Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Jurbala Updates
It's been a very busy 2014 and it is only mid-February.
Gwen can read. She blows us away with her reading and writing. We have been reading BoB books with her each night and she even read one to her class!!! There are times that she will look at the page, read to herself, then read out loud. It's amazing! She can also identify colors by their name and count well over 100. She is, and has been, ready for Kindergarten. She is above and beyond her classmates, which is always nice to hear. We were having problems with her behavior at home. I realized it was because Leo was constantly being celebrated for peeing on the potty or sleeping until the light was green. We weren't celebrating her like we should have been. Now we celebrate her just as much. She is keeping busy with Swimming and Cheer (which she loves).
Leo is starting to get ready to potty train. Let's just say Gwen was fully potty trained at 27 months. Leo is now 30 months and is starting to tell us when he has to go, or ask us to change his wet diaper. He even peed standing up at school. He wants to at home, but is too short since we have him use the regular toilets (I find the kid ones disgusting and unsanitary). I still want to give it a little more time, but the 3 Day Potty Training is in his future!!
Mike and I, are doing well. We have been doing Insanity for the past month (one more month to go). We have been going on some great dates and having fun. We found an amazing babysitter, who is in high school and so eager to watch the kids. It's great!!
For me it's been pretty tough work wise as well as some personal stuff (Leo's health issues and my mom needing a hysterectomy), but I am managing. I need a break and will hopefully get one when I head to NY, with Gwen, to help my mom/dad after my mom's surgery.
That's the update for now. Here's hoping for a less stressful time for us in the coming months!
Gwen can read. She blows us away with her reading and writing. We have been reading BoB books with her each night and she even read one to her class!!! There are times that she will look at the page, read to herself, then read out loud. It's amazing! She can also identify colors by their name and count well over 100. She is, and has been, ready for Kindergarten. She is above and beyond her classmates, which is always nice to hear. We were having problems with her behavior at home. I realized it was because Leo was constantly being celebrated for peeing on the potty or sleeping until the light was green. We weren't celebrating her like we should have been. Now we celebrate her just as much. She is keeping busy with Swimming and Cheer (which she loves).
Leo is starting to get ready to potty train. Let's just say Gwen was fully potty trained at 27 months. Leo is now 30 months and is starting to tell us when he has to go, or ask us to change his wet diaper. He even peed standing up at school. He wants to at home, but is too short since we have him use the regular toilets (I find the kid ones disgusting and unsanitary). I still want to give it a little more time, but the 3 Day Potty Training is in his future!!
Mike and I, are doing well. We have been doing Insanity for the past month (one more month to go). We have been going on some great dates and having fun. We found an amazing babysitter, who is in high school and so eager to watch the kids. It's great!!
For me it's been pretty tough work wise as well as some personal stuff (Leo's health issues and my mom needing a hysterectomy), but I am managing. I need a break and will hopefully get one when I head to NY, with Gwen, to help my mom/dad after my mom's surgery.
That's the update for now. Here's hoping for a less stressful time for us in the coming months!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Leo's 2nd Upper GI Scope
Not sure how it happened, but I have that allergy kid. You know the one you are like "God I hope my kid isn't like that". Yep, that's us and we are those parents too. I'm lucky in that my friends/family are normally very great about keeping anything he's allergic to away (peanuts, tree nuts, fish, peas, and mustard). Leo has had skin tests which identified those items as allergens.
What we hadn't realized is the extent to his allergies. Leo gags and pukes. We have no idea what causes it, so we had a scope done on him about a year ago. They were looking to identify this rare, but growing, medical issue called EoE (essentially Esophogeal Allergies). A year ago, it was borderline, so we have been treating for acid reflux. He had his second scope today.
Let's just say that I held back my tears when I saw the pictures of his esophagus and the doc says "that is definitely not normal". The color wasn't right, it was so swollen that it was almost shut, and it had white spots/scabby looking things. I cried the moment she walked out of the room. She is 99% positive it is EoE. The biopsy results will come back this week. The first thing our GI wants, is to heal his esophagus since it is a mess. He will start a new medication that is like a topical steroid for his esophagus and eventually get off Prevacid, as it's not reflux.
Our next steps will be to work with a food allergy specialist/EoE specialist to see what is causing the reactions. Leo is already on the wait list to see the specialist. Luckily we have one of the best Children's Hospitals in the country, and they now have an EoE department, of which 2 of the best food allergy specialist from National Jewish, will run (one of which Leo will see). It's going to be a long process, with multiple steps and scopes, but at least we have something identified.
Our saving grace is our son. He is so laid back and happy. He loves the attention he gets at the hospital and is sadly so used to it, that it doesn't bother him. Just listening to him say "hospital" cracks me up. A couple fun things:
1. When he was handed purple pants to put on, he said "I'm a boy".
2. On his chart, under the social issues section, a nurse wrote "Adorable!"
Here are some pictures from his big day. He was passed out after the procedure and loved his grape slushy. Since he couldn't eat all day, they told us to slowly add back in food. Yeah right. That kid ate some mac/cheese like nobody's business!
What we hadn't realized is the extent to his allergies. Leo gags and pukes. We have no idea what causes it, so we had a scope done on him about a year ago. They were looking to identify this rare, but growing, medical issue called EoE (essentially Esophogeal Allergies). A year ago, it was borderline, so we have been treating for acid reflux. He had his second scope today.
Let's just say that I held back my tears when I saw the pictures of his esophagus and the doc says "that is definitely not normal". The color wasn't right, it was so swollen that it was almost shut, and it had white spots/scabby looking things. I cried the moment she walked out of the room. She is 99% positive it is EoE. The biopsy results will come back this week. The first thing our GI wants, is to heal his esophagus since it is a mess. He will start a new medication that is like a topical steroid for his esophagus and eventually get off Prevacid, as it's not reflux.
Our next steps will be to work with a food allergy specialist/EoE specialist to see what is causing the reactions. Leo is already on the wait list to see the specialist. Luckily we have one of the best Children's Hospitals in the country, and they now have an EoE department, of which 2 of the best food allergy specialist from National Jewish, will run (one of which Leo will see). It's going to be a long process, with multiple steps and scopes, but at least we have something identified.
Our saving grace is our son. He is so laid back and happy. He loves the attention he gets at the hospital and is sadly so used to it, that it doesn't bother him. Just listening to him say "hospital" cracks me up. A couple fun things:
1. When he was handed purple pants to put on, he said "I'm a boy".
2. On his chart, under the social issues section, a nurse wrote "Adorable!"
Here are some pictures from his big day. He was passed out after the procedure and loved his grape slushy. Since he couldn't eat all day, they told us to slowly add back in food. Yeah right. That kid ate some mac/cheese like nobody's business!
Monday, January 20, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Stripping Down in 2014
Happy New Year! 2014 is going to be the year that we "strip down". I was very excited about this concept until I realized that half the things we are going to do "new" in 2014, I wanted us to do in 2013. Maybe this year we can make the change!!
What does stripping down in 2014 mean? Well it means simplifying my life and the lives of my family and making it better.
1. Decrease the amount of time we are plugged in. This one has been extended from both 2012 and 2013, as we did a terrible job of it. We seem to always grab for our phones the moment we wake up and always "reading" something. I would always pick it up when I walk past it on the counter and look at email, news, Facebook, Pinterest........etc. The kids also spend far too much time in front of the TV and on their iPhones. We are going to limit to 1.5 hours a day and they have to earn those extra movie nights and shows. That means more family time playing games, running around outside, activities.....etc.
2. My kids are spoiled brats. I didn't realize the extent until I came home from the store with 2 cute Christmas cups for them. I gave it to Gwen and she says "it's just a cup". The look on her face and the tone of her voice saddened me. I am constantly buying them things on a whim and it is rare that I say no in the grocery store if they want something. I learned that I love and like to be loved through gifts and I am passing that on to my children through gifts, sweets.....etc. It all ends in2013 2014 (yes I wanted to do this last year). I am going to shower them with love and affection instead.
3. Continue eating healthy and exercising, as a family. We are going to decrease the amount of junk in our lives and increase the amount of fruits/vegetables. Gwen will continue her swimming class and will pick up cheer (in place of gymnastics). Leo will start swimming classes and soccer once he turns 3. Gwen also wants to do a race with me, so I will search for those children's races where we would run around a mile together. We will bike places, go for hikes, and be active together. One of my favorite parts of training for the Boilermaker in 2013 was whenever I put on my sneakers the kids would ask "going for a run?" They know being active is a lifestyle!!
4. Get our finances under control. We are very lucky that we have jobs where we are successful. The problem is, we spend.........and spend.........and spend. Starting on January 1st, I am on a spending freeze for all unnecessary items (clothes, shoes, purses....etc). I am going to do mint.com and find out our problem areas and focus on setting a budget that makes us spend less and save more. We have 1 child's daycare being cut in half in August, and I want to make sure the money goes for good........not evil!!
I do have a couple personal goals which are going to be extremely tough to achieve, but I am confident that I can succeed:
1. I watched this amazing video of a super model who is considered plus sized. She was called a fat pig. I was shocked as she was stunning! It didn't phase her as she loved herself and her body. She said that the more she would tell herself that the easier it got to believe. I need to do this. I feel as though my friends and I just sit around and bash how we look. I would do this too to fit in. I work so hard to stay in shape that I need to mentally get behind the fact that I am a 35 year old mother of 2 and need to love what my body looks like and where it has taken me so far in life. I will continue running races (half marathon maybe) to help me see the light as well as try new things (spin, Pilates...etc) to see how far I can push it is as well. I never want Gwen to hear me say negative things about how I look. She has awesome self esteem now and I don't want to be the one to change it.
2. I am going to decrease the amount that I yell at my kids. I feel like a crazy person half the time yelling like a lunatic. There has to be a better way to discipline them and I know I will find it!
3. I am going to work on not gossiping as much. I always have been terrible at it and I know it is not a good thing.
Here's to a wonderful and prosperous 2014!
Cheers!!
What does stripping down in 2014 mean? Well it means simplifying my life and the lives of my family and making it better.
1. Decrease the amount of time we are plugged in. This one has been extended from both 2012 and 2013, as we did a terrible job of it. We seem to always grab for our phones the moment we wake up and always "reading" something. I would always pick it up when I walk past it on the counter and look at email, news, Facebook, Pinterest........etc. The kids also spend far too much time in front of the TV and on their iPhones. We are going to limit to 1.5 hours a day and they have to earn those extra movie nights and shows. That means more family time playing games, running around outside, activities.....etc.
2. My kids are spoiled brats. I didn't realize the extent until I came home from the store with 2 cute Christmas cups for them. I gave it to Gwen and she says "it's just a cup". The look on her face and the tone of her voice saddened me. I am constantly buying them things on a whim and it is rare that I say no in the grocery store if they want something. I learned that I love and like to be loved through gifts and I am passing that on to my children through gifts, sweets.....etc. It all ends in
3. Continue eating healthy and exercising, as a family. We are going to decrease the amount of junk in our lives and increase the amount of fruits/vegetables. Gwen will continue her swimming class and will pick up cheer (in place of gymnastics). Leo will start swimming classes and soccer once he turns 3. Gwen also wants to do a race with me, so I will search for those children's races where we would run around a mile together. We will bike places, go for hikes, and be active together. One of my favorite parts of training for the Boilermaker in 2013 was whenever I put on my sneakers the kids would ask "going for a run?" They know being active is a lifestyle!!
4. Get our finances under control. We are very lucky that we have jobs where we are successful. The problem is, we spend.........and spend.........and spend. Starting on January 1st, I am on a spending freeze for all unnecessary items (clothes, shoes, purses....etc). I am going to do mint.com and find out our problem areas and focus on setting a budget that makes us spend less and save more. We have 1 child's daycare being cut in half in August, and I want to make sure the money goes for good........not evil!!
I do have a couple personal goals which are going to be extremely tough to achieve, but I am confident that I can succeed:
1. I watched this amazing video of a super model who is considered plus sized. She was called a fat pig. I was shocked as she was stunning! It didn't phase her as she loved herself and her body. She said that the more she would tell herself that the easier it got to believe. I need to do this. I feel as though my friends and I just sit around and bash how we look. I would do this too to fit in. I work so hard to stay in shape that I need to mentally get behind the fact that I am a 35 year old mother of 2 and need to love what my body looks like and where it has taken me so far in life. I will continue running races (half marathon maybe) to help me see the light as well as try new things (spin, Pilates...etc) to see how far I can push it is as well. I never want Gwen to hear me say negative things about how I look. She has awesome self esteem now and I don't want to be the one to change it.
2. I am going to decrease the amount that I yell at my kids. I feel like a crazy person half the time yelling like a lunatic. There has to be a better way to discipline them and I know I will find it!
3. I am going to work on not gossiping as much. I always have been terrible at it and I know it is not a good thing.
Here's to a wonderful and prosperous 2014!
Cheers!!
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