies:

• Ethylene glycol (antifreeze)

• Phenol, also known as carbolic acid (this is used as a disinfectant, dye)

• Formaldehyde, a known cancer-causing agent
• Aluminum-which is associated with Alzheimer's disease and seizures and also cancer producing in laboratory mice (it is used as an additive to promote antibody response)

• Thimerosal (a  mercury disinfectant/preservative) can result in brain injury and autoimmune disease

• Neomycin and Streptomycin (used as antibiotics) have caused allergic reaction in some people

Not to mention that there is no real information out there that the flu shot really helps fight the flu. Here's another excerpt from an article from Dr. Mercola's website(italics mine):

If your child gets a flu shot, he can still get the flu (or flu-like symptoms). This is because it only protects against certain strains, and it’s anyone’s guess about which flu viruses will be in your area. According to the CDC:

“In some years when vaccine and circulating strains were not well-matched, no vaccine effectiveness can be demonstrated in some studies, even in healthy adults. It is not possible in advance of the influenza season to predict how well the vaccine and circulating strains will be matched, and how that match may affect the degree of vaccine effectiveness.”

 

-The mercury amount in the flu shot is 25 micrograms which is considered unsafe for anyone weighing less than 550 lbs!! Mercury is linked to all sorts of health issues. You can read those here.

-87% of the doctors who make the guidelines for the flu shot have ties with the drug companies who create them. Read this for more info.

You can check out www.mercola.com and type in "flu shots" in the search engine for a host of articles on the subject.

I for one, do not want those added chemicals in my body or that of my family. I'm still reading up on this subject and am, of course, not an expert on it by any means. And I am also sure there are probably a bunch of articles that support the flu vaccine just as well. I just don't want that stuff in my body. I will do my best to fight the flu naturally by eating healthy, taking vitamins and supplements, exercising, getting enough rest and WASHING MY HANDS and those of my children often.

 

Doctor Mom Is In And All About Our Sick Thanksgiving Weekend

**UPDATE**

I forgot to mention that I did take some pictures of our Thanksgiving and will post them on this post soon. I need to upload them first. There wasn't much occasion to take pictures. Oh, and we still aren't done decorating our tree! We'll finish soon and I'll post the pictures once it's fuly decorated in all it's glory.

Happy Sunday!

 

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ORIGINAL POST

 Since Friday Katelyn and Mike have been very sick with a  vicious stomach virus( and all that that entails. And I do mean ALL) The stomach thing then turned into chills, fatigue and fever. They seem to be doing better today but we still stayed home from church. Feels weird not being there today!!

 My poor Mother-in-law(henceforth to be known as MIL) contracted this vicious virus the night before Thanksgiving so she stayed put in her room all Thanksgiving day. She had been able to do most of the cooking  and setting the table before she got sick so there was very little left to do Thanksgiving day. It was very funny to see my brother in law(BIL) and father in law(FIL)rushing around trying to take care of the last minute cooking. I helped with the veggies while BIL stirred the gravy and baked the rolls. FIL carved the turkey. My job this year was dessert. I made my very first apple pie, pumpkin bread and brownies. So, we had our Thanksgiving meal without my MIL for the first time. The food was still delicious and we had a good time. Katelyn ate next to nothing but was somehow starving for dessert. We then watched a movie and relaxed the rest of the day. My BIL gave Katelyn her belated birthday present from him which she was and still is enamored with. He gave her a Dora Vanity Table that is really cute. Dora's head sits on top of the vanity(kinda creepy) and it comes with a pretend blow dryer and other assorted hair accessories. Katelyn loves to sit on the little stool that came with it and comb Dora's hair and fix her up. She will also fix herself up too.

Friday Mike decided to clean out our sunroom/office as it was literally a DISASTER. It was pretty much a junk room and an embarrassment. We had TWO desks in there! Who needs two desks?!! We freecycled the cheap one and now my laptop,office stuff etc is on the nice desk that was supposed to Mike's.  So he reorganized and cleaned it out so we could move some of the toys in the living room in there to make way for our Christmas tree. But, before we decorated the tree we decided to do a little Black Friday shopping. We left Katelyn at my inlaws house for a few hours(which was probably not a good idea with my MIL still recovering. She was feeling a lot better and we dropped K off at her insistence) We didn't really do that much shopping and apparently went at a good time. We left to go shopping about 4:00 pm. There was no traffic on the main shopping drag in the town we went to go shopping in. And the MALL was on this road! Gasp!! By this point I wasn't really in a huge shopping mood so I didn't feel like going to too many places. We went to Casual Mal Big and Tall so Mike could get some dress shirts. This store is usually very expensive but we were able to get some good deals there. We then went to Sam's(I know, of all places right? This is exciting stuff, people) to see if they had any end tables for sale. Nope. Nothing exciting going on there. I did, however, find my first gift for Mike. And since I know he doesn't really read my blog I'll share with you what I got him...in my next post. It deserves one all of it's own :o) Anyway, we then went to pick up Katelyn and get home to decorate our tree.

 I wish I could tell you we had the festive,jolly evening I had planned with Christmas music  playing and me taking cute pictures of the girls as they gazed in excitement, awe and wonder at our tree. But that's not quite how it happened. That's when the "you know what" hit the "you know what".  Katelyn was laying all over the floor and not quite as excited about the tree as I had hoped. She was interested in hanging a couple of ornaments but in general was just laying around. She had also mentioned that she wasn't feeling good. The she erupted all over our floor. She did this about 3 or 4 times.  The Christmas tree decorating was put on hold for a bit. We put Katelyn to bed and then a couple of hours later Mike started getting sick with the stomach virus. So he was up all night with it. Thankfully Katelyn only woke twice throwing up before we even went to bed and then slept soundly the rest of the night. Yesterday they both just mellowed for awhile and then got fever last night. Katelyn slept well even with her fever. Mike had an ok night. This morning they are both a lot better.  So far, neither Madelyn or I have gotten anything. Yet. But I'm standing guard! 

GONSH Update

 

I know how much you have all been just DYING to hear how my journey is going so I'll ease your minds with an update ;o) First off, I swear the Lord is performing miracles before my very eyes!! Mike, for the first time, has been eating oatmeal almost every day and he loves it!!! Be still my heart!! He is also eating an apple every morning for breakfast and getting up at 4:30am to go to the gym. Who is this man? He tried mango the other day(didn't care for it) and has been forcing down the veggies I've been serving for dinner. He even ate sugar snap peas tonight at dinner! Miracle I tell ya! The oatmeal that we have been eating is Steel Cut Oatmeal also known as Irish Oatmeal. It doesn't come out as smooth and mushy as the rolled oats kind but is "crunchier" for lack of a better word and  nutritionally way better for you than the rolled kind. I like to put butter and a little maple syrup in mine and Mike has been eating his with butter and honey.  He has also quit drinking any kind of soda and has been only drinking water. Oh, and did I mention he's on the organic bandwagon now? Whoa! All of this comes from the "Body By God 40 Day Whole Life Makeover" class he's taking once a week at our Chiropractor's office. We've both been reading "Body By God" by Dr. Ben Lerner. I highly recommend this book. It has taught me some things I never knew and changed my thinking on many nutritional and health issues I always thought were fact and aren't, necessarily.Here are some other changes I've made recently:

-I'm actually transitioning to using NO artificial sweeteners. I was a Splenda lover and am now no longer using Splenda. I have found an all natural sweetener that I like ok called Stevia. It has a taste I'm going to have to get used to. I have been using a little Stevia and some Agave Nectar in my coffee and tea and that works out well. Speaking of coffee and tea..

-I have cut myself "down" to two cups of coffee a day. That is actually pretty normal for me anyway but there were days I was known to have up to four so now I limit myself to two. When I feel like having a warm beverage later in the day or evening I have been having herbal tea with honey. That has been very satisfying and relaxing.

-We are trying to supplement some of our cow's milk for Almond and Rice Milk. I will also do a more at length post about that at some point . You can read Dr. Mercola's article on cow's milk here if you want some info on this topic before I post what I've been learning. I'm having trouble with this one, I can tell you that. I LOVE milk and have always heard that "milk does a body good". We've been buying our milk from a local farm in the area that is pasteurized but not homogenized. But, again, this topic is for another time.    

-We've been trying out and experimenting with different grains. It's been quite interesting!

 

That's my update for now.

We Heart Our Chiropractor

Ever since Mike hurt his back a few weeks ago we have all been seeing a Chiropractor. Mike was going for awhile with his bulging disk and spoke so highly of the Chiropractors he was seeing that I  needed to try it out for myself. The office we see is run by two men. An uncle and his nephew. They are both really nice and funny. It seems like everyone who works in the office is always smiling and relaxed.  I have been seeing them for about two weeks, three times a week now. Katelyn and Madelyn had their first adjustments today! I have mild scoliosis, my lower back sways to much inward and my neck and spine are twisted the wrong way. Mike's and my neck sit way too far forward from our shoulders and are also curving the wrong way. These issues are all causing us to overcompensate with other areas of our body which is causing all our pain. We get adjustments three times a week  for right now which is slowly going to cause our backs to realign themselves. This should help my migraines A LOT. I am getting fitted for a head weight on Wednesday that I will bring home and use according to the Chiropractor's instructions. That will also strengthen my neck and start to curve my neck the way it's supposed to. I'm curious to see what this thing looks like! The main premise behind their philosophy is  that your spine controls your nervous system which controls the signals your brain sends to your body. If there is interference from misalignment to these signals your body cannot properly function, protect and heal itself. They have some amazing stories of how patients that have seen every doctor  under the sun for an ailment and were not able to get cured see them as a last resort. After they had seen the Chiropractors for awhile they started getting better. They even treat children with ADHD and it really helps them. I'm sold! They even joke that people coming in  for just back and neck pain "get so boooring after awhile". They also believe in the more natural lifestyle so if they can help relieve any problems with out drugs they are all for that. They take what they do very seriously. When you are a new patient they give you several hand outs to read about health, natural living, drugs etc. You are required to read these before you are seen. The adjustments themselves take only a few minutes and you're done. They encourage families to come together and for everyone to be seen. They adjust all ages. Even infants! I have to say that I don't experience as much pain in my lower back as before. I still have a ways to go. It's not a quick cure or anything. Mike is doing much better. He signed up for a Whole Life Makeover class ,based on Dr. Ben Lerner's book, they offer and he's been doing really well with it. He's been learning all sorts of new stuff and really applying what he's learning. He has a trial gym membership for the duration of the class and he's been getting up at 4:30 a.m to go. I'm really proud of how he's been disciplining himself. He's even eating healthy foods he wouldn't touch before. All because he went to see a Chiropractor! Mike was the biggest skeptic when it came to Chiropractors before and now he's their biggest Champion. Go figure!

Looking Ahead To The Fall(warning-this may be a long blog)

Now that Summer is almost to an end, (sniff) I'm already planning my schedule and activities for the Fall. I have to admit, I do enjoy Fall in New England, I just loathe winter. Here  are some things I plan on/look forward to doing. Some are not necessarily both of those things at the same time ;o)

• Getting Katelyn fully POTTY TRAINED!!!!! Can I tell you how frustrating this ordeal has been? Seriously. This is payback time for me. I have to admit something to all of you that I just figured out myself- I don't know everything about potty training like I thought I did.  Yep, you read that right. Having been a preschool teacher for 10 years and successfully helping to potty train(or doing it almost completely on my own) other people's kids, I thought I had it down pretty good. I would look derisively at the parents who dared show up in my classroom with children who were three and even four years old that were not potty trained yet. "Wimps!" I thought, " Lazy! They just need to put their foot down and show these kids who's BOSS!!". Then I would, kindly, come up with a plan that worked for the parents, the unpotty trained child and us. Then off we would march to begin our potty training boot camp. And in few weeks most of the kids would be in underwear and having hardly any accidents. I thought "piece of cake! When I have kids,I'll have mine potty trained in no time after all this practice!" Well, folks, sad to say, I have a daughter going on three who is not fully potty trained. She still has several accidents a day and doesn't always tell me when she has to go. She will usually tell me after she's done the deed and sometimes while she is doing the deed but rarely before. She will sit on the potty for me whenever I ask or remind her too and will usually have some business to do on it. But, if I don't remind her to go every hour, she doesn't remember either. The KEY to potty training is to get the child to understand how to HOLD it long enough to make it to the toilet. To recognize the signals that she/he has to go. She has not mastered this. Oh, did I mention we have been trying this for almost a YEAR now? Many people have pointed out to me that I actually started her kind of young, which I disagree with. I think 2 years is a good time to start and she was actually very interested. It wasn't anything I had to force on her.  I tried( and still do this) giving her a few M&m's at the beginning every time she sat on the potty. Now she only gets them if she's dry and or asks to sit on the potty on her own. She loves this reward but it doesn't seem to have any effect on her memory. So, I'm going to now be one of "those" parents who has a preschool aged child who is not potty trained.The next thing I'm going to try, that I've heard has worked for several people, is toy bribery and a sticker chart. I am going to buy Katelyn a toy she really wants and put it up on a shelf where she can see it. Then I'm going to make her a sticker chart. She's going to get a sticker every day that she is dry and does both "businesses" on the toilet. Then at night we are going to discuss her potty successes or accidents that day and talk about whether or not she get a sticker for that day. If she was dry all day she gets a sticker. If not, box stays empty. As soon as she's dry for a week straight and has stickers in all the boxes, she'll get to have her toy off the shelf.Wish me luck on that one!
• Slowly wean Madelyn off her formula and bottles. I still have the same pediatrician for Madelyn as I did Katelyn, when she turned one. He told me at Katelyn's one year check up to "chuck the bottles". Needless to say, I was a little surprised. I think Katelyn was on about 3 bottles a day still. She had a wake-up one, pre-nap one and one before bed. I didn't want to cut her off cold turkey so I slowly replaced her  formula bottles with whole milk and then lessened the amount in them. The nap time one was the first to go, then the morning one, then lastly, the bed time one. She was 16 months old by the time she had her last bottle. It was a sad night for me. I plan on generally doing the same thing with Madelyn. She seems a little more attached to her bottles than Katelyn did, so I'm afraid this is going to be a tough task. Madelyn still takes 5 bottles a day. She has one when she wakes up, has one before her mid morning nap, one before her afternoon nap, one later afternoon and one before bed. I know, that's a lot. I've taken away her late afternoon bottle and she seems to be fine with it. I've also started replacing all her bottles with whole milk except for her morning and night ones. Her mid morning nap one will be the next to go. Using one of those Nuby cups with the soft nipples really worked with Katelyn so if Maddy needs something to drink for comfort I may offer her some milk in one of those before her morning nap. That's another thing she still needs. Usually around 9:30 am she goes down for about half an hour. I wake her up after half and hour or else she'd sleep longer. I want her to take a good afternoon nap so I don't let her sleep the  morning away. It does make me sad that I'm doing this with Maddy now.
• "Learning Time" With Katelyn. Now, that Katelyn is turning three, I would like to start doing more "structured" activities with her every day. Whether it be a craft,Bible lesson, music time, pre-writing/pre-reading project, sensory/science/cooking, manipulative, games, memory flash cards, I want to spend some one on one time doing something with just her that is educational. I'll be writing more about that as soon as I get it more organized in my head
• Starting my playgroup back up. I'll hopefully be starting that up monthly again. It will probably be on Saturday's too. I hope to get some new moms in on it and make that a little more structured than last years. I want to add some more music and movement to our play group sessions.
• Attend a new playgroup I've been invited to. I've been invited to a playgroup sponsored by the rec center of the town where our church is. The mom who invited me is "scoping" out our church and is the one who runs it. It sounds interesting and like something I and girls would enjoy. I'll keep you posted on that. It's every week on Thursdays
• Starting my women's Bible study at my house. I'm starting a women's Bible study at my house on Tuesday nights. I'm REALLY looking forward to this and I already have a good group coming. I've so missed being a part of a ladies Bible study group. I haven't been able to take part in the one at my church since it starts while Mike is still at work and there is no childcare. We will be doing a series by the Women Of Faith. The first one is the most simple and basic called "Receiving God's Love". I can't wait! Our first meeting is Sept. 2.
• Getting back to a good eating and exercise regimen. Sad to say, but I've had to quit Weight Watchers and the gym. We are really trying to cut down on spending and get out of debt so those two things had to go. I have not done well at all with balanced,nutritious eating and consistent exercise. I'm also feeling it. I have been very sluggish, and  having "fat days" every day. I hope to get back on a good diet and to start consistently exercising every day. I will probably walk outside while I still can, do exercise videos and pilates. Those are my choices right now! I really need to get back into shape. I'm young yet my body feels like it's falling apart sometimes. I have horrible back pain, knee pain, can't touch my toes and run out of breath easily. You'd think I was 80 not a couple days shy of 30! I know my weight exacerbates all of those conditions.
• Did I mention I turn 30 next week??? I'm not upset about it in the least, yet. Plus, since I feel 80 most days, I want to feel 30!
• General organizing and better daily scheduling. Same old thing I've been mentioning in my older posts. I'm trying to simplify and organize my life, my finances and my house so my mind can be less cluttered and focused more on time with my family and God. I would like to create a written daily schedule for myself since I tend to be so scatter brained and have no idea what I really need to accomplish each day. This will help me stay more focused and have a plan for each day of the week and monthly tasks I would like to accomplish.

Was that long enough? LOL I welcome your comments or suggestions on what's worked for you in these areas. I'll keep you posted!

LONG TIME, NO WRITE

You are all probably wondering where I have been! We've had a lot going on and I have not had the motivation to be on the computer. But alas, here I am!

My parents are actually visiting right now. They have been here since last Tuesday and are leaving early Friday morning(sniff) They have been having a blast with Katelyn. I have been working the whole time and they have been watching her and caring for her while I've been at work. And when I'm home too! I've gotten a nice break. We will both miss them when they leave. I have the rest of the week off;which I'm psyched about. One of the reasons I haven't been on in a while is that last week I had strep throat all week! It was the most miserable time I've had in a long time. It really knocked me for a loop. It started last Sunday and didn't end until this past weekend. I had fever, my throat was killing me and I could barely move. All I could do was sleep. I don't EVER want that again. Of course there is not much I can take right now to help pain and fever. I am so glad to be finally getting some of my energy back. My mom has been a big help in cleaning up my house since it all went to pot while I was sick. Katelyn has actually shown her bratty side to my parents while they have been here. She's been totally sweet to them but mean to us! She wants nothing to do with Mike or I and is constantly hitting us when we try to touch her or something doesn't go her way. My parents have gotten to see first hand what I have been experiencing recently with her behavior. When she doesnt' like something she hits. When we slap her hand she hits back and there we go back and forth until one of us hits her hand hard enough to make her cry. It is actually kind of funny and I have to stop myself from laughing. Mind you, I'm not laughing b/c I think her behavior is cute or ok. I just can't believe how stubborn she can be at such a  young age. She gets this angry scowl on her face and looks at us like "how dare you!" and starts swinging. She gets totally offended when she gets a spanking or in trouble. We never know what will set her off. Mike will just lean in for a kiss and she'll slap him! Hopefully this is a passing phase.

I went for my first prenatal visit yesterday. Everything looks good. The first appt. was really mostly informational. My due date is August 26th but at my next appt. they will firm that up with an ultrasound. I am 10 weeks now and almost out of my first trimester. Can't wait for that!! I have been feeling ok for the most part.

Katelyn went for her 15 month check up last week and is growing well. She weighed 23lbs 4oz and is 32 1/4 inches tall. She's only gained about a pound since her last visit. The doctor said she has long legs! LOL Let's hope she gets to keep those as she gets older. I know I wish I had long legs!

Mike started his new job this week and so far is enjoying it. Hopefully this job will be instrumental in allowing me to stay home. As we get used to his new salary and a new budget we'll get to see what will happen in regards to that issue. We will just have to keep praying.

Well, I need to go spend more time with my family. Ta ta for now.