Archive for the ‘health issues’ Category
2 years
It’s been nearly two years since my surgery. Two years since we reluctantly drove to the hospital, we being me, my terrified children, mother, husband, scared of yet another major surgery. Two years since the mind-bending pain of having my gallbladder out and ventral hernia repaired. Two years, 5 scars, and numerous “attacks” since. I feel the same way as I did back then.
Yesterday, I made the mistake of rolling over in bed onto my stomach to make room for the cat. At one point, not thinking clearly (since it was 3:30am), I lifted up on my hands (like doing a pushup) to adjust or something. This STUPID move was enough to (apparently) force all my innards outwards again – out through the new/old hole that is my abdominal wall. For the rest of the day – and now today, I’ve been in awful pain that only subsides if I lay or sit down. But only if I lay down a certain way – which also encourages me to sleep. Sleeeeeep, Dawn, Sleeeeep.
That’s a problem on the weekends, because when Jimmy’s home, all I do is go-go-go.
My Resolution for 2010
Yes – one single resolution. Here it is…
– are you ready?
My New Year’s resolution for 2010: Try not to suck as much as a mom in 2010.
How’s that?
Not too demanding, not too difficult to understand.
Try, being the operative word.
See, try as I might to be Donna Reed and Carol Brady all wrapped up in one cute little package, I do not, in face, succeed at either. I never have been, but of course, the pressure to be such always has been there.
Gestational Diabetes sucks… but,
it’s not the prison sentence that you think it is when you’re first diagnosed. It really isn’t. Truth be told, I think a lot of women look at pregnancy as a get out of jail free card. They figure they can eat & eat like there’s no tomorrow, because “they’re eating for 2, after all!”. But that’s so FAR from the truth! As a result, those women gain far too much weight during their pregnancies, and then, for some, it’s a battle they fight for the rest of their lives.
When I first was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy in 1996, I was clueless. I’d never even HEARD of the term before they told me I’d be tested for it. Even after the testing, which SUCKS holy hell, and the diagnosis, I was still confused. Did this mean I couldn’t eat sugar anymore? What would I EAT?
I didn’t realize it was so much more than SUGAR. Gone were my nearly daily pasta appreciation fests. Gone were the 2 bowls of cereal every morning for breakfast. Gone were so many things that make eating FUN. I got through it, though – with proper eating, I stayed off the insulin needles (which was my main goal in life), produced a healthy, happy 6 lb. 15oz. NON-diabetic baby boy!
Fast forward through 6 years, and I found myself there again. Pregnant with my daughter, they told me that since I’d been diagnosed with GD before, I’d be tested earlier – and sure enough, diagnosed with it again. This time was more frustrating, though, because I was also working full time – you try to find snacks at a diner that are healthy when you’re watching those blood glucose levels! It seemed like no matter what I did or what I ate, everything spiked my blood sugars and I was being threatened with needles again!
Once again, though, with my abject fear of needles being the driving force, I stayed off of insulin and produced another healthy, happy, 7lb. 3 oz. NON-diabetic baby girl. Phew!
The thing that bothered me most through all of that, though, was the utter lack of things I could eat that wouldn’t affect my blood sugar. The things that WERE available tasted like cardboard, and certainly didn’t inspire me to buy them.
I battled GD one last time in 2006, and had a MUCH harder time of it. There were points when I had to beg my doctor to give me one more chance, one more chance! No needles, PLEASE. I managed, and for the LAST time, produced a happy, healthy 8 lb. baby boy – non-diabetic, beautiful, healthy – THE LAST time. But still, the complete lack of healthy things (other than veggies, of course) was tops on my list of why gestational diabetes sucks! LOL
Recently, though, I found out that someone HAS made something yummy, something that won’t spike blood glucose levels and that tastes GOOD!
WooohoooO!
YES!
To Cookies, that is.
“Yes! To Cookies is the first baked food ever created that is made from fiber instead of starch. What this means is that people with blood glucose conditions such as diabetes now have a sweet treat that does not contribute to high blood sugars. Other’s who limit starch and sugar such as autistic, celiac, heart disease, food allergies, ADHD, etc. can now enjoy cookies. People who want to lose weight by reducing or eliminating high calorie treats made with starch and sugar now have a healthy, all natural option. “
Now, because I’ve had GD three times, the chances of my developing Type-II diabetes in my lifetime are greater. Combined with my weight and other family factors, I can see that happening in my future. So I’m glad to know that Yes! To Cookies has come up with something that will help me get over those cravings without “cheating” or feeling cheated.
They really ARE a treat, too. Yes! To Cookies sent my family both varieties to sample. I was dubious, as I really have tried a lot of these “types” of diety foods, and mostly with poor results. But I figured, with the amount of people that do come to my blog to read about my dealings with gestational diabetes, and knowing that some of them are probably pregnant RIGHT NOW – and the chances that they want a COOKIE RIGHT NOW – this would be a good place to let them know about them! But it’s more than just gestational diabetics that Yes! To Cookies can help. Those with gluten allergies, those with celiac’s disease – and of course, those who just want to eat HEALTHY, can most certainly benefit!
At just 1/2 – 1 carbohydrate per cookie, how can you possibly go wrong?
What’s better than low-carb, ZERO problem cookies?
FREE low-carb, ZERO problem cookies!
yes! To Cookies is offering the readers of my blog a great opportunity to try out their products. 1 lucky winner will receive a package of each flavor (cocoa-licious and strawberry-banana), as well as 1 package of each of the mixes to make your own! It’s a $50 value – maybe a great shower gift! 
To enter, leave a comment telling me why you’d like to try them. If you share the post on FB, Twitter, etc., please leave an additional comment for an additional entry. Become a fan on facebook? Extra entry. 1 winner will be drawn from all qualified entries on January 10th. Be sure to check my Reviews blog for my other giveaways, as well!
Please click HERE to enter. Thanks!
SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE – CLICK HERE TO ENTER – do not leave comments. PLEASE
say wha???
So, I wrote about that stupid %$(*&$%(* mammogram that I went for last week. Today, I get a call from my dr. saying that although things looked fine, they do not feel as though they got a 100% clear view, due to “patient’s inability to withstand the compression”. I’m sorry, but what?! I never told her to stop – I held my breath when required. I breathed when I needed to. I did what I was told. She never once said “no, this isn’t working”. Now they want me to go back in 6 months and have ANOTHER $(*#$&(@*#&$ mammogram.
Wtf.
Seriously. Wtf.
I’m so sick of this election crap, too. I cannot WAIT for it to be over. I am sick of being embarassed by the fact that I STILL do not know who I want to vote for. I don’t vote just by party. But I just don’t feel comfortable with EITHER guy enough to say YES, I want him. I know, I know – alot of people are feeling this way but geez – after 18+ months of propoganda, you’d think by now, it’d be clearer to me. I know what I DO NOT want, but as you might have noticed, I don’t really like to talk about politics at all. Not on my blog, not with friends, not with hubby. Of course, with SO many bloggers who do blog about it – and know what the hell is going on – I don’t figure you NEED another blogger doing it. But I CANNOT WAIT TILL NEXT WEDNESDAY!
Of course, I know – then we’ll have a bazillion bloggers talking about the results, because no matter who wins, there’s going to be a huge portion of the population that’ll be disgruntled.
Gah.
While I’m on my little rant, can I just tell you how ridiculous it is to live in an apartment complex where they replace your thermostats with programmable ones and then program them to go down to 62 degrees at 8am in the morning, and not go back to 70 degrees until 6pm in the evening – and oh yeah, back down to 62 at 10pm. They assume that EVERYONE goes to work and school. We do not. So we wind up cold – and that’s crap. IT’s only October. When we come down in the morning, it’s 67 degrees in our house. But in January, there’s no way it’ll even get that “warm” – we’ll be forced to spend our days full dressed, and I just think it’s bullshit. Complete & total bullshit.
More bullshit? Your 3 kids are invited to a birthday party and you show up – 5 of you – eat and drink like you haven’t in days – and not even bring the birthday kid a CARD? wtF?
Now, to combat all the crap, some niceness.
Brady’s Smile. Go – read the site. Put the items you need on your shopping list. It’ll make you smile too. We’ll be doing ours this weekend. I’ll show you then.
I’m having a giveaway at my new review blog, Dawniemom Reviews. Go check it out and of course, enter!
Thankfully, I do not know anyone who needs one of these although, of course, my kid would love to have one – lol But in any case, Sony is providing these PSPs for kids who are spending lots of time in the hospital – so if you know of someone who could use this – go check it out – nominate them – and of course, help spread the world.
Only 1 of my 3 children have their costumes set. Oh and Jimmy has said we’re going shopping to stock up for like a month this weekend, because he says there’s a real possibility that we’ll be in a civil war by Wednesday depending on the election results. You’re jealous of my life – aren’t you?
Making Learning Delicious (+ giveaway!)
That’s the tagline for Yummy English Snack Productions. As a home schooling family, finding anything to help my kids learn is always foremost in my mind. So when I received an email from William Avery, the creator of Cool Songs Collection and Times Table Fun, asking me if I’d like to review it, of course I said yes.
The day the cds arrived, I put the Cool Songs Collection in the cd player during breakfast and we listened to it over pancakes. Mr. Avery’s poems that he wrote while teaching English in Taiwan range from the Chinese Zodiac signs to seasonal and color themes. There’s 30 songs just on that one cd! Very creative and original, they had Zachary be-bopping in his high chair!
The Times Table Fun cd was a bit more challenging to sell, because as it turns out, Anthony has struggled with times table learning this year. He’s got MOST of them memorized, but not all. So when I put this on, he rolled his eyes and wanted to go to his room, but I asked him to please just sit there and listen – that, OMG – he MIGHT learn something.
By the time they got to the 5s, he was singing along. Libby was too, and of course, she has no idea WHAT the times tables are – but she was enjoying it nonetheless.
The music style isn’t what I’d consider “our” style – we’re more into country and/or rock – but the idea behind the songs is what I enjoyed. Making learning fun – making learning DELICIOUS – is what it’s all about with William Avery’s Song Collection. Also, you can listen to a sampling of several of the songs here.
Here is Mr. Avery’s recipe for Yesnack:
YESnack Recipe: 4 cups of creativity and teaching experiences. 4 cups of inspiration. 2 tablespoons of fun. Season with memorable melodies and groovy beats. Add a generous dash of happiness. Put in CD player and play for 70 to 90 minutes.
Here’s the best part! As part of my two year blogoversary celebration, I have an extra double-cd set for YOU! Yes, YOU! All you have to do is leave me a comment. Hmmm… for this one, tell me what your favorite kid’s song is/was. I will pick a random winner on June 30th!
Quote of the Day:
In this world, it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.
–Henry Ward Beecher
This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who participated! Congratulations to the winner, Beckie (spookiez spot)!
