Dr. PetPlay is in the House

We recently got a few new iPad games for our kids, that had been free during the Christmas Season.

Dr. PetPlay was one of these games (usually $2.99).

My middle child loves animals (especially cats) and would like to be a vet when she grows up.  So this game was PERFECT for her.  And her enormous collection of stuffed animals made for a full waiting room.

The kids have spent their days being snowed in taking care of their animals.  I was doing some work when I heard an awful cry coming from "The Doctor's Office."  It was my son.  And his beloved puppy Shadow (named after my parent's dog) had not one, but two broken legs!  Thank you creators of Dr. PetPlay for that image for my son.

The tears on his face were real, and the sadness in his voice.  But Dr. Emmalee told him that with some bandaids and rest, puppy would be all better.

We've recently been bombarded with animals who needed homes, temporary and permanent.  After the snowstorm left an animal shelter without heat, my heart broke and I wanted to help.  But I also know the kids wouldn't want to give the animal back, and we're not really in a place to be taking in any animals, especially cats or untrained puppies.

So we'll continue on with the stuffed animals, and visiting adopt-a-thons, waiting for that time when a pet will be a part of our family…. many, many years from now.

Tummy Aches Return

In the past, we'd dealt with tummy troubles for our eldest.  Now it's my middle child's turn.

E has been having tummy issues for months, so after discovered the pattern of right after every meal, we cut everything out and went vegan and gluten free for a few weeks.  We slowly added everything back, and found the culprit: dairy.

So we invested in the lactose pills for her to take at meal times, and started giving her pro-biotic pills daily.  As long as she takes her meds, she's fine.  For the most part, the school has been accommodating to her, giving her dairy free options.  But in the case of snacks from classmates, she's often needing reminders to take a pill before she eats it - even dairy in baked goods upset her tummy.

I've been researching natural ways to help her deal with it, even been given some seemingly contradictory advice.  But the consensus is to just ELIMINATE all dairy for 3 to 6 months, then introduce it.

That means soy/almond milk alternatives, which can be pretty pricy.  She was mostly upset about not being able to have sour cream on her tacos… her favorite part.

Any other Lactose Free families out there with suggestions for me?

Our Take on "Bread and Milk" Videos

Three extra days of winter break…  It would be an understatement to say the kids got a bit stir crazy.

My husband had shown them the infamous "Bread and Milk" YouTube videos, and our theatrical children wanted to make their own.

And so, we did.

We were in fact running low on milk, but the Level 3 Emergency that we were under (making it illegal to be on the roads) was going to be lifted soon.  

Regardless, the kids had a blast making this, and I crack up every time I see my son on the screen.  

Snomageddon 2014

Well, 2014 has certainly been fun!

Living in the midwest, particularly our part of the midwest, snow can be hit or miss.  We always seem to be on the cusp of any snow storm that has potential to close the county.

Not this year!

Winter Storms Henry and Ion shut us in, even giving the kids a few extra days off of school from Christmas/Winter break.  The hardest part is dealing with the temperatures: The kids WANT to go play in the now, but it's -7 degrees at 1in the afternoon: not really happening.

All bundled up for 5 minutes of play

Snow has kept them in for the most of the past 2 weeks, and they're getting stir crazy in the house.  Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago when we could go for a walk?  Now we can't even step outside the house.  

It was so cold today that we tried the whole "toss boiling water into the air to make snow" thing.  Yup, it totally worked.  And it was awesome!

The girls were able to get ahead on their bible quizzing verses, and our son is enjoying all the toys he got for Christmas. But they really miss their friends and having someone other than their sibling to play with.  School should be back in session tomorrow, right?  

AND with this snow emergency (making it illegal to be on the roads, thus businesses are closed), it only figures that I would get a random pregnancy craving...

New Years Resolutions?

I don't have any real "New Years Resolutions."  Something always happens and I fail.

Especially now with as sick as I've been, I'm not going to try anything too crazy.  I'd say "get healthier," but my doctor doesn't care what I eat or drink at this point, as long as I can keep it down.

With the birth of our 4th child coming however, I really want to try to be more frugal this year.

I coupon occasionally, when it's products that we'd regularly use.  I don't do the 'extreme coupon-ing' for major stocking up; I don't buy 12 newspapers and the thought of ordering coupons by mail is weird to be, but some people swear by it.   But I love reading coupons blogs to see what kind of deals I can get, if I could manage to get my hand on THAT many coupons…

Me and the Coupon Queen herself, Joni Meyer-Crothers at her book signing (FreeTastesGood.com)

I've started researching to make my own cleaning and beauty supplies… some other DIY things to save money.  

We thought about cloth diapers for the baby, but not sure how the childcare situation will be yet long term, and not everyone is a fan of cloth diapers.

I'm taking the pants that my daughters, which they had received from my cousins, and have grown to tall for (thank you elastic adjusted waistbands!) and turning them into skirts.  I don't have a wide variety of Maternity clothes, but I've found patterns to make my own… the catch is finding the energy to do it…

I know many moms who have started their own side businesses - crafts, skin care, etc.  But I'm not that crafty and you have to spend money and make a ton of products in hoping to sell a few.

I've tried to sit through those survey sites, too, but I never seem to qualify, so it's almost a waste of my time…

I have a Sam's Club Membership, I'd like to start doing more bulk meal preparations, but again, a lot of it has to do with time and energy…

So at this point, I'm just trying to cut as many corners as I can, trying to set money aside for things like Bible Quiz trips, and maternity leave.

What money saving tips are you using?  Any suggestions for me?

Surviving my first year with P.O.T.S.

My New Year's resolution for 2013 was to eat healthier and run a 5k.    Who would've thought cutting out french fries and soda would darn near kill me….

I'd been diagnosed with NCS after the birth of my daughter Samantha in 2005.  I'd been exhibiting symptoms for YEARS, but because they came and went, and seemed 'unrealistic' to my childhood pediatrician, it was untreated.

I'd spent a few years taking Toporol and a variety of Beta Blockers, all of which were absolutely awful, and actually caused some pretty severe anxiety issues.  One morning I woke up and decided that I wasn't going to allow the headaches and dizzy spells control my life, and I threw my pills away, in Jesus Name!

I'd been symptom free for about 3 years, a few bad days here and there, but nothing like it had been.  Then Pastor called for a church-wide Daniel Fast, and I thought it was a perfect time for me to cut my yucky soda habit.

And no, I'm not exaggerating when I say it almost killed me - started having my first 'episode' (considered by my neurologist to be seizures) while driving.  Not good, but I was able to pull over before things really got dark. 

I didn't really realize what was going on.  I did a 48 hour detox water drink (water, cucumbers, lemon and mint), to help cleanse out the chemicals in my body.  It was suppose to last a week, but I couldn't handle more than 2 days.

I switched to just water, no juice and NO SODA and still felt really dehydrated, like I was voiding more than I was taking in, when I knew I was drinking at least 70 oz each day.  Then other weird symptoms started to develop.  My word would slur, or I'd use the wrong word completely.  I'd loose focus, and would be extremely exhausted.  All this within a 1 week period.  I went to my doctor (who was a new doctor, fresh out of med school), who was testing me for diabetes, everything came back normal.

So I went to Facebook to lament.  I'm thankful I did, because a few high school classmates of mine had also recently experienced similar symptoms and had been given a diagnosis of POTS.  So I looked it up.  Sure enough, everything I'd been experiencing was right there.  So I printed out the information I found and brought it to my next appointment.  She'd heard of POTS, but was told in one lecture that covered it, that she'd likely never see a case.

As it happens, she'd had a patient come in earlier that day who also had already been diagnosed with POTS, and was picking her brain about her condition because her case reminded me a lot like mine.  My doctor told me that the brain fog and word jumbles were this other patients biggest hurdle, as she was a university professor.

The more research I did, the more people I spoke with, I realized that this was going to be another fun battle.  I needed to maintain my BP or the seizure would start again (Gotta love when the Doctor tells you to add salt and caffeine to your diet) and I needed to keep my stress levels low (Did I mention I have 3 kids?).

We tried some meds but I hated them.  The Beta blockers gave me anxieties again, and the BP meds made me exhausted.  I phased them out and trusted in Healing, because medications were not the answer.  I adjusted my diet, added salt (I honestly don't use salt in my cooking) and enjoyed my tea and soda.  I also forced myself to drink more sports drinks (the zero calorie ones, which are gross, in my honest opinion).

Now that I'm pregnant, it's brought on all kinds of new experiences… (See my other blog Sociably Surviving Hyperemesis).

I still have bad days, and I've learned from others with POTS and from experience what triggers can be such as antibiotics and dehydration.  I may have to deal with this condition from time to time, but I'm not going to ever let it control me.  

What CHRISTmas means to me

I really wanted a low-key Christmas this year.

With as sick as I've been, I didn't want to have to cook, I didn't want to go anywhere, I couldn't even handle going shopping for gifts.

Thanks to my husband and online shopping for the gifts, the kids were pleased with the gifts they received.  They didn't get many gifts from us, but what they got they were thankful for.  We did have a big surprise hiding for them, but without them knowing that any other gifts were coming, they were happy with new gloves and fun slippers and crafts.

It's been our tradition for the last 9 years to go around and look at the lights in some of the neighborhoods here in town.  There is one in particular that just about every house is decorated.  Some are kinda gaudy, with every possible inflatable in their yard and every inch of the house covered in lights.  Others are more subtle, but those are my favorites.

We saw more Nativity scenes this year… which is really what the focus should be.  There are houses with a star on the roof with strings of light going down to the manger scene - I've always liked that.  But there was one house… I really want to get this for our house next year.  It was 3 panels: on the left, shepherds and the angels, on the right, the wise men, and in the center, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  It was subtly lit, but so beautiful.

While in the car for 45 minutes the kids were sharing what Christmas means to them.  "It's not about Santa, it's about Jesus" was the most common thing heard.  That made me happy.  We've NEVER encouraged Santa.  We've always made sure the kids knew who their gifts came from: us.  But this year at school, Santa was pushed REALLY hard on 2 of the 3 kids.  My younger two had Elf on the Shelf in their classrooms, and were suddenly convinced that Santa was really real.  But that night, it was all about Jesus.

My 5 year old son had the most precious things to say.  He told me on Christmas Eve night that Jesus is the most important thing in the world, and that He is real.  And you can feel Him in your heart, and that He loves us very much.  Christmas morning, I pulled him aside after all the gifts were open to ask if he knew who Santa was.  His answer: Jesus, because He gives us the best gift of all!  Proud Mom, right here!

I sit here, my kids reading the new books they received, sitting on their new beanbag chairs, while the tree sits in the corner, and I'm so thankful for the blessings that we have: each other.