Happy Halloween!!

Halloween was fun! We went to the Museum of Natural History, where they sponsor a trick-or-treat event filled with treat stations, crafts, and live musical performances. Will had a terrific time and even said trick-or-treat.





I love this place! Dan and I want to go back to check out the entire museum. It was too chaotic to check out some of the exhibits with all the children running around. Will seemed to like the Asian Mammals Exhibit because he stopped to look at the animals. Great place!

Part 2 of On with September

Unfortunately, there was no celebration for my mom. Dan had to be hospitalized on Friday and it turns out he has infection that has caused pneumonia. He won't be released from the hospital until either tomorrow or Tuesday. I have mycoplasma pneumonia (aka: walking pneumonia).

Enough said.

On with September

September is my favorite month of the year since I was a little girl. First off, my birthday is in September. Second off, school would start and I loved going back to school. Third, my mom's birthday is also in this month. Now that I'm older, I have a child whose birthday is also this month.

Having said that, this month has been one of the worst in a long time for me. My car broke down Labor Day weekend. Between renting a car to get around to and from work, prepare for Will's birthday and repairing the car, I spent about $500. Of course, let's not forget the money I spent preparing for Will's birthday.

Almost a week after Will's birthday, he got a bit sick compounded by the fact that he a reaction to the vaccine he got. I didn't have to take him to the doctor, but had to deal with a cranky two year old; not much fun I may add. He was feeling great on my birthday, but we decided to stay home just in case he had a relapse.

Fast forward to this past Wednesday, Dan wakes up feeling not so hot complaining about his chest hurting. He calls me around 3pm telling me he's having difficulties breathing. He had gotten sick at the beginning of the month with an upper respiratory inflammation, but we thought he's was getting better. At 4pm, he calls me to tell me not to go to class (I had just gotten there) because he was going to the ER. His chest hurt and really couldn't catch his breath.

I drove to the ER and waited for him to get there. He was admitted rather quickly, got hooked up to oxygen, had an X-ray done, given antibiotics, steroids, and a nebulizer. He has bronchitis now and the shortness of breath was due to an asthma attack, which by the way has never happened to him before.

Let's move on to Thursday and I wake up with chest pains. I'm having a difficult time breathing, but there's no cough associated with my chest pain. I get sent home from work and I go directly to the doctor's office. I get hooked up to an EKG machine to check my heart. The doctor thinks it's an inflammation to the wall of my chest due to either some kind of exercise I had done or stress. He sends me home with a prescription to an anti-inflammatory and tells me I can't work for the rest of the week. About an hour after I took the anti-inflammatory, I get a fever. I call him back and he tells me that now the scenario has changed and I may have pericarditis, which is an inflammation to my pericardium due to a virus that causes chest pain and fever. Either way, the treatment he sent me is fine and to take Tylenol for the fever.

So being that this month has not been that favorable to me or my family, I am choosing to end it with a celebration to my mother. Sunday is her birthday and I'm making a nice dinner for her. My sister and the kids are coming over and I'm very happy. Let this be the momentum that carries some great luck for us in the next coming months.

New Life Style this September

Classes have begun for me. As you may or may not know, I'm working on a Master's in Urban Education with an ESL Specialization. Besides the ESL certification, I'm going for a Bilingual certification (it's an additional six credits because the classes for both certifications overlap). I'm also taking an additional nine credits so that I could teach adults in a community college setting.

I'm really enjoying my classes, but man is it hard juggling being a mom, wife, worker, and student. My classes are held Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and one of my classes is online. Those days I don't work. Thursday and Friday I work doubles, which means I work two twelve-hour shifts. Saturday and Sunday are always booked (at least for the next few months) with birthdays and other events. Even though I'm home most of the day on Mon, Tues, & Wed, I really don't get much of a chance to read for my classes. I'm so distracted with Will around that nothing gets done. I have to get into my own rhythm and manage my time better (which means I shouldn't be doing this right now).

Anyway, that's what's going on with me. I must go now put away the laundry and get my place somewhat organized. Ahhhhh...

Birthday Pictures!

Mom and Dad:

Showing off his name:

Aunt and cousins:

Happy Parents:


There are more pictures, but it would probably take me all day to upload. Will had a great birthday. He played with all of his cousins, ate plenty of cake, and was none stop. We all enjoyed his birthday. It was a nice get together with plenty of food and treats. I definitely had tons of fun!

Happy Birthday Will!!

Happy Second Birthday Will! The joy you bring everyday is absolutely incredible. You brighten up my heart and soul. I love you so much it brings tears to my eyes. I hope your birthday was wonderful. Love ya!

More About Eating Healthy

I've been on a health binge. Not a bad thing, right? In my obsessiveness to eat better, I'm finding that baking is the way to go. I've been making granola bars, biscotti, and breakfast cookies. Besides that, I've made my own croutons and salad dressing. I still have bad stuff, but I really don't crave it as much as before. I'm not sure if it's because I'm adding so much more fiber to my diet that I'm just satisfied. For instance, the breakfast cookies that I've been baking have pumpkin puree, which fills me up and still satisfies my sweet tooth. Another thing I've added to my diet is yogurt.

Besides the changes I've been making, I have a different outlook on food. I don't look at it as eating, but more like fueling. That mindset is making a tremendous difference. I eat food in order to keep my energy levels up not because I feel like eating. So every 4 hrs or so, I snack on something or if it's dinner time I eat a meal. If there's no time to eat, then I continue my snacking (this is for when I'm at work). I pack my purse with very healthy stuff (whatever I've been baking) and bring it to work. I no longer reach for a roll or french fries.

With school starting on Tuesday the 1st, I foresee myself snacking more than having meals at night. Monday through Wednesday, I will be working in the morning and driving directly to class. There really won't be time to sit down and have a meal. Once I get home, I'm not going to start cooking, either. I will have to have power snacks to help me throughout the day.

By the way, I came across an article (which of course I can't find now to link) that states that women should only have 6 teaspoons of sugar a day and men 8. What? I have 3 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee! The article basically spoke about how Americans eat way to much processed foods and we're unhealthy. If you want to have more sugar, then you should exercise that way you burn off the sugar.

How am I suppose to cut out sugar? I have no idea. The article scared me. My family has a history of diabetes. Is it inevitable for me? I'm not sure. But if 6 teaspoons of sugar is all we're suppose to have, then I'm in trouble. I don't know how I feel about using Splenda (which I use on occasion) instead of sugar. I want to eat natural foods and that's not natural. I'll have to do some research on this.

Anyway, that's what's been on my mind as of late. Until next time!