Category Archives: Family

B12 Boost of Energy

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I had to do get my B12 shot today. Usually older people have to get B12 shots, but a couple of years ago, my doctor found out that I was B12 deficient. This is how it happened.

I usually didn’t see a regular doctor routinely, I saw my gynecologist yearly, but that was it. Once my dad had his by-pass surgery and was diagnosed with heart disease, my siblings and I knew we needed to be tested for high cholesterol, and the things associated with heart disease by the time we were 35.  At that time my brothers and sister were that age, I had a couple of years yet. They all got tested, and had high cholesterol. I put mine off until I was 38, praying I inherited my mother’s genes. So I went in and my doctor did all kinds of blood work. In addition to my high cholesterol (242 ugh!!) She also found that I was B12 deficient. When I went in for my check-up, I did mention to her how tired I was all the time. Usually when I told people that or my gynecologist, the response would be, “You have 4 kids, you should be tired!” I would then think, yeah, they’re right. But deep down I knew this wasn’t a normal tired. I could get 9-10 hours of sleep in a night and still take a nap in the afternoon. Plus day to day tasks seemed overwhelming to me, it was like my mind was bombarded with all the things I needed to do, and then I had a hard time getting things prioritized. So I was very grateful that my doctor was able to figure this out. She suggested the B12 shots. So to start, I had to get 3 shots within 1 week and then I would get them monthly after that. So I systematically set them up for the week before my little guys 1st birthday. We were having a huge cookout since he was born on the 4th of July, inviting a bunch of people. My husband was working as a truck driver then, so he was on the road for the better part of that week. So I knew I had a lot to do, not to mention it would also be “my time of the month.” When I got the first shot, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t remember feeling this good. By the third shot, I was unstoppable. The energy, the clarity of mind and thought, and the restful sleep I had once I got the shots was unbelievable!! My husband even noticed the difference right away. When I told him how good I was feeling, it brought me to tears. Because all those years I was having problems, I just thought it was me. It was never said to me directly, but I always felt like it was implied by different ones that I was lazy or lacked motivation. After awhile, I just started to believe I was, because there was nothing I could do to change it. Looking back, I feel this contributed to the bouts of depression I dealt with. At that time I didn’t think I was depressed, just thought I was stressed over different circumstances I was dealing with. So after talking with my husband and just being relieved that there was something physically wrong with me, he actually apologized for not getting me to a doctor sooner. We as women and moms take care of everyone and we are always the last to go to the doctor. We need to be in the best health we can be, because it affects everyone around us. Also, with our spouses, we need to urge them to see a doctor, if something doesn’t seem right. We know when something just isn’t right!! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and talk to your doctor. Keep going until you find one you like and who’ll listen. In that first check-up of mine, I talked with her about different things, and almost didn’t ask her this one last thing, I was too embarrassed, or thought I was being too vain. Even though it had been a year since I had last given birth, I just felt like my stomach seemed too big. When I wasn’t really holding it in, I felt like I looked like I was 5 months pregnant. So that’s what I told her. So she had me lay down and she had me lift up like I was doing a crunch, while she felt down the middle of my stomach. She knew right away what it was, Diastases Recti. That’s the separation between the left and right side of the rectis abdominus muscle which covers the front surface of the belly area. Multiple births and repeated pregnancies increase the risk in pregnant women. So she gave me some exercises to do, and that cleared up as well.

Every month I go in for my B12 shots. I can tell when I need one, my sleep isn’t as sound, and it takes me longer to wake up. When I just get the shot, I can sleep or take a nap, but once I wake up, I’m awake. It’s strange how something that gives you energy and alertness can also give you sound sleep. I plan to continue to get these shots, I have tried talking B12 in pill form, it just didn’t work as well as the shots. So I encourage you as a woman and a mom, if you just don’t feel good or are tired all the time, if you can, see your doctor, and ask questions, am so glad that I did!!

Scrabble in the Dark

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Last night the twins and I decided to play a game of Scrabble. Just when the game was getting good, the lights went out. We had some pretty bad thunderstorms in our area, a lot of wind, rain and lightening. This was the first time in a long time that the storm sirens were going off in downtown Chicago. The Cubs game had to be evacuated. In the suburbs, we were just left in the dark. The little guys were a little scared at first, but once I lit all the candles and found the flashlights, we all sat in the hallway, and made animal shadows on the wall. The little guy was pretending to be a monster, and had so much fun seeing his shadow on the wall. The storms lasted for a good while, I was glad when the power went back on around 9:30. That’s when we finished the Scrabble game. It’s quite challenging playing with the twins, it’s hard playing when your opponent puts down 2 or 3-letter words, but they are getting better. My daughter actually had the highest scored word at 39 points. The word was ZIG. It’s amazing how those little words can add up on those triple word squares. In the end, my son won the game. Like I said, they’re getting better. I think we will play PayDay another day, so that my other little guy can play. He wanted to play Scrabble, thinking because he knows how to spell a couple of words he can play, but he is only seven. Even though it was storming, it was a fun night. It’s nice to slow down, turn off the TV and enjoy some board games.

 
On another note, I am very happy with the progress of my blog, and appreciate everyone who has checked it out. Keep checking back, I’m going to be updating more frequently. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed.

My Quest for a New Fridge

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All the places I have lived in so far have had a fridge in them, so I haven’t really given much thought about having to actually buy one, until now. It’s not that the one I have is running badly or is in bad shape. It’s just that it was here when we moved in 3 years ago, and it has the worst design and functionality. OK, some of you may be saying, “It’s a fridge! It keeps things cold what else do you need?” Well let me explain my dilemma. First of all, we are a family of six. Every week when I go shopping I buy 4 gallons of milk, 3 gallons of Hawaiian Punch and two half gallons of Lactose Free Milk. So when I come home from shopping, I have 8 gallons to contend with. OK, I only need to refrigerate two Hawaiian Punch gallons at a time (two different flavors). But I also have to keep in mind that I already have a 2½ gallon jug for water and another gallon of green tea that I make myself and keep filled. So we are talking about 10 gallons of beverages!! Yes, I know, my family has a drinking problem. What can I say, my husband has to have a cold one after a long day at work. I personally don’t like the taste of Berry Blue Typhoon Hawaiian Punch, but it hits the spot for him. I myself am a green tea kinda gal. I pour myself a tall glass before dinner and I am set. Sadly, the problem has even started with the kids. I would need to keep chocolate milk on tap just to keep up. Anniehow…back to the real problem. So being that the drinks are the biggest problem, I had to configure the shelves of the fridge to accommodate all these containers on the bottom shelf. It doesn’t leave much room for anything else. The shelves of the fridge are glass and they have brackets on the back that hook into the back of the fridge. This is the design flaw. You cannot keep much weight on them. So my top shelves are as close to the top of the fridge as possible. I can only store margarine and cartons of eggs up there, maybe some sour cream. But if I have more than two dozen eggs up there, the shelf falls off its bracket, at which time I go into my ranting of, “This stupid, stupid fridge!!” At that point one or both of my little guys remind me that we don’t say stupid. This fridge does have a handy snack drawer. This is where I stash my chocolate. But it is a clear plastic drawer and right at eye level to my little guy. So he knows exactly what I have in it, and knows exactly what he wants. OK, so I have learned to live with the shelving problem. Now to address the door. This has some nifty compartments as well. The ever-popular butter dish, which I keep margarine sticks in, no problem. But the compartments are actually plastic trays. They “hook-on” to the little tabs that are on the actual door. They are large enough to hold a gallon of milk, but no where near sturdy enough. They do hold condiments, but not many. A couple of jars of relish and olives or some containers of BBQ sauce and that’s about it. You add some ketchup or mayo, and the tray cracks and falls out as you close the door. I have come to the conclusion that the fridge designers design them to look sleek, and hold a bottle of wine, take-out leftovers and some tofu like you see in the movies. They are not designed for a growing family. I thought to myself, well maybe it’s just this model. The quest begins!!

The other day, we all went to Best Buy, just to look around. My husband and the older kids were looking at the flat screen TVs. So my little guy, not wanting to stand around, starts pulling on my hand. So I look around and spot the appliance section. So I say, “OK, let’s go over here.” Not exactly what he had in mind, but once I started opening the refrigerator doors, he thought it was a pretty cool game. After awhile my daughter joined us, thinking her dad and brothers heard her say she was going over by me. Well, the three of us got all caught up looking at these shiny new refrigerators. I’m not too crazy about the stainless steel ones. But these things had all kinds of buttons and temperature controls on them, I wouldn’t even know how to operate them. I do like the water and ice dispensers on the front. But then you have to deal with the double door issue. You can get the double doors with the freezer on one side, but I had one of those before and the freezer is just too narrow. You have to put the frozen pizzas on their sides and then when you open the package all the pepperoni is at the bottom. I think I would rather have to deal with that than a double door fridge with the freezer as a drawer at the bottom. There doesn’t seem to be enough room in a freezer drawer. So we looked at all the different models. My little guy was having so much fun as my daughter and I discussed the different features. At one point he opened a fridge and it had a crisper drawer in it like ours at home, he opens the drawer and says, “Mom, look! You put the food in here, take it out, and make it for dinner!” (They really do watch our every move). With all the fun we had and all the choices out there, I was disappointed that I did not find my perfect fridge. Some were actually built worst than the one I have. Many of them had the plastic trays hooked onto the door, and the plastic was actually thinner. I did find one that looked pretty sturdy, it had shelves built into the door and wire racks as shelves on the inside that looked connected well, and it was only $500. But it didn’t have the ice and water dispenser on the front. It was then that I realized that this was going to take more research. So we were heading out of the department when my daughter spotted one more. We stood in front of it, as we opened the doors we were hit by a cool breeze and a bright light. Did I actually hear angels singing? Was this the one? Was it a sign? No…this one was just plugged in and running. Needless to say we were unable to actually look at all the features on this one, my daughter was being paged. While we were caught up in stainless steel, water dispensers and temperature controls, my husband and two sons were frantically looking for my daughter. They didn’t hear her when she told them she was going by me. Once “our party” was all back together and safe, we left. My daughter was reminded that she needed to tell someone where she was going. They actually left the store to check the van to see if we were out there. That’s when they came back in to page her. Usually I’m the one in the store with the kids looking for my husband as he wanders off, but he is a grown man. It’s quite frightening when you don’t know where your kid has gone off to, even for a split second. Thank God we were all accounted for.

So the quest continues. I’m going to do a little research online, and see if I can find out what all those buttons actually do. Find the lowest price and then check it out at the store. It’s a good thing I’m in no hurry, this might take some time. But I know one thing for sure. The next time we split up in a store, we will all know where everyone is going.

Looking Back

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I have just enjoyed my first full week of summer vacation. We usually end our school year the first week of June, but this year we ended on June 26. This winter was rough with 6 people taking turns getting sick. I myself was out of commission for a whole week, actually in bed. That’s the great flexibility of homeschooling. But I must say the last couple of weeks of school had been hard. I pray next year we are healthier and stay on track.

The report cards are done, and the books are finally put away, so why I am already thinking about next year? Well with the accomplishment of another year behind me, I look forward to the new and exciting things for next year. The twins are turning 13, so they will be going into the 7th grade. My 7-year-old will be doing second grade and my 3-year-old will be doing a lot of coloring. I don’t know if I’ll have the twins start a foreign language or not. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can at any given time teach other things. I personally focus on the basics, because they need that foundation. I do want them to do a keyboarding class. I don’t know how soon traditional schools teach typing, but I know it will be beneficial. I know grown-ups who still hunt and peck, which works for them, but I am grateful for my typing skills. Each year with the twins the math gets more difficult. I had general math classes when I was in school, but I understand the geometry and some algebra that they have been introduced to so far. I look forward to the challenge as they progress, but if I cannot rise above the challenge they will have to do an online correspondence course. With my second grader I will focus on the basic fundamentals of math and continue his reading.

There is so much available for homschoolers, it is sometimes hard to choose. This year was the first year I deviated from the curriculum I have been using from the beginning. I have used the Abeka Book curriculum www.Abeka.com. It is used in many of the private schools in our area. I have enjoyed using it, and I think it is a good curriculum to use if you are homeschooling for the first time. Their day to day lesson plans are mapped out for you, they have tests and quizzes available and a grading scale and progress reports you can create report cards from. The workbooks are very colorful, especially in the earlier grades, which makes it more exciting for the younger ones to learn. Even thought it seems to be an excelerated program, my twins have done well with it. This year I used another language and spelling program with them. I have read and agree that the 5th grade language from Abeka is quite difficult. The curriculum I used this year instead is Easy Grammar www.easygrammar.com. I was very impressed with the different, yet simple approach. They teach the different parts of language by process of elimination. The first thing they teach is to remove prepositional phrases from a sentence. It is much easier to identify the other parts of speech, once that has been removed. The kids seemed to understand it better. The only thing I didn’t like was the teacher’s edition. It is huge and not organized very well. The book contains all the pages in the students’ workbook, and answer key, and answer key to all the tests. I never experienced that with Abeka, so it took more effort on my part to come up with the day to day lesson plans and when to schedule the tests. I will continue to use it though.

The spelling program I used was Spelling Power www.spellingpower.com. This is completely different then anything that I have seen. There is no grading, but I created my own grading scale and had certain tests graded. The Spelling Power approach is focused on the words that students do know. You start out by doing an assessment test to see what level you should begin with. Once you have determined that, you then give the students daily tests for 5 minutes. The daily tests consist of you giving the word to the child, saying the word in a sentence, having them repeat the word, then write the word, and then you correct the word, if they get it wrong, they write it correctly. When I first read this, I was like how many words are you going to go through in 5 minutes? You would be surprised. It is something to get used to. But what encourages the kids, is how many words they actually know. There’s no studying and memorizing words prior to the test. Once the daily test is over, they then study the words they missed, with a 10-step process. The next day they are re-tested on the words they miss. They continue to do the process until they spell the word correctly. I also altered this program a little. I was actually doing more than five minutes. We did a group a day. As the words get harder, I will probably adjust and maybe do half the group. The main advantage to this program is the concentration on the words that are missed. If you are interested in using this program, all you have to do is buy one book. That wasn’t mentioned on any of the websites, and usually I purchase one book per student. But the book isn’t for the student; they never use the book. They do have workbooks for the students, which are the pages for the assessment tests and daily tests and 10-step worksheets. These are also included on the CD-ROM that comes with the book that you can print out yourself. Also, this program can be used for all grade levels, starting with 8-year olds up to 12th grade. I will continue to use it, and look forward to starting my youngest on it probably next year.

Maybe I can enjoy a couple more weeks of summer vacation, before I start making my lists of things that I will need to purchase for the upcoming school year. But it’s hard not to think about it as you shop in Wal-Mart and Target, and they already have the school supplies out. That is my biggest weakness, I love shopping for school supplies!! Maybe if I can just buy myself some new pens or something, that will hold me over until August. Maybe not.