Naptime Blog

I am so over the snow and cold weather. The saying goes “March roars in like a Lion!” Well, I am so ready for his roar. Everyone in my family has had little colds on and off. We have tried almost every over the counter medicine out there for cough & cold symptoms. I am pleased to share; that good old fashion Chicken Noodle Soup (Campbell”s ® of course) and hot tea still does the trick!

It’s really funny, because even Jayce our 14 month old (wow)  loves the noodle soup. I have been in search of a really good home-made soup recipe that would compare, but I still think that is one of my favorite comfort meals, with a grill cheese on the side.

For me warm weather brings thoughts of cool, crisp salads and smoothies out of this world! Our family is juicing a little bit now, so we are still experimenting with the best fruit & veggie combination. When we figure it out, I will share,,

I’m looking forward to the bright, warm sun shining on me as well. What do you love about spring?

~Shanta

Most days we find ourselves working round the clock.  As mothers (and often fathers!), we are up at the crack of dawn getting ready for the day.  We prepare meals, take out everyone’s clothes, and get everybody ready for their day.  Chores are endless and there are only 24 hours in a day.  Working mothers have two jobs, and any parent knows that being a mother is a full time job in itself, with constant overtime and no vacation days, sick days, or personal time.  But it never ends there.

When do we find the time to do everything else?  How can we squeeze in appointments, birthdays, play dates, cleaning out the closets, catching up with the latest best seller, or the hundred other things on our “to-do” list? Furthermore, how do we find the time (or energy) to focus on romance and keeping that relationship strong?  And what about “Mommy time”?  Does it even exist?

I am married with four children.  I work full-time from home and then have other jobs I do during the course of the month.  Approaching the end of every month, the crunch begins.  I have end of the month deadlines that I often find haunting me in the final days of every month because I never found the time throughout the month to complete them.  But after the crunch is over and it is the beginning of the next month, I wonder if it is lack of time or lack of motivation that led me to be behind yet again another month?

I have spoken to many mothers who say that they have no motivation to do anything that is not first priority, or I should say, what they consider to be priority at the moment.  Helena works full-time out of the home.  A single mother, she also does freelance writing to help with the bills.  She has attempted countless ways to try to help her get motivated to complete her writing each month, which often falls to the wayside.  Helena has asked me to help her get motivated to write her articles.

Renee also works full-time out of the home.  Mom of two, she lives with her fiancé and has a hectic schedule with two very active boys.  Renee loves to read, but finds it almost impossible to devote any significant time to the Best Seller List.  She finds herself sitting in the car while waiting for baseball practice to end, tempted to open that book, but then the phone rings or another mother comes up to the car to chat.  So she crawls into bed and manages to open a book (“I’ll just read a few chapters…” turns into an all-nighter) she spends the next day dragging and drained from a lack of sleep.  There is no ‘happy medium’.

That online master’s degree program that Jenna signed up for last year looked like the perfect solution to allowing her to complete that degree she has always dreamed of.  The benefits of an online program that we have today, while seeming to fit perfectly in Jenna’s life, are being met by the demands of her two toddlers and husband.  Jenna really wants to get this degree in motion, but is not motivated enough to get the ball rolling due to being so busy with the kids.

We ALL have good intentions, and the motivating factors behind these things (and others) should be enough to keep us going, but we are often too consumed in the demands of the day that we cannot get to complete what we set out to complete.  How can we get motivated and stay motivated?

Here are some things we can try, hoping it helps!

The Buddy System - Exercising, dieting, even spring cleaning, can often be easier to do and stick with when done with a friend.  I was most successful in my weight loss goals when my aunt (who was living in the apartment upstairs from me at the time) and I dieted together.  We would share recipes, celebrate our successes together, head out grocery shopping (for healthy foods and finds, of course) together, and help each other through our pitfalls together.

Group – Join a book club, and the other ladies in the club will help get you motivated to catch up on your reading.  There is more accountability and strength in numbers, and it will be more fun if you can be involved in the discussions and can discuss the books from your own viewpoints if you read the books!

Enlisting the help of your spouse/significant other – Whether your partner is your accountability buddy or if he/she helps out in some of your other chores so that you can complete the tasks you are seeking motivation for, having your spouse/significant other on board with you in your goals always makes things that much easier.  As a matter of fact, the whole family should be on board to help out where they can, and having stress lessened in one area can help you manage in other areas.

Reminders / Calendars / To-Do Lists – In the age of technology, I have finally become better at keeping track of things, due to the reminders I set up on my laptop and my blackberry.  As I learn of deadlines I need to make, I put them into the calendar feature.  I give myself a few days notice to remind me, and the notification is clear enough to remind me.  So when I have an article due on Tuesday, I set the reminder alarm to go off on Sunday, giving me two more days to complete it.  Unfortunately there is always the option to click the “snooze” button (same problem I always had with alarm clocks each morning since I was younger!), so I cannot be guaranteed to get it done immediately, but at least the reminder is fresh in my mind at all times.

As mothers, we must remember that we are human first, not machines.  We are often our biggest critics, and if you can continuously remind yourself that you are doing a great job, it might be motivation enough  to keep you going!  Good luck!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)www.nevaland.com

All day today, my son has had a pink/red left eye. It looks like he could have scratched it or irritated it by messing with something in his eye but I don’t know! My husband said he woke up like that and has been rubbing it quite often throughout the day. Great. I sure hope its not pink eye. There’s nothing “crusty” about his eye which I know is usually a good sign of it, well at least not yet. I do believe there was a time where I had to give him eye drops for something like that many months ago, I can’t remember. I still have not fully regained my memory from pregnancy and that’s a fact! I used to remember everything, literally. In the beginning of my pregnancy it started to fade and I had noticed it. Towards the end, I was forgetting what I had eaten for lunch that day and it seems that it has only gotten worse, is that possible?! I can’t remember what people tell me, can’t remember when I last did something, can’t remember something I was supposed to do that night… all of it! Is there any natural over the counter product that I can use to increase my memory skills? I’ve tried those DS games, Brain Age, or whatever it is called and I failed hard at that. I read about Ginseng and those positive results but I can’t differentiate half the time between what REALLY works and what is a gimmick. I only want information from people who have seriously tried it and saw great results. Now what was I talking about in this blog before, I forgot….Oh that’s right, hope it’s not pink eye!

Krystle

I can’t believe that he is ONE already. Time sure flies when you’re having fun! I have been dreading his 1 yr. well check. I knew they were going to fill him up with more shots. For the most part the well check visit went well. His weight is in the 50% percentile, head circumference and height all are within the 50th percentile.

When it came time to discuss the vaccines, I must admit I became a little defensive. As a public school teacher I see a wide range of illness and disabilities. I guess you can say, I have become a bit paranoid! I am fine with him being vaccinated; I just disagree with so many different shots at one time. The doctor attempted to go back and forward with me about my decision to stretch them out.

He saw he wasn’t going to win the fight, so he dropped it. Jayce left with 2 vaccines that day and I will pop in a few weeks from now to get the remainder.

~Shanta

My hubby and I decided to gather the gift cards we received for Christmas and put them towards some thing that could benefit the both of us this year and decided to get a Wii along with the Wii Fit Plus. After hearing the positive reviews from some friends and my family, we were determined. We walk into Best Buy where they have an entire Wii mountain made out of the consoles, and quickly put it in our cart…not that we had to rush or anything, they weren’t going to sell out! Shaughn spots the blue and yellow balloons tied to the end of each aisle and decided that he absolutely needs one and starts pointing, babbling, and raising his arms. As we walk towards the Wii accessories and games, away from all these balloons, Shaughn starts crying and yelling, all understandable at first, but then it gets louder. I’m trying to talk to him and show him all the other neat things we’re standing next to, which is completely at the other end of the store, and he is still pointing up crying. He did calm down and stop a few minutes later but I was so confused on what to do besides telling him “no” firmly and shortly explain, even though he does not understand, that he could not have the balloons because they belonged at the store. It worked, so that was good. I didn’t want to be the couple in the store who has that crying tantrum throwing child! Anyhow, the Wii Fit Plus is GREAT. We’ve done it yesterday and today and can literally feel our muscles aching. It is such a sensitive balance board and can feel your EVERY move, and I do mean every. It corrects your posture, works on balancing, and keeps you moving! Maybe this will finally be the one tool in our lives that can actually help us lose weight but allow us to have fun at the same time. I got nothing but high hopes. Do you have a Wii Fit or any other product to help keep you motivated while losing weight?

-Krystle

Most of my blogs are light and hopefully interesting and possibly even humorous.  Today happens to be an anniversary of an event I will never forget.  This blog is a reflection of my more serious side.

Nine Christmases ago I was pregnant for the very first time.  I learned right before Christmas day.  I was 25 years old, newly married, and ‘innocent’.  I had always wanted to become a mother, and learning I was pregnant was something I had always dreamed of.  The day after Christmas in the year 2000, I learned there was a possible problem with the pregnancy.  I spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day being thrown into a whirlwind of emotions, not knowing whether or not I was going to have a baby in nine months.  This was the first time in my life I realized that being blessed with a pregnancy did not always mean that a baby would be born, and many complications could prevent that from happening.  My “innocence” was forever lost on the evening of January 3rd, 2001, when I learned that I had an ectopic pregnancy, and that I would need emergency surgery to ensure my fallopian tube wouldn’t burst, endangering my life.

I had surgery on January 4, 2001.  I lost my baby and lost my left fallopian tube.  My life was forever changed on that day.

I went on to lose another baby later that year.  Since then, I welcomed my daughter into my world in 2002, I divorced her father in 2005, remarried the love of my life in 2007, gave birth to twin sons in 2008 (after dealing with secondary infertility), and was surprised with my little love, born late 2009.  I am forever blessed with these four amazing children and awesome husband.  I watch them all sleep; I love the sound of my children’s laughs.  I never imagined that I would have four children, and after spending many years in an unhappy relationship with my first husband, I cannot help but thank God for the life I have with my husband and children.  But there has never been a January 4th that has gone by without me remembering the first baby that I never got the opportunity to hold, to kiss, to watch sleep or listen to his/her laughter.  I have never forgotten the course of events leading to that awful trip to the operating room, the day that changed my life and my views on many things. 

Nine years sometimes feels like an eternity, sometimes feels like the blink of an eye.  We celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other happy occasions.  We also remember other anniversaries, which may not always be of an event we choose to remember.  But I am a mother of 6, not 4, and I will always remember the day I lost my first baby.

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (3 months)
www.nevaland.com

My poor son is teething like crazy! There’s a total of about 5 teeth all coming in at once. I feel so bad for him and wish I could take his pain away! In addition to the grumpiness he’s had from dealing with that, he also started to run a fever since Friday morning. While there are a lot of people who say fever is not associated with teething, there are also a lot who say it does have a link. Either way, fevers worry me. We gave him ibuprofen and that brought it down for a little.

After his naps, he was just burning up. We continued with the recommended dosage throughout the night and all day Saturday. The highest his fever went was around 102.7. During this, he has constantly hit his lower cheeks, where the teeth are erupting and hitting his ears and not eating very well at all. We have to go up North for Christmas on Wednesday so I decided on Sunday to take him to the doctor just to make sure he didn’t have an ear infection. I walk in to the surprisingly super empty waiting room and get into an exam room within 5 minutes. The doctor comes in about 2 minutes later. He sits down and asks me the basics : “Vomiting? Diarreah? Coughing?” All to which I answered, “No.” The doctor says, word for word ” I am willing to bet money that your kid has Roseola without even examining him.” I ask what that is and he explains it to me, in an odd manner. I kind of felt like I was being talked down to or that because it was my first child, I must be completely clueless. He says “Yeah in about 2 days he’s going to be covered head to toe in a rash, but you can’t do anything about it like giving him benadryl, it won’t work. You may see his temperature go to 105, but that’s caused by the Roseola, so don’t worry - its not like a temp that high can cause mental retardation.”

I was so stunned by the lack of “bedside manner” this doctor had, especially talking to a first time mother who, of course, would worry if I ever saw a temp that high! We leave, I call my mom freaking out about this guy and how could he diagnose my child by looking at him. My son doesn’t “look” sick…..but then today, he sure got that rash the doctor talked about, all on his tummy. The doctor even said “when your son gets that rash, you’re going to think to yourself that I must be a psychic.” Well, I cannot type here the thoughts I had to myself
but it sure wasn’t that!

Half of me is grateful that I took him so that I was aware this was a possibility in Dr. Crazy’s mind, and the other half is still in shock by how I was talked to. Hopefully the rash will be all gone by Wednesday morning for our trip and supposedly, this is quite common in children his age group. I just hope he feels better by then!

Krystle

I believe in vaccinating children.  I have vaccinated my children according to the guidelines, and feel more comfortable knowing that certain diseases and sicknesses have been eradicated in this country due to vaccines.  It worries me knowing that underdeveloped countries lack the funds to vaccinate, which means that certain diseases have not been wiped out completely.  This scares me because I know that some children are not vaccinated in the US due to their parents’ beliefs, but this means that it is possible that diseases that we have vaccines for may be rampant in other parts of the world, may spread to the US to children that have not been vaccinated, and different strains may develop creating an epidemic in this country. 

I would never claim to be a medical expert, for I am a family counselor, not a doctor.  But more importantly, I am a mom.  I do not judge any other parent for their decisions regarding their own children, but I do admit that it worries me that my children can come home with let’s say a new strain of smallpox because a family who hadn’t vaccinated their children went to another country and their child caught the disease.  As a mom, not a medical professional, I have read into the literature on vaccines, and although I know that there are negatives to vaccinating (side effects, the possibility of a link between vaccinating and autism, etc.), I feel the benefits outweigh the risks, and the percentages of children who have a negative reaction to a vaccine are too small for me to not vaccinate.  If one of my four children were to be among those statistics I may feel otherwise, however, realistically, a widespread epidemic of a deadly disease scares me terribly.

That being said, I am not personally comfortable with my children receiving the H1N1 vaccine.  The schedule of vaccines that are recommended for children have all been around for many years.  As a matter of fact, I received many of the vaccines when I was a child.  We are aware of any long term effects of the vaccines given today, as they have been around for decades.  The H1N1 is a live vaccine (which in itself makes me uncomfortable) and it is too new to know what long term effects it may have on those who get it.  So although I believe in vaccines, I have read up on it, have discussed the options with my pediatrician, family doctor and other medical professionals, and my husband and I have decided that our children will not have the H1N1 vaccine this year.  That doesn’t rule it out for the future, but for now, we will not be getting it.

We are extremely lucky to live in a country where we have clean hospitals and educated doctors as well as safe medications.  I pray that my children (as well as my husband and I) can steer clear of the H1N1 germs this year, but should we get infected in our house, I trust in the medical care our doctors can provide.  That does not mean that we are not washing our hands a thousand times a day in our house!  And my daughter has been instructed to stay FAR AWAY from any children in her class who even sniffle.  Hoping H1N1 does not come near our family!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (Newborn)
www.nevaland.com

So some people would think by now I over react but really I swear I don’t. I often get yelled at during appointments when I say such and such happened. Then I get a long lecture about being laid back.
WHEW…I am SO glad this roller coaster weekend is over! Friday morning I took Tristan to Dr. Singh because I just knew he was getting dehydrated. He had a super high fever and a terrible stomach virus. And sure enough…to the ER we go from the pediatrician’s office! Tristan was a great baby…he tolerated all the needles SO WELL. His first IV didn’t go in right, so they had to start a second! I felt so sorry for him. The staff was wonderful.

He was discharged two whole long exhausting days later. It was crazy! Luckily I was pretty well rested from lying in the hospital bed with Tristan all weekend. I can’t even add photos since my blackberry camera is all messed up and my flip video camera was dead. My new blackberry should be here ASAP! Its sad how much I rely on my blackberry camera for pictures.

Chrystal

My poor little baby! This morning Tristan fell forward onto a plastic crate and his bottom teeth went RIGHT THROUGH below his lower lip! ALL THE WAY THROUGH! I scooped him up and I all but literally ran to the ER. I completely expected stitches for my little man….BUT…the Dr. said that it will close on it’s own. SIGH OF RELIEF! We simply cleaned it well and we were to daycare in 35 minutes from the time of the accident! I love our new fast track ER. You are in and out.  The accident happened when we were leaving for daycare. When we got there Tristan walked straight up to Cora (his daycare provider) and said “CORA….WOOK (look)!”. He just HAD to show off his booboo! It was soo sweet! This is going to be one long bumpy ride with this crazy boy!

At daycare Tristan has an electric tractor, his new thing is to stand on it and operate it. Talk about a heart attack.

Chrystal