Wing....Sprinter?

I'm finding it hard to be mad at the snow today. Yes, I know that it's technically spring, and yes, I do hate snow typically. But today, I feel a little different for the following reasons: 1. I don't have to drive in it. 2. It's not sticking to the roads and sidewalks. 3. Snow on flowers is SOOOO beautiful!
Snow during the winter is depressing because everything is ugly and drab. Today however, the grass is turning green, flowers are starting to bloom and the snow is merely accenting it, rather than covering it up. Granted, we don't have a lot of flowers blooming just yet, but the simple beauty of the damp dirt, yellow and blue flowers, and green grass is stunning. The snow will be melted within a few days and we'll have a few more days of spring again. And then most likely do this whole thing over again. But for today anyway, the snow and I are at peace!

Miracle Drug?

I've been suffering from headaches for as long as I can remember. As a child, it could usually be associated with dehydration, as I never drank enough. As I grew to a teenager, I developed back problems that eventually turned my headaches into severe tension headaches. When Kaiden was a baby, something happened to my shoulder that made both the headaches and the back/shoulder pain nearly unbearable! I just made do for so long with any and all over-the-counter medication I could get my hands on. Finally, last August was the last straw. I thought I had meningitis! I couldn't move my head and had the worst headache of my life. I finally went in to see my doctor and he referred me to a physical therapist. That was the best thing I've ever done for myself! I felt good for months! At the time I was going, I felt it was a fairly cost effective way of helping me through my pain. As it turned out, they were only charging me half what I was required to pay when I went in, and then slammed me with a HUGE bill when I was done. Needless to say, physical therapy is now off the table for pain treatment. Well, I turned back to my over-the-counter medication, which did help, but in recent weeks isn't even touching the pain. It was time to look for something new. I remembered once when we were in Las Vegas, we came across this thing called a Massage Mouse, that is a little electric device. It has wires attached to sticky pads that you stick to places on your body that need a massage. This device is a much smaller version of one of the machines they used on me at physical therapy! I thought if I could track one down, that would help. Well, I was able to find quite a few at Amazon, with different prices. Although it's a price that I would have cringed at a few weeks ago, when I got thinking about the price for physical therapy, this is less than half the cost of just one session! And it should last me at least a year! So hopefully that works. Also, another thing I've just started trying is Ultra-Strength Bengay. I found it on sale, with a peel-off coupon on the box, so I got it for a great price! I tried it on my shoulder and neck last night before bed. I was a little worried, because when I first hurt my shoulder a couple years ago, I'd tried Icy Hot, and it literally burned me! When I tried this Bengay, although there was a slight burning sensation at first, within several minutes I was completely numb. I think that was the most relaxed my neck has been in months! The final step to my new self-medicating plan, is the key. I'd asked Linda about what she could suggest that may help, and she mentioned that the ladies that work with her swear by Excedrin Migraine. The ingredients are basically Tylenol, aspirin and caffeine. I'd never tried aspirin before and I'm always nervous when trying new drugs. Well, I tried my first dose last night as well, and I must say, I was actually comfortable for the first time in a long time. Between the Bengay, and Excedrin Migraine, I think I may have found my miracle drug combination...for now...until I grow immune to all that too. Now, when my massage mouse gets here, I should be feeling really good! Now, for suggestions. Nothing that I've found that really works, works for a long period of time. My body gets used to it and it loses its effectiveness over time. I need suggestions for anything else that may have worked for anyone reading this, or someone you know with a similar problem. Here's what I've thought of that I can still try, but I don't want to yet, for varying reasons: chiropractor, massage therapy and cutting my hair shorter (it's really long and heavy). Suggestions?

Perfect Timing!

Recently I'd seen an advertisment for Frogtape, and it looked awesome! It's a patented tape for painting that has a chemical on it that reacts with latex paint to form an impenetrable barrier, making a cleaner edge. I wanted it! I knew I still had to paint Tattoo's room (and the rest of the house), and get so frustrated when I make boo-boos that I have to go over again. Well, before I bought any I found, on one of my money-saving websites, a deal that included Frogtape and Princess and the Frog. When you buy both you get a $5 rebate. The tape is only $5.97! I was going to get Princess and the Frog anyway, so as a bonus, I got the most awesome painting tape in the world for less than a dollar! Sweet! Anyway, is that perfect timing or what!
P.S. Painted Tattoo's room today and it looks GREAT!

Yaz

Warning: If you suffer from an aversion to too much information, this post is not for you!

It's no secret for anyone that knows me, that I'm not ready for any more children right now. We have talked about a possible one or two more after Nathan is done with school, and I don't have to work full time any more. Plus, I need to be really healthy before I can handle any more pregnancies. Right now, I'm not even close to where I would like to be physically.
So last week, I visited my doctor for my annual check up and to request a new type of birth control. Before Matthew was born, I was using Yasmine, and was pretty comfortable with it. However, the hormones caused my headaches to be worse. So at this visit, I requested the low hormone version, called Yaz.
Jackie, the nurse practitioner I see at Dr. Langer's office, was totally on board with trying it. She had some samples she sent me with that day, so I'm set for 3 months. There's also a program card she gave me, that will make it so that no future refills (at least for 6 month's worth) will cost over $20. This was really great news for me, since all prescriptions are full cost until we meet our deductible, on our high-deductible insurance plan. She did warn me that I probably would see a lawyer commercial warning of the effects of Yaz, which I had already seen. She said that any birth control poses the same risks, it's just they can target that one specifically as a name brand. All medicine poses risks, but the benefits far outweigh the possible 1:100,000 or so risk. Where I had no problems on Yasmine, I'm 99% sure I'll be okay on the lower hormone version.

Dentist Update

Yesterday was the day! I got my cavities filled! For years my teeth and jaw have hurt so bad from being so squished together after getting so many fillings the last time. I had requested that the dentist file those down a bit when he was in there working, and he did!
The final cavity tally was actually just 5, rather than the original 6 I'd thought. I needed 3 on my top right side, 1 on my bottom right and 1 on my top left. Normally, the dentist suggests that much work be split into 2 visits. No, not me! I asked if they could just do it all at once. Making sure I had the time off work, getting a babysitter, borrowing a car...that's a lot of work! I just wanted to get it all over at once. So, I ended up with 3 quadrants of my mouth numb. My right side was so numb, it went all the way up to my eyelashes, numbed the right side of my nose (so it felt like the worst stuffy nose ever!), and all the way over to my ear. Very weird feeling! It finally wore off just in time for dinner.
After he was done doing all the work, he asked me to bite down, and tell him if one side was hitting before the other. I'd noticed a long time ago that my left side would touch first. This was my chance to fix it too! He filed that side down just a bit, so all my teeth hit at the same time. He'd also notice a spot on one tooth that was getting a little extra impact from the tooth it meets up with, so he filed it down too, finally making my entire bite more comfortable than it has been in years!
There are a few spots that need to be filed down a bit more, but I couldn't tell when I was numb. I had already scheduled my 6 month visit, so I think I will wait and see if they wear back down on their own, and if not, I'll get them fixed in August at that visit.
So many people have always said to me "You have such beautiful teeth." I would always do my fake smile and say "Thank you!" while inwardly thinking "Yes, but they are rotting out!" Now, when I hear that, I can flash my pearly white smile and genuinely say "Thank you!" Wahoo!

Nursery Update

I have been spoiled. Keyana and Kaiden were both children that didn't mind being away from mommy, and when first introduced to nursery, ran in without looking back. So, I figured it must be in the blood and thought Matthew would be the same way. Boy was I wrong! His first visit was right at 18 months, and he wouldn't play with the other kids, wouldn't talk to the grown-ups, and barely wanted to play with the toys unless he was in mommy's lap. Well, I've been working with him, and started slowly sneaking out for a few minutes longer every week. Finally, I'm am proud to announce, I was only in there with him for 5 minutes this week! Wahooo!!!!
On a side note: Kaiden began in Sunbeams this year, and has a hard time adjusting from nursery to primary. The first few weeks, I either had to send him to the nursery, sit with him in his class, or take him to mine. Even so, it didn't completely stop the meltdowns. Well, I've also been working with him on getting him to stay in his own class, and this week he had no meltdowns, and stayed in his class the whole time! I made it through 1/2 of Sunday School and all of Relief Society, for the first time in almost a year! Now, I sure hope I didn't jinx myself by celebrating this early.

Dentist

I am one of the many moms that have completely neglected myself for years, saying that I just don't have time for it, with so many little kids to take care of first. Well, it's time for that thought process to stop. I need time for myself. My health and my teeth have suffered! The last time I went to the dentist, was just a month or so after Keyana was born. Yes, I know that it's been almost 6 years.
Everyone that knows me knows that I don't handle pregnancy well. I'm one that has severe morning sickness, throwing up 17+ times per day, for 4+ months straight. Besides the weight loss this created, it also affected my teeth, pretty severely. After Keyana was born, I had 10 cavities from all the acid.
You can imagine that after almost 6 years with no professional dental care and 2 more pregnancies, my teeth would be rotting and falling out. Well, I am proud to say that I went to the dentist yesterday and only have 6 cavities! I'm well aware that it's still a lot, but considering everything those poor things have been through, I was in shock that it wasn't a million times worse!
Nathan and I had agreed that I couldn't get the work done on my teeth that I would need until I called all the places we owe money for previous medical bills and set up payments. I was so desperate to get my teeth fixed, that I went ahead and went in for my cleaning and exam, because it was free, and figured I could set an appt for in the future after I was able to call and schedule those payments. So I made payment arrangements for all the medical bills today, and have the appointment set to fill those cavities on the 24th. Yay! At my first visit, I also scheduled my next cleaning for August, so I'll have less of a reason to back out.
Now, with my teeth about to be fixed, on to my health...
I'm quite overweight. I'll admit that. In the past, I've tried Weight Watchers, and it really worked! But I was hungry ALL the time! Plus, I couldn't really afford it. So, I found another program that is completely free and much more user friendly. It's called My Fitness Pal, and there's a website and iPhone application, to help me out. I started with about 64 pounds to lose, and have already lost 7.
To keep myself motivated, I've decided to reward myself at certain milestones. At 15 pounds, I will buy myself a new movie. The halfway mark, I'm going to get my teeth whitened at the dentist's. When I hit my goal, I'm going to get a whole new wardrobe (since I will seriously need it at that point!)
Wish me luck!