food

2 posts in one day, I MUST have things on my mind (soon I will share... we will see what happens IRL first)...

I've been doing some reading, some contemplating, some wearing of clothes that are too tight and I really want to work on mine & my family's eating habits... and don't get me wrong... I'm not talking major crazy huge changes like going vegan or something... just healthier... getting away from processed CRAP and filling my body with the fuel it needs to give me the energy I want to do what I have to do (be a wife & mom)... easy enough, right?

I think this will probably be the beginning of another series of posts (haven't forgotten that financial journey series... just need to think through some of it some more)...

so, first I will think about the ways we've done better as a family and where we could stand to improve...

once upon a time husband and I went out to eat 3 or 4 times a week... and that was just dinner... it didn't include stopping at McDonald's or Taco Bell for lunch... horrible (what budget problems?)

once upon a time making cheeseburger macaroni was 'cooking'

once upon a time (like this morning... ) our favorite breakfast item was toaster streudel (i blame husband for this one... talk about filling your body with pure sugar and crap to start your morning... and oldest daughter is hooked... I think the store will have to be out of toaster streudel in the near future)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

one of my favorite 'changes' has been to stop using jarred spaghetti sauce. since pasta is a go-to meal at least once a week, it feels good that we are taking the time to make our own sauce & we know what is in it... depending how this summer's garden goes, i think it would be great to be able to jar our own italian stewed tomatoes to take the 'homemade' to a new level (we do start w/canned tomatoes...)

i LOVE wholewheat pasta... husband.... doesn't. i wouldn't buy white pasta again if it were completely up to me (same goes for rice)... there are a few dishes (mac n cheese, penne, etc) where I can usually get him to go with it...

beverages... when I was on weight watchers, they made me very aware that when you have soda or alcohol you are drinking your points away... you aren't getting much or any health benefit in return and you are probably hardly staying hydrated. 95% of my liquid intake comes in the form (in this order) of ice water, ice (DECAF!) tea, coffee, milk or juice. every once in a blue moon I'll have a dr pepper or alcohol, but really, the cheapskate in me doesn't like spending the money on that stuff... plus I feel yucky after I've had it (exception would be a nice glass of wine at the end of a hectic day)

speaking of garden (what? i mentioned it like 4 paragraphs ago!)... i am trying out another garden this year... i had mixed results last year, and I hope things go better this year... so far we've planted okra, tomatoes, basil, jalepenos & zucchini. i'll be adding yellow squash, onions, cilantro, & maybe some pumpkin to that mix... yay!!!! looking forward to a jar of grown-by-us salsa!

what do you do to help your family eat healthier?

2 more to go

Oh my sakes.

When your world comes crashing down, it really crashes, doesn't it?

Last week on Thursday, looking forward to a nice 3 day weekend, husband and the girls and I went out to eat at Interurban. We were needing a nice relaxing, low energy kind of night, one without cooking or cleaning or rushing.

I'd spent the day indulging my new preggo belly in 'whatever sounds good' and thought I'd top it off w/their yummy fish tacos. Mistake number 1.

Did I mention it was 'free chips, salsa and queso- all you can eat' night? Mistake number 2.

When we got home, w/everyone's bellies full and bedtime still just a little way off, we all cozied up on the floor to watch Mary Poppins. Mistake number 3.

About midway through the movie I started to feel some rumbling in my tummy, so I got up off the floor, onto the recliner, and checked out for a bit. (Didn't go take my prilosec immediately, waited about an hour) Mistkae number 4.

(are you seeing a pattern here?)

Fast forward to midnight, clutching the toilet with all my might and wishing I was DEAD... sigh. I was short of breath (b/c it hurts to breathe when you think that your heart has grown fingernails and is attempting to claw its way out of your chest), dizzy, felt like my hands, feet & chin were going numb. I started to worry about stroked symptoms I had read on posters in doctors offices. Husband had been up with me for a while, seeing how truly brutal my stomach can be, and we decided it was time for a trip to the ER.

That was a less than positive experience, since my attending doctor was ready to send me home after 20 minutes. I had received a very special 'GI cocktail' that included lydicane, which hadn't done anything other than numb my tongue and she didn't even bother to find out if that had helped. With my pain level staying nice and high around an '8' both husband and I demanded further treatment, time and examination. There was discussion that it could potentially be my gallbladder, but a test revealed that was not a problem. They did finally give me a shot w/a nausea medication and some morphine which brought my pain level down to about a '4'. I could finally attempt to rest (not sleep, mind you, just rest) and went home with a new prescription for a more pregnancy-safe heartburn medicine.

I spent the next 4 days pretty much exhausted and passed out on the couch. I'm restricted to a bland, acid-free, fat-free diet which is making eating interesting. At this point I'm going to spend most of my paychecks at jamba juice. Getting this little nutrition doesn't lend itself to having much energy which comes at a super inoportune time because husband is gone all week at CHWC.

The good news? I finally landed an appointment w/a GI doctor for later in the month and husband will be home on Saturday AND I have taken next week off as my own little stay-cation. I know the girls will appreciate having both mommy and daddy home for an extended period of time and not be passed around between family members and babysitters. Although, I think we will be hiring a babysitter so that we can go catch Harry Potter one evening.

Life never slows down.

Success

My oldest kiddo made it through her surgery just fine!

Here she is waiting for them to take her back...

they were running early, so she was actually finished with surgery before it was even scheduled to begin. She was pretty cranky and out of it when we first got to go back to recovery to check on her. It was heartbreaking and at the same heartwarming to hear her crying all through the recovery area (she was way in the back) with the very nice Dr. Smith (the anesthesiologist) holding her and rocking her.

and here she is in the car on the way home...

by 10:30 in the morning she was running outside with her dad to see the trash man come and pick up our trash and she helped dad pull the trash can back up to the house. I'd say that's a pretty easy recovery!

Here's the sweet thing being treated to her second helping of ice cream for the day (chocolate with 'moshmewoes', otherwise known as rocky road)

I'd say it was an uneventful day aside from the fact that MY allegies are the devil and have taken over my poor head and body. I was seriously in bed by 7:30 last night, not to mention that I had about a 1 1/2 hour nap midday. I guess all of the lack of sleep from my heartburn was catching up with me.

Thank you God for a successful operation. Thank you for holding my baby in your sweet hands and keeping her safe.

hard to breathe

I had that stinking heartburn again last night. 1 prilosec, 1 zantac and 4 tums took until 2:30 to kick in. Blah. Leaves me a little bleary eyed this morning and my thoughts are a little fuzzy. Then I got a call back from oldest daughter's ENT. He's only available for surgery on Wednesdays (she needs her adenoids removed) and we need to do it either this week or next week. So by 9 am this morning with no coffee in me (I'm cutting out caffeine until I have a few nights heartburn free) I was facing booking a (minor) surgery for my daughter for first thing tomorrow. She can't eat after midnight and that's harder to handle for younger patients, so they book in order of age. She gets the 8:00 appointment which has us at the outpatient surgery center by 6:45. She'll be under full anesthesia for the 30 minute procedure and I know it will be the longest 30 minutes o fmy life. I keep going to my facebook profile and looking at this picture

it's from this weekend, we went up to see my MIL for her birthday. We were out to dinner and the girls just started hugging each other and I had to snap a quick shot. All I had was my phone handy, but really that's all I need. Oldest daughter's beaming face as she embraces her sister is burned into my memory. And I'm terrified. I'm sure the sleep deprivation is playing into this quite a bit, but putting your child's life into the hands of another in such a significant way leaves me feeling helpless. It makes me want to say "NO! Forget the surgery. I'll sleep in her room every night and stay up and make sure she can breathe all night long. Don't worry about me getting any sleep, I've done without it in the past, I'll find a way to manage."

See? There's that pesky sleep issue again. So I'm muddling through the day, trying to clear up any last little work issues so that I'll have tomorrow off, and if anything else comes up, I'll have everything settled and not need me to attend to it for a few days.

So, please keep my sweet girl in your prayers. I'll post an update as soon as I can.

how do you spell relief?

This post is not for the weak stomach-ed.  And, to clear things up.  I'm NOT pregnant.

So, for about the last 6-9 months I've been suffering from severe heartburn.  Not that whole time straight, mind you.  Its very sporadic, not connected to any specific foods, and always at night.  About a month ago, I had my a$$ handed to me one evening when it was severe enough to having me throwing up.  That was not a fun night.  So, I made an appointment with my doctor and he asked me "have you tried prilosec?"  actually, I hadn't.  Even though it is over the counter now, I had kind of felt like 'if antacids don't take care of it, and it's bad enough that I'm throwing up, I think I should go see the doctor.  I'm only 29 for cryin' out loud."  So, he wrote me a prescription for prilosec (its cheaper that way) and sent me on my way.  

Now, being one to always try to save money, I didn't actually take it every day, I just waited for the next night when it set in, and then got up and took it.  And that kinda' worked.  Instead of being up for 3 hours waiting for an antacid to kick in, I was only up for an hour.  Cool.  Or not.  

About a week ago, I woke up with that twinge in my stomach, went and took my medicine, and nothing happened.  In fact, it got worse.  And I threw up.  Again, and again, and again.  I couldn't keep the medicine, or antacids, or water down.  For about 4 hours straight this went on, and I was beyond miserable.  Words just can't describe how I was feeling.  I pretty much wanted to reach into my chest and pull my heart out.  I did finally manage to force myself to curl up in a ball, take the medicine, and pretty much will myself not to throw up anymore.  

The next morning at work my coworkers chastised me on and on for not taking the medicine EVERY DAY, so I've been doing that.  And now, here I am.  It's 2:30 in the morning and I've been awake since 1:00.  I've taken antacids twice now, and I don't know what to do.  Should I go back to my doctor?  Should I start researching super bland grandma diets?  Should I seek the help of someone who does alternative healing?  

Has anyone out there in bloggy land ever had anything like this?  I'm desperate.  I kinda need sleep for all of that functioning throughout the day business that I'm expected to do.  

Sigh.